The Goodness of Humans

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” ~ Mother Teresa

Sometimes we humans are mean, greedy and petty, with a penchant for violence. But when a catastrophe comes along such as Mother Nature being unhinged, we all come together in a beautiful union.

Calamity brings out the best in us. It brings out our true Spirits of love and caring humans here on this planet to help one another. This is a good thing because in times of disaster we certainly need to join forces for survival.

We are in survival everyday on this planet; we just don’t know it. Our Earth could be wiped out in a second. So instead of raising fists, or guns into the air, or being right or left, or actually thinking we are better than our neighbor because of skin color etc., how about coming together as one making life good for all.

Think of all the good things we could do if we took all that negative energy that’s fueled by the fear of losing who we think we are and turned it around to all things positive. If we came together the way we do when disaster comes a knocking, think of all we could accomplish in our world.

There is so much goodness in humans. We just need to grow up, get over ourselves and let it flow out.  We need to finally learn the lessons of life.

“The idea of karma is that you continually get the teachings that you need to open your heart.” ~ Pema Chodron

Rewire Yourself

 

“You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be.” ~ Marianne Williamson

We come into this world prewired and that wiring gets shaped by our family and the outside world. This is all good when our wiring is mostly positive, but when our wiring is pretty much negative… that’s not so good.

The good news is we can rewire our brains by how we choose to think. We are who we are, but if there are things we want to change about ourselves such as being happier, kinder, compassionate, and patient beings we can do that. It all just takes willingness and a lot of practicing in order to make rewiring possible. There are therapists, books, articles etc. out there to help along the way.

A good start is simply learning to be more mindful. Don’t be too hard on yourself when you slip back into your old ways. I do that more than I like to admit. I don’t like it when I slip back, but I remind myself that it’s my default wiring kicking in. Recognizing slipping back shows rewiring is developing and that’s good because you’re getting somewhere, and that’s what it’s all about.

Anything is possible if you really want it.

“Neurons that fire together wire together. You can rewire your brain for higher consciousness by focusing on love.” ~ Deepak Chopra

Baggage

Dealing with baggage can be a real pain. We stuff things in that we don’t know if we’ll really need, and it tends to get heavy. We carry it and drag it all over the place, and we wonder why we packed what we packed. Now that’s real physical baggage. What about emotional baggage? We can sure pack a lot of emotional baggage during our journey, and it’s not just us doing the packing. Like physical bags, emotional baggage can get very difficult to handle.

We start out with our parents packing all kinds of things into a bag for us. Now, our parents don’t mean us any harm. I’m speaking of course about most parents. I realize there are exceptions. Parents in fact usually want the best for us. But they only know what they know and are doing the best they can. That being said, guilt and all kinds of rules of who and what we should be and believe in get stuffed in there. This can cause a lot of confusion in our minds where we sometimes come up short of their expectations and maybe our own. Other family members can also add to our load.

As we travel along this journey we experience many negative situations in the form of friends, lovers, co-workers, and complete strangers. All of these people and the experiences they bring get stuffed in our bags causing us to become overwhelmed. The baggage just becomes too much for us to cart around and we can become sick. We don’t know what to do and start to feel that we are stuck with this baggage forever.

Have you ever thought about just letting go of the baggage? Walking away from it, or imagining pushing it off a cliff? You can do all of these things. Just because a bag was packed for you and grew along the way, doesn’t mean you have to keep it anymore. You just have to let go. It’s that simple. By letting go you stop being a prisoner of your mind. If you let go of all your baggage you start living in the present and you let the past be just that.

I know you can do it. You can be happy and free. You might not realize it, but you and only you have the power to make any change you want to in your life. Once you realize this you can start to really live the life you were meant to live. Come on, use your power and live a full life, and get rid of the baggage that is holding you back.

“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” ~ Lao Tzu

Evolving

Why do we act negatively, sometimes even to the point of sabotaging ourselves? I think it has something to do with primitive survival. I think when we are having a difference of opinion with someone, or even an argument, our brains go back to primitive times when opposition meant it was time for survival mode to kick in. I also think that’s why we have the ego. It’s there to protect us, letting us know we are being treated badly and need to do something about it. We really don’t need the ego anymore because it gets us into a lot of trouble with all its bad chatter that fill our brains.

