all about all of us
Lately I’ve been thinking about some simple words and how nicely they were put together. They are:
“Two men looked out from prison bars.
One saw mud the other saw stars.” -anonymous
These simple words convey an awesome message. I wonder, who wrote them, when were they written, and what inspired them.
I don’t talk about politics anymore. Do you? In the past, I’ve noticed people walk away from me after a conversation where opinions were flying. I had a nagging suspicion they were doubting my sanity, but not theirs. No, not theirs. I do wonder whether someone out there knows anything about that most complicated of subjects. The question is: how to have an intelligent conversation having so few facts, but believing that somehow we know what’s going on. So, I made an agreement with myself to keep my mouth shut. Bill Maher can talk all he wants. Not me.
www.billmaher.com
I’m doubly damaged, in this area, because of a few books I’ve read. They’ve confused my thinking beyond a reasonable doubt; never again will I see the world in quite the same way. I realized one day, however, that that was okay. It doesn’t have to be what it once was. If I can manage to keep quiet, and nod my head every so often so that it seems I’m attentive, I’ll do just fine.
The first book that lead to doubts about my sanity after reading it was THE BIGGEST SECRET by David Icke. And there was another, RULE BY SECRECY by Jim Marr, and all those magazine articles that keep calling to me. It can get complicated, but then again dabbling is fun, and tends to greatly open the imagination.
www.davidicke.com
This world is full of possibilities, and, for some of us, keeping it simple is the best way. Paying attention to the possibilities in one’s own life, and making it a superb life, can touch people, and affect the world in ways not imaginable. Then when one’s own life is in exquisite shape, we’re then able to look at the world with clear eyes, and make wise decisions about how to best serve it.
“Silence is the key that unlcks the vast resources of the universe.” -Venice Bloodworth
“Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.” -Leo Tolstoy
Is there such a thing as easing into winter? Yes, if you’re a skier, a skater, one who relishes the cold. How to ease into winter when thoughts of Ecuador, Panama, places of the sun take hold in one’s mind. Winter scenes are beautiful and people say the four seasons are refreshing. True for them perhaps. But I say it’s nice to see the sun, strong and vibrant, with a staying power of more than 30 minutes.
I understand a change of attitude is necessary here. Otherwise it’s going to be a very long winter.
Many of us procrastinate. It seems though that if we don’t do what’s before us to do, what’s before us to do will catch up with us – eventually. And when it does, we’ll have to deal with the things of the past, along with the things of the present. And since we’re doing in the present what should have been done in the past, we’ll not do it as well. When we work with the energy that’s there at the time, things are accomplished more easily, life is smoother. Procrastinating, brings us into a different energy field.
On the other hand, there are those times when we need to wait. However, we don’t want to confuse those times with doing what’s before us to do. You’ll know the difference. Those things that have to be done, when done, will feel as if a burden has been lifted. Ah, such a good feeling. If there’s doubt as to the right course to take, wait, become aware of signs, of feelings you have, listen. You’ll know when the right time is.
Experiment and watch.
Are we really born with the ability to sabatoge our selves? Or do we learn this along the way? Is life really supposed to be as complicated as some of us think it is, whether consciously or unconsciously? Once we’ve become adults we can pretty much interpret life in our own fashion instead of living robot like. We’re blessed to have freedom, but if we don’t know it’s our birth right, it’s as if we don’t have it. and then we’re in a prison of our own design in which we’ve temporarily misplaced the key that will release us from the prison of our own making. That’s what’s been written many times over by many people using different words.
She had married for the first time in her forties to a man she loved. He died when she was in her fifties. She had lived in the same town, a small, quiet New England town, all her life. The job she’d had for so long no longer satisfied her.
Late one night when heavy rains pounded at her house she found herself in a deep state of unhappiness. She’d been sitting with her unhappiness for some time unable to shake it or to even think of her next step when suddenly a name popped into her mind. She’d gotten the name from someone awhile ago, but never followed up on a call. The name belonged to a highly-recommended counselor. As if in a trance she looked for the number and found herself making a phone call. Had she been in her usual state, and had put more thought into making the call, it never would have happened since it was past midnight. Luckily she wasn’t in her usual state. Althought it was late the woman answered her phone and agreed to see the caller. It would be another hour or so for the caller to get to the counselor’s house since she lived in another city. It was all right the counselor had said. “Come.”
They met on that stormy night and the caller’s life was forever changed. This is all she told me when I first met her in New Mexico. I’ve no idea what was said in the wee hours of that stormy morning. I think she has no desire to relive that part of her life, but whatever it was it was like a healing pill for the unhappy caller. From the east coast to the west coast the caller traveled. An interesting step since she’d never traveled any where except in her own home state before this time. At the time I was fortunate enough to meet the caller she had gotten her college and master’s degrees and went from pastoral training right into the ministry. Of course, it wasn’t an easy road. Did she mind? It doesn’t seem that way. And I don’t think she knows what the word unhappy means anymore.
I marvel at what was set in motion because a compassionate counselor answered a phone call late one night and said, “come.”
Sometimes I’m at a loss, for brief moments, as to what and how to think about our world. I understand that it’s a spectacular world. However, so much is happening all over at any given time, and much is said and written about it, that it’s nice to simply draw a blank some of the time, and think about absolutely nothing. Or simplify and think only of the things that are pleasing for as long as we need in order to relax enough to enjoy and appreciate the world we live in. For although there are lots of heavy-duty things going on; there are also wonderful happenings that could make our hearts sing. And unless we stop and see the good and appreciate it, most likely we’ll miss it. And that would be unfortunate.
