The Written Word

I'm a firm believer in the power of the written word.  It’s a form of “putting it out there” to the Universe.

“The pen is mightier than the sword”.........at least so says English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839.  But this is the twenty-first century – not the nineteenth, and times have radically changed. Today most people’s writing involves emails, text messages, twittering, Facebook and the like; lots of touching base but little true writing.

So in these days we might ask afresh, Is the pen still mightier than the sword?  Should the written word still be considered a powerful weapon in the modern culture in which we live?

The effort of putting pen to paper (metaphorically speaking) is considerable.  Every article we write may not have a powerful result, but it could!

It can be pervasive.

It can permeates lives, penetrating where spoken words would be shut out.

One of the reasons for this is that there is an implied acceptance when we choose to pick up something to read.  In essence, we have given it the right to speak into our lives.

Because of this, an article can often penetrate a resistant heart, for just the action of choosing to read it opens the door to the truth it contains.

The pervasive power of writing also comes from the fact that, since written words easily endure, they often make it to places we would never dream.

So let the writing begin! 

“A drop of ink may make a million think.”
~~George Gordon Byron  

Photo taken at the British Library by my blog friend Cynthia
when I visited her in London in 2008.

Adaptable to Change

We work on what we need to learn

And while it's a healthy practice sometimes it sucks to be in it.

So we create safe rooms and we dance our patterns and we talk to our monsters.

We give legitimacy to the part of us who doesn't want anything to change and the part who wishes everything would change faster already.

And then we move some more things around.

Change is a given. And it’s often also incredibly uncomfortable.

There is really only one thing more important than change. And that’s the ability to adapt to it. Adaptation!

Adaptation is an intentional practice. Sometimes I will intentionally mix things up more than necessary, just to jumpstart that process of adapting.

That is why ....We work on what we need to learn!


"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."
— Charles Darwin

This beautiful butterfly landed on my hand in 2012 in Christchurch.

In The Here and Now

When I studied Practical Philosophy for 3 years the words BE HERE NOW were repeated over and over. There was a very simple reason why these three little words became my mantra.

In the chaos of the modern world, there is a beauty in simply doing.

We’re buffeted wildly by whatever emails, conversations, news, events, demands, that are going on around us.

Our minds become a constant deluge of thoughts dwelling in the past, worries of the future, distractions pulling us in every direction.

But all of that melts away when we focus on just doing.

It doesn’t matter what the doing is: sitting, walking, writing, reading, eating, washing, talking, snuggling, playing.

By focusing on the doing, we drop our worries and anxieties, jealousies and anger, grieving and distraction.

There is something profound in that simplicity. Something ultimately heart-rendingly breath-takingly gorgeous.

So when you are caught up in the sandstorm of thoughts, feelings, to-dos, meetings, readings and communications.

Pause. Breathe. Let all of that fade.

Now focus on doing one thing, right now. Just choose one thing, and clear away all other distractions.

Seriously, clear it all away. Turn off your Internet. Stop reading this article (OK, read a couple more sentences, then close your browser!).

Let all thoughts about anything other than the doing also fade away. They’ll come up, but gently make note of them, and then let them go. And return to the doing.

If you’re washing a dish, do it slowly, and feel every sensation. If you’re eating a fruit, taste it, feel the textures, be mindful of your hunger or lack of it. If you’re writing something, pour your heart into that writing, become the writing, inhabit the words.

Just do.

The rest of the world becomes meaningless distraction. It’s just you, and your doing.

And you realize: this is all that matters. In this, there is everything.


"Before enlightenment - chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment - chop wood, carry water".
~Zen Buddhist Proverb

I took this photo of a Waratah in the Royal Botanic Garden at Vivid Sydney 2017 - Festival of Lights, Music and Ideas.

Out of the Shadows

Like plants, to some degree, all of us struggle or flourish according to where we are positioned. Our lives can be hard or easy depending on where the pot is placed. 

Most of us, I think, have had this experience: behaving quite differently according to the people in the room at the time. With some people we feel in perpetual shadow; with others, the sunlight seems to angle in and we are aglow.

With one friend you feel as if you are quite intelligent, discussing erudite issues of politics or literature. You are witty, insightful; the right phrase springs into your mouth at the right time. The very next night, in the company of someone else, you feel dumb and boring. Anxiety or insecurity grips so strongly that the right word, the witty phrase, can never fight its way through to the surface.
I've been thinking about the subtleties of positioning - how the sunlight can hit us when we are standing on this spot, but not in this other spot.

Why, then, don't we strive harder to move into the sun? 

Why don't we spend more time with those who bring out our best selves, and less with those who bring a nuclear winter? Perhaps we could all send out the mental note: ''Paul Whatchamacallit, I know I'm booked in for a barbecue with you on Saturday week but suddenly I find that I am busy. I'm off to spend time with people who think I'm fabulous. And guess what? When I'm with them, I mostly prove them right.''

The best compliment you can pay someone is to say, ''I like the person I am when I'm with you''.
 
"Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun."
~~ John Lennon - Instant Karma

 

This photo was taken in 2007 when we were riding camels in Broome, Western Australia.

 

 

 

Enjoying the Journey

It is amazing by changing the use of a word, we can change our thought patterns.

When I thought of the word "goal" I thought of the word "should" and that lead me to rebelling against achieving my project/task.

By changing the word to "choice", I felt freer and less stressed. I found it to be a much more powerful motivator and the pressure subsided.

Consequently there is no timeframe when I "choose" to do the project, resulting in a pleasurable experience as opposed to the pressure of achieving a "goal".

Once again it comes back to enjoying the journey rather than focusing on a specific destination.

So I choose to be open minded and curious and accept my shortcomings, just as I welcome the rainbow.

I also choose to accept and love myself unconditionally and to love, nourish and take care of my body.

Today I choose to embrace the silver lining of my imperfections and as always am thankful for the abundant blessings I have in my life.

"Each of us literally chooses, by his way of attending to things, what sort of universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit."
~~ William James 



This is Seal Cove in the South Island of New Zealand, we came across these chairs when we were trekking and chose to stay a while before continuing on trekking.