You worry too much. You think too much.
Yes, sometimes I do. But the reason why I do is because something is not right. I don't always know exactly what is not right, or how to fix it, but I know something is not right, so I grapple with it. I try to figure out what is wrong. I try to figure out what is the solution. Maybe a lot of the things I come up with are wrong. Maybe some things that I identify with problems really are okay, so I should stop worrying about them.
Yes, I know you think I should just appreciate what I have. But something is not right. I don't have the diagnosis or the solution, but I need you to trust my instinct that something is not right.
Friday, June 6, 2014
Cats in windows
House with windows close to sidewalks
Blinds closed
Prying eyes must not peep in
Cats don't care about prying eyes
Cat sits between window and blinds
From her throne upon the windowsill
She inspects all who pass along the sidewalk
Pedestrians dare not transgress
For the cat is watching every step
Blinds closed
Prying eyes must not peep in
Cats don't care about prying eyes
Cat sits between window and blinds
From her throne upon the windowsill
She inspects all who pass along the sidewalk
Pedestrians dare not transgress
For the cat is watching every step
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Dancing
I think and I write about my thoughts and I try to figure out what to do with my life and I make a plan and I make a list.
Then I go out morris dancing on a summer evening, and none of that matters. It's just pure enjoyment. Life is to be enjoyed.
Then I go out morris dancing on a summer evening, and none of that matters. It's just pure enjoyment. Life is to be enjoyed.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Seeking a spiritual community from which to change the world
Changing the world sounds all grand and stuff, but the implementation tends to involve a lot of meetings and paperwork and washing of dishes and other not so glamorous stuff.
I understand that. I don't expect changing the world to be all glamorous. I can actually be good with meetings and paperwork.
But I do feel there is something missing from some efforts to change the world, and that's a spiritual center.
I mean, it's missing for me. Some people prefer to change the world in a non-spiritual way.
The college I attended had a spiritual center. I didn't like it in all ways. The things I didn't like about my college were mostly ways that individuals didn't all share that spiritual core that was integral to the institution. I didn't like that some people seemed to just want to go to a reputable college so they could get a high status job afterwards. I didn't like that some people thought the spiritual core was just about politics, the way that they were outraged about their liberal causes, rather than realizing seeking to see that spark of divinity in all people, even those they disagreed with.
So not everyone shared the values. And I didn't always like it. In fact, in recent years, I mostly think my life might have been better if I had chosen a different college. But what I did like was being part of a community that had a spiritual core.
I want to be part of a community that is trying to make the world better, but I don't want to be part of a community that is trying to make the world better for no reason, or for some secular reason. I want to work with others who share a spiritual core with me.
Making the world better is a team effort. Different people focus on different causes. Different people working on the same cause approach that cause in different ways. We need everyone working together in order to make it happen. But everyone working together is not just a bunch of individuals. It is people who have formed into teams with like-minded people. And I am seeking to be part of a team that shares some spiritual core with me.
I understand that. I don't expect changing the world to be all glamorous. I can actually be good with meetings and paperwork.
But I do feel there is something missing from some efforts to change the world, and that's a spiritual center.
I mean, it's missing for me. Some people prefer to change the world in a non-spiritual way.
The college I attended had a spiritual center. I didn't like it in all ways. The things I didn't like about my college were mostly ways that individuals didn't all share that spiritual core that was integral to the institution. I didn't like that some people seemed to just want to go to a reputable college so they could get a high status job afterwards. I didn't like that some people thought the spiritual core was just about politics, the way that they were outraged about their liberal causes, rather than realizing seeking to see that spark of divinity in all people, even those they disagreed with.
So not everyone shared the values. And I didn't always like it. In fact, in recent years, I mostly think my life might have been better if I had chosen a different college. But what I did like was being part of a community that had a spiritual core.
I want to be part of a community that is trying to make the world better, but I don't want to be part of a community that is trying to make the world better for no reason, or for some secular reason. I want to work with others who share a spiritual core with me.
Making the world better is a team effort. Different people focus on different causes. Different people working on the same cause approach that cause in different ways. We need everyone working together in order to make it happen. But everyone working together is not just a bunch of individuals. It is people who have formed into teams with like-minded people. And I am seeking to be part of a team that shares some spiritual core with me.
Response to critics
I've been seeing another blogger defending herself against critics, and something about it troubles me. I think my preference is to ignore critics. I'm not sure that's right. I do believe that we humans grow as a result of engaging with others. If someone criticizes us, perhaps in refusing to engage, we limit our learning and growth. But in my life, there have been times when listening to others took me away from my own path. Sometimes certain pieces of advice didn't resonate with me, but I gave the person the benefit of the doubt and explored the path to which they directed me. It seems to me that those explorations were to my detriment, because they took me away from my own path. As I have grown older, I have come to believe that I need to give more trust to my own intuition. I have come to understand that in most cases, I am really the best judge of what is right for me.
When we put ourselves out there, when we post things to the internet or publish books or whatever, we expose ourselves to all sorts of people, people who have no understanding of our values. When someone puts themselves out there, others tend to take that as an invitation to engage, to debate, to criticize.
I do believe that it's valuable to exchange ideas with others, but sometimes people just argue and criticize without taking any time to understand where you are coming from. It's not my job to educate those people. It's my job to grow in knowledge, wisdom, and compassion.
