Nurturing Compassion

A Road Less Travelled - No Speedsters and Dust Here

Be kind and forgiving to everything and everyone, including yourself, at all times without exception. Dr. David R. Hawkins (Power vs. Force)

One morning earlier this week as I sat by a warming fire in the pre-dawn quiet, a single word eased into my awareness:  compassion.

Wondering if Muse was aiming for an early start on the blog, I was curious that nothing framed the word. No question. No thought about it. No instruction or idea that I ‘should’ feel compassion for someone or something. Simply the word, compassion.

As I sat with the word for a bit, I began to wonder how compassion feels in the body. Putting attention on my heart, I began to imagine each breath coming from my heart. I frequently practice this heart coherence breathing, summoning feelings of gratitude, appreciation, care, each of which generate their own sense of peace, calm, and inner warmth.

Mind (‘not to be confused with me’, chimes in Muse) said ‘surely compassion should feel like these.’ But no feeling came. Nothing good or bad. Just emptiness, an opening for discovery.

On our morning walk a short while later, I was (‘yet again!’ chimes in Muse once more) triggered by someone speeding along the dirt road, kicking up clouds of dust. Guiding Zadie Byrd and myself off the road, I released my automatic outburst – a ‘what’s your rush? snarl’, then admonished myself for not being more patient. Done with that, we continued our walk, my attention on Zadie Byrd and the morning’s exquisite autumn beauty.

But awareness of my habitual reaction didn’t fade as such incidents usually do. Perhaps ‘compassion’ had something to say… (‘Ya think?’ says Muse whose humor is in high gear today.)

‘Just what is compassion?’, I wondered settling in to explore. Merriam-Webster tells me that compassion is sympathetic consciousness (awareness) of others’ distress with a desire to alleviate it (“Compassion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compassion.).

Exploring further I learned that compassion is a 14th century word that shares some of its etymology with the word ‘patient’. Hmmm…patience as an element of compassion. ‘Now we’re getting to it,’ Muse suggests: a path to nurturing compassion, to inviting her to live more fully in and express through me.

Compassion beyond the shared sense of concern for a friend’s health or wellbeing. Compassion beyond the care that comes forth when someone close is grieving a loss. Compassion beyond caring for those in the path of war, violence, poverty, and social injustice. These are the places we are likely to feel compassion even when we don’t see the ‘how’ of alleviating the distress we witness. Compassion that flows so naturally that perhaps I take it for granted, assuming that I truly know enough to care.

As I write this, I feel the superficiality that may sometimes rest in my so-called compassion. I’m challenged to look beyond, to explore compassion (or its absence) in those domains where I find myself annoyed, impatient. Compassion for those with whom I disagree. How can compassion coexist with our differences? How does judgement get in the way of true compassion?

For isn’t this the ultimate nature of Oneness, of living in the nonduality that is the true nature of our Being? Of the Universe? And wouldn’t living in and from THAT reality generate the kind of world we would choose to live in?

Like gratitude and other higher states of being, compassion strengthens from nurturing over time with the practice of principles such as this suggested by Dr. David R. Hawkins in his seminal book Power vs. Force:

Be kind and forgiving to everything and everyone, including yourself, at all times without exception.

Thinking back to the speeding motorist and other ‘annoyances’, I’m reminded of these words from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama:

A truly compassionate attitude toward others does not change even if they behave negatively or hurt you.

As I prepare for an afternoon walk, I’m guessing that I’ll have the opportunity to practice calling forth a truly compassionate attitude.

Webs of Life in the Woods Out Back

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Hazy evening in the Sangres

Peace cannot be achieved by violence, it can only be attained through understanding. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here we are one day beyond the mid-point of the 64 days in the Season for Nonviolence. The muse is curious that I’ve stayed with a theme and carried it forward each week, a different experience in these weekly musings, starting from a not quite blank slate.

The themes this week led me to wonder if there is a point beyond which too much of a good thing becomes an obstacle. And, if so, what is that point?

