Some answers...part 2

We live in a reactive world. Therefore, we have become reactive.  Our media does little to support our mental health.  We live in busy ness, anger, fear, and our perception that we have lost all control.  In reality, there is little we can control except ourselves and our reaction to all this mess.  It is hard, but we can do something to mitigate the situation.  We need to understand why we feel angry.  I personally feel angry when I am afraid.  If something is wrong, why can't I fix it?  If I am ignorant about something, I can't come to much of a conclusion about it.  The one thing I know for sure is that there are a few things I can do that will make a big difference, but they have to start with me.  I can take time to breathe.  So, morning, noon, and nite, I take time to just breathe.  I breathe in gratitude and I send out love and compassion on the out breath.  It doesn't take much time, but if I stick to my schedule, my days are pretty smooth.  I am asking you to do this with me, as we all know that collective work impacts all of us.  Turn off the T.V. Turn on seeing beauty in the small things.  One of my favorite songs says:  "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me."  It can, and will!

A question.....part 1

When we are balanced and content, when we have a good sense of ourselves, what is our world like?

Baseball......

It's not for the faint of heart!  I love baseball!  It is such a sport of nuances.  I love to watch for the signs.  I love to figure out what pitch will be sent next!  I love to see a team DO BETTER THAN ONE HIT IN AN ENTIRE GAME!  Mariners:  You have lots of talent!  You show us this occasionally, lately, but WT* is going on?  P L E A S E   figure this out!  You are putting an enormous strain on one of you best and long-time fans!  Hell, you are baffling us all!  I would like to go back to watching more than one inning!

???

If we are all one, and therefore all connected, why don't we start acting like it!?!

Is it balanced?

No, I am not talking about your checking account.  I am talking about your life.  Actually, I am talking about all our lives.  Yesterday, I started my day in a beautiful meditative state.  I was thinking about the beauty of the sun on a spider web.  It was glowing in the sun and moving just slightly in the morning breeze.  I was wondering how such a tiny being could make something so beautiful, and also aid him in his quest for food. Do spiders get in a hurry?  Do they get stressed out if their webs are not perfect.  Do they eat up other spiders who get in their way?  (well, actually some of them do.)  But you get the gist of what I am saying. I think most spiders just "spide."  It made me think, again, of what it means to be in the moment and just be, because that is really all we have, now.  It seems to me that we are at our best if we do that.  Then we create something beautiful for all.

I love Socrates!

He said: "Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune." 

An Observation

I got up early again this morning with the intention of continuing to pot the rest of my garden plants.  It is so nice and cool, and I have this wonderful nook in my kitchen filled with plants in windows.  What I have done so far, is to read, have some coffee, and meditate on a spider web glistening in the sun.  It feels so good just to breathe, and be.  The next thing I notice is some pieces of cactus plants a friend gave me over 10 years ago.  They are just pieces of plants, and I never bothered to transplant them.  I was getting ready to prune one piece that looked like it was dead.  On the end of it was a tiny little growth, green as can be, just hanging there.  I was thinking of how some things in life can make us feel like there is something dying in or on us.  Then I saw that a new piece of life can grow from it.  It made me smile!  Some of my best lessons come when I am just being present to what is.