Mustard seeds

The messages are all around me. This morning as I dumped Hazelnut Hemp Heaven granola into some yogurt, I spied a flash of yellow from inside the bag. Stuck on the reverse of the label of the clear packaging was a secret note (left just for me by the Granola King) -- only now becoming visible as the contents are emptied out.

It said, "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." ~ Henry David Thoreau

So much of life is gazing at castles in the sky (your own as well as other people's) and feeling a certain degree of discomfort at their elusive beauty. Sometimes the view is further obscured by the foggy sensation of longing and a certain blind devotion to wanting. And then the "reality" of responsibility kicks in. Positive messages are being whispered all around if you care to quieten down those "realistic" anxieties and pay attention, but it turns out that it is particularly difficult for women to free themselves from these emotions.

"...There's an area of your brain that's assigned the task of negative thinking," says Louann Brizendine, MD, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, and the author of The Female Brain. "It's judgmental. It says 'I'm too fat' or 'I'm too old.' It's a barometer of every social interaction you have. It goes on red alert when the feedback you're getting from other people isn't going well." This worrywart part of the brain is the anterior cingulate cortex. In women, it's actually larger and more influential, as is the brain circuitry for observing emotions in others. "The reason we think females have more emotional sensitivity," says Brizendine, "is that we've been built to be immediately responsive to the needs of a nonverbal infant. That can be both a good thing and a bad thing."

I've practiced daily mindfulness for a number of years, but find that the egoic, material obsessed mind possesses a vortex-like undertow that I am still constantly drifting back towards. I know am not alone, as there are always several bestselling books that give advice on how to manage these kinds of thoughts and feelings. But I have discovered that there are others who are searching for the method to living a fully actualized life and that some are leaving articles of faith in ordinary places for others to find.

This morning the medium is also the message. Someone thought to place this note in the packaging to inspire others. Naturally, there had to have been a series of small-scale decisions involved in making this possible; but this too, began as a delicate, airy castle in the sky that someone chose to allow themselves to bestow a foundation upon. Perhaps he was inspired by a similar icon planted by someone else.

The castle is easy to create. The foundation appears as the result of certain degree of faith and plenty of good 'ol sweat. There is a choice that needs to be made directly after conceiving that castle. Let yourself believe.

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move.
~ The Bible, Matthew 17:20

Waging Peace and Love

What if we taught children to care more about people than about things?

In the west, we do not often practice what we preach on those colourful posters in our children's classrooms. We share when we feel like it -- when it benefits our image or creates a positive buzz; when we have extra we don't really need anyway. We respect others... of similar socioeconomic background or higher. We give up playing fair when a ridiculous profit can be made. We create waste; buy things with hideous packaging and and throw things away we are bored with.

As children grow older they can't help but follow this course. No one wants to get into trouble. No one wants to lose out to others scrambling for supremacy. To not chase the trophy is to roll over and bare your neck to the wolves. The tribe does not respect stragglers and even justifies it if they are lost. We cannot afford to show weakness.

While it is natural to value the best performers, our winners, we do not consider ruthlessness a fault. Look at how we turn our heads to athletes using performance enhancing drugs. Leveling the playing field these days means giving them all drugs! But we talk the talk... we say what we wish were true (and behave to protect our immediate interests). We say that we try. We try soooo hard, it's just that we really need the money right now.

It has become increasingly clear that it is acceptable to step over others to reach the top, for the end usually justifies the means , we are accountable to the shareholders, the institution, our pocketbook, or the faceless company: an entity with a thousand faces and no heart.

Power is corrupting. But what is it? The ability to control others? To purchase any item one desires? To have others look at you and want what you have? To prove that you have more value than others, to prove someone else wrong... We know that we cannot go on like this, that we are polluting our environment and our souls.

What if instead of teaching children to look up at the stars, "aim high and don't look back", we taught them to look down? Look and see the long line of children of the earth holding hands and traveling along... What if we taught them that the most important thing was to look back and make sure everyone was ok.

* * *

I am angry and upset today. It is my birthday tomorrow and I really wanted to have my patio done but it's been delayed. I want it. I've worked hard for it. I deserve it... And then I watched a couple of videos made by care Canada and I felt deeply embarrassed. My rant has been a directed at myself. Forgive me. You are not the problem, I am. And I will change. Right now.

I'm seeing people that need some help. I think we should start with some of the poorest women. Women, says Care Canada are the developing world's most valuable, and most untapped, natural resource.

Why should we focus on women in the developing world? Educate a woman, and you educate her community. For each extra year of school a girl undertakes, her family income increases up to 20%? Did you know that two-thirds of the people in the world considered "illiterate" are girls and women? (from the Care Canada website)

These videos made by Care Canada will inspire you:




Beautiful.




Amazing.

An oldie but a goodie:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”~ Marianne Williamson