Take patience, one of this week’s themes, for example. Do I want to be patient with injustice? With inequality? Poverty? Hunger? Degradation of the environment?  Can we take patience too far?  Perhaps patience has a pivot point: being patient with self, with others, and the process while not allowing that patience to become indifference or giving up. That point we must each determine for ourselves. No wonder Pema Chodron’s words ring true: Patience is not learned in safety.

The week’s other themes included generosity, listening, forgiveness, making amends, conflict resolution, and acknowledgment/appreciation.  Is there a point beyond which too much might get in the way of creating a nonviolent culture?

Acknowledgement seems an especially important ingredient for nonviolence given our current political culture and the violence that occurred as a result of the failure of a candidate for president to acknowledge defeat. From my perspective (and I acknowledge that some will disagree), this lack of acknowledgement reinforces the wedge that perpetuates our ‘us vs. them’ political and social culture.

But admitting the reality of something is only one aspect of acknowledgement. Recognition and appreciation are equally important. What if we would recognize the good in another’s point of view or in their way of being? What if we would recognize and appreciate the fear that many have toward others who are different?  What do I need to acknowledge that will contribute to nonviolence? Who/what do I need to recognize and appreciate?

Our capacity to acknowledge and appreciate grows from generosity in our listening, in being willing to forgive and make amends and in our willingness to engage in resolving our differences using nonviolent approaches.

In reflecting daily on these themes, I continue to be reminded that the journey of nonviolence starts within. Perhaps that factor is the root of our challenge to create a culture of nonviolence. We have yet to reach the point where our collective will pivots toward nonviolence and peace. While the journey starts within, it ripples beyond to the village required. How I contribute to that pivot today?

Nonviolence in the Woods Out Back

Patience and Rumi Wisdom for This Day

Labyrinth in the Morning Light

What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle. Rumi 

These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them. Rumi

Before this day, the morning after election day here in the U.S., dawned I woke thinking about patience: the need to be patient as all votes are counted, the need to be patient with uncertainty, the need to be patient with myself and the swirls of thoughts and feelings, the need to be patient with each other … each and every ‘other’.

As I waited for the darkness outside to lighten so that I could venture out to walk the labyrinth in the woods outback, I was drawn to Rumi. What did he have to say about patience?

Patience is not sitting and waiting, it is foreseeing. It is looking at the thorn and seeing the rose, looking at the night and seeing the day. Lovers are patient and know that the moon needs time to become full.

This day I find it difficult to see the ‘rose’ amid the thorn. Indeed, thorns seem to outnumber roses. I have no doubt that soon the sun will rise, but how will I light my day in what feels a dark time? How will I pivot to my deep knowing that the Universe is unfolding in divine perfect order, despite and interpretations I may have to the contrary?

I take my swirl to the labyrinth. Coyote, the wise jokester, howls in the distance. I chuckle wondering just what he may know that I haven’t yet discovered. I walk slowly toward the center, hand on my heavy heart, asking that heart to be open and to light the path ahead. Reaching the center, I thank the four directions, Mother Earth, the sky and all above. I begin the slow walk out, the heaviness of my load lightened just a bit.

Questions begin to form: How will I stay present to the perfection of this time and of however events unfold in the days ahead? How will I invite the darkness to inform me, to be my candle? What are the messages of the pain I feel? Of the pain I see in others? How will I remember to make choices from a loving heart and from understanding that this time is just a blip on the infinite timeline of existence? How do I live the truth that every blip matters to my/to our evolution, learning, and growth?

‘This’ time, these events, my swirls of thoughts and feelings matter. My sadness, my anger, my worry each matter. So do my love, my compassion and my patience. My curiosity matters. My care matters. My gratitude matters. My thoughtfulness matters. My questions about how to be and how to participate matter. Yours too. All our swirls of thoughts and feelings matter as does how we BE with them and what we DO in response to the world that we are in and the world that we are co-creating with each (and every) other and with Source.

