Ebb and Flow ~ Waves

In the human promenade through life, there is a continuous parade of new lessons that inevitably create perspectives, convictions, and directions in and about life. These personal realities become our truths, and we live and relive them daily. As we grow and mature, many, if not most, of our notions about our realities change, and what we once held to be hallowed is modified, sometimes radically, demonstrating that our truths and realities are in a constant state of flux. Those who are too rigid to see change on their paths eventually succumb to a fixed view of the world, making themselves and those around them miserable.

                                                                       -Wayne B Chandler  "Ancient Futures"


Nothing is truly "for" or "against" us. Let us not reject things stubbornly but rather find place and meaning in every experience. Let us not avoid our duties to fulfilling our potential and serving our brothers and sisters because of the intolerance to non-permanent appearances and disappearances of happiness and distress. We must execute in spite of these climatic inconveniences. We must keep our perceptions of the happenings of life even broader than the happenings themselves. As all is in constant motion and change, so must our interpretations of our reality.

Become Warriors of Light and vibrate to Love's highest frequency.

Happiness...

Walking barefoot through the city
Watching the sunset reflect off
Of broken glass and bottle caps

Sitting in an alley alone watching
A one legged pigeon succeed
In getting everything he needs

Standing on the edge of the top
Level of a parking garage
Looking at the city through your exhaled smoke

Walking through a puddle filled
Parking lot amazed at the
Colorful pattern created by gasoline

Laying awake at night watching
Your flickering shadow just
Before your last candle burns out

Wiping off a steamed mirror to
Reveal a nearly faded scar
Reminding you of times healing power

The tingle of fizz on your lip
Before the burn of the first
Sip from a fresh bottle of Coke

Silent reflection alone at 2 am
Under a street lit tree interrupted
By the laughter of two people falling in love

Contemplating the Word Friend

What is a friend? A friend is someone you can count on at all times no matter what. A friend is someone who has your back at all costs. A friend is someone who sees all your qualities good and bad but still accepts you at the end of the day. A friend is trustworthy. A friend speaks up when he sees you slipping. A friend pushes you to meet your goals even if he knows it might make you mad. A friend does his best to hold you up when you fall. If you do fall, however, a friend picks you up regardless of your mistakes. Friendship, genuine friendship, is a unique and amazing relationship full of love. Some people go through life without ever knowing this relationship. Some people are blessed and have more than one true friend. My hope is that I am as good to my friends as they are to me.

Osmosis Jones

Have you seen this movie? It's about the cells in a man's body living consciously with the many natural behaviors we observe in them. The cells take on many "humanly" characteristics. I'm wondering about the possibility of this. Truth is not dependent on our awareness of it. As humans, there is so much we don't know and so much more we don't even know we don't know.

I could accept the fact that the cells in our bodies live in similar ways as we do. Understanding their role in some greater environment (however limited it is) and that of the things "below" them or "of a lesser level". So our human body would be their Earth or greater environment and they would understand their bodies - mitochondria, nuclei, etc... In the same way as humans, these cells might not be able to connect their purpose or role beyond that of the immediate greater environment they perceive. They consider themselves the most important thing in life, in their universe, which is only the human body. So, from a human perspective, while these cells have great importance to all things, they would not be considered the most important by any means.

How are we as humans similar to the cells in Osmosis Jones. Humans commonly refer to themselves as having a higher intellect or as being a higher level species. It is also a prevalent thought that we are the only life in the Universe with this higher intellect. Perhaps at least in the known universe, but what do we really know? I am open to humans being equivalent to some extremely small level of micro life. Such that the Earth is some cell to the tissue that is our solar system. Then the collection of solar systems in our Milky Way galaxy would make an organ. A cluster of galaxies would be an organ system. Clusters working together would be the organism. The One. The higher being. Everything connected, everything serving some unique function and playing an important role to contribute to, everything.

infinity = 1
(1 not necessarily equaling infinity - I am 1 but I am not infinity but only a part of it)


Just some random thoughts that popped into my head today. Help me develop/process them if you would.

What is an Ideal World?

What Is an Ideal world?

