After 57 years of nights beneath the moon and the clouds
to find myself old is hard
crows come looking for food at the altar
monks return with empty begging bowls
others work the waves for shrimp and clams
I swing a hoe in the mountains
when Solomon’s seal is gone there is still pine pollen
and one square inch free of care
~ Stonehouse
http://bookslibland.net/the-mountain-poems-of-stonehouse-english-and-chinese-edition-pdf/
Notice your triggers when they are acting up.
Stop being trigger happy.
And just love people for who they are, where they are right now.
Is that so hard?
During these times of Covid-19 and the fear it represents in the hearts and minds of people, we are separated, even more than we were before.
How do we put our good energy into the world?
Some of us have been home for awhile now due to layoffs. What do we do with our time?
I started sewing … masks. I rearranged my bedroom. I cleaned house, or at least ‘picked it up’. I changed my living room window treatment. I started going for joy rides and hikes in various parks that were/are open. I started praying again, in the forest.
All that is good.
I entered deep spaces in my mind that I thought I had already visited, but these spaces held additional blockages that needed attention, healing and clearing. Inner work is very good to do in these times.
How do we share the love we are working on increasing in our own hearts and minds?
We can:
1) Send note cards via USPS. It is amazing how rare it is that one receives a card these days. It is a nice surprise when you’re stuck at home with no visitors.
2) Smile and wave at those you encounter, whether you be passing another vehicle on the road, or in the grocery store … smile, show kindness.
3) Paint rocks with inspirational messages or pictures and leave them in various areas for people to find. The atm, the park, any stairs you may climb, and entrances or exits to buildings or flower pots. Anywhere people might find themselves stopping for a moment.
4) Have flowers delivered to a friend or family member … just because.
5) Share a meal with someone in need. Getting take-out? Purchase an extra meal and give it to the next person you see, who is hungry.
These are only five suggestions, but there could be many more. I welcome your thoughts and ideas to increase methods of growing happiness and care in this world, please add them in the comments section.
🙏🏻❤️
“I don’t know what to tell you.”
Is that the truth?
Often times when we say, “I don’t know what to tell you”, it means we are done talking about it, whatever it is.
Maybe it is a simple attempt at being sarcastic.
Perhaps it is true and we’ve been stumped, and honestly do not know what to say.
Usually though, we have plenty more to say about it, whatever it is.
Our response will depend on what our current perceptions are, which are used to generate our present “truth”.
Over time, this truth may shift, morphing into something that doesn’t even resemble the original truth.
As our bodies change from year to year, aging and become something different, so does our truth.
Just like a river will shift course should there be a log jam, experience will always cause the neural pathways to find new avenues of travel.
New ideas form, new relationships kindle, dwelling situations may shift or geographical location changes occur … all these add to perceptions, which form our current truths.
Conceivably, Opinions might be fluid, while not all Truths change.
Do you suppose both are flowing in time?
There once was a time in your very own planet’s history, long, long ago, when the earth was truly a paradise.
The diversity of life was as mind-boggling as it was spectacular.
Flowers sprang up in impossible places. Birds and their songs filled the air over every continent. Snow, fog, showers, or sunshine added sometimes shocking and unexpected beauty to every setting.
Animals were loved as family members. And complete strangers smiled and waved to one another, as it was everyone’s natural instinct to be kind, to give, and to love.
Yeah, very little has changed.
See the good,
~ The Universe
Every ailment is a gift, an opportunity, an invitation…
Thoughts become things… choose the good ones! ® © www.tut.com ®
I read recently that while taking a bath it is good to set an intention for healing.
As I soaked, I began thinking of life and the habits we create after, or during, a specific life experience.
Later, we may determine that these habits, these habitual ways of being, are not serving our highest potential any longer. Maybe they are causing issues in a current relationship, or circumstance.
So, we shed them, much like a snake sheds their skin.
Shedding these habits, or mind sets, does not lead to death, although it can feel like it at times.
No, like the snake, it is a period of growth … outgrowing certain traits … and periods of rebirth … replacing old forms with new ways of being and thinking.
I lay stretched in the tub. I flex my spine against the bottom of the tub, and I inch my way up into a sitting position, moving the spine as a snake does.
And I wonder …
Who am I?
What am I?
I’ve been thinking lately about life and relationship.
