OK, so I'm sat at my desk working away when I hear a bird chirp, my mind wanders back to a beautiful mid-90s summer in Nova Scotia, Canada when I had the privilidge of reading
Rachel Carson's '
Silent Spring', often at a farm house with no running water or electricity - nothing but a wood stove, bliss!. Anyway, Silent Spring is widely credited with first charting the impact of chemicals on nature.
So anyway, back to the bird, it strikes me that to prevent us ever experiencing Carson's Silent Spring we just need to do, to be, to act. But what to do?
Ironically my mind then wanders again to a poem I wrote again in the mid-90s (clearly they were productive years):
Paradox?Silence is the sound of action,
quietly muscles move to do.
Putting pen to paper, THROUGH!
Moving; sun-rise to the sky; time burning; void filling; you write a poem or instead, perhaps willing, you actually stop thinking and planning and scheming and you just start doing.So, where was I? Oh yeah, doing!
Here are my Top 10 ways the change the world right now:
1) Stop Being An Energy Vampire!
Make people feel valued. If you are a taker of peoples personal energy then stop. Immediately! Find another source of energy for yourself instead of stealing others. The result will be that people will like being around you more.
2) Are they really out to get you?
Dispel all paranoia: chances are it's all in your own head anyway so presume the best, not the worst. You tend to get what you wish for anyway...
3) Problems Shmoblems!
Accept that problems do not actually exist: problems are only situations to be dealt with. Label them a problem and they weigh you down and stress you out. Instead try treating them as just another situation and a part of your life to get sorted and the worry part just vanishes. You still sort it, just without the stress.
4) Kill The Inner Worrier!
Stop worrying about stuff: it really is a waste of your energy to let the negative govern your mind. Let the positive reign supreme: you'll feel better and get more done. Simple really. Just let go :) Do it!
5) Forgive Yourself! Accept that your standards and expectations of your self are probably too high and that frankly: you are brilliant. You probably are! And this doesn't mean don't have goals. Just be more loving of yourself and be more forgiving of your mistakes. '
He who makes no mistakes probably makes nothing' after all.
6) You Are The Worlds Most Important Renewable Resource!
However, you do need recharging so go to bed early and get a good nights sleep. Without it, well, you know what happens to gadgets when the batteries run out? Your batteries can't be replaced, only recharged.
7) Respect Your Origin!
You are mostly made up of water so make sure you keep yourself well-watered. Not gonna give you any advice as to how much or what source as there is plenty already online covering those topics.
8) Do Unto Others...
The simple truth is that what you give you tend to receive so the best way to get help in life is to start giving it. And the feeling of inner peace and love that comes from helping others combined with a renewed sense of perspective is unbeatable.
9) Shhhh! Be Still & Quiet! Meditating can be daunting so don't get too technical but recognise that you need to control your brain and that means training 'it' to let go and slow down. The rewards are a definite increase in inner calm and it becomes noticeable outwards as well. You also tend to be happier as life seems more surreal. That's why the
Dalai Lama smiles so much :)
10) Fundamentally reject all fundamentalism!
Don't be absolute about anything. Don't miss the irony here either. None of us are perfect and most, if not all, truths are just unknowable to be honest. So preach by all means but be ready to reel in your ego when it rears its hideous head. And trust me, it will! And if you don't think it has then you are almost certainly too late ;)
Final thought:
Now you may ask 'well none of that changes the world really does it?' and if you are left with that question then please understand that you are actually the world and everything outside of you is a reflection of everything inside of you. So to change the world all you need to do is start within. The radiance and energy you project as a result of that change will create change outside of you that you will neither be able to predict nor control but that you will appreciate and love if you look for it.
Namaste ('
I bow to the divine in you')