Some people enjoy debate. I don't. Not like that. I do enjoy a mutual engagement in search of ideas, but not debate that is based on attacking people.
So I leave. I have quit internet discussions that became too argumentative. I haven't really had negative comments, but if someone left a negative comment on my blog or Facebook page, I would delete it.
Some people would say that it's censorship. It's not. You can write whatever you want on your blog or your Facebook page, but mine is my own creation. If Leonardo da Vinci was painting a painting and someone came along and painted across it, wanting to remove that intrusive paint stroke is not censorship. You make your painting and I make my painting. It's only censorship if you paint over someone else's painting.
When we put ourselves out there, when we post things to the internet or publish books or whatever, we expose ourselves to all sorts of people, people who have no understanding of our values. When someone puts themselves out there, others tend to take that as an invitation to engage, to debate, to criticize.
I do believe that it's valuable to exchange ideas with others, but sometimes people just argue and criticize without taking any time to understand where you are coming from. It's not my job to educate those people. It's my job to grow in knowledge, wisdom, and compassion.
Some people enjoy debate. I don't. Not like that. I do enjoy a mutual engagement in search of ideas, but not debate that is based on attacking people.
So I leave. I have quit internet discussions that became too argumentative. I haven't really had negative comments, but if someone left a negative comment on my blog or Facebook page, I would delete it.
Some people would say that it's censorship. It's not. You can write whatever you want on your blog or your Facebook page, but mine is my own creation. If Leonardo da Vinci was painting a painting and someone came along and painted across it, wanting to remove that intrusive paint stroke is not censorship. You make your painting and I make my painting. It's only censorship if you paint over someone else's painting.
Walking with nature
The sound that surrounds me: The Beatles:
love is old, love is new
love is all, love is you
The sight that surrounds met: Leaves on trees:
This season of leave on trees soothes my soul.
The touch that surrounds me:
Summer breezes wafting over my skin
Druids, pantheists find the sacred in nature.
No, nature is not all kitten and puppy sweet.
If we think that, it's because we spend the harsh weather indoors, with heat in winter and air conditioning in summer. Walls keep out mosquitoes and bears. Roofs keep off rain, snow, hail. We walk in cultivated gardens. Mowed lawns. Trimmed hedges. Planted flowers bloom with beauty. It is only those who think they have tamed nature who see nature all sweet and beauty.
Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Floods. Mudslides. Those are nature too.
As druids and pantheists, it is our responsibility to fully see nature. In seeing it, we still find sacredness there.
Our life comes from nature -- our food, our clothing, our shelter. We have this high-tech consumer society that teaches us to forget where things come from.
Being a spiritual person means seeing our connectedness with the world around us -- with humans, with animals, with plants, with the soil, with the air, with the sky.
Humans have evolved such that certain things stimulate their sense of spirituality, and being in nature is one of them. Others include singing, dancing, chanting, and art.
I live here in this world. I'm trying to find my way. I see the leaves. They soothe my soul.
Trees swayed by storms. Sometimes sway is all the do. Sometimes big branches crash to the ground. Sometimes the entire tree crashes to the ground.
But as long as the live, they live as trees, persevering as they can. I do not believe that a maple longs to be a sycamore. A grace I do not have. I see other humans and I think I'm not as good.
Let me live as a tree, standing as myself, not trying to be another.
Anything that provides healing, inspiration, awareness can be a guide.
I pray that I find my way.
love is old, love is new
love is all, love is you
The sight that surrounds met: Leaves on trees:
This season of leave on trees soothes my soul.
The touch that surrounds me:
Summer breezes wafting over my skin
Druids, pantheists find the sacred in nature.
No, nature is not all kitten and puppy sweet.
If we think that, it's because we spend the harsh weather indoors, with heat in winter and air conditioning in summer. Walls keep out mosquitoes and bears. Roofs keep off rain, snow, hail. We walk in cultivated gardens. Mowed lawns. Trimmed hedges. Planted flowers bloom with beauty. It is only those who think they have tamed nature who see nature all sweet and beauty.
Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Floods. Mudslides. Those are nature too.
As druids and pantheists, it is our responsibility to fully see nature. In seeing it, we still find sacredness there.
Our life comes from nature -- our food, our clothing, our shelter. We have this high-tech consumer society that teaches us to forget where things come from.
Being a spiritual person means seeing our connectedness with the world around us -- with humans, with animals, with plants, with the soil, with the air, with the sky.
Humans have evolved such that certain things stimulate their sense of spirituality, and being in nature is one of them. Others include singing, dancing, chanting, and art.
I live here in this world. I'm trying to find my way. I see the leaves. They soothe my soul.
Trees swayed by storms. Sometimes sway is all the do. Sometimes big branches crash to the ground. Sometimes the entire tree crashes to the ground.
But as long as the live, they live as trees, persevering as they can. I do not believe that a maple longs to be a sycamore. A grace I do not have. I see other humans and I think I'm not as good.
Let me live as a tree, standing as myself, not trying to be another.
Anything that provides healing, inspiration, awareness can be a guide.
I pray that I find my way.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Summer
Walking around the house barefoot in tank top and shorts
Freedom of movement
I think my body moves differently in summer.
More loose
More free
Freedom of movement
I think my body moves differently in summer.
More loose
More free
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