from chaos

The last few days I have been working my bootie off on the farm. The surprising effect of working very hard physically was not just experiencing a pleasant tired feeling in the body, but also I enjoyed the fact that the mind quieted down and having the simplicity of solely being in the moment. It is quite astounding what a physical body can do. Nico and I labored on for long hours a day, relentless carrying wood and dragging tree branches, fence posts, wire, and lots of walking and walking through high grass. The animals lay snoozing in the grass, expressing contentment everywhere as the sun shone gently on them.


I was happy to read in the newspaper that many people in Christchurch are 'getting on with it'. There is a student volunteer army, the rescue teams are still relentlessly working away and everyone still living in the city are helping each other out. The stories that are emerging are inspiring and actually more and more cool to read. So, ironically the feelings of despair that were so contagious last week have now morphed into shouldering on and counting blessings. I also read this morning that 'from chaos many things can be born again' which can help us focus to create that which we want to see. Everyone in Christchurch do so well in working together and pitching in, helping others out it is truly something.


I think that it makes a lot of sense to remind ourselves sometimes that the way how we think has so much effect on how we live, more then we realize. Aligning ourselves with our highest intentions will create far more positive effect, then being stuck in feelings of despair. Perhaps what would be beneficial is to check our thinking: do we reason from a place of negativity and limitation or a place of possibilities and positivity? What do we choose to do?

crumbling

A proud city has been changed

outward and inward.

The cathedral has crumbled

and those with hope still

stand on the footpath.

Huddled groups on the grass

Their direction lost, eyes wide.

Yet some people are found

And the tv crews catch the rawness.

Ever the wariness and feeling so tired..

the load too heavy, the task too big.

Will it ever stop?

What will we do?

Is everyone okay?

Determined faces set like masks.

The city of old is gone

and it's not yet time to build again.

finding it?

A lot of people are "looking", so how about "finding"?


Many of us get excited about the idea of looking for "something". Either a new training in spirituality will do the trick, reading this amazing book should have the answers, or buying the new car or securing the new job that will bring it all home. Maybe that or we go on a happy quest to introduce inspiring people in our lives to make us feel better. Whatever distraction works to avoid looking at ourselves. It's easier to focus on "out there".


Perhaps we will get satisfaction or we don't. Then when we do think we might finally get the answer, ironically we discover after a while that our new solution, friend, or newly purchased item wasn't quite what we wanted to have after all. We got the money but not the freedom. We get a sense of direction again from our guru but they don't want to hold our hands. We get the new car but have to pay more money for road user charges and insurance. We get the new friend but keep wanting to find others as to keep ourselves feeling excited and distracted. The new job provides us with more income and experience, but perhaps has new colleagues that are difficult to work with. So what did we ask for... really? Hmm.


The more you look at something out there, the more you miss the point of looking and finding "in here" (corny as heck but there you go). We have the tendency to run away from the "in here" times, including the writer of this post. Why? Because we don't know what we'll find "in here" for sure and whether we'll like it. Isn't it easier to say: there, THAT should fix my nagging feelings. Please let me win lotto and I'll be happy forever.... Uhuh.

The funny thing is that you are already kitted out perfectly.

Let's start here: the letting go of the need to know any outcome will work wonders. Fear will leave you. The controlling urges will subside. You don't need a 100 friends, just a few kick ass ones will be awesome already. How long do you plan to pussy foot about? The distractions you were seeking were just that, some entertainment fluff. Did you really choose it, or was it just to keep you occupied? (I know it sounds meehhh but that's what this post is about.)

The only answer to feeling happy, or happier, is to see that your life, in whatever state that it is, is catering exactly to the need of what you are expecting. As la dee da as it may sound, the less you want, and even less you need, the more satisfied you'll feel. It's the making peace, as well as the seeing all there is and not judging it but appreciating it, that will help greatly in putting a smile back on your face, and a trusting hippety hoppety in your step. Things can only get better. You can always choose differently. Just chill out. 

Life is wondrous. Just expect it to be and go about it accordingly. And for heavens sake have some more fun! All that serious stuff can give you the heebie jeebies. And others too.

instead

Instead of having to live a life

of pretense

of performing

of needing anything

Instead.