            For me, an ideal world would be in balance. The harmony of our energies would create no waste or excess. All would have access to the essential elements of human life such as clean waters and atmosphere. Food would be used for energy not gluttony. Together, we would create a viable and sustainable connection with the environment so that its precious resources would be respected yet used to their full potential.

The equilibrium of nature is a beautiful thing. Given the nature of humans, it must be fought for with integrity to keep it. Positive focus, direction, and intent always on mind, the energy from our spirits would power the conduits of the body to instill these transactions. Humans must see themselves as a collected species, as one race. Ideally, working together to ensure quality life for the whole of its population. Our collaborated efforts would promote a collected advancement and evolution of our very gifted species.

Ideally…

·         Sharing over greed

·         Love over hate

·         Respect over violence

Yet what if this Ying Yang is necessary for the fluidity of life??

o   I caught myself taking a step back from make that list. I thought of the implications of one over another. How is the delicate balance affected when good triumphs over evil? Should they rather dance dangerously together mirroring their opposite. 

Of course it seems better to have more good than bad on a spectrum. But what exactly would those implications be? What do you think? 

Look at the past few posts about awareness of life and death. Avoiding death is an unconsciously natural direction of the mind but is it always beneficial?

Death

Humanity = mortality. As a human we are inevitably going to die. This is the sad reality we must face given our higher understanding of the world around us. Throughout history, humans have sought numerous ways to cheat death. Immense monuments, beautiful art works, supernatural feats, the list goes on and on. Our attempts of immortality are seen all throughout out literature and society. We are forced to create symbolic aspects of life to somehow achieve immortality in the face of the harsh reality that the end of our life as we know will come no matter what we do.

Religions are formed and cultures are developed with this in mind, perhaps mostly on an unconscious level. In placing faith in something many of our neighbors believe in, in placing faith in something greater than ourselves, we are some how comforted. The symbolic helps us move past our fear of death. I mean, in reality, we are a nothing in a vast sea of infinity. The forces of nature and of chance control us more than we even know.

My intent is not to send a bleak message or to say that all religion is hogwash. I am, in fact, very spiritual. My main purpose in writing this post is to increase the awareness of our inevitable death. Contrary to the main message, I wish to advance happiness in doing so.

Whatever ways we find to forget about death help us get past our fears and actually live life. But all too often, our methods blind us too much far beyond the initial goal. We forget completely about the incredible worth each second of life has. We lose focus on what is truly important because it seems everything will last forever. We lack urgency in our actions. We put off what we should do today for another day. We put our true and meaningful desires aside to work because maybe one day if we work enough we'll have a lot of money.

Death will come whether you like it or not. Don't wait to pursue the loves of your lives; be it a babe, a hunk, or any burning passion. And for that matter don't wait to tell the people in your life you love them. Don't wait to do things that make you happy. Re-evaluate your values with death in mind. Figure out what really matters. Don't waste any time on negativity. Make every second count because it could be your last.

What I've Got

So I tend to think myself as someone who doesn't complain all that much and in a humble manner, this is true. But it's also true that the limiting nature of my humanity brings me to have some degree of an unsatisfiable desire. As a student I fight against assignments piling up on my daily planner. I may complain to friends about how I'm swamped with homework. I realized today the gross ingratitude of this. Imagine for a moment my friend being some one in a third world country living in abject poverty. Someone who barely has clothes on their backs let alone shoes on their feet. This malnourished someone who has to trek multiple miles each day barefoot just for a clean source of water. Each step meaning life or death for his/her family. One tiny cut on the foot stands the chance to kill knowing all too way the poor medical system.

I'm not sure how to change these sick inequalities. This is a problem for which I eagerly search a solution. However, I do know what I've got. I know I have way more than I need. I know that by either some random force or by destiny I was born an American. While I may be lower to middle class here in the US, I am one of the very privileged in the whole of the world community. Not only have I been educated, I've had the opportunity of a higher education. To complain about an assignment that's due or a shower that's not hot enough is ridiculous from a more universal perspective. We should be grateful of these things - of everything we've got.

If you're reading this, given your access to some technological device with internet access, you've probably have more than you need just like me. Lets use our resources for good instead of wasting them on complaints and insignificant garbage.

