New Becomings

Never let go of - through escape from misery - a good opportunity to grow ~ Lester Levenson When we use words to describe ideas and understandings, they are merely pointers to more inexplicable feelings or awareness. We use language to try to communicate and clarify things to others or ourselves, which is why I love writing, but the words alone cannot bring someone else to full understanding - Like the game Broken Telephone, each of us has our own individualistic perception of what is being said. The filter of our experiences and attitudes can taint the intention of the relayed understanding. I can say 'don't worry, be happy' (spending time worrying ends up eating away happiness), and someone will come up with all the worrisome things in the world to convince me that true, long-term happiness is a pipe dream. So 'worry, be unhappy' then - it doesn't matter to me. Every one of us is responsible for carving our own paths towards fulfillment, and though some might ...

 “Your profession is not what brings home your weekly paycheck, your profession is what you're put here on earth to do, with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.”   ~Vincent van Gogh  I still don't know what my true calling is, rather, what it is called - but I'm calling it all the time, and it seems to be working in that I'm now satisfied with what I 'do', who I 'am' and how I 'live'. This satisfaction is not an end result, it's a continual process that keeps me aiming as the goal posts move with the rhythm of life. Still, I was not living a wholly gratifying life until recently. There was always something seemingly missing; the only thing missing was acceptance and acknowledgement. It takes time, I guess. Well, it did for me anyway. Whatever my calling is, it contains writing and communicating ideas, expressing balance toward a life well-lived, with an appetite for growth and understanding as I try to hel...

 Hate has caused a lot of problems in the world, but it has not solved one yet ~Maya Angelou I deal with hate in myself first and anyone else second. I have no problem with dislike and disagreement, but when it comes to hate, I'm too occupied creating a life I enjoy to waste time on people who are so angry they'd rather surround themselves with turmoil and puff themselves up in righteousness indignation. Not my circus, not my monkeys. Hate is a powerful emotion that needs to be addressed, yet not become consuming. Over the past week I've had numerous hate calls and messages, mostly from Americans with profile pics of their flag, their guns, Trump, and quotes about loving Jesus. I won't even get into the irony there. These folks have every right to their ideas and opinions about things, they have a right to voice their dismay. And each call, where the person was yelling at me, I'd simply say, "I'm not having this argument with you," feeling strangely li...

A feeling of aversion or attachment to something is your clue that there's work to be done ~RamDass Detachment, or non-attachment, is a principle many religions and philosophies promote, where overcoming the desire for things/people/concepts creates a state of heightened awareness as one becomes unaffected by worldly possessions and concerns. This idea is most well-known in Buddhism where a Noble Truth is that the cause of suffering is desire - attachment to wanting something, or not wanting something, instead of just being with what is in every moment. I used to say, "I don't care." a lot in response to people asking what I thought about something. That got me into more trouble than it should have, but most people think 'I don't care' is a cold, unemotional impression -- What I could have said is, "It doesn't matter what happens, it will be okay." or "I feel sad too, but don't worry about it so much." But even those can elicit...