I’m at peace with having more questions than answers in this moment. I don’t know how a collective pivot toward love (click here if you missed last week’s post) might unfold. I’m curious about how to create economic systems and systems of governance that work for all. I’m curious how I will navigate the coming days and beyond and what may emerge in this space in the weeks ahead. And, yes, I’m curious about who will win the Presidential election and how that result will be met with each of us.

Sunset on Election Day

Patience With Life

Right Place. Right Time. Beauty IS the Morning!

Let me understand You as the Source of Abundance that allows me to remind myself to be patient with life. Nature does not produce the flower before the roots have taken hold. As I recognize that the place I am in is the right place at the right time, it will always be the right place at the right time. Gregge Tiffen (excerpt from a Letter to God in The Power of Giving Thanks, November, 2007)

Ah 'patience', the learning in life that so often we bemoan. Yet it is patience that puts us in 'the right place at the right time', doing so consistently, I believe, if we look honestly at life.

Of course this does not mean that we never encounter problems, breakdowns and situations that at the time they occur are upsetting and just seem wrong. We want them solved, fixed, eliminated and for things to return to 'normal' post-haste. Often we dive into finding a solution, without giving the situation its due. We don't consistently take time to ask: what is this about for me? What is the opportunity, the gift if you will, of this event? Heck, we may even beseech God to 'hurry up and take care of it'.

Over the last several weeks, I've found myself missing the physical presence of my canine companion, Cool Hand Luke Skywalker, who transitioned out of his earthly body in August. I miss seeing him on the trail when I walk. I miss feeding him, playing tug, and giving belly rubs.

An easy 'solution' of course is to adopt another canine. After all, there are plenty of dogs in need, waiting in shelters and elsewhere for a new, hopefully forever, home. I've started down that path a couple times since Luke's passing. Through a friend, I met a sweet dog whose human needed to find a new home for her. I wasn't ready. Then I visited the shelter where I first met Luke nine years ago. Nope. Not time.

I've found it challenging to acknowledge that I wasn't ready. After all, it's just a dog – NOT. It's a commitment, a partnership. That, and a number of other stories in my head pointed me to my impatience with myself (I should be ready!) and with life (The right new canine should have shown up by now.). Patient? I was not!

Gregge's Letter to God provided just the tonic I needed to remind me that right now, in this moment, without a canine breathing at my side, I am right where I need to be. There are roots that need a bit more growth before I'm ready to bloom again into the human I want to be for the next canine companion. And, there is Gregge's reminder that when that time comes, I'll be in the right place, at the right time to receive. If Luke taught me anything, for sure he taught me that!

So, this week I invite you to spend a little time quietly reflecting on any situation that has you flummoxed or feeling that you are out of step or out of place. Discover how that can't be true and how your position is just right for you in this moment. Now, what's your next move?

Did I mention ‘It’s a Beautiful Morning!’?

Knowing

Broken …

‘Knowing’ – This piece is about trusting, trusting that you can find peace within the storm. Deana Fisher Wilfong

…completion. An aspect of knowledge is now a part of you to such an extent that nothing can diminish it or be added to it. … Completion is the natural progression of the planet established out of the characteristics of the planet. Gregge Tiffen, The Language of a Mystic: Completion – September, 2009

Nine years or so ago, I purchased a beautiful sculpture at a local charity fundraiser. I’d come to know the artist shortly after moving here and often admired her work in our local cooperative artisans gallery. I fantasized that when I ‘won the lottery’ I’d purchase a Wilfong sculpture.

I didn’t win the lottery, but the stars aligned the evening of the fundraiser and ‘Knowing’ came home with me. She was beautiful in so many ways: sensuous yet strong, soft yet rugged, a bit sassy, mystical, perfectly imperfect in reflecting a deep sense of ‘Knowing’. The artist’s statement of the piece’s meaning spoke deeply to me, a reflection of my soul’s conviction about trust.

