Tag Archives: wellness

Of What We are Made

We are living in times of revelation. When I look back at the big picture of the past two years, I am struck by self-serving agendas and unabashed profit-making as the collective global population was made to feel so fearful. Now just as that threat seems to be easing, we are faced with the possibility of nuclear war.

We look at our leaders in wonderment, that a person or people who supposedly have our best interests at heart might push a button(s) that could kill millions, or maybe even billions on the planet. Maybe the button will be pushed, and maybe it won’t. Right now we live with that uncertainty, and the knowledge that innocent lives are already being destroyed.

What is certain is that the chess game being played by world leaders is, as I speak, causing untold damage to the future welfare of humanity. As only one example, if the sanctions continue, it will have a devastating effect on an already fragile and inadequate world food supply. We face mass starvation if this craziness continues.

After they have wrought whatever damage they deem necessary to accomplish their own agendas, we will be left to clean up the messes of the ones we put in charge. There will need to be a complete re-evaluation of what life means. The things we thought were important will fall away, as we try to figure out how to build a better civilization.

The question then will not be what any of us can do to be a “success” within the old definition of a crumbled society. (In Western society, that too often means material accumulation.) Rather, the question will be what each of us can contribute to heal and rebuild our world, and make it a place we would feel good about passing on to our children and grandchildren.

We can no longer afford to leave our futures in the hands of these others. Ultimately we have to claim, and then dig in and build, the world we want. In the doing of that, we will discover of what we are really made.

This is the wake up call humanity has been waiting for, and I predict that we will astound ourselves!

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. In the past two years it seems that there has been a rise in bullying, shaming and coercing others psychologically. Where is the grace?

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.

Cherish Life

Unraveled

Remember What’s Real

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Walk into this beautiful scene, just for a moment.
Feel the warm sun drenching your body.
Breathe deeply the sweet smell of green on the soft breeze.
Hear the gently trickling, soothing water.
Relax your muscles, and your mind. Go to that place in yourself, that soul center that is wild, free, and unencumbered by the constraints of this 3-dimensional world.
Remember the essence of you…

In indigenous cultures, the elders of the community are highly respected for their life-long accumulated knowledge. They are teachers in the community, and particularly of the children, so that the ways and tradition of reverence for the land will not be forgotten. Perhaps if we were to acknowledge indigenous wisdom more, we would be better able to solve our problems related to Earth and our natural environment.

After all, how can we solve these problems when we are feeling so separated from the land itself? I do not believe that corporations largely have the sort of caring that would lead towards a healing of Earth, or us, for that matter. At a grassroots level, we must take personal responsibility for ourselves and our Earth.

“In order for the land to take care of us, we must take care of the land.” There are many interesting videos to watch on this site: Wisdom of the Elders, Inc.

Inspirational Quotes:

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature, the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” ~ Rachel Carson

“Not just beautiful, though – the stars are like the trees in the forest, alive and breathing. And they’re watching me.” ~ Haruki Murakami

“and when all the wars are over, a butterfly will still be beautiful.” ~ Ruskin Bond