The older I get
the less I take for granted,
but there are times when I forget
and get caught up in the madness that is upon us.
That’s why I come here . . .
to calm myself
and soak in the serenity that is present here
in all of your posts.
This centers me
and brings me back to ‘now’.
For that I am very grateful . . .
I have a cord
that draws me back to the breath.
Thank you all . . .
Namaste. ♥
ps. from Avril . . .
“Don’t allow anything to disturb your serenity!”
Probably most of the 10.000 things of daily life, and if once being aware and grateful for their´s being, the next moment, the next heartbeat or breath, there is no awareness. May be to be fully aware and to take nothing for granted, one has to become unaware in a way? meaning without concepts and without naming, while being centered in heart.
That, I am God’s beloved and I matter so much to him, and what matter is not what I do or achieve, nor what others say about me but that which God says that I am.
When he died, my late boyfriend’s memorial card was taken from a note he’d left to his 17-year old daughter on a napkin. It contained several “instructions for life” for her. The last one was this: Learn to see what others do not wish to see, no matter how difficult. Good advice, but I’m learning to add something to it: Just because you see clearly, doesn’t mean you can see everything.
I assume that because I’m good at seeing and discerning, I can see everything, but that’s just ridiculous.
I am learning this too, Dawn Elaine.
I often think I know what people mean by their words and actions.
I’m fairly intuitive and often pick up on things.
But sometimes I’m just wrong.
I’m learning to hold my thoughts about others more lightly.
More and more I’m realizing that no one really knows
what’s in the heart and mind of another person.
I learn this on a regular basis, Mary. I find it rather freeing not to make assumptions. Thank you for the words, “more lightly”. So much more spacious. 🩷
The things that keep working without me doing anything: clean water comes out of my pipes, the lights turn on, when I flush it goes away, I’m logged on right now because the internet service is working and our wifi router is too, someone takes our garbage, composting, and recyclables (except for the glass, which we drop off). I pause to appreciate it every so often, but I definitely count on it continuing without my direct attention.
The things I need showing up in stores: food, medicine, cleaning products, shoes, clothing, pet food.
I’m thinking now of the earliest days of the pandemic when we couldn’t count on any of these things, at least not without essential workers continuing to expose themselves to the risk of a disease that could kill them or leave them permanently altered. Where’s the appreciation now for those same people and why aren’t we still singing to doctors and nurses? Where are the bonds we forged then across all kinds of invisible lines?
I have to add that I can’t take clean water or air for granted, especially with the attacks on fundamental regulations that protect us all from polluters. What if we all went outside at 8pm and sang for things to be okay and for government that works and lets us take it for granted?
I am only 67 but I do not remember the government ever working so well, one could take it for granted. I have faith in our union. Still seems to be one of the better ones. This “administration” too shall pass.
Forging bonds across invisible lines is a great way to put it. It seems to me that a big source of meaning and purpose right now is turning towards those lines and reconnecting, once again forging bonds with all kinds of different people.
”What if we all went outside at 8pm and sang for things to be okay and for government that works and lets us take it for granted?”
. . . what a wonderful world this would be,
dear Barb. ♥
This reminds me of last week in my portrait drawing group.
I was comparing my work to some others in the group and feeling inadequate.
I told this to a friend of mine in the class.
He is an artist who works very slowly and has an incredible eye for detail.
His work is excellent and unique.
He said to me, Mary, you be you.
He repeated this to me the end of class.
I thought, how freeing!
Of course I don’t need to try to be more like other artists.
I am unique, and I am the one and only me.
So Drea, you be you, and I’ll be me.
We’ll be exactly who we are
and we will feel so free!
And tomorrow in portrait drawing,
I will thank the one and only Michael for his wisdom.
Mary, I recall also feeling small when I saw artists with that incredible eye for detail and precision. I’m a smeary, loose artist myself. I can really relate to what you wrote. Enjoy portrait drawing today!
As Joni Mitchell sang “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. But in the meantime, I’ll practice gratitude to try and be conscious of the gifts that surround me every day.