And, Wilfong’s description of the firing process (15 days in the beauty of the New Mexico desert, including 7 days  in a kiln reaching 2419 degrees Fahrenheit with constant attention), the teamwork and trust required enhanced my sense of the deeper meaning as I contemplated the sculpture from time to time. Noticing her in my home always reminded me to trust.

One evening several years later in the midst of some excited human and canine play, ‘Knowing’ toppled to the floor, breaking into three pieces, a few small shards and a bit of dust.  I don’t recall, but I probably cried.

Broken …

I packed her away in a box. I had no idea of what to do, yet I was committed to saving her from the landfill.

Months later I mustered the courage to tell the artist what had happened. She assured me that repair was possible and that she’d even help. We didn’t make that happen right away, and, after a while, ‘Knowing’s’ repair slipped from my awareness as I moved, settled in a new home, and engaged in life. Several years passed.

Then, one day last year I pulled the box off the shelf and contemplated bringing ‘Knowing’ back to life. The artist instructed me on the materials needed and encouraged me to do the repair solo. “Don’t try to hide the repair,” she said, even suggesting that I might paint the seams gold.

Over the next several months, stretching into a year, I started the process several times, testing the material, yet not feeling quite ready. Sometimes a life event came along that took my attention away. But I didn’t pack ‘Knowing’ away. Her pieces lay patiently in full sight on a shelf in my office.

Finally, a few weeks back, I knew it was time. I was ready. I prepared the repair mixture and put the two larger pieces together. They didn’t look or feel right. And, they weren’t staying together. Hmm … Life is like that, we finally dive in to make things right, then something doesn’t quite fit. I realized that I’d started late in the day. The lighting was poor, and I was more tired than focused. I cleaned the pieces and decided to start fresh the next morning with fresh material and better light.

As I worked, I thought about events in life that sometimes seem to break us. Resilient beings that we are, we put the pieces together and begin anew. We carry those life experiences in our cells. They are a part of us.

With that insight, I decided not to paint the repair seam gold. I liked how the new material blended with the original and thought the seam would be the perfect place to use the small shards and ceramic dust. ‘Knowing’ now carries them with her.

I waited a few days to repeat the process, this time, to attach the head. Smaller and more intricate, I found myself wanting to hide the repair. But, ‘Knowing’ would have none of that. She was delighted to be coming back, a reminder of the beauty in bouncing back from life’s curve balls. She guided me to make the seam thick, like an adorning necklace, and to add something new. A small shard of flint, found by a friend on a recent hike and beautifully matching ‘Knowing’s’ color palette, was perfect.

At long last, I embraced the sweet satisfaction of successful completion and acknowledged the learning that had come along the way. Through our journey to completion, ‘Knowing’ reminded me that every event in life adds to our knowledge. While, as Gregge Tiffen suggests, that knowledge cannot be diminished nor taken away, it is up to each of us to tap into it, use it, and keep that knowledge in our awareness.

Indeed, the completion we experience sets the stage for another cycle in the natural progression of life. Onward!

‘Knowing’

Of Pests, Painting, Patience, and Peace

'Patience Coach', Cool Hand Luke Skywalker watches over Mom as she prepares to paint.

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. … We cannot overcome anger and hatred simply by suppressing them. We need to actively cultivate the antidotes: patience and tolerance.  Dalai Lama

The more we practice patience, the greater our experience of the peace that follows.

So, remember the ants [click here if you missed last week’s post -- http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/the-open-door-of-missed-opportunity]?

They’re still here. Despite negotiations, pleading, and non-lethal ‘strong arm tactics’ (they don’t like peppermint) to force them to relocate, the mound is still active. They no longer have trails toward the house. Perhaps that’s a sign that their activity is focused on moving (hopefully far away). 

But alas, another pest has surfaced here at home.  I discovered evidence of a mouse in the house this week. Respectful of the hantavirus mice carry and its presence in our valley, I reluctantly set traps. Not the catch and release variety.

