Sunrise/Sunset

Yesterday, I was up and out the door by 6 AM.  I got to see the sunrise.  It is always a treat for me to watch the sun come up, as the light gently warms the sky. The interesting thing was watching the sunset on the same day.

While watching the sunset on a beautiful day spent outdoors,  I began wondering, "What are we doing, we human beings, to our planet?" We get so involved in all our dramas of survival, making money, spending money, arguing of what is the best diet, exercise program, religion, politics, laws, leaders good and evil, right and wrong, domination and avoidance and on and on.  When I really get present to it all I get dizzy, and slightly confused.  There is no way to make it stop, or ignore it. 

Then I began thinking, "Wait, what am I doing?"  Or more importantly, "What can I do, what could I do to support our world?"  Rather than getting on some soapbox and declare  some one way as the right way, what if I just looked inside my heart and asked myself, what can I do each day to be true  to myself and support our planet? 

I would love to tell you I have an answer, but I do not.  The powerful thing is I have begun to ask the question in such a way that a path will be shown to me, of that I have no worries.  I choose to live a life of embracing change, embracing profound love and take it one step at a time.  Sounds simple?  I know it is not.  It will challenge my old values, static ideas and old notions of reality.  It's slightly confronting to look from here.  Just a little transformational, in that I feel like I am walking during an earthquake, with no sure footing, but with a lot of inner peace.

Creative Universe

While walking with my dogs the other day, I paused to look at the beautiful rose garden of one of my neighbors.  (No, not the one pictured in the photo)  I was struck by the diversity and creativity of our world.  Nature has such abundance of life forms, from the simple to the complex.  It is designed to work together, collaborating on a basic level of cooperation.  I was in awe and wondered how I can be of service to our world during this challenging time of dramatic change.

Phoenix Rising

This is a picture from last nights aurora borealis light show.  It has been lovingly refereed to as "The Phoenix".

The phoenix is a mythical creature that rises from it's own ashes.  A remarkable story of rebirth from the ashes of destruction.  The wizard Dumbledore from the Harry Potter books had a phoenix as his familiar. 

It reminds me of the white buffalo that was born in the early 90's in Northern Minnesota.  Many of the Native American tribes said it was a good omen of prosperity and regeneration for the tribes.  Maybe this is our sign of renewal and prosperous times ahead.

Being Yourself

 The book, and ultimately the move, of "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a multilayered  gem of human experience.

There is the wonderfully diametrically opposed relationships of fathers daughters with the gentle mentor relationship between Atticus and Scout, and  the dominating and abusive father daughter relationship of Tom and Mayella Ewell. 

 The juxtaposition of society of the times being exposed for all it's blatant inequities and injustices.  Each time I view the movie or read a small passage of the book,I open myself to compassion for what it takes to be true to yourself regardless of the norms of society. 

Integrity, and sense of conscious and the idea that the way you behaved whether people saw you or not is central to becoming yourself. 

It is a great piece of work and a helpful guide to being yourself.

Saving the World, or Us

"No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved! You know, for a little bit? I feel like the maid; I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for... for ten minutes" Mr. Incredible

I love the movie The Incredibles.  Very fun and funny, in such a compelling way.  I laughed out loud with a chuckle of recognition in Mr. Incredible saying "I just want it to stay saved." 

That's a little bit like my relationship with me and wanting to keep it together.  I just want to finally once and for all get my stuff in order, ya know?  Get my workouts effective once and for all, meditate enough I will then gain clarity once and for all, get my posture perfect, or money handled once and for all.  And the list goes on and on. 

However, it doesn't work that way.  The essence of life is is changeability and challenges, just when we thought our money was handled, stocks go down, or someone is laid off, just when we get into a rhythm in our jogging, our knees blow out.  The attempt to make life static can get us in muddy waters. 

The world ain't going to be saved, so we can stop trying to get it to tow the line and be perfect.  Neither are we going to be perfect, so we can relax and breathe.  We can practice mercy, compassion and joy at our foibles, inconsistencies, and downright stubbornness. 

In the times when I pressed, I stop and breathe.

Self-Discipline

I noticed yesterday, I have a nasty relationship with self-discipline.  It's all about how wrong I am, and how weak, or inconsistent or lazy.  Wow, things I would never say to a friend, I seem to take a privilege in saying to myself.

Maybe it's time to reinvent my thoughts on self-discipline and follow through.  Maybe I can realize that we all struggle with self-discipline and follow through, it's just the particular subject that changes.  Some of us are very disciplined in what we eat, or recycling, or paying bills on time, or keeping a lid on impulse shopping.  But we stumble on having patience in traffic, or we are judgemental with our family, or we gossip.  "Oh, I did it again"  we all seem to say. 

I hope to discover a new way to support myself when I stumble and fail, when I eat the candy too quickly, or get angry.  I hope in those moments to learn to show myself a little mercy, and extend compassion to all of us that get trapped in the vicious circle of emotions:  judgement, lashing out, regret and guilt.  Maybe it's time for a new circle.

Laugh

I was blessed with a father that taught me to laugh at myself.  I am blessed with a brother that keeps that tradition alive in our family. 

And I was blessed with a family that did wild and silly things.  Most times these things were unintentional and well-meaning, like my spinster Aunt who was the original re-gifter and gave my cousin (18 at the time) with beautiful raven colered hair her old grey wiglet for Christmas one year.  I got the box of Hickory Farms cheese and salami package but with the cheese and salami gone, cause she liked that stuff, so she left me the nuts and fruitcake.

Sometimes they were intentional, like the time my Uncle put a letter "I" over the "A" in the road signs "Do Not Pass" along the highway in our town.  Or my other Uncle who was the biggest football bookie in the Midwest in the 70's, who was finally caught and sent to jail, and his reply was, "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

It pays to have a good sense of humor.  Not only in the good times but in the tough times.  We are in tough times.  Lets keep laughing, particularly at ourselves.