I have the ability to -design my life to my liking- as someone recently and wisely expressed in this forum.
I take it for granted that I am already doing this, with my one precious life.
But I know that there are changes that I can make to increase my satisfaction and my joy.
This is it.
This is my life.
I will give more thought to this question.
Update- I’m giving the credit to Loc Tran. Loc said a week or two ago that he was designing his life to his liking.
Thanks Loc! I made a copy of this quote. These are words to live by.
I like that, “design my life to my liking.” There are so many pressures to “have to” think or be a certain way, but really we have some surprising freedoms. Thank you Mary.
Taking things for granted in my daily life? I think I will just say that today I am grateful for the fan blowing on my face. For the keys to my “invisible illness” that are now known and leave a lot of opportunity for healing. For the sun that is shining on the pine tree out my window. I have been quite caught up in some worries and future plans, but the real joy of living is in the now. I am grateful for remembering this truth and coming to a place (this website) that allows me a moment in time to reflect and be thankful to my Father God. The world is a very confusing place if we get too far from the truth. That is all for now. With love, Sarah
I take so many things for granted. This morning it was the WIFI. They are installing a new picture window in my living room this morning and they accidentally disconnected the WIFI from the electricity and I could not get on the Internet. I do think that taking things for granted is one of our greatest problems in this country. We assume so much! A couple of months ago when I was lamenting all the wars going on in our world, a gentleman I had recently met at a senior lunch said, “Carol if there was two men and one woman left on this planet, there would be a war!”
I’ve been studying nonviolence recently, and have become aware that wars get all the attention. But there are hundreds of thousands(?), millions(?) of people in the world who are studying and practicing connection, compassion, de-escalation, healing … and they don’t get nearly as much attention. We assume war and violence are the norm, but if it was, our species would not still be on this planet. So I would challenge that gentleman’s comment as a dismissal of the truth that nature is also nonviolent, and that so many people over human history have been dedicated to peace that we are, in fact, still walking around this planet.
Thank you so much for this response, Drea! One video which has been helpful for me is Rivera Sun’s “10 Things older than war” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNoV_vhHPEA ). War has been around since 10,000 BC, which sounds like a long time. But Homo sapiens sapiens has been around for about 300,000 years! Weaving, painting, pottery, flutes/music, and jewelry are some of the things that are older than war.
In her response,
dear Drea.
Barb mentioned some books about people stepping up.
That made me think of a book I read some years ago . . .
“Beautiful Souls:
Saying No, Breaking Ranks,
and Heeding The Voice of Conscience in Dark Times,”
by Eyal Press.
After I read it
I felt that there was hope for mankind
after all. ♥
Yes, Drea! Rebecca Solnit wrote “A Paradise Built in Hell” to tell the stories of ordinary people coming together to rise to the occasion and help each other in horrendous circumstances. Most of us don’t turn into packs of ravening wolves; most of us are sheep dogs who take care of the ones who need our abilities. Years ago I read the book “The Moral Sense” by James Q. Wilson, in which he makes the case that we’re actually hardwired for altruism.
The site WagingNonviolence.org has actionable ideas for the times we’re in right now that invite us to act together.
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Health comes to mind for me tonight. As am getting older and have friends and family dealing with health issues right now.
The older I get
the less I take for granted,
but there are times when I forget
and get caught up in the madness that is upon us.
That’s why I come here . . .
to calm myself
and soak in the serenity that is present here
in all of your posts.
This centers me
and brings me back to ‘now’.
For that I am very grateful . . .
I have a cord
that draws me back to the breath.
Thank you all . . .
Namaste. ♥
ps. from Avril . . .
“Don’t allow anything to disturb your serenity!”
Probably most of the 10.000 things of daily life, and if once being aware and grateful for their´s being, the next moment, the next heartbeat or breath, there is no awareness. May be to be fully aware and to take nothing for granted, one has to become unaware in a way? meaning without concepts and without naming, while being centered in heart.