Pesky pests. I struggle knowing that any violence I perpetrate against myself or another living creature contributes to the culture of cruelty and violence on the planet. And, these days that culture needs no additional contributions.

As atrocious acts of violence and cruelty are being ordered and carried out right here in the United States and around the globe, the main course that’s needed is patience and peace. To that menu we need to add generous sides of understanding, compassion, kindness, and love.

I wonder: if I can’t be patient and co-exist with pesky pests, how can I expect others to make peace with those whose differences surfaces fear that can only be extinguished with love?  Indeed how can I make peace with others whose views differ from my own?  How do we get beyond the zero sum, win-lose approach to life?

Patience is key.  This week my ‘Patience Coach’, Cool Hand Luke Skywalker has his hands full. Beyond the pests, a few other pesky events this week are reminding me of the prayer: “Lord grant me patience, but please hurry”. Preparing to paint the garage trim, I discovered the masking tape preferred not to stick to the stucco. High winds didn’t help. Last night, wanting to wind down and relax with a video, the site I preferred to watch wasn’t working. Ugh!

On one level these little events pale in magnitude to the ‘big issues’ confronting humanity. But do they really? I’ve suggested before that there is no small thing in life. How we respond the seemingly inconsequential events in life is, indeed, consequential: cause and effect. Patience begets understanding, tolerance, peace. The more we practice patience, the greater our experience of the peace that follows.

If we truly understood and accepted this law our choices and actions would likely be very different.

How might I cultivate patience with the ants, with a mouse, with myself?  In those places where your patience is lacking, how might you?

PS - HAPPY SOLSTICE - Summer in the northern hemisphere, Winter in the south! 

Not Quite Solstice Sunrise Over the Sangres

Count on THIS!

Reconnecting With Nature's Beauty Right Around the Corner!

Progress is the self love we exhibit in our daily activities. It is the abundance we embrace as a natural, Universal gift. What is significant is the personal power that we recognize and accept within ourselves as co-creators with an omnipotent and infinite Universe.  Gregge Tiffen (The Significance of Beginning – January, 2007)

I’m in the midst of an experience that, thankfully, is a rarity in my life: illness, slowly recovering from a nasty flu/cold bug that knocked me flat about 10 days ago.  For the first few days, everything I ‘know’ about how to care for myself and even caring at all went out the proverbial window.

And, so I slept. As best I could, I slept without fretting about Luke, the list of what I’d planned to accomplish, or about the state of our world.

Over several days with little awareness, that is all I could muster.  In fleeting moments of awareness over those days, I wondered whether I would ever remember who I am in the universal scheme of things.  Would I again feel my deep connection with nature and how a walk in the woods returns me to deep peace? Would I long to observe and reflect and share my discoveries?  Would I again revel in those winter activities that bring me a sense of personal accomplishment and satisfaction as shoveling snow and stacking wood do?  Would I return to my powerful, fun-loving, peaceful self?

As my body slowly recovered and I began to restore my capacity to take care of the basics, my sense of self, my personal power, and my awareness of my status as a co-creator with the Universe returned.  They did so slowly at first and with a need to be nurtured and reassured.  Challenging as it was, I honored what seemed to be needed and, somewhere inside, I found a morsel of trust that all was well.

Like the Chinese herbs and other nutrients that were healing my physical body, that morsel of trust was just the seed I needed to restore my spirit and to give me the courage, curiosity and conviction to reengage by observing world. 

And, what a show the world was providing for me to observe! An inauguration, seemingly angry words from a new president, ‘alternative facts’, and the creative spirit of millions peacefully marching to have their voices heard.  We do live in interesting times!

While a part of me yearned to march with kindred spirits, I honored the physical need to take it slow. In my heart as Luke and I took an afternoon walk nearby, I walked in solidarity with the millions filling the streets world-wide. I was reminded that each and every action I take whether in solitude or with others matters as an expression of my personal power as a co-creator with the Universe.  That’s what I know I can count on, today, tomorrow, and every day beyond – no matter what!  You can count on THIS too!

