Cosmic Gardener – Cultivating a Life

We are moved to action by a desire for something, or because something is in discord.
A desire for Peace is often the catalyst.
Consciously, or unconsciously.

Rose colored glasses is a term generally uttered with a degree of derision, most often used when it is thought that someone is being unrealistically optimistic, whether in speech or perspective.

It is sometimes interchanged with Pollyanna, alluding to the so-named fictional heroine who created the “Glad Game” as a way to put a positive spin on the difficult circumstances in her life in order to rise above them. Also spoken with disrespect, even disdain, she is referenced when someone dares to believe that the light at the end of the tunnel is not that of an oncoming train.

Not ignorant of life’s vicissitudes, my default outlook nonetheless trends positive even as the Earth School lessons of 2020 challenge the Pollyanna rose-colored-glasses-wearer in all of us.

On my walk today I saw these rose colored glasses lying in weeds near the street. Notice the butterfly in the top corner of the right lens, a symbol of transformation.

Lost?   Or discarded?            

Late in 2019 remote instances of a novel coronavirus swiftly grew exponentially and became  a pandemic. Known as COVID-19, the first pandemic in 100 years swiftly swept the globe riveting universal attention. As 2020 unfolded, around the world millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths subsequently strained medical delivery systems, devastated families and economies and challenged governments’ capacity to respond. It is ongoing.

In some instances denial of its reality and dismissal of its severity delayed effective response and led to epic failure to curb its spread and resulted in senseless and avoidable deaths.

There is another pandemic, representing centuries of low grade infection. In 2020 multiple incidents of virulent Racism in the United States catapulted this one onto the global stage, its acute nature making it a second worldwide pandemic.

Denial of its reality and dismissal of its severity has also resulted in senseless and avoidable deaths.

COVID-19 and Racism share a continuum of similarities:
Masks……………………Blinders
Quarantine…………………Segregation
Social Distancing..……..Red Lining
Education………..……Rumors
Reaction/Action…………………Action/Reaction

While a long term solution remains elusive for the virus there is a cure for Racism. It is predicated on an acknowledgement that something is not right, reinforced by a call for and the passion to implement sweeping change.

It demands the vulnerability to accept that there is always another way to look at things and a willingness for self-education and to take action. And it requires commitment to inclusion, and for staying the course. The Race issue is not a sprint.

Societies around the world stand at a crossroads. The choices we make now will impact the health and wellbeing of generations to come.

Choice is powerful. What are you willing to do to make the world a better place?

Anti-Racism = Pro Humanity

I forgive my former self for not knowing what I know now.
If I knew better I’d do better.

Life is messy.
With knowing comes accountability.

Earth School.
Still learning.

“Do the best you can until you know better.
Then when you know better, do better.”
~ Maya Angelou

On my neighborhood walk this scene seemed to capture and somehow depicts that comfort can be found amidst, and despite, the decay and global chaos by which we are currently engulfed. Surrounded by death and disarray, the fountain dry, the man has his arm around the woman whose head is down.

We can comfort one another. We must.

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”
Buddhist teaching

On my neighborhood walk it was cold enough to don hat and gloves. These flowers reminded me that spring always follows winter, Light, the dark.

Shadows’ reflections  are often framed by our perspective.

Life has given most of us in our global community an unexpected opportunity to get very intimate with our lives. And perhaps to come face to face with those parts of us, and the paths that we routinely travel on that might be in need of some repair.

Potholes. Everywhere.

In many respects we face the end of a life that we have known and become accustomed to. In our journeys onward we also have the opportunity to patch up or reclaim those wounded or neglected parts of it.

Choose wisely.

Let the shadow you cast be one of loving kindness.

This beautiful clock, handcrafted with heart, has graced my life for decades. Full of love, it has been the subject of much good natured deliberation.

Is it a fish? Or a turtle? Or possibly, both, this and that?

Recently it occurred to me that my clock is emblematic of many things that we see and hear. Its meaning is open to interpretation, like a Rorschach. In this way I believe that it symbolically reflects much bigger, societal, this-or-that debates. Few of those polarizing discussions however, are as congenial as the clock talk ones.

Perspective is shaped in many ways. There is always another way to look at things. I think my clock frames its steady rhythm in the timeless message of the Beatles song, “All You Need Is Love.”

As I was reading Booker T. Washington’s autobiography, Up From Slavery, I experienced  a teachable moment with a longtime friend, of African American descent. I reached out to inquire how they saw and what they thought of the differences between Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, both early, post-slavery advocates for the upliftment and advancement of those newly freed.

I touched a nerve. Unintentionally. “I don’t know why you think I know a lot about them.”

Knowing their love of learning, I responded that I hadn’t presumed they would be familiar with the histories of these men by virtue of their race, but rather because they were curious, like I am.

Hopefully our history will allow us to sort through and move beyond my microaggression, ”the kind of remarks, questions, or actions that are painful because they have to do with a person’s membership in a group that’s discriminated against or subject to stereotypes. And a key part of what makes them so disconcerting is that they happen casually, frequently, and often without any harm intended, in everyday life.”

Earth School. Still learning.

Our vision often improves the further away we get from any situation that captured our focus. Immersed in experience we may have been blinded to the bigger picture that it framed. With distance, and reflection, comes the opportunity to reframe difficult or challenging life experiences.

The 2020 vision gained from contemplative hindsight may guide us to ponder that essential question, What did I learn from this experience?
If we follow the prompt to expand our perspective we will be gifted with the clarity to see the blessings in the lesson.

We are blended beings having an Earth School experience.
We are here to learn and grow.
As the human learns, the soul grows.

The way forward out of our polarizing stuckness regarding pressing social concerns, whether global climate upset or racial and cultural strife, must leave the quagmire of fault finding behind. To heal and move along the path ahead requires a wholly/holy new way of looking at things.

The opportunity is ours to stop the finger pointing and to make the commitment to take steps that lead to positive change in our behavior and our actions, leading all towards unity and peace.

Positive regard. For all life.

We don’t all take the same classes in Earth School (although I do believe that some coursework, like Patience, is a requisite for all students) and we develop a different set of skills, talents and abilities in our coursework and internships.

Our Earth School homework gives us opportunity, through direct experience, to connect with and apply our spiritual understanding to the people and situations that we encounter on our path. By sharing our Earth School homework we mentor each other in the development of our potential.

It is often the hardest courses that teach us the most. Life sometimes gives pop quizzes.

In conversation with a friend that always stimulates my thinking I learned the term Radical Candor. The phrase captivated my imagination.

Mentioned in the business context for which a book and program have been developed founded on that language, I began to ponder, what does radical candor look like in action in our personal affairs?

Communication is an essential thread in the tapestry of our relationships. To have meaningful exchange requires us to be fully present, engaged, consistently honest and willing to tell the truth quicker.

Radical candor. I’ve also heard it called the art of being straightforward.

“Honest conversation may be the most revolutionary act of our time. ”
~ David Korten