I like to run my own time

Be my own man

Be my own woman.

Instead

I like to serenade the night skies

watch possums fly overhead

and be still again. And wonder.

Instead.

Of eating a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich

I will drink a green smoothie

Instead of sadness I'll have joy.

Instead of required compliance

I'll have enough to go on

No people no noise

No crowd no talks

I'll be just me.

Instead.

__________________________________

Poem for a dear friend of mine.

art

Art is as art does... it can be simple and still say a lot. No matter how 'educated' the artist is, the inherited meaning speaks for itself. This video is about a street artist who knows what it's like to not live "cushy".

meadow

Egypt


before was
when alones rested their sorrows
carried their own story for their families.


Instead of silent curses
banners are held high
it's not Faith but Belief.


We can hear the crumbling
of old systems entrenching
Yet twitter rules with news
and those alone are now strong together


Google's one voice
spreads for many
and a cloud of emotion
hangs over this country in pain


The passing of days
and the strengthening of heart
In the street.
Resolved are they
and free at last inside.


Not a warzone not a bridge.
But a graffiti meadow with songs.
The world hears them singing
and listens intently.


_________________________________________
for more info of the repressed: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/blogger_arrests_in_egypt_this_week_in_online_tyran.php
and http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/latest-updates-on-day-17-of-egypt-protests/?partner=rss&emc=rss

From the NYTimes:

" Speaking to CNN from Cairo as short time ago, Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency who has joined the Egyptian opposition, said President Hosni Mubarak's speech was "an act of deception on a grand scale."

He added:

People are stunned here. Everybody expected Mubarak and his regime -- they lost all credibility, all legitimacy -- to step aside. People were expecting that we would then move into a transitional period where you would have a government of national unity, to carry on for a year to prepare for fair and free elections. There is no way that the Egyptian people right now are ready to accept either Mubarak or his vice president....
Suleiman is considered to be an extension of Mubarak, they are twins. Neither of them is acceptable to the people- even Suleiman is less acceptable.

Mr. ElBaradei also said "to put it simply, the man is gambling with the destiny of his country just for the sake of his staying in power."

deadlines

We always think deadlines can be useful. Well of course they are, they provide us with a sense of direction and purpose and a TADA! as we get something done in time. The other side of the coin is those who continually suffer from other people's deadlines, the so called provider-of-deadline-allowers. Ever thought of them?


The reality is that whether someone obligingly promised hand over heart to accommodate you, life may go differently. There can be technical malfunctions. There could be a cyclone. They might have the flu. They didn't look when crossing the street and their fresh undies were exposed. You simply can never tell what happened. Sometimes they are sorry they missed your deadline that you feel you have to pay for their counselling fees. Other times there are those who may lie to your face. (It is a very grey area. Tread with caution.)


Mooodlies recently had a deadline crossing. Actually Joi and my deadlines went up in smoke on more then one occasion. We were a bit taken aback but deliberately decided to not blow a fuse. Instead we discovered that a) some people who are deadline-providing-allowers are not as excited about their job as you are about them finishing it and b) have a plan b in order to always have another deadline-providing-allower on board you can count on.


Naturally you may not have the option of a plan b because you have signed a deal or legal arrangement with partner a. In that case another solution would have to be sought. At the end of the day though: life is life and can take us by surprise no matter how well we plan, fret, worry, dance or run with it. The key is then to relax in the knowing that life continues as before and that it's up to us how we react, not the other person. Also I would strongly suggest to work with people you trust, somehow they have the tendency to respect you and thus are happy to aid in your deadline addiction.


I would like to share the following with you that Joi so neatly wrote:


" I make stuff because it releases schools of fish from my thoughts
I make stuff because it keeps my hands busy
and my mind fizzy
I make stuff before stuff makes me.


It's the same reason I think in dialogue,
despise voice chats
see in pictures
even numbers (there are calculators for such problems)
I make stuff before stuff makes me.


When stuff makes me
I have no control of the the way I'm written
and that can't be good
as I end up with too much ears
and very little heart
or too much heart
and not enough tears
I make stuff before stuff makes me."


The world is made of stuff. Make it fun yeah!