It’s Time

Yes, it’s time for Peace.

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know Peace.” ~ Jimi Hendrix

But peace won’t come until real Change starts to happen, and we can actually feel and see it taking shape.

“You have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
~ Harriet Tubman

Something will still be missing for peace to come and that is Healing.

“There is force in the universe, which if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

This force is the Healing we and our planet so need before peace will come.

Change, Healing, Peace. This will be hard for some because it’s a different way of thinking and living.

Start by emptying all the misinformation stuck in the brain that has been passed on from generation to generation. Look at life with a new perspective. Practice forgiveness, acceptance and humility. Open the door and let love in to banish hate for good. And get rid of fear. Many times when we don’t understand something or someone we fear it and pass on negative judgments.

Just like the picture of the flowering strawberries above, we too are ready for renewal that will lead us to Peace. So let’s begin.

Get Over It

“Whatever we can’t love or accept in another, is a mirror of something we can’t love or accept in ourselves.”
~ Brenda Shoshanna

It’s 2020 and some of us still have trouble getting along and accepting one another no matter what color our skin or what religion we happen to be. Really? It’s getting exhausting don’t you think? It’s not rocket science that we humans all have a right to be on planet Earth, along with all the other beings.

We humans are supposed to be the guardians of our planet, but how are we supposed to do that if we can’t even care for one another? There is no superior race; we are the human race, simple as that. There is no right or superior religion. Everyone should believe, or not believe whatever they want. No one has all the right answers, or for that matter, any answers. In truth, we are all just trying to figure it out.

Whatever pompous reason some think they have to hate and not trust, or causes some to feel they are better, just stop it. I say, try opening your arms and be accepting for all our beautiful differences. Diversity rocks, and we need one another to survive.

“We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”
~ Dr. Seuss

If this is what it takes, then let’s all be a little weird, and get over it and live in peace.

The Gift of Devaluation

“Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.”~Walt Whitman

As we travel on this journey we will encounter situations where we feel devalued by other humans. When this happens it’s so important to remember that we all have value, and not to believe or accept the poison being sent out.

This devaluation can come from many forms. It often begins when we start school as little guys and someone doesn’t want to be our friend and puts us down, or the cool group of kids snubs us. Being let go from a job where our services are no longer needed, or a position is erased and so are we. Friendships ending, romantic breakups as well as marriages ending all take their toll. There is a devaluation that isn’t discussed much and that is adult children feeling their parents have lost their value and have become clutter in their lives. Perhaps this is a result of parents living longer.

When other humans send you a message that you don’t count it’s depressing and you have to work your way through the dark clouds. This is done best by acknowledging how you feel and then really allowing yourself to feel the pain. I think the greatest growth comes from pain. Give yourself time and you will see the clouds lifting away and the sun will pour in, and you won’t need their acceptance anymore.

I think being devalued is actually a gift. It’s a chance to recapture the person you were before you became someone’s parent, were married to that awful person, or worked for the horrible boss and stressful job. You’ve been given a chance to really live again. Sure you‘re older, but don’t forget, wiser too.

Take a deep breath and go within. You are beautiful and you are so worthy of a happy life surrounded by other humans who appreciate and love you. Ask yourself what is it that you want to do with the rest of your life. Before you felt devalued, picture the person you used to be—but now a better version. Concentrate on yourself and fulfill your dreams the best that you can. This is your life. Control it; enjoy it.

“It is not the end of the physical body that should worry us. Rather, our concern must be to live while we’re alive—to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a façade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are.” ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Tiny Puzzle Pieces

 

“When we see others as the enemy we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.”  ~ Desmond Tutu

Each of us possesses a piece of the puzzle to make humanity work and save our planet. Great and small minds alike have ideas that can work; we just don’t know we have such a thing hidden deep inside us.

Overcrowding, pollution of all kinds, hatred, greed, evil ideologies, etc., we do have the answers to solve. It just takes a strong desire and a pulling together. Maybe that’s our calling and why we are here on Planet Earth.

The only thing we have to fear is the fear inside of us and the fear and mistrust we have for one another. The only way to combat this fear is acceptance. We need to get over our prejudices, superiorities, judgments, and all around memes in our minds.

Find out what your tiny puzzle piece can do to make a difference. Crafting great letters to your representatives, writing articles to inform and educate, volunteering for cleanups, volunteering for anything, asking your neighbors not to use poisons on their lawns and plants, watching out for each other, and just being kind to all beings.

If we don’t come together with a tiny piece of the puzzle and start making changes we might all be doomed. Dig deep and find your power. A little bit here, a little bit there, it all will make a difference.

Let’s all walk gentle upon our Earth and feel the need to protect her and all the beings that live here, including the crazy humans. If we don’t, who will?

“The Earth is just not our environment. We are the Earth and the Earth is us. We have always been one with the Earth.” ~Thich Nhat Han

Homo Sapiens

When will humankind learn that in order to survive and thrive as a species we must accept one another and learn to get along? There is no other way if we want to live a balanced and fulfilling life; the life we are here to live. Our planet is delicate and so are we. As we destroy ourselves, we obliterate our natural environment.

Looking at history, I fear we have learned nothing from our past mistakes. We continue as a species to wage war on one another and our planet. We are greedy creatures caring more about our status than our ethics. Our behavior can’t go on forever without ending humanity and our planet.

There is always hope that a new generation of humans will one day see the light and start making the changes necessary for humanity and this beautiful planet to flourish. As hatred becomes a thing of the past, new generations of humans will see as they study history that yes, we Homo sapiens did finally learn from our wayward ways. Love has a way of doing that. I can almost feel the anticipation for that day to arrive.

“We are very, very small, but we are profoundly capable of very, very big things.”~ Stephen Hawking

Who Are You?