“When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.” -Rochefoucauld, French philosopher
“Don’t hurry, don’t worry. You’re only here for a short visit.” – anonymous
At times life seems complicated. At other times it’s utterly simple. Today was one of those utterly simple days. Let me explain.
In a Manhattan taxi on the way to the corner of Canal and Bowery Streets to get the 11:00 am Fung Wah bus, I reach for the bottle of just purchased Perfect water. It wasn’t until after its opening that I realize a very easy twist released the cap, and there was no seal to remove. I place it back in the bag as the conversation with the taxi driver continues. We’re in agreement that the city has changed, and that Saturdays are not as busy as other days. That’s not to say that Saturdays are not busy-just not as. Soon we reach the Fung Wah bus area. I pay the driver and cross Canal Street, and walk to the Fung Wah store front with suitcase in hand to purchase a one-way ticket to Boston for $15. The day is humid and passengers have boarded the bus with bottled water. No time to buy water; the bus is ready to leave. www.fungwah.com
In Connecticut I think about the water still in its bag. Suddenly a vision floods my mind. I take a sip from my bottle of Perfect water bought with a loose cap. I clutch my throat, only the whites of my eyes show. My body falls forward with an impact-dead. Monkey mind is working overtime it seems. What is the possibility someone tampered with that bottled water with the loose cap? I ask myself.
There’s suddenly a wonderful smell in the bus. A favorite Chinese food? Maybe. French fries from you-know-where has the same affect when you’re enclosed in a place for a time and someone opens a bag of them. Back to the important matter at hand, drink or not drink the bottled water with the loose cap? That is the question. We’re now at McDonald’s in Connecticut “for 10 minutes” our courteous bus driver announces as we line up to leave the bus. I get off with the others and walk around. I’m back on the bus after 10 minutes, and as I slip into my seat I notice a book, FAST FOOD NATION, on the seat in back of mine. I’d have felt a pang of guilt had I returned with a bag of fast-food. I smile when noticing that the reader of the book is also empty-handed.
Traffic is a bit heavy. It’s okay. We’re a neat group on the bus; it feels happy. Traveling alone allows for listening to parts of conversations. Sometimes you learn something. Not this time as a group of Chinese people are directly in front of me, and I entertain no thought of ever being able to understand the Chinese language. Back to my iPod listening to Christmas music. The songs haven’t been changed since December. I hesitate to return a message on my cell phone, not wanting to be the third person with the loud voice calling everyone on the bus to attention.
Have you eaten Goji berries? They’re supposed to give energy. I brought them along for that purpose. Next trip I’ll check the cap on the bottled water and bring more than Goji berries. I spot a motorcyclist without a helmut. I guess it’s his choice. He looks carefree-red bandana around his forehead, chocolate-colored tank top, jeans. A peaceful, totally content with life expression on his face. www.sunfood.com
Drink or not drink the bottled water with the loose cap? That is the question.
Have you been to a beautiful quiet place lately for at least two weeks without the usual kind of interruptions and entertainment? It’s soul satisfying. A place surrounded by trees, with a deer or four, wild turkey, chipmunks and birds passing by, with the sky so dark at night and stars brightly shining, and no one close enough to drop by. You’re all alone to decide how the course of the day will go. You’ve read J. Krishnamurti’s or E. Tolle’s writings, or another that teaches how to listen and observe. It’s serene. It’s enjoyable. There’s no television, radio, or ways to catch-up on the news. The news of the world is according to how it’s presented in each country. Things are not always as they seem. This being the case, we’re not exactly all on the same page. Let it go. www.jkrishnamurti.org www.eckharttolle.com
Before TV, video games, and all the things that manage to keep people in one spot for hours, life was lived outside more, and people didn’t need the medication that seems to go with today’s lifestyle. Obesity wasn’t an issue, and I doubt anyone commented on someone’s breast size, nose size or thigh size in those days. Certain things were as they were. Life was not as complicated. There were thousands of items not known at that time that are in use now, and people were fine without them. As was the environment. Tomorrow I leave. They’ll be no more mention of life in the country – at least for a while. But perhaps for you, a vacation is around the corner, and if there’s a choice to be alone, you need to know that it’s not lonely. It’s truly a delicious feeling; one to be savored.
Everything is different outside of Manhattan. But you know that. I wanted to go to Harrison, Rye, Hartsdale White Plains and other towns along the way to check out possibilities, sort of a quest to find the right place. I took the New Haven Line at Grand Central. A friend of a friend met me at the Harrison train station. We drove around Harrison and Rye and had lunch at her lovely home in White Plains. Over Jarlsberg and smoked mozzarella, turkey, tuna, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and a good cup of coffee, we discussed the possibilities of the walking towns. After lunch we took off and drove up and down streets, to the downtown areas, checking out the feel of these places, always slipping easily into the next town. The towns were charming, clean, but I didn’t see any fruit and vegetable markets with all the produce hanging onto the sidewalks. Every town had lots and lots of restaurants. Where are the wonderful markets I’ve become so used to? I asked myself
We went to White Plains www.whiteplainsny.com . I’d never been there. Nice place with a very alive feeling. Lots of development going on. It’s a good size city and offers Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and many other fine shops. There’s a residential building by Trump and many rentals and co-op buildings all within walking distance of the train station. And, of course, there are lots and lots of restaurants. We drove through rather quickly since time was limited; I’ll return to walk in the near future since White Plains is definitely a walking city. The towns, they were clean and had all the right things for good living. It’s the feel of a place; the connection, that I’m looking for, and that’s different for everyone. So, when someone asks, “Well, how was it?” it’s difficult to say because when you’ve found it, you know, it’s that simple and cannot be explained so easily.