Protect and Serve

There are groups of people who sign up to protect and serve. Some are our military, our police, and our fire fighters. They do what they do to protect and serve so that we can be safe and secure. We may not be safe in our personal life, but great steps and sacrifices are taken to preserve safety and security in our country, our states, our cities, our communities, and our neighborhoods. Being free from harm and danger is due to the protection we receive. Those who protect us are heroes. Animal rescue groups are also composed of heroes who provide safety for all of our creatures. Sometimes there are "unsung heroes" who don't get the recognition they deserve. Heroes carry on resolutely and with undaunted determination to help others. They fight for causes and look out for other's interests, guard, protect, and rescue. Protection is a shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage. It takes courage and bravery to be a hero. The brave man recognizes the power of thought and isn't defeated by fear, anxiety, frustration, or anger, but rises above these negatives and assumes a positive and victorious approach to life. Courage is the willingness to do the right thing in spite of fear. It is a quality of spirit that enables certain people to face danger, pain, and failure for the larger picture. When someone goes to war, he is supporting his country and its beliefs. Beliefs differ among nations and that is the main reason for conflict and confrontation. In an ideal, perfect word, we would all realize that we are one, that we are all human beings. Many hold a vision of peace in the midst of conflict and imagine and dream of freedom for each one of us. For peace to rise, we need to honor each other and to seek common ground one by one, until then, we will always have those that seek to protect and serve, and to them we say "thank you."

Freedom

I am writing not about freedom from being oppressed or restrained from acting or speaking as we wish, but freedom of our thoughts, emotions, and feelings, freedom to be ourselves. We can be free in our thoughts regardless of our current circumstances, challenges, and issues. We can go anywhere in our minds through the power of prayer, meditation, and our imagination. We have an inborn freedom to think on our own, and our emotions and feelings come from that thinking. No one can tell us how to feel. We are free to think independently and recognize the control we have over our own minds. We can consider evidence, keep an open mind, observe, analyze, question, approach problems both intuitively and logically, and seek the truth. There are no limitations to the power of thought. We are able to think and feel unhampered and unrestricted. With this release comes the positive rather than the negative. It is the nature of thinking that transports us from our circumstances and leads us to build our lives toward our passions, goals, and dreams. It is important to be free of  other people's opinions and allow ourselves to be guided by our natural selfness. We don't have to depend on external signals, but live and have our being from our natural inner voice living in harmony with our beliefs, thoughts, and feelings, and ignoring pressure to do otherwise. Respect your inner nature, trust yourself, your thoughts and feelings. Trust your instincts, insights, and intuition. Ask yourself, "What's my own nature if there are no outside forces telling me who or what I should be?" When we think about what makes us happy and what our dreams are, regardless of our circumstances, or what other people are telling us to think, we are free.

"Easy Does It"

"Easy Does It' is an idiom which is a common, everyday phrase, expression, or saying whose meaning cannot be understood by the individual words. The phrase, or idiom, "easy does it," is a among other things, a common slogan of twelve step programs, used as a  motto or expression usually in particular situations as encouragement from one person to another to relax and take it easy. It is almost soothing just to say the word "easy." If we are taking it easy, or easing into something, we are doing it carefully and at the same time becoming less tense and stressed about situations that are bothering us. This makes other things, like happiness instead of sadness, possible in the meantime. When we take things easier we are less overwhelmed by our circumstances and there is a feeling of relief.  The object is to find easier, more relaxing ways of doing things. When we take it easy we become gentle with people, places, things, and ourselves. We see a new point of view and find a simpler way to approach a problem. When we live life with ease, we find it generally goes smoother. There is comfort in doing things more slowly and gently to help soothe ourselves mentally and physically so we can bring about good effects for ourselves and others. Frankly, we have less confusion and anxiety. There is something to be said for an easy going, unhurried way of life, easing into the moment and not worrying about the past and future. Simply by calming down and not making life so hard and complicated, leads to new feelings of serenity. Following are the lyrics to Supertramps's song "Easy Does it,"...And if you know who you are, you are your own superstar. And only you can shape the music that you make. So when the crowds disappear, and only the silence is here, watch yourself, easy does it, easy does it, easy while you wait." And, if we do take it easy we will be "rolling gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, gently down the stream."