“Knowing yourself is the best knowledge to have.”
~ Adella Gonzalez

Have you ever looked into the mirror and wondered who is that person looking back at you? Having never seen herself before, my little cat friend thought it was another cat she was seeing and took issue with her reflection by hissing and having a terrible time. Well, you might not go that far, but do you know who you are?

Plenty of people will tell you who you are, but it’s best not to listen to them. The quote by Adella Gonzalez says it all because once you get to know yourself there’s no stopping what you can do with your life.

When we’re trying to find ourselves, we feel so lost; an alien on this planet. Sometimes even like failures. We don’t know where we’re going and certainly not happy about where we’ve been. Everything about us just seems wrong. That’s a terrible way to live and a big waste of time.

You can’t find yourself in someone else. No one can complete you … only you have the power to do that. Sometimes people get married and have children to fill that void of not knowing who they are. And maybe for a while it works. But life is always in flux. People come in and out of your life. Divorce, death, and children grow up and away. One day you’ll find yourself alone with the stranger that is you.

Look into the mirror and accept what you see. The bad, the good, the ugly. All the parts that are you. Allow yourself to grow and learn, but be kind to yourself when you fail because fail you will. Some humans are smarter, funnier, and better looking than you, but so what? They are not you, so stop comparing yourself to them. Practice kindness and gratitude to bring out the deep beauty that lives inside your Spirit.

Embrace this person who is you for there is no other like you.

“The ultimate truth of who you are is not I am this or I am that, but I am.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

 

Deadly Companions

Sometimes we fear the things we don’t understand.

And, we start to hate the things we fear.

Then greed walks in and grabs everything in sight.

When we fear something that maybe we shouldn’t, it means we need to educate ourselves about it. Learning why we feel the fear toward something or even someone might not make us agree and like it, but it will give us the information we need to open our minds and perhaps our hearts and try to see and comprehend what we feel in a different light. We can knock out fear by facing it and learning everything about it.

Hate is never the answer to anything. It’s just the lazy way to put a bandage on anything we don’t want to face and certainly try to understand. Hate makes us do and become the worst and ugly part of ourselves. It’s the mind gone mad because the heart is in a coma.

When I think of greed I see a child stuffing his mouth so full that his cheeks are ready to burst. Greed is a weird thing. If you mix it with fear and hate it becomes a dangerous cocktail so destructive that it produces wars and genocide.

If we are to survive as a species, we must get rid of these deadly companions. We need to open our minds to new possibilities and ways of thinking. We can learn to replace these things with acceptance and maybe even love. We must endeavor to become more enlightened.

 

Warm Caring Thoughts

In your anger, think about Forgiveness.

In sadness, see the possibility of Hope.

Feelings of envy, why not be Grateful? 

As loneliness surrounds you, let Acceptance come in.

When anxiety takes hold, strive for Peaceful thoughts.

Playing around with cruelty? Give Kindness a try.

And when you find yourself grieving for the loss of someone you love, please let there be Loving arms to hold you close.

Wishing you all Warm, Caring Thoughts in a world that sometimes hurts.

Remember, you’re never really all alone.

It’s Still There

When tragedy hits whether it happens to us personally, or we are spectators of a horror that we can’t comprehend, we lose our bearings and nothing makes sense anymore, and beauty seems to go out the door.

But, the beauty and the sense of our lives are still there. It’s all around us and all we have to do is open our eyes to see.

It’s there in the small baby we hold so close taking in the sweet smell of a new life and fresh beginnings of hopes and dreams.

Our loved ones who accept us for the beings we are, and hold us tight when our world is falling apart.

We hear it in the giggles and laughter of children at play going about their day feeling safe and loved without a care or worry in the world.

The sunrise and sunset that begin and end our long days bring us the sense and beauty that we belong to each and every day.

It’s there in the elderly hand we hold giving love and support as once we were given when small and everything was so new.

Let us not forget the furry family members that grace our homes. Always listening and showing us unconditional love no matter what.

The warm sun bringing gratitude to our hearts, and each rainy downpour enticing us to jump into puddles. And, oh yes, the tiny snowflakes that tickle our noses making us feel so alive and wanting so much more.

We see the beauty and sense of life in the magnificent trees and colorful flowers that paint our days, and the delightful singing of songbirds that make us stop for a second and take notice.

Nature always teaches us about our lives even sometimes brutally, but its beauty and strength takes our breath away and makes us better in so many ways.

When we get lost from things out of our control we need to remind ourselves that yes, beauty and sense are still there. Just open your eyes and see it’s all around you and me.

 

No Strings Attached

Love without strings. Now that’s a concept, and the way it’s supposed to be—right? It wasn’t all that long ago that I wrote about this very subject in “Unconditional Love and Acceptance.” But because we are facing rough times, and there seems to be so much anger flying around, it might do us all good to think about this again.

Loving each other, the planet we all share, and all of its beings without asking for something to be given in return. That’s pure acceptance and what love is all about.

“Give because you care, not because you want love, approval or a thank you in return. True acts of sharing are done without an agenda or strings attached.”

~ 10 Spiritual Principles of Kabbalah

Wouldn’t we all be much happier if we could take a breath, a step back, and live our lives with open arms of love, and not be so concerned about what’s in it for us? Not have so many rules and conditions for loving, but instead, practice tolerance and compassion for the existence of life itself.

“It is possible to live twenty-four hours a day in a state of love. Every movement, every glance, every thought and every word can be infused with love.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

What a great world it would be if only we could live our lives in love with no strings attached.

“A real relationship has fights. Has trust. Has faith. Has tears. Has hurt. Has sweet smiles. Has genuine laughter. Has weird, stupid, unnecessary arguments.”

~ Author Unknown