Thanks Mom for Shoveling!

Chasing Thistles. Removing Quills.

Yes, it is August. And, yes, that is SNOW.

If God bids me to chase thistles, I would gladly do it.  Dionysius

If you transpose ‘God’ to mean ‘universe’, you will understand this to mean that whatever the universe is asking me is my greatest joy. Trust that the universe is intelligence and therefore wisdom, harmony, understanding, and love, so you can’t go wrong. Gregge Tiffen (Echo – Sept. 10, 2012)

I’m coming to understand that the universe doesn’t distinguish between what we might think of as ‘major’ events and those we probably consider minor.  All events are opportunities to learn and to be our best self no matter how great or how small we think they are.  In this intelligent universe every event holds the bidding for that which is being asked of us in that moment.

Two events among many this week stand out as reminders that what the universe places before me is where I’m being asked to put my attention. They reminded me as well that, indeed, the universe IS intelligence.

Shortly after arriving, weekend Dragonfly House guests with reservations for a two-night stay informed me that they would “be out of here tomorrow morning.” I was a shocked and started to go down the path of a fearful (how will I replace the lost revenue?) reaction. I stopped me. Turning off the tap of negativity, I tapped into knowing that this event is meant to unfold in exactly this way.  I wished them a good night’s rest, reminded them of breakfast timing, and I let go.  Within a few hours of bidding them farewell the next morning, I had reservations in both guest rooms for appreciative guests who needed accommodations at the last minute.  Memo to self: Yes, things do unfold for the best.

Yesterday Luke had his first (and I pray his only!) encounter with a porcupine, returning from a foray into the woods during our walk with a face full of quills. He was clawing and rubbing his face on the ground, obviously uncomfortable, yet not seeming to be in pain.  I moved into action more calmly than in hindsight I could imagine, first removing a few that I could easily grab with my fingers and a gentle tug.  The easy ones out, we began to walk toward home. Two B&B guests who had arrived earlier in the day crossed our path and followed us. With their help, only two pesky quills remained, one lodged just inside Luke’s upper lip.  Luke wasn’t so keen with the removal process despite my consistent efforts to keep him calm. Our local vet came over, but our efforts to get the quill removed from his mouth were nil.  After consulting we decided to leave it for a day to see if the quill would come out on its own.  Yes, it did – within the hour. Second memo to self: Yes, things do work out.

Later, when it was time to lay my head on the pillow after each of these events, I did so with gratitude for the event and with satisfaction for having met each, consciously or not, with the knowing that, indeed, the universe IS intelligent and I benefit when I tune into that intelligence.

The beauty of an early morning start to our first walk of the day.

The quills ...

Banishing Negativity

Grateful for another day of the sun rising over the Sangres!

Negativity can’t create anything. It can't even create further negativity because that energy just maintains itself.  Gregge Tiffen (PS 52, Series 8, The New Experiment, Week 47)

Negativity is a misapplication of the laws of the universe and the rules of the planet.  Patrece on behalf of P-Systems, Inc. (PS 52, Series 8, The New Experiment, Week 47)

I don’t know about you, but some days it feels like our world has become a cauldron of negativity. Is it any wonder that we don’t seem able to move forward, given that negativity doesn’t create anything? How can we possibly address what is on our own plates in terms of life, not to mention the plethora of critical issues needing the best of each of us collectively when fear and hatred are being hurled at us from so-called leaders, the media, and even one another?

While turning off the news or taking a break from social media may give us relief from time to time, do these tactics sustain us in maintaining a positive approach to life?  While I’ve long preferred and, hopefully, been successful at maintaining positivity in my life, I can’t claim to have banished negativity completely. Hey, I’m still human after all.

