community
Reunited With Crochet Friend In Spirit
I like to frequent a well-known, local bookstore. It is my way of having peaceful fellowship indirectly with others. I don’t have to talk to anyone, but the feeling of others around while I’m reading is a pleasant feeling. I always sit on the same chair, which is almost like a comfy love seat with others sitting nearby.
One day, while sitting there and reading, I noticed in my peripheral vision a lady to my left. She sat down on the sofa next to me.
She then looked at me and said, “I’m so sorry I didn’t want to disturb you, but I think you may have known my grandmother. She attended the same church you went to.”
I asked her which church she was speaking of and then confirmed that I had indeed gone there for a few years, but no longer attend. Continue reading
Saying Thank You Is Good Karma
Karma can be witnessed by looking back on one’s own life and experiences, or by observing the lives of others and how karma affected them. If you are close with someone you can see their karma unfold if you’re paying attention. Sometimes we don’t see it until much later in life.
A less obvious kind of karma, which I have started to notice over this past year, relates to saying two simple words: thank you. Why is saying thank you so very difficult for some people? I have never understood it, until recently.
One of the most common reasons people don’t say thank you, is because they were never taught to do so as children. Usually we are taught these things early on. But some people are brought up in dysfunctional homes where there is the lack love, attention and connection between parent and child. Continue reading
All Aboard The Train Of Life!
I recently heard someone say he was a passenger on “the train of life” and what immediately came to mind was what a glorious opportunity we have to evaluate our own particular role in coming into this existence.
So, let us start at the beginning. First of all we would need the individual who came up with the concept of a train, no more traveling long or short distances by foot or horseback or car, embark on your journey in comfort and ease, knowing there is someone who will endeavor to get you safely to your destination while you sit back and relax.
What manner of being would even venture to come up with such a plan? That would have to be the dreamers, or visionaries. They are the ones who often have their heads in the clouds and envision a better quality of life for us all. There is an abstract thought somewhere inside of them that must find a way of arriving at a viable workable plan. Continue reading
We Need A Critical Mass Of Love And Kindness!
In the 1950’s, Japanese researchers were studying a group of monkeys located on several Japanese islands. The scientists would regularly drop food onto the beaches for the monkeys.
One day, a female monkey picked up a sweet potato and washed the sand and dirt off in a nearby stream. Soon after, the mother of the juvenile monkey was also washing her sweet potatoes in the stream. In this unusual case it was a youngster had taught an adult and not the other way around, as is more commonly observed.
Over the course of the next five years, one by one, several of the other monkeys of the group also picked up the habit of washing off their sweet potatoes. The exact number is unclear, but something amazing is said to have happened – as if overnight, all of the monkeys were washing their potatoes in streams, and in the sea. Even monkeys on the other islands, crossing natural barriers. Continue reading
The Courage To Live And Let Live
The only way we are really going to make the future work is by allowing others to do their ‘own thing’ in their own way. Our future survival and evolution as a species will not be found in sameness, alikeness, similarity, or coercion. Instead, we must build a new global civilization based on expanding diversity, variety, assortment and multiplicity. Yet, there is one fundamental condition – for it to be successful it must be achieved in harmony with others and our planet.
From the perspective of the old mainstream view of our world, such a future world of unhindered diversity appears quite impossible and non-sensical, because that would mean that everybody does their own thing in their own way. And that seems really counter-intuitive… even dangerous. A disaster waiting to happen!
History has taught us that individuals doing things their ‘own way’ eventually manifests itself as selfishness, greed, creed, personal preference, chauvinism, dogma and ego-centered beliefs – which has caused most of our wars, the establishment of our borders, the separation between the rulers and subjects, and the division between rich and poor. Continue reading
Life Is Sweeter With Kindred Souls
Some people simply add value to our lives. Kindred souls are true friends who make us feel that sharing space with them, or being around them, is right where we are meant to be. I call that comfortable, blissful feeling “being in Zen.”
Then of course we have all experienced sharing space with toxic people who make us feel like we need to leave immediately, because if we don’t take action we will soon start to feel depleted or drained. I like to describe that feeling as “going against the grain.” It very much feels like I’m doing something that doesn’t feel right, or that I am not where I’m supposed to be. Continue reading
Giving Of Yourself Is A Win-Win
One of the best ways to feel better about yourself, while making a difference, is to get involved in your community. So many worthy organizations need help year-round, even though the obvious time people think to give is during the holidays.
Think of the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program. You can certainly donate toys any time of year, or else participate in a fund-raiser in your area. Likewise for St. Jude’s Hospital, which provides medical care at no cost to children with life-threatening illnesses or injuries. Taking part in a fun walk or run, or donating time or goods, is a great way to raise money for a wonderful cause. Continue reading