Cosmic Gardener – Cultivating a Life

We may have different classmates in different classes in Earth School. But we always have classmates.

These birds are on a cabinet in my family room. I found the photo of the grumpy owl and the peace bird was a gift. I thought they belonged together to remind me that when I was out of sorts I could choose peace.

Reflect         Reframe           Release

Most of us express many different personas in a lifetime. Key among them are the identity formed within our family of origin, the outpicturing of who we become through our formative years, the face we present in our maturity and the travelers we become beyond.

Within each phase we often assume a variety of roles, shaping multiple facets of our personality in the process. Periodically (on the anniversary of our natal day or at the new year perhaps) it is a good thing to not only reflect on who we have been but also to make choices about who we want to be in the present.

To see the big picture we might need to reframe our stories. In the process it is important to make conscious choices about who we want to leave in the picture and which faces and roles don’t fit our framework anymore. When we take steps to release old hurts and dead weight we get a leg up on the next phase of our journey.

 A variation of the process is a helpful tool for keeping current in the now –
Analyze      Synthesize       Neutralize

 The next step is not the last step.
It is just the next step.
CG 6-17-2012

The more unconditionally we love a person or an animal the more they trust us. Unconditional love is respectful. Respect fosters trust which in turn allows for intimacy. In-to-me-see.

It seems to me that we spend most of our lives defined by external identifiers. Family ties. Relationships. Employment. Community involvement. Some roles are assigned to us. Some we embrace with intent. Often it takes a role change or the loss of a starring role for us to question our identity. Who are we? Really?

Recently I have been motivated to sort and purge. As I have gone through files, sifted through correspondence, waded into closets and winnowed out things it occurred to me that our stuff also represents external identifiers. Who are we without all our props? At our core, our heart center?

We don’t all have to take the same classes to get a well rounded education in Earth School. We can expand our understanding by taking advantage of other people’s homework; by studying the way other people live their lives and by listening to or reading their stories and reflecting on their pop quizzes and lessons learned.

By telling our stories we in turn share our homework, which often helps others with their coursework.

We all have stories.

Life events sometimes bring us to our knees. We lose the roof over our head. A family member gets really sick. During those times that are the hardest it is our relationships that continue to give us meaning. Solidarity in the face of hardship; unconditional love, loyalty and support.

Our core relationships are the threads that define our life tapestries. There for us through thick and thin.

Healing the world starts with healing our relationship with ourselves, with becoming whole, integrating and embracing the many facets of our lives. We become part of a revolution for good when we work to heal our fragmented relationships with others and with the earth, and by helping others to heal their own fragmented ones.

There is hope for the world when we choose to make peace with ourselves and take action to heal All Our Relations. Albert Schweitzer called it “Reverence for Life”, a philosophy that awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize.

I have been thinking that coming home to ourselves is really what our journey is all about; to find ourselves on life’s path. And in our travels to develop our capacity to master the mundane and our potential to connect with the better angels of our nature*, and in so doing, to do our part to make the world a better place.

* Abraham Lincoln referenced “the better angels of our nature” in his 1st inaugural address.

In the end the only thing that really matters is our relationships, and that we do our best to make the world a better place.

You don’t need to be in a classroom to be a teacher. You never know when you cast a shadow and you don’t always know when you are the Light. You are always on camera.

We are all teachers and we are all students.

A friend has been troubled about a family member’s overuse and often downward spiraling repetition of Why? It’s not that Why? is inherently a bad question. To some questions however there are no answers. In this case, rather than accept an unsatisfying answer or that maybe it just “is what it is” the questioner often seems to be seeking the unanswerable and doesn’t demonstrate much interest in either resolve or moving on. He keeps doggedly digging up the Why? bone.

When used to fuel a no-win and never ending conversation Why? can become toxic. When it begins with curiosity Why? can lead to adventure and innovation and when it becomes Why not? it can be a catalyst for action that can change the world.

  “The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
~Albert Einstein

This cartoon has been circulating on Facebook. The cat drawn is one that most would have judgment about while he is saying to us, “I love you unconditionally.”

I see in this cartoon more truth than humor, a comic reminder from the Cosmic Cat about the true nature of love.

Recently I read a book originally published in the 1940s “YOU are the Adventure!” By J. Allen Boone. A theme he repeated throughout the short tome was it is our Cosmic Obligation –

• To find ourself
• To know ourself
• To be ourself, and
• To share ourself.

Deceptively simple the words seared themselves into my memory the first time I read them and I have been thinking about them ever since.

It seems to be that in our busy world it is easy to be so driven in our seeking for external validation and recognition that we rarely make time to find ourself. And it can take a lifetime to know ourself, and only then sometimes when we trust someone enough to honestly and kindly reflect back to us our true selves.

To be ourself requires courage, self acceptance and commitment. To share ourself (out of our Being) is to make the world a better place.

For many of us monetary concerns are among our most challenging issues. An often recurring theme, financial challenges can present themselves not only as lack but also as compulsive spending, unbridled acquisition or even hoarding.

To live with Material Maturity includes living within our means, honoring our debts and even in times of scarcity to live with integrity. It also means to make conscious spending choices, to be reasonable about our possessions and in some way to be charitable, whether contributing to causes or organizations we believe in or directly to someone who could use the support.

This time of year we have a special opportunity to focus on thanks giving, and to share gifts. Thankful season actually lasts 365 days however. We have the chance to express gratitude and to give love every day.