And yet, I honestly think that I’m doing pretty darn well with my personal positivity score.

But a weekend experience of allowing my ‘inner snarky’ to surface at about the same time as this week’s installment of PS 52 arrived, coupled with wondering why a project I’m involved in can’t seem to move forward, prompted me to take a look at negativity – that within as well as that beyond my reach. I was quickly reminded that my ‘inner snarky’ surfaces when things don’t turn out like I want them to (duh!): a show is late starting and I leap to ‘they are wasting my valuable time’, leaving in the dust relaxing and enjoying the moments of peace or extra time with a friend.  I quickly return from negativity-land, but I wonder: why do I go there in the first place?  Answer: habit (‘nuf said).  Solution: awareness + choosing differently.

As I reflected a bit more, I allowed myself to see and acknowledge the shifts and pruning of habits and beliefs that I’ve done over the years that contribute to my capacity to maintain positivity in our sometimes negative and chaotic world:

• Practicing gratitude for ALL
• Immersing myself in nature, self-care, and care for Cool Hand Luke
• Nurturing curiosity, especially when I don’t know how to move forward, shifting from declaring ‘I don’t know how’ to asking ‘How can I? What if …?’
• Taking responsibility vs. blaming others
• Developing my capacity to say ‘no’ to opportunities, events, and others that don’t represent the quality I want at that moment
• Nurturing and developing my core belief in the abundance and intelligence of the universe
• Nurturing patience for myself and for others
• Learning to enjoy my own company
• Continuing to learn about and experiment with how energy works
• Remembering that life is an experiment and events are here not for me to be right, but rather as gifts for my learning, AND that I have a band of personal guides that are with me all along the way
• Make and take time for fun!

For the sake of the universe, the angels, the planet, nature, humanity and ourselves we need to banish negativity.  Ground zero is right where we live. It’s you. It’s me. It’s up to each and every one of us to forge a path to banish negativity in all of its insidious forms from our lives. The quality of our future – this life and beyond – depends on it.

Taking time for some fun at Crestfest 2016!

Another beautiful sunset on a beautiful day in the Sangres.

Earth Day Every Day

Bonner & Gilley patiently wait for Aunt Cindy to gear up for a walk.

Our role with nature is to work in harmony with it to bring its elements to the highest degree of their manifestation. (Gregge Tiffen, Life in the World Hereafter: The Journey Continues)

One day is not enough to care for the earth, Mother Nature, our home.

This week found me back in touch with the deep appreciation I have for Cool Hand Luke and, indeed, all pets. The two canine companions that I cared for last month while my cousin travelled died on Monday. Although my heart aches, I know that they have returned to “the nature pool – an infinite source of energy connected to this school, the natural force of this planet” (Tiffen, Life in the World Hereafter). Although they are no longer here in the forms of Gilley and Bonner Mullen, the energy lives on.

Reflecting on my time with them, their deaths and long walk in the woods with Luke brought me to a place of peace. Rather than following one of our usual trails, yesterday we set out meandering through the woods. As best I could, I followed where Luke’s nose led. We simply wandered. Luke taking in the smells while I reveled in the deep quiet, the beauty of old tree stumps, vibrant young pines, the earth herself. We were even blessed with a short, light shower of rain and snow mixed.

The nose knows ...

It’s easy to be at peace and feel harmonious with the planet when I am there.  It’s not so easy when I’m in the thick of a water district issue or considering finances and where I want to focus my energy. It’s not easy when I get caught up in following the so-called ‘news’ or the problems and fears that emerge on social media.  It’s easy to become discouraged and feel impotent when I allow the state of the world to wash over me.

Yet it is those times when it’s not easy that I most need to remember that every thought I have and every word I speak never dies. My thoughts and yours contribute to mass consciousness moment by moment, day to day. The planet responds to that consciousness. That is her design.

This earth day and every day beyond, let’s deposit thoughts of harmony into the bank of the collective consciousness. 

Simple beauty in the woods