Shine… and suddenly you are lighting your way through the dark.
It has now become more evident than ever how the economic downturn is affecting everyone. But, I can’t help but think how this just emphasizes the point: we ARE all connected and how our actions have impact. These are times when we need to be supporting each other any way we can. And maybe that goes beyond a job referral or financial support. Maybe these hard times aren’t just about dollar signs. Not to minimize this important aspect of our culture, but the emphasis there is a bit unbalanced. They say you give power to what you focus on. If we are focused everyday on what we lack or even, what we MIGHT lack in the future, it only keeps us outside of our gratitude for what we DO have, here and now. So, I’ve thought of some ideas about how we can personally steer our way through this darkness in a vehicle that seems to have run amuck.
1) NO FEAR: step away from the TV! Be mindful, but unplug from the constant stream of negative babble, it will only pull you deeper into that negative and fearful place.
2) CHECK YOUR IDENTITY: you are not your job, your house, your car, your bank account... you are MORE, so much more. Honor that you ARE!
3) SHARE: consider giving back. Volunteer or consciously do something that contributes to the well being of someone or something else.
4) STAY STRONG: connect with your body. Staying strong and healthy with exercise and good nutrition helps you to feel as though you are taking some control of your life.
5) STAY CONNECTED: visit with friends regularly. We are by nature social beings. Listen to each others woes, but find ways to support each other in positive ways.
6) GO INSIDE: take some time everyday to connect with your higher source, even if it is just for 5 minutes. Get quiet, feel your heart, plug into your Self and find the trust there, the trust that no matter what, you WILL be ok.
7) HAVE PATIENCE: everything is temporary and this TOO, shall pass. And when frustration ensues, and others begin to get on your nerves, remember – we are all in this together, and we are all doing the best we can.
The only way we can know joy, is to have experienced pain, and us humans have been known to shine in times of darkness. Let us make the best use of these times as we can: to learn, to love, to be kind with others and ourselves; to know that we will cycle around again in this ever turning way of truth.
But, don’t let this stop here - I invite and encourage YOU to add to this list!
Sat Nam!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Imagine THAT!
Imagine… and suddenly anything is possible!
J.K. Rowling (author of the famed Harry Potter novels) wrote in her Harvard University commencement address: “Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people's minds, imagine themselves into other people's places.” And, isn’t this the very essence of empathy and compassion?
Most of us have grown up with the idea that “imagination” is something outside of what we perceive to be “real”. As children, we had great imaginations. We could play all day long with our toys and friends making up worlds that (seemingly) didn’t exist. Our imaginations protected us from hours of dreaded boredom. As we grew, we came to honor our imagination only if it seemed to bring forth something useful or beautiful. And for adults, it can even have a bad rap: “It’s only your imagination.”
But, isn’t imagination the crux of all creation, all things manifest? Everything begins with a seed, a thought, an idea - by imagining it first. This concept also extends to our ability to understand, empathize and experience compassion for others. For most of us adults, our openness to utilize our imagination has been squelched by years of transitioning - from our inner to outer worlds. As the phrase proclaims: “If you don’t use it, you loose it”. Perhaps we may have been throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
So as we turn this page to new calendar year and are part of history in the making, let us imagine a world of peace, oneness, prosperity, health and abundance…well… imagine THAT!
Sat Nam and Happy New Year to you all!
J.K. Rowling (author of the famed Harry Potter novels) wrote in her Harvard University commencement address: “Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people's minds, imagine themselves into other people's places.” And, isn’t this the very essence of empathy and compassion?
Most of us have grown up with the idea that “imagination” is something outside of what we perceive to be “real”. As children, we had great imaginations. We could play all day long with our toys and friends making up worlds that (seemingly) didn’t exist. Our imaginations protected us from hours of dreaded boredom. As we grew, we came to honor our imagination only if it seemed to bring forth something useful or beautiful. And for adults, it can even have a bad rap: “It’s only your imagination.”
But, isn’t imagination the crux of all creation, all things manifest? Everything begins with a seed, a thought, an idea - by imagining it first. This concept also extends to our ability to understand, empathize and experience compassion for others. For most of us adults, our openness to utilize our imagination has been squelched by years of transitioning - from our inner to outer worlds. As the phrase proclaims: “If you don’t use it, you loose it”. Perhaps we may have been throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
So as we turn this page to new calendar year and are part of history in the making, let us imagine a world of peace, oneness, prosperity, health and abundance…well… imagine THAT!
Sat Nam and Happy New Year to you all!
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