Change

Change is inevitable, sometimes we like it and sometimes we don't. Whether a change is welcome or not is not the issue, it is how we respond to it. We can try and hold tightly to what is being changed, try to keep things the same, and be uncomfortable because it is happening anyway. Or we can lean into the change, be adaptable and flexible, and accept it into our lives. As Alan Watts has to say, "The harder we try to catch hold of the moment, to seize a pleasant sensation...the more elusive it becomes..." The only thing that doesn't change is change itself, except for the past. Change can be minor or transformative. It is all right to feel disappointed, skeptical, resentful, joyous, excited, or confused about our changing circumstances. The important thing is to accept what we feel. No matter how permanently fixed in the center of our lives it may seem, whatever we experience in this ever-changing life is sure to pass. And difficult situations often bring out qualities in us that otherwise might not have risen to the surface, such as courage, faith, and our need for one another. As far as changing ourselves is concerned, no one can make us change and no one can stop us from changing. Only we can decide what changes we want to make and know that it only takes a slight shift in direction to begin to change our lives. We can only change ourselves, it is an exercise in futility and frustration to try and change the behavior of others. The serenity prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr is pertinent here as he tells us to pray for the courage to change the things we can and have the wisdom to know what we can't. Possibly the best way to react to change is to experience all that life has to offer by remaining teachable when change comes. Staying open minded, replacing old ides with the new, and as changes occur letting go of old defenses and attitudes that aren't working work for us anymore. If we don't get too attached to any one way to approach life, and adjust to the changes in our lives, we will live with more happiness, less stress, and our lives may become one adventure after another.

Flexibility with a Twist

When we are flexible, we are capable of making changes by bending to situations and adapting to our circumstances. We are not rigid, but pliable and don't stress ourselves if everything is not the way we want it to be. Being flexible is when we make choices to weather storms by allowing them to blow through us without resistance. It is relaxing, not fighting, and going with what confronts us, or the decisions we have to make. When flexible, we are open to all possibilities without fear and ego-driven attachments. I have had this piece on flexibility started for a couple of days, but because of, what I now realize is the subconscious, I have not been able to write it. I have been facing a decision that has caused me to be inflexible. I have been in conflict with myself and fighting what has confronted me while a depression built up, almost unbeknownst to me. I have not been adapting to a particular situation, but trying to make a decision coming from fear and anxiety. In my resistance and ensuing decision not to leave my comfort zone, I ultimately have disappointed myself and others. In my resistance I have suffered.  I know if I am willing to make changes, accept life on "life's terms," and come from a positive place with a good attitude, things seem to run more smoothly, but I am not perfect. I am not always like the stately palm tree weathering a storm, rather sometimes feel like a piece of sage brush hurled about the by desert wind. It is hard to make changes about what we know for the unknown. What I write are my inspirations and philosophies, but they are also ideals. What I must, we must, remember is that we are human. Striving to live a certain way, doesn't mean we are a failure when we don't. I am finishing my thoughts on the advantages of being flexible because sometimes we learn by knowing about what it is like to not live up to an ideal. I may not follow the ideals I write about, and always walk my talk, but I will continue to write about them because I am learning about myself and my beliefs, they give me something to strive for, it is good for me, writing makes me happy, and just possibly, somewhere along the way, someone might be able to relate to something I have to say. I wrote on fear, perfection, willingness, changing our thoughts, and failure. Perhaps I should reread them for being flexible to weather storms is certainly an ideal and trait I wish to possess.

What Does "Being" Mean

When I wrote about "reverence for nature," I wrote about just "being" rather than doing, being like the existing of nature. "Being" means letting our life run its course and accepting people, places, and things, and ourselves, as is rather than trying to be in control all the time. Of course we have to prepare and plan, but then we should relax and know that all will go the way it is supposed to. Think good thoughts and have a good attitude.  Attitude is a state of being as is joyfulness, faithfulness, and being in balance. When we are being, we are in the present moment where we find peace. We are not full of tension and worry. These come when we are thinking about the past and the future. The goal is to be in the present moment rather than "living in the past," or "becoming in the future." In the moment, the qualities of spirit...peace, hope, and love are immediately available and can be expressed in our everyday living because these intangible qualities are ingrained in our being. Who we are. We can also be forgiving, tolerant, and happy now instead of postponing positive and productive living to some vague and indefinite future. By being, we are not wasting time dreaming about the rich life we may live next year, or ten years from now, but it is beginning to to live our best right now, today. Putting our creative energy into the present because of the awareness of the infinite possibilities in each magic moment. In being we have aids in knowing. They are our instinct, intuition, and insight. We all have inborn patterns of behavior that are responsive to certain stimuli. This is our instinct and it happens naturally. We also have intuition. Because of our intuition we are able to quickly understand and interpret situations and people's behavior without using reason. Then, we have insight, which we gain partially by using our intuition. Insight is developed more in some people than in others. It is when we have a feeling, emotion, or thought that helps us know something essential about people, places, or things. We are able to form a clear and deep perception, and, often suddenly, understand a complex situation. These ways of knowing are not based on hard facts or evidence and don't entail our five sense, but are more like a sixth sense. Instinct, intuition, and insight, are available to use in our current state of being, and, along with the accumulation of our experiences, moment to moment, we are not only "being," we have the reality of ourselves.

Reverence for Ourselves and Nature

The word nature is derived from the Latin word "natura" which means essential qualities or innate disposition. A human being's nature is the way he is, a sum total of how he thinks, feels, acts and reacts; his characteristics, traits, and qualities; as well as the complexity of his emotional and intellectual attributes. We may hear that "it is just human nature" for them to be kind.  The word nature also means the physical world we live in which is made up of essential things like plants, animals, landscapes, and what is intrinsic to them.  Nature is also made up of rocks, forests, oceans, and beaches. Broadly speaking it is everything that exists anywhere including not only the earth, but the universe (sky, moon, and stars).  In its purest form nature develops of its own accord and is not brought into being by human intervention. It just "exists." Many people believe we should align ourselves with nature, meaning that we can  learn from nature's steady and calm pace, and perhaps even reach of state of not so much doing, but just "being." John Burroughs, American naturalist and essayist had this to say, "I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order." For example, if we want to be serene we can listen to, and watch, the birds instead of always hurrying through our days, or perhaps we can make shapes out of clouds. We can restore our sense of balance by slowing down and appreciating the sights and rhythms of the natural world. It is  important to savor the tiny, simple, beautiful moments in our lives. Mary Oliver is a popular living American poet whose poem "Wild Geese' asks us to "...tell (her) about despair (ours), and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air are heading home again. Wherever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting - over and over announcing your place in the family of things."

Joy and Happiness

Some sources say happiness is the same thing as joy: a sense of well being and contentment. Other sources say that joy comes more from within and has a spiritual connection, while happiness is usually triggered by external situations and events. Happiness is a celebration. It is an emotion that causes jubilation, elation, and glee and is noticeable by others because of facial expressions and body language.  Whereas joy is more calm, serene, and sacred.  It is true that joy is one of the fruit of the spirit noted in the Bible along with gentleness, kindness, and goodness. Also, in the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, he asks, "where there is sadness, let me sow joy." Other words used in reference to joy are: joyful, joyfulness, joyousness, overjoyed, and rejoice. Joy and happiness are positive stimuli and emotions of feeling good and that all is well.  An emotional sensation is created by someone, or something, causing a state of mind that one seeks to achieve because the feelings created are so pleasurable. A quote of Sarah Ban Breathnach in her book Simple Abundance is, "With patience, beauty blossoms and our hearts experience not only  happiness, which is often fleeting, but a wellsprings of joy that refreshes and renews." Happiness is having a childlike sense of curiosity, wonder, enthusiasm, and delight. Joy is more private and rooted deeply in our hearts and souls.  The goal is to be aware of what it is that truly makes us happy and learn to savor small, authentic moments that bring us simple pleasures. Today we can know that we are worthy and deserving of happiness and joy. We are meant to enjoy life along with our trials and tribulations, our pain and our sorrow. So, look for the joy. Avail yourselves of each moment's opportunity to embrace and experience the joy and serenity that are uniquely yours. Louis Bogan, who has been called by some the most accomplished American woman poet of the twentieth century, writes: "I cannot believe that the inscrutable universe turns on an axis of suffering, surely the strange beauty of the world must somewhere rest on pure joy."

On Responsibility

If we are responsible, we are dependable, reliable, and can be counted on.  We have reached a certain maturity where not only are we responsible for ourselves,we are responsible to others.  We are also considered as having wisdom, good judgment, and being trustworthy.  It is empowering to take responsibility for our decisions and actions, and furthermore, to be given responsibility by someone else.  This means other people believe in us.  They ask us to do things because we are consistent in our performance and behavior besides being dependable and reliable. "Nothing brings out the best in a person than having someone believe in him and trust him with responsibility."  It is important that we be responsible to others, and yet being overly responsible may be overwhelming and draining.  We must take care of ourselves so that we can help other people.  There is an extent to how much we can, or should, take on.  We don't have to take care of everybody and everything;  we need to know our limits.  What we can do is set our priorities, do our best, and then detach with love and not feel guilty.  Following are the healthy ways of being responsible:  we are loyal to our values, keep an open mind, rid ourselves of anger and resentment, express our ideas and feelings, be realistic in our expectations, make healthy choices, and be grateful for our blessings. We are tolerant of others and listen with our ears and our hearts.  There are many different kinds of responsibilities:  human, social, legal, moral, and professional to name a few. Also, many believe they are responsible, or answerable, to a higher power.  It is a paradox that we grow and become free by becoming responsible.  James Allen, who wrote As a Man Thinkith, about how important our thoughts are, reflected that a man sooner or later discovers that he is the master gardener of his soul, the director of his life.

Failure Is a Part of Living

We all want to do our best, we all want to be successful, achieve, and meet our goals.  This is natural and part of being human.  We have doubts, and don't like to make mistakes or fail.  We don't like to be unsuccessful, not achieve our intended purpose, fall short of what was expected, leave something undone, fail to notice something, or neglect to do something.   All of these things lead to being uncomfortable, disappointed, and frustrated.  However, we need to accept mistakes and failures as inevitable parts of the adventure of living, and be willing to make them, "nothing ventured, nothing gained."  There will always be some new challenge for us to face because life is ever changing and so are we.  Because of this constant change, every action we take involves some risk of failure.  But, by failing, we can grow in awareness, so we not only can  change our attitudes and behavior, but we can learn from them so we don't repeat our errors.  When we relieve ourselves of the burden of trying to be perfect, and honestly admit our mistakes, we open ourselves up for growth. Experiencing failure is all a part of being human and living.  Although we may not be able to control the circumstances that caused us to fail, we can control how we respond to our mistakes and failures.  The important thing is to do the best we can and accept whatever happens. The goal is to learn how to rebound.  To paraphrase a pertinent saying:  when you fall off your horse, get back on it.  "Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly" was said by a man who who achieved a great deal in his short life, John F. Kennedy.  When we make a mistake or fail, rather than getting down on ourselves, we need to take setbacks and turn them into something positive, something we can use to reach our goals.   Life is sometimes lived "two steps forward and one step back."  The famous basketball player, Michael Jordan, is quoted as saying, "I've never been afraid to fail."  Many people are successful because they keep all thoughts of failure out of their minds.

Trustworthiness

Trust is a process over which we have some control.  We don't have to form trusting relationships any faster than we are ready, or with anyone we don't wish to allow into our confidence.  We may have had trouble trusting because of past experiences when we have suffered from broken promises and broken hearts.  We may have been disappointed with people who have proven themselves untrustworthy and consistently been unreliable and undependable.  Because of these experiences we may have learned to stay silent, stuff feelings, and not stand up for ourselves.  In time, hopefully, we find that we can gradually begin to trust people again based on the slow revealing of ourselves with others and observing their responses to our self disclosure.  In some cases, trusting has come easier and we have felt safe and not shied away from trusting, but either way, the first step in a trusting relationship is to be trustworthy ourselves.  In order to trust someone and confide our intimate feelings and thoughts with them, it is important to feel safe and comfortable, and that the person be worthy of our respect and be tolerant and accepting.  We also have to trust ourselves, our decisions and our judgments.  Trusting ourselves can be as minor as knowing we turned off the stove when we left the house, to having faith we will be able to say and do the right thing when called upon to be a trusting friend and confidant, for it is important to let others trust us too.  Trusting may be of the abstract as well as in a relationship.    Richard Carlson, Ph.D., writes in his book, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, "Trusting your intuitive heart means listening to and trusting that quiet inner voice that knows what it is you need to do, what actions need to be taken, or changes need to be made in your life."  Shakti Gawain works with individuals to develop greater awareness, balance, and wholeness in their lives.  She has this to say about trust: " When I am trusting and being myself as fully as possible, everything in my life reflects this by falling into place easily, often miraculously."  And, to quote Steve Jobs, "...so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.  You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.  This approach has never let me down, and it  has made all the difference in my life."  Trust is a trait or feature of a person's personal nature.

Awareness is Good

In preparing my "philosophy," "inspiration," or "thoughts for thought" on awareness, I had the realization, that in my writing and soul searching, I am becoming more aware of who I am, my ideals, who I want to be, the meaning I am finding in my life, and what I wish to leave to the world. I am also knowing, understanding, and becoming more sensitive to others' emotions and feelings. Listening more to what people say, reading what they write, and watching what they do.  All of us have needs, aspirations, hopes, and dreams.  Like others, I am becoming more open and aware of my creativity, imagination, talents, and potential.  Seems like we are all capable of so much and many aren't even aware of it.  We should seek to know ourselves authentically and look for the truth and meaning in our lives.  There appears to be a trend where spiritual values, inspirational thoughts and high standards are being promoted, and we are finding the value of intangible rather than tangible rewards in life.  We also seem to be more kind:  building up and motivating each other more, helping those in need, and generally being of service.  In this way we are becoming more tolerant and can begin to resolve our differences, in our neighborhood, our community, and our world.  It is important to be more aware of our surroundings and what molds us: the media and our social network, new inventions and ideas, the political and economic arenas, and science, religion, and philosophy.  It is also helpful to know where we have come from by listening, reading, studying, and learning.  It is healthy and wise to be mindful of the present moment, taking life as it comes, having a good attitude, and projecting good thoughts.  Therefore, the secret to becoming more vitally alive, fulfilled, and helpful is to become more aware:  alert, awake, and conscious.

Peace...Ah

When I wrote about harmony, I realized how close peace is to a world of harmony.  In fact, one definition of peace is, "a stress-free state of security and calmness that comes when there is no fighting or war, everything co-exists in perfect harmony." There hasn't ever been peace in the world, and there never will be entirely, but why can't the world operate somewhat more harmoniously? Why all the judging and dislike?  Why can't there be more tolerance of one another. It appears that we can't get along because there are too many differing cultural, political, social, legal, and religious beliefs. And, unfortunately some political systems think they are the only ones that are right. How can we join forces and promote universal values, ethics, and morals so that we have as much peace as possible. As well as develop and agree on certain standards, policies, and procedures so we have order instead of chaos. After all the universe is in order and harmonious. As I previously quoted: "The world is not to be put in order; the world is in order, incarnate. It is for us to harmonize with this order."
How do we do this?  Especially, how can we bring basic freedom to everyone to be all that they can be and want to be?  There don't seem to be any concrete answers, but we try what we can even including force.  There was book made into a movie called "Pay it Forward."  The concept was that one person do a good turn for another person and that person do a good turn for another and that person do a good turn for another, and so it went.  I realize this is idealistic, but just think what it would be like if everyone followed the Golden Rule: "do unto others as you would have others do unto to you."  Since we do not know the future, what is in store for us, and we don't know how things are going to go, and our technology has come so far, what is next?  Also, what will occur as a result of imagination and creativity?  If the main goals for us, by something greater than us, are peace, harmony, joy, and being free, it actually starts with each one of us.   We need to be people who carry the light, love, hope, faith, truth, courage, and knowledge to others.  As the great Indian pacifist leader, Gandhi, said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."  Gandhi is just one of the many leaders who have been one of the members of an "army of the kind," working for peace. Many people the world over believe there is a Universal Design unfolding in our world and have an awareness of emerging good despite the way things seem.