Tag Archives: nature

Light vs Dark

The classic battle between light and dark is being played out right before our eyes. Remember all those movies where you were cheering for the hero(es) to win and for goodness to prevail?

In our current reality, sometimes it is difficult to know who is on the side of the light. There are many forces at play and there is a lot of double talk that makes it confusing.

Now is the time to use your own power of discernment. Look for the signs and the clues to find the truth. Listen to your gut. This is an essential spiritual guiding thought: Something that truly has your best interests at heart does not want to control you. Control is rooted in dark energy. Energy of the light does not try to dominate and diminish. Light desires expansion, growth, and enlightenment, fulfilling its infinite potentiality.

Now, who has the best interest of you and the rest of humanity at heart?

Inspirational Quotes:

“Becoming fearless isn’t the point. That’s impossible. It’s learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.” ~ Veronica Roth

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

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” ~ Maya Angelou

“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

“Remember this: Nothing is written in the stars. Not these stars, nor any others. No one controls your destiny.” ~ Gregory Maguire

“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.” ~ Ralph Ellison

“From the backstabbing co-worker to the meddling sister-in-law, you are in charge of how you react to the people and events in your life. You can either give negativity power over your life or you can choose happiness instead. Take control and choose to focus on what is important in your life. Those who cannot live fully often become destroyers of life.” ~ Anais Nin

The Root of It

No important problem or lesson is ever going to be solved with a bandage approach. That is, salving or treating the surface symptoms of our dissatisfaction or unhappiness. We may feel relief temporarily, but sooner or later we must dig to the very root of any problem to achieve a lasting solution.

This requires some honesty and introspection, and sometimes we just don’t want to face it. We also live in a time where distraction is massively prevalent. We are encouraged to salve our unhappiness with new material toys.

There are good roots and destructive roots within each of us. The trick is to build on the good ones, and heal the ones that keep causing us to hurt our own potential and happiness. We owe it to ourselves to reach for our happiness, but at the end of the day, it’s up to each of us to achieve it. No one is going to hand it to us on a silver platter.

On a larger scale, this idea also applies to our societies. Around the world we are witnessing massive collective dissatisfaction with the way things are being run by our leaders. I see people still falling back on the typical duality A or B thinking to find a solution. “If the usual A isn’t working, then the usual B must be the answer.” It’s the pendulum of history.

But, stop! Are we really examining the cause of the disease? That is where the clues to our growth are to be found. The real answers always lie at the root of the matter.

Inspirational Quotes:

“I do believe in simplicity. It is astonishing as well as sad, how many trivial affairs even the wisest thinks he must attend to in a day; how singular an affair he thinks he must omit. When the mathematician would solve a difficult problem, he first frees the equation of all encumbrances, and reduces it to its simplest terms. So simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the earth to see where your main roots run. ” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If you do not like a certain behavior in others, look within yourself to find the roots of what discomforts you.” ~ Bryant McGill

State of Grace

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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