Tag Archives: nature

Daydreaming Joy

The tightly restrictive early pandemic days were illuminating for me. “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone…” The absence of seemingly small things that gave me every day joy was notable. I missed getting together with a friend for coffee, to share personal space with them, to feel their smile. I suppose it didn’t really matter (in a way) that our smiles were covered by masks. How many of us were sincerely smiling with the joy of life underneath them? Our smiles had been stolen from us overnight.

Also no longer for a time able to take my daily nature walk (yes, they closed the parks where I was too!), I searched for ways to cling to happy thoughts, to overcome the constant feeling of oppression. It occurred to me that replaying some happy memories would help to preserve my feeling that joy is and would again be possible in the world.

I have a friend who started a social media group during that time. She shared (and still does) beautiful pictures of the Alps in Europe – the gorgeous scenery, the activities, the famous spots to visit in a cluster of countries – and together she and the members of the group have protected and kept alive the beauty of life. They helped each other come out the other side of a very difficult time.

What memories of your life give you a feeling of joyousness? This is one of mine that without fail makes me feel light of heart and spirit ~

The magical dragonfly is a fond girlhood memory of summer for me. Paddling around the lake on sultry afternoons, I loved to watch their iridescent colors flitting among the graceful lily pads. They captivated me. There was a purity and magic about these tiny gossamer creatures. They seemed to occupy a mysterious, unseen world, to which for a few moments I was privy.

Peace and a feeling of the goodness in the world were mine, and they still are when I close my eyes and revisit this memory. I also strongly reconnect to a sense of my intrinsic freedom as a human being on this Earth.

Whatever brings you joy, commit to fiercely protecting your memories and vision of what is good and right in the world. Obviously we can’t live solely in the past if we want to manifest a new future, but those joyous memories and history are the strong foundation on which to build it.

Inspirational Quote:

“…What if the point is to stop, then,… and listen to the birdsong, to watch the dragonflies hover, to look at your lover’s face, then up at the undersides of leaves moving together in the breeze? What if the point is to invite these others into your movement, to bring trees, wind, grass, dragonflies into your family and in so doing abandon any attempt to control them? ~ Derrick Jensen

Beauty

One Bit of Love

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“Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” ~ Roy T. Bennett

I sorely need Mr. Bennett’s words this morning. In the aftermath of 18 days of protests and food shortages that I posted about in It Could Happen to You, the agreements reached between the CONAIE indigenous federation and the government on Thursday have at least brought peace back to my corner of the world. And yet, I’m left with this creeping feeling that it’s not over yet. Not even close.

Yesterday I tried to take a break from “real life” by turning on the radio, and baking without concern for how we would replace the propane or the ingredients. The road blocks have been cleared, and goods are flowing again. I tried to lose myself for a little while in a very simple and familiar task.

Real life managed to worm its way into my mind, however. My thoughts drifted to the CONAIE protestors, who were now making their way back home, but to what? The poverty they are trying to overcome will most assuredly not be resolved with the words and signatures committed to paper on Thursday. The agreements they made in order to restore peace fell far short of that for which they were asking.

The root problem lies in the fact that we live in a world that’s way out of sync with our basic human and spiritual values. The requests made by the CONAIE on the face of it were logical solutions to obvious disparity between rich and poor. However, the real problem has not yet been addressed. I do not believe the government sees these people as part of their human family. They see them as an inconvenience, people who although seemingly integrated into the society, still cling to values to which the government cannot relate. These people are getting in the way of global profit-driven and political agendas. There is still a vast chasm between the two worlds.

I do not share the feeling of elation that I see many around me expressing, that they can now go to the grocery store and get exactly what they want. (Really, are you that one-dimensional?) That feeling they have came at a very high price, but they do not realize it yet. They have a difficult time relating to the person for whom 15 cents on a gallon of gas makes a huge difference. Yes, they too may be on a budget, but 15 cents is not their breaking point (yet).

To come to full circle on all of this and back to Roy. T. Bennett’s quote, I see from these 18 days that I must be resolute in centering my mind and heart in the creation of solutions, not focusing on the problem. I went to the mercado (farmer’s market) one week ago, before the protests had been resolved. Fresh food was becoming more scarce, and certainly potatoes were much harder to find. I met a lovely indigenous woman and her husband who were still selling them. When I asked the price, the lady hesitated. I could see she struggled internally with what was fair for both parties concerned. With dwindling products, customers were becoming sparser in the mercado, and clearly my wallet would bear a higher asking price.

She conferred with her husband, and they did quote a fair price within the context of what is normal, but was it in the middle of this crisis? I gave her a bill, for which she went to a neighboring vendor to seek change. When she returned and handed it to me, I gave back to her some of it, to the extent my own conscience felt it was now a fair exchange. She knew then that I saw and felt her plight. and I was rewarded with a big smile.

Of such interactions are real and solid bridges built. It is our direct human contact and commitment to change that will transform the world, and from the bottom up, not the other way around. We each can personally construct the bridges that build a better society, one bit of love, compassion, and understanding at a time.

We must all be committed to this, because we live in a world that’s in extreme flux. This crisis, and all the others like it brewing around the world, are not going away until we all take responsibility for solutions, and personally get in the game.

I Am Infinite

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Who am I? Genetics, environment, and experience, they have all helped to shape me. I was born into this life with a touch of auburn in my hair from Dad, and long piano playing fingers from Mom.

But father, why did you not give me the flaming locks that run in your Scottish family? Why just a whisper of red for me? I have a fire inside that rages, and a call to blaze a path in this world. My Maori friend calls me “Fire”. Perhaps it is so my flame is evident only to those with eyes that see deeper?

And mother, why was I born with your hands and no musical talent? It felt cruel. It was a source of frustration to me that I failed at piano lessons. Perhaps it was so I could learn to see in myself what is, rather than what is not?

One summer afternoon, the girl I was lay on her bed daydreaming. I left my body and up I rose until I floated among the stars, tethered to Earth by a slender silver thread. I felt infinity for the first time, and I realized that I was so much more than they were telling me.

I am the artist in France, learning to express my soul on canvas. In this present life, I recall those lessons easily. Painting is like breathing to me. That other self walks in Monet’s garden, and I yearn to again. A photo of the Seine in the fog makes my heart ache with longing. It is a happy life.

I am the Japanese geisha in love with a powerful man. He loves me, but we cannot be together. Even now, pink cherry blossoms in spring make my heart both sing and weep, all at the same time. The lesson? I love and I am loved. In the end, the love is all that is important.

Sometimes when I walk along the sidewalk, I recognize a piece of myself in a stranger’s eyes. How can I say what it is exactly? It is fleeting, but I see it, and I feel it.

When I pass a beggar on the street, I attach a blessing to the coin I give. In my mind I say, “I know you, and I feel your pain. I have been where you are. It is a lesson you are learning, and it will all be okay.”

There is so much of me flooding in from the world, sometimes I feel overwhelmed by it. So I wash the dishes or sweep the floor, ordinary tasks that ground me in the here and now.

But I can never deny to myself, or to the world, that which I know to be true: I am stardust. I am Infinite. I am part of it All.