Cosmic Gardener – Cultivating a Life

We are all voyagers on the journey of life. Choose your traveling companions carefully, treat them with respect and give them the support you’d like for yourself.

Several times recently I have found myself deep in discussion with others about the troubling state of affairs in our world. Ongoing war in Afghanistan, nukes in Iran, civil unrest continuing to spill over from the Arab spring, the possibility of global financial melt down, our own anemic economy and the sorry state of our political system among them. Faced with the magnitude of such issues we don’t know what to do and are often immobilized.  What’s a person to do?

 “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
~Lao-tzu

With rare exception our influence is mostly limited to those in our immediate circles. But in reality it is here that we can initiate and have the best opportunity to contribute to significant positive change. To do our part to make the world a better place we must each take responsibility to be present and available to those within our sphere of influence, where we live and with those that matter to us most, in our own communities (however we define them).

It is enough.

“One morning a man was walking on a nearly deserted beach when he came upon a boy surrounded by thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore. The man could see that he was picking up starfish and, one at a time was throwing them back into the water. Puzzled, the man asked, “What are you doing?”

The boy responded without looking up, “I’m trying to save these starfish, sir.” The man chuckled aloud, and queried, “Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?”

Holding a starfish in his hand, the boy turned to the man and, gently tossing the starfish into the water, said, “It will make a difference to that one!”
~Author Unknown

One of my brother’s sons-in-law told him that the best advice he ever gave him was, “Marriage is 30% choice, 70% hard work. Work hard.”

As I thought about that admonition it occurred to me that this simple rule of thumb was key to any substantive, meaningful and ongoing relationship.

Viewed in a broader context all of life is 30% choice, 70% hard work.
Work hard!

Just before Christmas I was asked, “Do you like holidays?” Given that we were in the midst of the celebration of multiple major ones, while a bit surprised the question made me think. As I pondered it dawned on me that in general I have actually become quite detached from most holidays by the crass retail-ization, distorted emphasis and co-opted meaning of many of them. And yet somehow I feel connected to this particular season of commemoration and festivity.

• Thanks giving
A time to reflect on the people and things that are meaningful to us; cultivating the attitude of gratitude and appreciation.

• Solstice
An opening to the esoteric; an invitation for contemplation and to embrace quiet inner work.

• Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanza
Sharing our presence, the true gift of relationship.

• New Year’s Eve
Closure; conscious release of people, things or circumstances that should be left behind in the old year.

• New Year’s Day
Beginning a clean slate, the opportunity to set intentions for a new year.

It seems to me that gratitude, reflection, spending quality time with those you love and making conscious choices are fitting no matter the season and are good qualities to include in any tradition.

I have come to believe that Choice is the most powerful tool we have as humans. Even more powerful than love, because to give or receive love is in itself a choice. We make small choices every day; what to wear, what to have for lunch, which music to listen to, which blog to read, etc.  The challenge is to make conscious choices, to be proactive not reactive.

 Yet many are fearful of making a wrong decision about matters of real importance, in fact our current culture almost seems to encourage us to trust some person or system external to us to make the right ones.  Over the years I’ve heard plenty tales of woe. Interestingly however it does not seem to be the degree of difficulty someone faces in life that is an indicator of their survival. Rather that when they continued to make choices, even when the options were between bad and worse, they often thrived.

Those who continue to face and make choices are often empowered and gain/regain a sense of control over their destiny. A story has been circulating recently about a woman who has gone to great lengths to be sure her choices are honored. At the age of 81 she had tattooed across her chest, “Do Not Resuscitate” along with an arrow and P.T.O. (please turn over) on her back. Will she find some peace because she made her choice known about the process? Hopefully.

I came across some comments recently that made a profound impression on me. The story goes that Aldous Huxley, asked on his deathbed to sum up what he had learned in his eventful life, said, “It’s embarrassing to tell you this, but it seems to come down mostly to just learning to be kinder.”

