Cosmic Gardener – Cultivating a Life

A life’s journey is like being on a road trip. A mission into uncharted territory where parts of the path are smooth interspersed with stretches of unexpected obstacles including the inevitable pothole where we occasionally get stuck in a rut.

It is not a boring trip.

I have learned that the best way to find balance during times that most challenge us is to Do One Thing. When we are overwhelmed sometimes doing one thing lifts us out of paralyzing lethargy. At other times doing one thing is an act of slowing down.

Do One Thing. It is enough.

High Level Wellness is health, in all things.
Health is more than the absence of symptoms.

I have come to believe that the best foundation for anything we do in life is one whose cornerstone reflects our core values, which naturally align with our interests. Choosing the right cornerstone for our foundation can help us manage the inevitable wobble.

I have come to believe that both integrity and patience are core cosmic values and that we are rewarded or challenged by the degree of respect with which we attend them.

While visiting colleagues’ tastefully appointed offices recently I was most taken by an empty room. Situated in the corner of an otherwise full and defined space it looks out onto unlimited city vistas. I was immediately struck that such emptiness was full of possibility.

Topping off the mind bending effect of the room was an ornate light feature not at all aligned with the rest of the décor on the floor. It was busy and twisted like Medusa, known in mythology to turn everything she looks at to stone. The overall effect seemed a poetic juxtaposition between rigid ideas and boundless opportunity.

It made me think how often we allow ourselves to be frozen by fear from what others might think of our actions, their Medusa judgment. And how seldom we allow ourselves the indulgence of creative abandon. Which begs the question, are we willing to be broken open to the possibility of infinite potential? In every aspect of our lives?

The Void is not empty.

The Possibility Corner

A friend gave me a bookmark with the word Serenity written on it to remind me that peace is a choice. Actually she was looking for one that said Peace and serenity was the closest alternative she could find. I keep it propped up on an eye-level shelf in a part of the house that I frequent often.

I have been saying the Serenity Prayer a lot lately; to my self, in conversation, and hearing it out of the mouths of others. “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Maya Angelou framed the same thought in a more straightforward manner, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

Attitude is a choice. Peace is an attitude.

It is what it is, a saying that has become common vernacular. Bandied about by some it is often a way to discount, dismiss or even deny the reality of a situation.

A more engaged way to voice the thought (It is what it is) is as an invitation to deal with what is at hand and has our attention. A mantra of sorts to motivate us to be accountable, and to take responsibility for our thoughts and our actions, even if we do nothing.

It Is What It Is. No Matter What IT Is.

For Hindus death is not the opposite of life; it is, rather, the opposite of birth. Buddhists say to have a good death, have a good life.

Dying is a part of living. To live with dying is to have control over your experience of it.

The more I know, the more I know I don’t know. The good thing about that is the excitement and challenge that comes with knowing that there is still so much more to know.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about societal concepts and stereotypes about “older.” It seems to me that one’s stage in life rather than age is a more apt frame with which to view behavior and to better understand ones motivations and priorities.

Chronology, nor any other external identifier alone ought to primarily inform our judgment about others. This perspective of course suggests the possibility of widening our lenses beyond all isms.

Everyone comes into our life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. We never know the opportunities or challenges that will be present in a connection at initial contact. And we don’t always recognize when a purpose has been fulfilled or a season ended; and even sometimes we fail to notice that someone has been by our side for an especially long time.

In the end it all boils down to relationships. To ask of each, ‘What did I learn?’ is to honor them all.

When we do something that makes a positive difference in the world or in someone’s life, it is not that we were the one that did it that is important, rather THAT we did it.

Some words and phrases captivate my imagination the first time I hear them, catalysts that continue to engage me with each encounter. Monk on the block is one of them.

It comes from a friend for whom I thought it had some deep foundational significance. After asking repeatedly to write about what the phrase meant to him I figured out that it doesn’t really matter. What matters is what it makes me think about and what it means to me.

In my mind a Monk on the Block does not live in isolation and intends

• To be thoughtful, and kind
• To be helpful
• To give wise counsel
• To consider that there is always another way to look at things

To accept the challenges of living such a life, striving to be all these things with all people and in all situations, and at those times when we miss the mark to at least remain steadfast in our intention to be a monk on the block.