Re: Gratitude

Today I AM grateful for a hot cup of coffee and the peaceful morning of a snow day. Meanwhile, the cubs are softly snoring, safely, in there dens and Momma Bear is content.

Having ownership in something really increases your "GAS" factor.

   

Nuts!

Hiking through the parkway I often came upon sections of the path that appeared to be gravel or stone but on further inspection were actually the remains of shells from various nut trees. I mean there were a lot. We're not talking dozens, or hundreds, but more like thousands of various nuts or shells dropped by the trees or pitched by crazed squirrels. And not just on the paths, they were spread in all directions around the perimeter of the trees. That got me to wondering about what would the world look like if I every nut and every seed that ever dropped started growing? Well, in some places it would be welcome and quite lovely and in others I'm sure it could be quite devastating and. Imagine every Maple seed growing in every gutter and every crack in every sidewalk. I am very sure we would have a big problem in short order. I started thinking a lot about those nuts that dropped and started wondering if there was a parallel between them and us as being and/or our ideas as we move through life and here's what occurred to me. I have to assume that most of those nuts never make it to maturity as a full-grown tree just as many of us or our ideas never make it either physically, mentally or emotionally to full maturity. Some of us, like them, are consumed by the world in one way or the other before we even get started and are lost. Some of us like them start growing but our life's are cut short by various circumstances whether it's a lack of basic needs or a poor or dangerous environment (Think Maslow here). Some of us get a good start and grow quite well and are lost to accidents or changes in our environments. And some of us actually make it to some level of maturity in various degrees of completeness. Just like us you'd be hard-pressed to find a mature tree without some wrinkles, cracks, scars or missing pieces. Most people don't think twice about cutting down weeds, bushes, or trees when it serves their purpose and unfortunately there have been people in the world and still are that don't think twice about cutting down people (physically or emotionally) when it serves theirs. So it seems that Mother Nature's plan is to throw a lot of seed at the ground and hope enough of it finds a fertile and safe environment. I wonder if Mother Nature has any attachment to any particular species or if like a good Buddhist just sits back and accepts what unfolds with no attachment to the outcome. I can't imagine the pain she would feel at the loss of every plant and tree.

I'm not trying to cast any judgment here one way or the other but, just providing food for thought. The researchers in psychology say that pattern recognition and empathy are parts of emotional intelligence. And if you studied psychology or EI at all you realize that while it seems like common sense, it's clearly not common practice. So before I finish up here and lest you be saying what's the big deal they're just nuts or trees you really can't equate them to people. I would leave you with two thoughts. First, that for many people of the world every creature and thing has a spirit or fundamental life force. The Algonquin groups of native Americans call it Manitou. And each of those spirits or life forces are part of gitche manitou "The Great Spirit". This might all sound familiar as Prana, Qi, Ki, Spiritus, Astral Light, or even the Force.
And second, as we are on a path to explore the lessons that nature has for us it doesn't mean that we have to accept everything we see. But it does mean that like a nut that desires to grow into something more, we must open ourselves to the world.

In the beginning...

One of my favorite places to spend my time is in and around the woods. As of late I've been hiking a considerable amount and truth be told, sometimes I rather enjoy just finding a quiet spot to sit and just watch my thoughts drift by. If you've read any of my earliest posts you may possibly find this a bit redundant. In any case, one of my goals while sitting quietly in the woods was to stay until I learned (or remembered) something. It was a pretty passive situation in that I wasn't forcing anything. Just trying to be present for whatever was there. I just looked listened and let it happen. Invariably, I would see something, or notice something, or something would happen that would cause a light bulb to go off. OK, not always a big light bulb, but at least a candles worth. Maybe some kind of a recollection or a knowing from eons past. Usually, something so basic that you would think it was coded in our DNA but not to worry because if you had "eyes to see", you'd be hard pressed to miss it.

So in the beginning… you know back before Stephen Colbert, before David Letterman, before Al Gore's Internet, before TV, before radio, before books, before tablets (the stone kind not the Samsung) somebody was figuring things out for the first time and probably there were many somebodies all over the planet since news didn't travel that fast. I'm thinking those somebodies learned pretty much everything they needed to know by observing others and nature and while it's pretty easy at this point for you to say "no kidding", the reality is that just like common sense isn't common practice, we all "know" about the basics. But we don't very often practice them. So, I think that that will be the underlying message or carrier wave of my writing here. My mission here will focus on identifying and teasing out those little bits of basic knowledge from daily life and sharing them with you all in the hope that somewhere along the way it makes a difference in the quality of your life and or relationships. It has become obvious that many gurus, sages, experts, religious, etc. deliver similar teachings albeit with different words. I can only assume that they draw their wisdom from the same pool. I think that we all have access to that pool. We don't need to be 90 years old to understand it and maybe the best part is that we don't need to go on a very long hike to find it. In fact, we don't really need a hike at all. We can pretty much sit down anywhere and look at almost any scene and eventually those little lessons are going to come through.
I hope you give it a try sometime and feel free enough to share you thoughts.

We see what we want to see

For so long I have seen the doom and gloom. The negative reports and rants of those that always see the darkness. It's not that it isn't out there, it's just that most of what is there is reflected in us and by us. It's like living in a hall of mirrors and we all have a choice. Reflect what we know is good and light, or reflect what we believe to be evil and dark. We complain about the darkness in the media, well, there is lightness as well. I think Yoda said it very well and it bears repeating.

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

"When you look at the dark side, careful you must be ... for the dark side looks back."

"Careful you must be when sensing the future. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."

"Yes, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will."

"This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor…Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond."

Why?

Why has it been 10 months? 10 months, maybe a little more, since my last posting. More to the point, why has it been, I don't even know how long, since I've even thought about it? I took a retreat just a week or so after my last posting and only now I realize that I never wrote about it here. I have been writing in journals since then, but it's still interesting how easily something can be put out of mind. This last year has been filled with reading other peoples words, thinking about possible future directions, internal battles between the two wolves that live within. It seems that I've been on a journey that for all intents and purposes would require me to limit myself to one direction. I'm sure that I've heard that from others to some extent, but I suspect that mostly it's self-imposed. And probably self-imposed because of a believe that if I were to direct all my energy towards one decision, one path, one future, that I would have the highest chance for success. And I'll go out on a limb here and say that by most success I probably mean money and stability. It is interesting that intellectually I understand how important stability of money can be but that emotionally I am prepared to do without or cut back whatever is necessary to move into a direction that is more fulfilling. During my meditation yesterday two thoughts kept returning to me that are probably not unrelated.
First, the fact that I should dust off my old hypnotherapy textbooks and coursework and start practicing on as many people as possible. Second, to focus on doing the most meaningful work for people, delivering some service of value to their life, being relevant and doing work that produces meaningful outcomes.
I remember thinking and saying in the past of my technology practice that I love the tech and love working with the clients, but we' re not making a significant difference in anyone's life, much less saving anyone's life.
So the thought today is why must I choose one path, one future, one vision? Why can't I pursue multiple avenues? why shouldn't I pursue multiple avenues?

My focus this year has been on training for and developing my executive coaching and business consulting practices (along with officiating weddings). Almost to the exclusion of dealing with any technology. I'm not going to lie here, I do miss the tech and I do miss opening boxes of new gear. But, the people, their issues, their challenges, their healing and progress, are really what I want to focus on. What I am drawn to focus on.
What do you think?