Cosmic Gardener – Cultivating a Life

Recently I listened to an interview with Andrew Harvey, author of “The Hope: A Guide To Sacred Activism.” I went on to read the book and have come to understand his vision of sacred activism as an answer to the call, What are you doing to make the world a better place?

I don’t think it matters what our cause, or how we serve it but that we have at least one to which we give our time, talent or dollars or some combination thereof. Our efforts don’t need to be grandiose or Gandhi-esque to make a difference. In fact I believe that sometimes our best contributions are gifted by just showing up, being authentic or sharing our earth school homework.

Of course all this made me wonder what it is that I care enough about to get involved with, for or in, and risk what Harvey calls “being reborn into a peaceful passion to put love into action.”

If not now, when? If not us, who?

“To think that everything that you do has a ripple effect,
that every word that you speak, every action that you make
affects other people and the planet changes the way you live.”
Victoria Moran

For what am I grateful this day, and in what ways have I been kind?

It seems to me that having animal companions is in many ways like having a primary human relationship. Having entered into such a partnership implies caring for and being available to it. All our relations deserve such focus. The First People tell us that everything is our relation, an idea expressed beautifully in “a video prayer honoring our oneness with all living things” by modern mystic Jan Phillips.

Other: someone not like us, an idea foundational to much of the divisiveness in today’s society, especially our politics.

Ageism. Homophobia. Racism. Sexism. Religion. Country of origin….

Is there another way to frame our differences? What’s a person to do? Where to begin?

“Look people in the eyes and simply acknowledge they’re human beings,” offers an advocate for the homeless who speaks out in an attempt to narrow the differences between them and home-having people.

The way I see it is that our hearts all match.

While I rarely encounter those without homes I like a friend’s response when coming upon the occasional person-on-a-corner-with-the-ubiquitous-sign; I can carry a large ziplock bag in the car, filled with a bottle of water, nutrition bar, pair of socks and pack of handi wipes.

And I can and have added my voice to the growing movement that has started conversations about how our society perceives aging; I can share my perspective and offer suggestions about ways to influence a paradigm of positive age neutrality.

The bridge between others is not such a long journey. It begins with the first step.

Peace
In me
Through me
To my beloveds
To their beloveds
And so on
To the world
Peace
To the World

The other day I had lunch with an old friend. His life line ranges from Horatio Alger to Indiana Jones, from beloved educator to benevolent elder. Deeply spiritual, and religious, God is not an uncommon word in his lexicon

I learn something from my friend every time we talk. When I ask him how he knew something or what guided him to make a certain choice he shrugs and tells me, “I just listen to what Sky King says and do whatever He tells me to do.”

The world is a better place because my friend’s heart beats in it and his response always makes my heart smile.

For all my beloveds in the new year I wish Health in All Things:

• Rich and meaningful social relations
• Robust mental engagement
• Physical vitality
• Spiritual intimacy
• Financial serenity
• Peace of mind

For all the world I also wish Health, in All Things.

“Health has nothing to do with illness.
Health is the acceptance and appreciation of life.”
~ Paul Brenner, M.D.

Thinking about all the troubling stories currently in the news makes me wish I could sprinkle faerie dust on the world and make it all better.

Love dust.
We all have it.
We can all sprinkle it.
Wherever we want.

Being yourself is sharing yourself.
With yourself. With the world.
A Gift.

We are not always engaged when we are busy, and we don’t have to be busy to be engaged.

There is a difference between being busy and being engaged.

No matter what choices you make or how you move forward, continue the inquiry.

No matter what happens seek peace.

Growing is a learning experience.
Life stretches us, asks us to grow.

We are all teachers and we are all students.
As we learn we teach.
When we are ready a teacher appears.
We tutor each other.

People come and go from our lives. External identifiers manifest and disappear. If we pay attention Life reveals us to ourselves and teaches us how to be Cosmic grown ups as we face the changing status quo in our relationships with it.

• To be in the now
• To love the process, even when it hurts
• To believe that our pain is breaking us open to new understanding
• To embrace the challenge of forging a new identity as a Cosmic grown up

“To exist is to change, to change is to mature
to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.”
~ Henri Bergson

This day we celebrate Independence in America is symbolically a good time to do a bit of spadework. A weed is sometimes called a plant out of place. The process of weeding, or freedom from, can be not only one of eradication but also one of making room for.

Being discerning about what to eliminate from our garden encourages us to be mindful of the seeds with which we fill the space that appears, freedom for. What is the something new that you want to sow at this time in your life?

We are all gardeners even when unaware. Choose to be a conscious gardener.

Do some gardening today.