That, I am God’s beloved and I matter so much to him, and what matter is not what I do or achieve, nor what others say about me but that which God says that I am.
Water, food, clean air, a peaceful country!
Each moment of this gift that is life, with all its craziness, disappointments and joys!
When he died, my late boyfriend’s memorial card was taken from a note he’d left to his 17-year old daughter on a napkin. It contained several “instructions for life” for her. The last one was this: Learn to see what others do not wish to see, no matter how difficult. Good advice, but I’m learning to add something to it: Just because you see clearly, doesn’t mean you can see everything.
I assume that because I’m good at seeing and discerning, I can see everything, but that’s just ridiculous.
Your late boyfriend’s wisdom lives on, Dawn Elaine, as will yours. Thank you.🩷
I am learning this too, Dawn Elaine.
I often think I know what people mean by their words and actions.
I’m fairly intuitive and often pick up on things.
But sometimes I’m just wrong.
I’m learning to hold my thoughts about others more lightly.
More and more I’m realizing that no one really knows
what’s in the heart and mind of another person.
I learn this on a regular basis, Mary. I find it rather freeing not to make assumptions. Thank you for the words, “more lightly”. So much more spacious. 🩷
What wise advice,
dear Robin Ann,
and your addition
brings it all together . . .
Thank you. ♥
The things that keep working without me doing anything: clean water comes out of my pipes, the lights turn on, when I flush it goes away, I’m logged on right now because the internet service is working and our wifi router is too, someone takes our garbage, composting, and recyclables (except for the glass, which we drop off). I pause to appreciate it every so often, but I definitely count on it continuing without my direct attention.
The things I need showing up in stores: food, medicine, cleaning products, shoes, clothing, pet food.
I’m thinking now of the earliest days of the pandemic when we couldn’t count on any of these things, at least not without essential workers continuing to expose themselves to the risk of a disease that could kill them or leave them permanently altered. Where’s the appreciation now for those same people and why aren’t we still singing to doctors and nurses? Where are the bonds we forged then across all kinds of invisible lines?
I have to add that I can’t take clean water or air for granted, especially with the attacks on fundamental regulations that protect us all from polluters. What if we all went outside at 8pm and sang for things to be okay and for government that works and lets us take it for granted?
Barb, have you heard of World Singing Day? Attaching your purpose for singing could be such a beautiful addition.🩷
I am only 67 but I do not remember the government ever working so well, one could take it for granted. I have faith in our union. Still seems to be one of the better ones. This “administration” too shall pass.
Encouraging words simply stated, Joseph. Thank you.🩷
Forging bonds across invisible lines is a great way to put it. It seems to me that a big source of meaning and purpose right now is turning towards those lines and reconnecting, once again forging bonds with all kinds of different people.
”What if we all went outside at 8pm and sang for things to be okay and for government that works and lets us take it for granted?”
. . . what a wonderful world this would be,
dear Barb. ♥
That the gifts I bring to this life and this world are unique and precious, even if they’re unusual by mainstream societal standards.
This reminds me of last week in my portrait drawing group.
I was comparing my work to some others in the group and feeling inadequate.
I told this to a friend of mine in the class.
He is an artist who works very slowly and has an incredible eye for detail.
His work is excellent and unique.
He said to me, Mary, you be you.
He repeated this to me the end of class.
I thought, how freeing!
Of course I don’t need to try to be more like other artists.
I am unique, and I am the one and only me.
So Drea, you be you, and I’ll be me.
We’ll be exactly who we are
and we will feel so free!
And tomorrow in portrait drawing,
I will thank the one and only Michael for his wisdom.
Mary, I recall also feeling small when I saw artists with that incredible eye for detail and precision. I’m a smeary, loose artist myself. I can really relate to what you wrote. Enjoy portrait drawing today!
I will.
Drawing more loosely and with more freedom always improves my work.
Keep shining your light,
dear Drea . . .
your gifts are not unnoticed. ♥
Thank you Sparrow, that’s very kind.
As Joni Mitchell sang “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. But in the meantime, I’ll practice gratitude to try and be conscious of the gifts that surround me every day.