Optimistic Action

It’s a great thing, optimism. It helps people get through the day. It cannot, however, be simply an idea. Optimistic thought still requires action. There is a difference between optimism and optimistic actions. Things can get better. Things will get better. Everything does happen for a reason and what doesn’t kill someone will make them stronger; however, it may take a little action. It may mean that ideas need to be put into practice. When something needs to get better, action of some sort or another must be taken. Recognize where things went wrong and act accordingly to make them better. This, though, is the confusing part. What is the right thing to do? Who says what is right and what is wrong? I find that it is entirely impossible to please everyone. At the end of the day, though, I need to know that I did my best.

Past Ruins for Future Greatness

If something breaks you, if something tears you apart, use it as an opportunity to make you stronger. If what you had thought was secure and solid turns around and falls apart when shock comes to the system, use it as an opportunity to rebuild the infrastructure of your life. Do not stay on the ground, lost in the dust and rubble, pick yourself up with tenacity. Get away from the destruction and clear your vision. Look at the past to find the weaknesses that led to the pain. With your new perspective and stronger heart, use the experience as a catapult to go further than ever before. Use the negativity to fuel positive agendas. Don't just exist, live!

It will be a process this rebuilding. One that may not at all be desireable. But unless you want to waste you life in the ruins of your past you'll buck up and do what you gotta do to get past the past. Live in the present. Work toward greatness now and in the future. Never let past sorrows bring you down or keep you down, use them to become stronger. As you evolve from your experience, you'll find yourself more apt toward happiness.  




God = Love = Happiness = Peace = Joy...find one and lead yourself to the others. Spread them all at every opportunity.  

Abstractions

Everything has been nice, and I agree with most of the thoughts people are expressing; but explanations are much too abstract for much too long per post. I think it's especially easy to write that we should dig deep into our souls and connect with people and think and make hydrating, cleansing waves to rush over everyone we meet. It's easy, because we haven't explained what the hell that means. I think more focus, more concreteness in posting would be good. Or at least a combination of both. I think more dialogue is good. Shorter posts would hopefully invite others to comment and provoke the main poster. Writing is about creating knowledge, as you force yourself to complete your ideas floating ghost-like in your brain and body. You draw out the parts necessarily, because you must put them into words to get them out of your head. You have a conversation with yourself as you write the words. You can hear yourself talking to your self, head and fingers. But then you can expand. Talking with someone or interacting with something outside of your own intellect and emotions will shock you into becoming sharper. You must scan your brain for original replies to someone else's comments. You don't have the luxury to pre-plan responses--which happens, often unconsciously, though sometimes intentionally--when only talking to yourself. You don't have the luxury to stay nestled in your baby nest, which only extends so far around you. Someone can drop a bomb and you have to pick out sense from the smoke and debris and rebuild something new in response.

My worry, ultimately, is that all of these posts are pretty similar-seeming, and we might become exhausting to read, exhausting possibilities for ideas and striking images for people to ponder. For us to ponder. Must stand out. Must be readable. Must be profound. Original. Creative. Pressing. Prodding, investigate the thought to know its surface composition, take the scalpel, open it up and look inside. Or else take the scalpel, and carve something masterful into the dull- block-of-wood-thought.

Hopefully I haven't seemed too hypocritical. I do run that risk, I am aware, seeing that I'm not about to comment on anyone else's posts. Tell me if I should just extract myself from this blog altogether for writing such self-aware posts. The other posts (save the dog tag one) don't acknowledge their medium, which is fine, but which is clearly also not what I'm doing, which ruins (perhaps) the blog's style and aim. DIALOGUE!

...dialogue, if you find it worthwhile to engage in it with me, and each other, about small details of life; and from there, we find similarities between things--between what it is to hug your mother, what it is to hug your brother, what it is to hug an acquaintance, what it is to hug your pillow--hopefully better things than that example, though; you find similarities, and you see what is different, and you come up with a thesis, a challenge, a formal thought. You have data to back it up. I gotta be done with this, becoming verbose, becoming diffuse.

With utmost fondness,

Danielle