We need to evolve a little more and start thinking with our hearts and not the mind so much. We don’t have to take a disagreement and make it all out war. Sadly, I’ve seen and also have experienced some of this behavior in action. It happens in jobs, with friends, neighbors and the absolute worst: Families. It has caused marriages to end, siblings to stop speaking to one another, and grown children to turn against their parents. And I realize that this primitive thinking can get very extreme resulting in physical, mental, abuse and even murder.

This primitive survival mode causes so much miscommunication that nobody even knows what they are mad about anymore. They just know they’re mad and it’s the other person’s fault. The book is closed, everybody’s life goes on–still mad of course, and then one of the parties dies and sometimes a different perspective arrives, but it’s too late.

Practicing thinking with our heart, our Spirit, will make us all calm down and really listen to each other with open minds instead of thinking how mad this makes us feel. We might not always agree, but we can agree to disagree in harmony, and accept the right of others to have a different opinion. Respect, kindness, and love come from thinking with the heart, and that’s evolving.

“If only we can overcome cruelty, to human and animal, with love and compassion we shall stand at the threshold of a new era in human moral and spiritual evolution – and realize, at last, our most unique quality: humanity.”

~ Jane Goodal

Problems

 

“So -called problems cannot survive in the present moment.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

To me this quote from Eckhart Tolle means that problems really can’t live in our present moments because problems usually occur when we live in the past or future and are simply not being present. If we look back, we can probably find something to make into a problem and bring it into the present moment by thinking about it, but it shouldn’t be in our present moment because it was already there once and now it belongs in the past where it should be forgotten.

If we look into the future we could create something to worry about by dragging it into the present, but why do we want to do that when we really have no idea what the future holds for us until it arrives and becomes the present. Fear sometimes brings us to the future.

So, what we actually have is only what’s happening right now and soon that now will also be in the past, and only starts to be a problem when we keep bringing it up over and over again. As crazy as this all sounds, our problems can’t survive in our present moments if we are truly present because we would solve an issue before it becomes a problem or discard it. There is not enough fuel to actually be living in the moment and keep a so-called problem alive. It’s only when we go looking for trouble by looking backward or forward and over thinking that we give negative energy to our present moment by creating problems that grow into monsters filling our brains with misery and giving us sleepless nights of trying to figure things out— what went wrong, or what might go wrong. And don’t forget, when we do this stuff we are no longer in the present moment.

If we could figure all this out for once and for all, think about all the happiness and great relationships we would have. We could experience real forgiveness and love, and we wouldn’t make ourselves and everyone else so unhappy. Life would become richer and peaceful for all.

Okay, this all sounds great, but since this is not a fairytale story where we will all just start this right now and life will suddenly change for the better, let’s call this a work in progress and strive to live in the present and keep the past and future out of our lives the best we can. In doing this, maybe the world can become a better place because we’ve become better people.

Deep Inside

 

“Be compassionate with yourself.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

You are the who that you are, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change the bad that you are. But… in doing that, don’t condemn the whole that is all of what you are.

Have compassion for what is deep inside.

It’s a new year and you know what that means? You are now looking at a blank canvas, a fresh start, and all the old negative feelings you had in 2017 you should throw out with this week’s trash! You don’t need them anymore.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. You are human and are learning. So learn to forgive, love, care about everyone—and that includes you. If you can’t do this for yourself then it will be harder to do it with others.

Life is short; don’t wait. Go ahead and reach deep inside—you might be surprised at the beauty you find there.

Embrace the Seasons

Every season has a special gift for us if we just learn to embrace each and everyone.

