Handle With Care

When you observe something of beauty, a fine instrument or piece of art, do you ever wonder about the amount of time, talent and skill that goes into the creation of it? I ask for one simple reason; think how easy it is to destroy things. A Stradivarius violin can be stepped on and crushed in a second. A van Gogh ruined by a 2 dollar pocket knife. Time, talent or skill level necessary--none.

As Life unfolds and sweeps you along, please consider the value of all that surrounds you. Much of it may bore or even repel you. It may be so common place it doesn't even draw a conscious response. And that's okay--it happens. If you stumbled across this post though, know some Presence has tapped you on the shoulder. It asks you to remember. It requests that you recalibrate. It invites you take time to recall you are a co-Creator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJxxdQox7n0

As powerful and wonderful as that link is, I want you to expand your efforts further. I ask you move beyond your initial discomfort with the next link. See the warmth, wisdom and beauty flowing from those fingers. The manifestation of an interior vision so contrary to the outward, physical "reality."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oEwt40SAeU

As children we were told; "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." As adults we know little else can hurt us more. Today, tomorrow, and for as long as the momentum carries you, choose your words carefully. Look beyond terms like garbage, trash, or waste, and see with the eye of an artist. Like an empty canvas or a lump of clay, words can be a medium to create an object of beauty. And with all things of value, it takes time, talent and patience. Destroying it only takes a moment of mindlessness, carelessness, recklessness.

Words are like raindrops--one, several, or many may not be enough to bring a parched land back to life. But if you are consistent, if you are persistent, you can transform a wasteland. The truly astounding occurrence is that you, like the wasteland, are redefined in the process. Desiderata suggests; "beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself." I beg you go even further. Be gentle with all who interact with you--they are far more fragile than they would ever let on.

Update: Caught my error concerning the 2nd link 9:40 PM PST. Sorry about that!  Great site though, huh? Proper link now in place.

Reflection

God sleeps in the rock
Dreams in the plant
Stirs in the animal
And awakens in man

~ ibn al-Arabi
12th century Sufi mystic

Entanglement

One pearl of ancient wisdom is; "as above, so below." As we conduct experiments with quantum entanglement we can better theorize of possibilities once thought impossible.

http://www.livescience.com/28550-how-quantum-entanglement-works-infographic.html#

As eye opening as the possibilities may be, I am (always and ever) more inclined to personalize the data. What does it mean in my life? What, if any, are its applications? How can I use the information to reach beyond my current state--beyond my potential? Could entanglement possibly be a physical manifestation of karma? That all interaction, both macro and micro, carry potential of lasting effect?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg7VTKQ3Tgw

Enjoy the questions while you wait on the answers.

Update 10-29 The initial (and better) link to "Tangled up in Blue" (Bob Dylan) was pulled so I have replaced it. How long this replacement link is up is any one's guess. Thought I should let you know.

ENLIGHTENMENT

A story told in pictures...

http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/photos/1857726/

Batten Down The Hatches

When you experience radical emotional upheaval, the phrase "batten down the hatches" is a useful metaphor. It implies that everything that can be tied down, secured, or protected, has been. A storm is descending and there is nothing that can be done other than "riding it out." The one positive within the metaphor is that sufficient time has been provided that one can take precautionary measures. Whether those measures are equal to the circumstances is a moot question; we have done all that we can do.

Emotional tsunami's are going to take place. Berating the injustice or devastation they cause doesn't address the work that needs to be done. In the aftermath, the best one can do is to start "picking up the pieces." Overwhelming as it may be, our focus needs to be on what's important NOW. The larger illustration lends itself to food, shelter, and medical aid to those in need. The personalized metaphor to emotional, psychological, and spiritual comfort.

No doubt Life has brought you both sides of this coin. Being devastated, and being an observer of devastation. As in all things, experience guides us. Knowing the emotional wreckage that losing a parent, sibling, husband, wife, child, boyfriend, girlfriend, job or house can cause, we know what needs to be offered. The question then becomes, do we? Or, having survived our own crisis, we shrug off the distress of others because we are too busy, detached, or ill-equipped to see our personal involvement? Whatever decision you reach isn't my concern. But as asked by another man; "if not you, then who? If not now, then when?"

Hurricane Phailin is bearing down on India. (what is known as a tropical cyclone in that part of the world) Landfall will be in the areas of Visakhapatnam-Brahmapur-Puri. As I have monitored the situation, one small blessing has been the reduction of the "eyewall replacement cycle." This simply means the intensity of the hurricane has been reduced from category 5 (the highest) to 4. I will spend a part of my weekend striving to be grateful for neighbor helping neighbor--village helping village--country helping country. The time is coming when we will understand and embrace the reality that we are all in this together.  

Update: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/phailin-on-course-to-devastate-1/18611884   

Rally Round

Two are better than one; for if one of them should fall, the other can raise his partner up.
~Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Imagine extending your support unconditionally for the next 24 hours. To anyone and everyone who happens to come your way. The stranger you do not know; the long lost friend. The beggar on the street, the work associate. The unknown neighbor in the grocery checkout line, the family member that you cherish. Your best friend and worst enemy...all receive your wholehearted encouragement.

Life comes at us relentlessly. It tears us up as it wears us down. None are immune. And I ask that you give what you so desperately need. Offer a hand up. The knowing nod. A wink of assurance. The smile of inclusion. Be what you long for...a friend.

"Over the years I've settled on this definition of my immediate family: Its whoever, when help is needed, shows up immediately." ~Robert Brault

Friendship isn't about who you've known the longest...its about who came and never left. ~Unknown

http://vimeo.com/2539741

Reflection

I am an old, superstitious Arab, and I believe in our proverbs. There's one that says, "everything that happens once can never happen again. But anything that happens twice will surely happen a third time."

~Paulo Coelho  The Alchemist