These days my life seems to be full of pop quizzes that challenge me to be more patient and more pleasant. But then my guess is that 21^st century life is that way for most of us. Being kind requires us to pay attention, and to pay attention we must be present. Whether at the grocery store or the gas pump, and especially with my loved ones, in this moment let me be kind.

 “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
~The Dalai Lama

Clutter is an accumulation of things and/or people that can get in your way and compromise the quality of your life.

 “Out of clutter, find simplicity.”  ~ Albert Einstein

In a quiet waiting room the other day I quickly fell into a surprisingly intimate conversation with the only other person there.  In a few short minutes she told me how she had cluttered up her house with things and her time with meaningless pursuits and shallow relationships. Motivated to unclutter her life she set about to prioritize her relationships and simplify her lifestyle. She said she had gotten rid of most of her stuff and now spent a lot of time alone.

As she shared her stories a stark reality about her current situation became apparent. She had significant physical challenges and was nearly penniless but what struck me about this woman was her profound sense of gratitude. Her calm grace lingers with me.

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler;
solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty,
nor weakness weakness.”  ~Henry David Thoreau

“There is great freedom in simplicity of living.
Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens.
If you have them, you have to take care of them!
It is those who have enough but not too much who are the happiest.”
~ Peace Pilgrim

One of the cyber forwards that found its way into my email box this week was especially full of vitriol, in this case slanted against youth. Touting the values of the Grey-Haired Brigade that “worked hard, raised our children and worshipped our God” it pretty much blamed the young for all our current economic and political woes. The ageist nature of the missive really troubled me. From my point of view these values attributed to older adults are not age-specific. And if we see evidence of changes in our current society that compromise them surely those of the generations that have come before must bear some responsibility.

The person who passed along the email has a deeply caring nature and perhaps just forwarded it onto me out of frustration with the current worrisome economic and divisive political climate. While I strongly believe that if we do not like something it is important to step up and make our voices heard, placing blame on opposing viewpoints or those that hold them serves no constructive purpose.

Whether age, religion, political persuasion or some other hot issue is the topic of discussion it seems to me that when airing differing opinions rather than attacking another’s perspective the world would no doubt be better served if we did so out of love and a desire to exchange ideas. And in so doing perhaps achieve a point of reference that encompasses both this and that and arrives at a broader and more inclusive viewpoint that transcends either.

 “He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him in!”
~ Edwin Markham

After making small talk with a friend about life, on reflection I said, “Sounds like Earth School.”

He countered, “Life Camp!”

We both laughed.

The giggles led to an epiphany. While I believe that we are all enrolled in Earth School for life it gave me a new perspective on life lessons to consider that while sometimes we are in the classroom, sometimes we are at camp. Somehow our assignments seem less challenging when we can see that not all of them are graduate level courses in coping. That sometimes we are tasked with indulging in frivolity and silliness.

Course objectives in Earth School include developing our potential and becoming a better person. School implies serious. Camp suggests fun. Assuming a playful attitude about life and learning to laugh at ourselves can go a long way towards balancing out the stress of all those “pop quizzes.”

“We’re all at different stages of getting better” a colleague once told me. We were coworkers at a rehab setting but he was not talking about the people we worked with every day.

We all have things we are working on in Earth School and many of life’s lessons are difficult and challenging. My dad once mused, “It’s almost as though you look forward to the hard times because you know you are going to learn something (a statement he later denied making!).”

 “Your pain is the breaking of the shell
that encloses your understanding.”
Kahlil Gibran

 In the ongoing development of our potential we are all humans becoming.

I have always had a love for the planet and all living things and one day I felt great passion that my life’s work make a positive contribution to both.  In petitioning the Universe for right occupation I was prompted to create the CULW, the Cosmic Union of Light Workers.

A Light Worker’s job in making the world a better place is to Show up, Pay Attention and Be of Service.

Dues include Letting Go of Fear, Letting Go of Judgment and Letting Go of Expectations.

Compensation and benefits include Abundant Health, Rich Relationships and Financial Serenity.

Membership is open, and growing.

“Matter is Energy. Energy is Light. We are all Light Beings.”
~ Albert Einstein