Fall is the time to simply let go—just like the leaves of the trees. Let go of all your old resentments, anxiety, sadness, and all horrible negativities you are hoarding. These nasty things are keeping you from being the wonderful person deep inside of you. Let the windy days of fall blow it all far away. “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”  ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

Winter is the time to cozy in with loved ones, and maybe slow down a bit. In slowing down we now have made room for some deep soul thinking. We don’t have to be housebound because there’s plenty of wonderful things to enjoy in winter’s nature with the knowing that a hot cup of cocoa is waiting for us in the warm inside. “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” ~ Edith Sitwell

Spring brings us new beginnings and always a chance for a fresh start. As we watch the birds building their nests and the squirrels scurrying about and the flowers coming into bloom we start to feel the energy of renewal. We feel alive with the promise that things will be better. “Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.” ~ Lewis Grizzard

Summer as many of you know is my favorite of all the seasons. This is probably because I have the happiest childhood memories from summer. Longer days, warm sun on my back, running barefoot through the cool grass, and playing outside until the stars came out and my mother had to drag me into the house! Summer is a time to remember being a child and to incorporate the free spirit of childhood back into our lives. “Summertime is always the best of what might be.”
~ Charles Bowden

Whatever the season, embrace it fully. Use it to grow your soul and become the who inside of you.

Fragments

No matter how old we are negative fragments from our childhood seem to travel along with us. Most of the time we pay them no mind, or don’t even realize they are hitching a ride with us. Then one day something happens in our lives and a chain reaction takes place and those little fragments come alive and blow up in our face. And it will happen again and again until we decide to eradicate the little monsters and set ourselves free.

“Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.” 

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”

~ Buddha

Make today the day that the past ends and the present begins. show compassion to yourself and suffer no more. Facing those who have hurt you rarely works because egos get in the way and conversation becomes a ping-pong ball match where there are no winners.

In the end, the only true way to do way with past fragments is to open a door in your mind and let them out. And leave they will, when the decision to live only “Now” is finally made. Once all the fragments are out, the next thing to do …  learn to Forget.

“If you live in the past you get what the past gives you–bad experiences.”  ~ Cesar Millan

Moving On

Go on and just let go. Sweep out all those old resentments, disappointments, sadness, hurts of all kinds, and confusions galore. White knuckle flyer why are you holding on to all of them so tight? You know what? It’s simply a bore!

Even though it seems like you do, you really don’t have an infinite amount of time to live on this planet, so why spend it all bound up with negativity leaking in from every door? Remember, you have the power to change the direction you are heading for.

Moving on and letting go can be hard because you know all too well the misery you have been living with, and you don’t really know what’s behind that other door. Be brave and go for it. Close the door to what you know and take a chance on something so much more. You’ll be happy that you did because this will be the beginning of living your life with joy right up to the end.

Life is so good when you jump right in!

Let Go

What would happen if you decided today to simply let go of all the things that keep you captive? You know, things like fear, anger, regret, bitterness, resentment, sadness, pain, hatred, unforgiveness, etc. All the things in your life that are negative and make you miserable and a prisoner. Can you imagine what the feeling would be like if you let go of it all?

It’s hard to let those feelings go. Try as you might you just can’t seem to loosen your tight grip on them. that’s because you’ve lived this way your whole life and it’s just your normal. It might be the way you have always lived, but it’s not the way to happiness and you know it. What’s actually happened here is your ego has taken over your life and we all know it thrives on conflict.

There are two ways out of living like this. One is a gamble that one day you will get sick of it and just surrender. The other is to work at not letting the negative things in your life grab a hold of you. When you start to feel pulled down, visualize the rope or chains that are holding you captive breaking apart and freeing you. Wow! Don’t you feel alive and as light as a feather?

But now what? Can you as a human really enjoy life without problems? That old ego of yours is going to try to stir things up again, and soon you’ll be back where you started from. In order for this not to keep happening, your desire for peace and happiness has to be strong. You have to make a commitment to keep your Spirit stronger than your ego, and you have to stay the course for a better life. It’s something you must work at daily.

There’s a wonderful gift waiting for you when you learn to let go. Open your gift and see what the Universe has given. There’s joy and peace delicately wrapped for you to share. What’s missing is all those burdens you’ve been carrying around. Why, you can actually breath deeper now, and can see what really matters in your life.

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”
~ Lao Tzu