Thoughtful thoughts

The world is changed one thought at a time.
I'd like to get this idea once and for all.
Still, it seems I need continual reminding.
Think again! (so goes my thought)
What was I thinking? (I think)
One nice thought came to me recently, around the time I was agonizing over the thought that, really nothing I ever think is original or unique to me (although why that should be bothersome I still have not fathomed). It (the nice thought, in case you had lost track) is this: since we are all connected, and separation is an illusion, then any thought that you have likewise I have as well. This can also be said as: great minds think alike. So do less than great ones, but that's off-topic. So, instead of berating myself for not really having any original thoughts, I can now congratulate myself on being connected to all the great thoughts that exist! Simply by thinking them myself, I can be part of that greatness too! Isn't that fabulous? I am not really sure what this has to do with my first thought at the beginning of this post. It doesn't really matter, I suppose, since no one ever reads this blog anyway. Or if they do, they don't admit to it. That's okay. It's an easy way to keep a diary. And it keeps me honest. Because maybe someday someone will see this, and now they will know I am writing down exactly what I am thinking, without bothering with a minor detail of whether it is truly an original thought! Oh who am I kidding? I long to be creative. There it is. But then, that is like saying, I long to be human. Well, here I am.

To-Do: Change the World

"You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
from Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann


It is all too easy to get caught up in the hype surrounding us, about how the world is in crisis, in so many ways. This is not to say there are no problems. But the hype is sometimes part of the problem!
We must be vigilant in separating the wheat from the chaff. Awareness is key. When we become aware of the problem, it is imperative to think immediately in terms of its solution. As I always tell my children, "we are solution-oriented in this family."
The universe is unfolding as it should. Take comfort in knowing that we are here, now, for a purpose. We can be part of the solution.
We can be part of the change. The evolution of consciousness is calling us.

A little birdie told me....

Today is the first day of Spring. Hallelujah!
Of course, Spring officially arrived for me two days ago,
when I saw about 50 robins on my lawn. The robins are
back! The robins are back!
When I lived in Florida, the robins came by in
January...the first time it happened, I was thrilled
to see them, but the timing felt funny.
That was one of my first inklings that, although I lived
in the south, my heart belonged to the north.
And now my favorite season has arrived, at long last!

Whole Food

"I'd rather be whole than good."
Exploring the darker sides of ourselves is a formidable undertaking.
We think the road to enlightenment should somehow skirt the dark areas.
But the way we are, as humans, requires that we travel through
these dark areas.
If we can learn to see the dark (negative) aspects of ourselves
for the gifts they can actually give us, we can steer safely through.
Take a look at something you don't like about yourself, and see
if you can see the gift that it has to offer you.

Busy as a bee

I just read that a bee has to visit over 2 million flowers to produce a pound of honey! No wonder the expression "busy as a bee" came to be.
Further research into the origins of the expression led me to learn that the term was coined by Chaucer in "The Canterbury Tales."
Is it possible to relate everything in life back to one poem or another? Or is this just happening because I have been focusing on poetry lately? Either way, I think it's lovely. Plus the whole thing kept me busy for five minutes.
But not as busy as a bee.

Plums

Two poems about plums, by William Carlos Williams

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.

To a Poor Old Woman
munching a plum on the street a paper bag of them in her hand They taste good to her They taste good to her. They taste good to her You can see it by the way she gives herself to the one half sucked out in her hand Comforted a solace of ripe plums seeming to fill the air They taste good to her

Grains of Sand

If you ever wonder about your purpose in life, and whether your life is important, consider for a moment a long stretch of sand, glistening in the sun. Each and every grain of sand that makes up that expanse is a part of the whole. Without a single grain of sand, there would be no expanse at all. Every grain of sand is needed. Your importance is not related to the size of your role in life, either. Every single person who is alive now is needed to be a part of the whole. We are all grains of sand, and we are all shining in the sun. Together we create a marvelous expanse, don't you think?

Speaking of grains of sand, here is one of my all-time favorite poems, by Edgar Allan Poe, which I am fond of reciting by the fireside:

A Dream Within A Dream
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep - while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

What Are Days For?

I came across this poem by Philip Larkin this morning:

What are days for?
Days are where we live.
They come, they wake us
Time and time over.
They are to be happy in:
Where can we live but days?

Ah, solving that question
Brings the priest and the doctor
In their long coats
Running over the fields.

So, he says, it is simple: why are we here? To be, and to be happy. Instead of accepting that, we tend to complicate it, and then we need to fix it, and explain it. But it all comes back to the simple (not easy) truth: Be. Be happy. Be happy today. This day is where we live. There is nowhere else. If, at times it seems that there is, call the priest, call the doctor, call the pizza place, and then sit back and remember: I. Am. Here. Now.

Role-in on the River

I have taken on many roles throughout my life. Some roles I have played and re-played. But I am not my roles. Or, perhaps, I am greater than my roles. When I get caught up in my roles, it is good to take a metaphorical step back, and try to take in the bigger picture. When I see the ROLE that my ROLES play, then I am on a ROLL.

Un-kvetch!

It is unlikely that you live at the level of your Higher Self at all times. Yet when you place your intention in that realm, you find yourself there more often. The greater the frequency with which you direct your egoic thoughts towards the realm of the Higher Self, the more you are able to let go of your complaints and resentments.
This is not to say you will be free of them. But in time they will become less important to you. You will find that you are able to release them more quickly and more easily. Simply kiss them goodbye, and shoo them gently away. They had their chance at reality, and they blew it. They don't give you what you truly want. Complaints and resentments do not lead the way to peace.

Inspire Someone Today

I saw this on someone else's blog, so I thought I'd pass it along.