Tag Archives: nature

State of Grace

There are several definitions of grace, an obvious one being elegance or refinement in the physical state, particularly in movement. The woman in the picture (for me) personifies a certain physical grace. Her eyes are closed, seemingly in meditation, and I can easily imagine she might also fit another definition of grace. That is, “courteous goodwill.”

Courteous goodwill. This state of grace seems to be sadly falling by the wayside, as various factions in society bicker, squabble, and attack each other. It’s fine to have another point of view, but sometimes the behavior reminds me of children when they don’t get their way. There is also quite a lot of outright bullying going on, shaming and coercing others psychologically. Where is the grace in that?

Those who bully others to get their way are not service to others, even though they may use narrative to paint themselves as such. They are service to self. They simply want the world to be “their way”, because they believe they have all the answers. Well, in a world of 8 billion people, how can that be true? There are many viewpoints on this planet.

A state of grace comes from a place of allowance, that others might have another way of being. It also is rooted in a true caring about other people. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, grace flows from love. Achieving a state of grace in one’s self moves us to a real place of service to others.

Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Create, not Hate

We cannot always choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we react to them. We are witnessing an anger being expressed perhaps unprecedented globally. As the events external to us unfold, we are coming face-to-face with the shadow aspect of ourselves as individuals.

It is natural to have negative reactions to that which affects us and we do not agree with it. But, when we choose to hang on to those negative emotions, fanning the flame as it were, then we are doing harm not only to the external world, but also to ourselves. No one can “make us” feel anything. We are the autonomous ruler of our own thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

In any circumstance, if we choose to hate, then we must own the hate. It is never anyone else’s fault when we express our shadow or dark side. It is solely our own responsibility. This is a theme I see being played out in so many ways right now. Some people seem to be unable to take personal responsibility for themselves and their own actions.

Let’s choose Creation, not destruction. I fervently hope that we do not have to see ongoing, excessive hatred expressed and tearing the world to shreds, before people wake up and realize that humanity is walking a road with a forked tongue. The two forks in the road will become increasingly divergent, if we let it go that way.

Let’s work together so that the serpent does not win.

Inspirational Quotes:

“Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.” ~ Maya Angelou

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

“I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

“All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate…I choose love.” ~ Johnny Cash

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!” ~ Bob Marley

The Great Escape

What would you like the world to look like in future? Do you give much thought to that? It is important to observe carefully the societal trends we see developing right now. Those are going to dramatically change the landscape, and very quickly too.

John Muir (1838-1914), an influential Scottish-American naturalist, whose letters, essays, and books have been read by millions wrote:

“I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news.” ~ John Muir

If John Muir was weary of being a “money making machine” and dreaming of escaping from society in the late 1800’s, I wonder what he would be feeling today? It amazes me, really, how much the landscape of society has changed in just one hundred years. I wonder, what it will look like in another hundred?

The current changes hook into so many aspects of our lives, it is hard to know where to start in the analysis. However, there are key themes that reside at the very root of the welfare of our souls, such as integrity, freedom, fulfillment, love, happiness, connectedness to each other and the Earth. These are just some examples. What other ones can you identify as important?

If ever there was a time for you to become more observant and to use your critical thinking skills, it is right now. This is no time for complacency or taking things for granted. The very future of our world rests in our own minds, hearts, and hands.

Photo courtesy Frederico Erthal, Pexels

Your Sacred, Sane Place

Technology does not only offer us speed and a wide array of information. It also gives us distraction, noise, and confusion.

Do you have a place where you can go daily to claim a quiet interlude, far away from the fray and anger of the world? Our modern world is always a noisy place, but someone turned up the volume full blast on us at the beginning of 2020. When you add it onto the discouragement and loss around the COVID scenario, mentally and emotionally it can feel like just too much some days.

People often equate the word sacred with church, but have you considered, finding the sacred has to begin with your own internal landscape? If you do not honor the sacred within you, if you do not recognize that you are to be honored first and foremost, sooner or later you will have nothing left to give to anyone else.

If you have not already done so, establish a sacred place where you can find some quiet and cultivate peace within yourself. where you can start to hear your own voice again. A little piece of nature may be a very good start.

As the famous nature enthusiast and writer John Muir said, “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”

“Your sacred place is where you can find yourself, over and over again. ~ Joseph Campbell

Photo courtesy Stijn Dijkstra, Pexels

Begin with Love

Love is the fundamental center of our universe. Hate and fear try to worm their way in and take over, time and time again. Experience says that when they do, the best of the human spirit tends to rise up and say “no”.

Do you desire to build a better world right now? Make a personal pledge to always begin from a place of love and the results will astonish you. The dark has no real tools to defeat love. Loving yourself enough not to hook into your own dark side is a very strong beginning. When we succumb to our own dark thoughts, we are letting the controllers of this world divide and beat us.

Inspirational Love Quotes:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”
~ William Shakespeare

“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
~ Paulo Coelho

“Where there is love there is life.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.”
~ Zelda Fitzgerald

“If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
~ John Lennon

“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and can accomplish much. and what is done in love is done well.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Photo of Van Gogh’s “A Wheatfield with Cyrpresses”