Tag Archives: Truth

Flowers, Home, Nature, Photography, Sweet Breathing

You Carry Your World With You

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These words by Silvatiicus Riddle resonated today. Of course not everything is terrible, not even most things, not even a large percentage of things. Perspective. Laying down the learned anger, the fear, the rhetoric, and remembering the love that permeates all, the overwhelming beauty, the magnificence of life, the privilege of it, are all at our fingertips, alive in our hearts,and available for the asking. In this little piece of the world we inhabit, yes, we have everything we need.

“Not everything is terrible.

Read that again. Say it aloud. Know that it is ultimately the truth.

Somewhere birds sing. Somewhere cats play and roll in the grass. Somewhere there is a brand new baby seeing snowfall for the first time. An ocean washes the tired feet of a grandmother with a lifetime of memories etched into her kindly face. Somewhere someone is deeply in love, and falls asleep with their lover’s face still in their eyes. Somewhere there are trees that have seen terrible men rise and fall, that have watched war planes flying overhead, that have felt in the ground and mycelium the distant strike of the ax, and yet…they dig their roots deeper. They reach up proudly for the sunlight, unashamed. They allow the world around them to fall away, or shift with time. Because sometimes, when it is difficult, when it is scary, that is the only way to live.

The flowers will grow. The storms will pass. Life will begin and end and begin again, because that is the way of it. It may not be okay in the whole world, but you can sing. You can pet the soft fur of your animals, you can feel the coolness or warmth of a comforting drink. The touch of a hand. You can recall the survival of an ancestor through trying times, call their strength to you. You can read a good story, or make one up. Tell one about a great adventure –a quest for the precious jewel that gives you life, and how the old witch helped you discover that you’ve carried it with you all along, that it exists inside of you, and you have everything you need right now, in this very moment. Because you do. You really do.

In the little piece of the world that you claim beneath your feet, it is okay. You carry your world with you.

Not everything is terrible.

Remember, and seek out the good.”

Silvatiicus Riddle

Home, Inspiring Words, Nature, Photography

What Feels Real and True

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From Mark Nepo’s The One Life We’re Given the quote below helped with perspective today.  Mark Nepo creates word tapestries that weave together to provide such solace, and he has provided tremendous peace to me these last weeks.

I am deeply listening and learning, reading and absorbing the foundational and fundamental changes needed in our country, our culture, our society and our world now.  Now.   From justice for marginalized people of every pigment shade, every circumstance, to respect and care for our nourishing and sustaining Mother Earth,  to acknowledgement for the gifts of the wild ones, the plants and the trees that share our planet, much compassion, understanding, support and change are needed.  Thank you Mark for helping me to traverse and navigate these tumultuous times.

“During times of deep change, we’re forced to kneel before the silent god of patience; listening—not for direction, but for what feels real and true. Until presence leads to presence. This is how we come to listen to our soul.

I know from my own evolution that most of what the heart knows enters us like lightning, and is already true somewhere inside, while the rest of us struggles to catch up. I’ve also learned that we’re never drawn into a change we’re not ready for, though the change may be difficult.

Under the weight of living, I’m thankful for how gifted we are to have hearts that feel. Thankful for the chance to be tender and thorough and possible one more time. And whenever we dare or are forced to lift each other up or ease each other down, we have the glorious chance to find what we’ve lost in our common story. When we can truly behold each other, we slowly become each other. We become love itself. It’s through love’s eyes that we can see that it’s sweetly enough to have come this far.

So however uncertain tomorrow might seem, I encourage you to withstand the dizziness of freedom and to trust the wisdom that waits in your heart, which knows what it needs to be alive and to stay alive.

No matter what seems unbearable, the well of feeling in the center of our being will never let us down, just as the fire in the center of the Earth will never go out. As you leave our long conversation and walk back into the sweep of your flowering life, I can only assure you that nothing will keep you from being worn to your beauty, that all will be real, and that everything you touch will gift you something.”

-Mark Nepo

Sweet Breathing

Ethics

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The Native American Code of Ethics originally published in the Inter-Tribal Times in October of 1994.

Depth in simplicity, honor in dealing with humanity and the earth.

Twenty tenants to live by…

It is done, it is good.  All My Relations.

1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.

3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.

6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth – whether it be people or plant.

7. Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.

8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. Animals, plants and other living creatures are all part of your worldly family.

12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.

14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of one’s will within this universe.

15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others – especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.

18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.

19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others.

20. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity.