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.