When I was young, one of my favorite things was to watch people …. or “people watch”. I stopped doing that in my mid-twenties, when I began a certain relationship.
Now, thirty years later, I am beginning to think I’ve turned into a jaded old lady! Who, in current scenarios, has not really given men a fair shake.
I vow to take on some activities, where I can observe men, being men. I want to fall in love with them all over again.
As I shed my pain from past failed relationship, I open myself to loving once more, those who I have unfairly dropped blame.
This is only a beginning. It is not a request for attention or relationship. It is an acknowledgement, that I have been harboring resentment that may have poisoned further opportunities for love.
The journey begins … of further release.
Pain, anger, resentment ….. these have no value, for that which holds value.
May the release be swift.
May my appreciation for the masculine be rebirthed with vigor, in a sacred way.
May admiration, for all of them in their various forms and activity, grow in my heart.
May all things emanating from my person, be pure, healthy and loving.
And so it is. 🙏🏻
Left the house to experience the wind once more, blowing everything in the car around, windows down.
I stopped at a little shack selling clam chowder and fish and chips. Purchased and ate a piece of fish and a few chips.
A fellow came by as I sat there. He walked to the man at the window, and then walked away, empty handed. He looked real down. I asked him if he was hungry. He said yes, so I gave him the remaining three pieces of fish with the chips. He looked very emotional and I watched as he walked to his room at the hotel nearby. I felt for him in that moment and hope he finds what he needs.
If we have extra, let us remember to share. Share with whoever happens to be there at the time, for this is our opportunity to do so. Regardless of appearance … share.
I drove along, for miles and miles, I came upon a pretty remote area, not a soul around.
I rested there awhile, munching on sunflower seeds. Here is a video of the place.
As I sat there, I thought about tools needed to tend garden, and supplies needed to preserve foods. I thought about a modest cabin with basic necessities. The simpler the better.
I wandered around taking pictures and then set up my chair in the sun.
Heading back toward town, I stopped to take more pictures.
That is the end of the joy ride, but much happened I did not capture.
I stopped along a rural road and stand. Bought fresh eggs, apples, red potatoes, cauliflower and honey.
I drove into a the nearest rural town and then out again, stopping at a roadside building selling more fruits and vegis. Bought watermelon, asparagus, a mango, and avocados.
It felt good to support the farmers, who are having difficulty getting their supplies to the city. I’m going to look for them every time I go for a nice drive and purchase from them if I am able.
My appreciation is growing during these days of separation from each other. For nature, for the work that men and women do, in all of the various ways work is done, for the benefit of the whole.
I’ve been dwelling on the inner stuff a lot. I understand better now, that I have been projecting and blaming for my inner pains. (And to think I thought I was done with all that inner work!) And so I have begun asking for help to relieve the pain so I do not project it into the world … praying, if you will. Whatever that looks like. Pretty sure it isn’t a wrong way, in private, with nature.
Nature helps me in many ways.
Connecting to benevolence seems to be easier here.
Where the trees cleanse and recycle my breath. Where the waters churn and provide oxygen to the things within, and those outside of itself. This delicate balance, consistently shared, constantly offered to life.
Home now, having eaten my corn and red potatoes, I relax and think on the day. I consider topping off the experience with a nice magnesium bath in some scented water … and so I’m off, until next time.
Below picture is not me …
Do not be deceived. Be watchful and mindful of the illusions others weave around themselves, and that you may weave around yourself. Know the night. Understand the shadows. See though the darkness to the light of the truth. Pay attention to contradictions. Notice when action and words are not in harmony. Hone your intuition and insight so that you may know the minds and hearts of those around you – and yourself – and trust in the wisdom born of that awareness.
We are often sent small signs in the form of synchronicities and coincidences. Be watchful. Do not overlook them in the everyday rush of life. Words, numbers, and symbols that repeat, animals and birds that appear on your path, people who come in and out of your life at odd or similar moments, and those flashes of knowing when you believe something will happen with every fiber of your being – these are all things you are meant to see and hear; messages from Gaia and Great Spirit sent to aid your journey.
When you were born, your soul shone bright. As you grew, you were taught of right and wrong. You were taught how to think, how to live, how to believe in a way that makes you fearful to say no. To disagree is to risk alienation from family and society, and so you hide your true thoughts and feelings behind a mask. That mask hides your light. Cast it aside. Embrace and live your truth, and let your soul shine once more.
opensenseme 