They tore down a tree paradise and put up a parking lot………………………………………Thanks Charlie.
I have the ability to -design my life to my liking- as someone recently and wisely expressed in this forum.
I take it for granted that I am already doing this, with my one precious life.
But I know that there are changes that I can make to increase my satisfaction and my joy.
This is it.
This is my life.
I will give more thought to this question.
Update- I’m giving the credit to Loc Tran. Loc said a week or two ago that he was designing his life to his liking.
Thanks Loc! I made a copy of this quote. These are words to live by.
“Design my life to my liking”…………….Liking my life for the design that is my life🌱❤️.
I like that, “design my life to my liking.” There are so many pressures to “have to” think or be a certain way, but really we have some surprising freedoms. Thank you Mary.
I too love the freedom in this.
We thank you, Loc!
My human ability to learn new skills, and explore new ideas and perspectives.
Yes!
There’s a few people that are very close friends. One a neighbor. I may not always let her know just how dear she is. I can take action on that.
Taking things for granted in my daily life? I think I will just say that today I am grateful for the fan blowing on my face. For the keys to my “invisible illness” that are now known and leave a lot of opportunity for healing. For the sun that is shining on the pine tree out my window. I have been quite caught up in some worries and future plans, but the real joy of living is in the now. I am grateful for remembering this truth and coming to a place (this website) that allows me a moment in time to reflect and be thankful to my Father God. The world is a very confusing place if we get too far from the truth. That is all for now. With love, Sarah
Sarah, it must feel so empowering to finally have keys to an illness that evaded definition. Cheering you on as you heal.
Beautiful.
I take so many things for granted. This morning it was the WIFI. They are installing a new picture window in my living room this morning and they accidentally disconnected the WIFI from the electricity and I could not get on the Internet. I do think that taking things for granted is one of our greatest problems in this country. We assume so much! A couple of months ago when I was lamenting all the wars going on in our world, a gentleman I had recently met at a senior lunch said, “Carol if there was two men and one woman left on this planet, there would be a war!”
I’ve been studying nonviolence recently, and have become aware that wars get all the attention. But there are hundreds of thousands(?), millions(?) of people in the world who are studying and practicing connection, compassion, de-escalation, healing … and they don’t get nearly as much attention. We assume war and violence are the norm, but if it was, our species would not still be on this planet. So I would challenge that gentleman’s comment as a dismissal of the truth that nature is also nonviolent, and that so many people over human history have been dedicated to peace that we are, in fact, still walking around this planet.
Thank you so much for this response, Drea! One video which has been helpful for me is Rivera Sun’s “10 Things older than war” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNoV_vhHPEA ). War has been around since 10,000 BC, which sounds like a long time. But Homo sapiens sapiens has been around for about 300,000 years! Weaving, painting, pottery, flutes/music, and jewelry are some of the things that are older than war.
Your sharing is very important to remember, and to focus on, Drea. Thank you. Where our focus goes, our energy flows.🩷
In her response,
dear Drea.
Barb mentioned some books about people stepping up.
That made me think of a book I read some years ago . . .
“Beautiful Souls:
Saying No, Breaking Ranks,
and Heeding The Voice of Conscience in Dark Times,”
by Eyal Press.
After I read it
I felt that there was hope for mankind
after all. ♥
Thank you Sparrow, I will look up that book!
Yes, Drea! Rebecca Solnit wrote “A Paradise Built in Hell” to tell the stories of ordinary people coming together to rise to the occasion and help each other in horrendous circumstances. Most of us don’t turn into packs of ravening wolves; most of us are sheep dogs who take care of the ones who need our abilities. Years ago I read the book “The Moral Sense” by James Q. Wilson, in which he makes the case that we’re actually hardwired for altruism.
The site WagingNonviolence.org has actionable ideas for the times we’re in right now that invite us to act together.
These are great reading recommendations, thank you Barb!
Drea, thank you for taking time to respond. your words are so encouraging.
Carol, glad to hear it!