You make a difference

 As  I continue to read "The Art of Possibility" I  am heartened by the examples of how perceptions changed people's experiences.
One story the author, Zander, tells is of a young woman on a beach where thousands of star fish have been stranded, high and dry and soon to perish. A man approaching the girl from a distance perceives her to be dancing with a graceful movement raising her arms in the air. As he gets closer he sees that she is throwing the star fish back into the ocean. In a mocking tone he comments that there are star fish as far as the eye can see, what difference can saving a few make. Smiling the young woman reaches down and tossing one more out over the water she says serenely "It certainly makes a difference to this one."

If we don't look to measure the degrees of success or failure of a venture but approach it as someone who can contribute, it changes our experience of life. The young woman could just as easily have abandoned her task seeing the futility of her endeavor but no, she is serene in the act of contributing to this one star fish.  Zander asks us to put it to ourselves, "How will I be a contributor today?" When we ask this question we more easily come into the present moment and there is no where else to be, no other person to be with, we look to contribute to this moment, to this person, to this endeavor. It shifts our thinking from - what do I get out of this or evaluating, will my effort be worthwhile?

So I declare myself a contributor today. I throw myself into life as someone who makes a difference. I don't have to understand how or why.

I am inventing myself  in a way that we all are, everyday. How are you inventing yourself today and how is it working for you?


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An "A" student of life

I'm just reading the book, The Art of Possibility and being very inspired.

The writers are a couple; he a conductor, composer and teacher, she an executive coach and family systems therapist. Published in 2000, it's message has never been more needed as it is today. We need new possibilities as we deal with a quickly changing world.

The Zanders say our realities, based on our beliefs, are all invented anyway so why not invent a positive view of yourself and the world. Give yourself and everyone you meet an A.  See the Michelangelo statue inside the rough piece of clay before you and watch it emerge, encourage it's emergence. As we let go of judging by our standards we open to people we would not before have aligned with, there by opening to possibilities heretofore cut off from us.
By giving yourself an A, it does not mean you don't have to work hard anymore but it frees you to take risks as you don't have to toe some imagined line in order to deserve approval. You already have it!
It is not about raising self esteem or boasting, it simply takes you out of the idea of success/failure and brings you into the world of possibility. It allows you to acknowledge as well as be, all of who you are without having to deny any part.

Try it out for a day and see what results, I like the feel of it don't you?

Mercury Retrograde

Have you ever heard someone say Mercury is retrograde and that's why they are having a bad day or why they were late, didn't get your e-mail, missed the plane?

If not let me just explain here that this is an astrological term that means that because of how the earth and mercury are moving in their orbits it appears from our vantage point here on earth that the planet Mercury is traveling backwards. The effect of this energy, similar to the effect the moon has on the tides, is to create delays, mix ups, make us go back over old ground, make travel plans and communications go askew. Mercury is the planet associated with travel and communications, as the moon is with the emotions. When it is in retrograde we go over old territory in one way or another.

Of course what you believe dictates your experience so if you give this idea weight then expect events to take unexpected turns and not a lot of progress to be made in new ventures while old ventures get movement.

Personally I have always been fascinated by astrology having explored it in some depth in my twenties and I see it not as many do, as a prediction of something set in stone but rather as something that indicates areas of life that pull at our attention at any given time.

This week for instance I had a face to face meeting with an old friend I had not sat down with for almost two years. At the same time someone from college contacted me through Facebook - when I last saw her has been more years than I care to remember! We e-mailed every day this week finding out what the other has been up to and seeing where in our lives we have both gotten wiser.

And Mercury is retrograde right now so how perfectly appropriate to be involved in such activities.
Whether you think its a lot of rubbish or not, I ask you to look at your last week and the one coming and report your findings.
There is a time for every thing so why not take this time to review something from the past that has been asking for your attention. Its a great way to use the energy of Mercury retrograde.
Mercury goes direct August 8th.

The Tudors

I just finished watching the Tudors, a TV series on the reign of the infamous King Henry the VIII, of which there are 38 episodes. At first I thought the series was too much of a sexy soap opera but soon I have to admit I found it absolutely fascinating.
I learned many things from watching this series.
History was brought to vivid life as I was lured into the constantly shifting politics of the Royal Court at a time when the Reformation was taking hold in Europe. Having been raised a Catholic in Ireland and remembering Mass said in Latin I got a deeper understanding of the grip of Rome on its distant subjects and of the difficulties involved in breaking with tradition and old beliefs.
Having grown up with the effects of tension between Protestant and Catholic in my country I got to see in this TV series some of the roots of the divisions in their rituals and loyalties. Of course in Ireland the tension was also deeply linked to oppressor, (the English Protestants) and the oppressed (Irish Catholics.) It was as if the country held more firmly to it's beliefs because of the persecution.

Change is never easy and it was not in England either; this breaking from Rome, for the peasantry of that country were as much oppresses as those in Ireland. There was no religious freedom for them as their monasteries were sacked and the lands handed to those in the King's favor.

And presently in Ireland, after all the years of fighting for Catholicism, the churches are greatly depleted as scandals and rigidity leave a sour taste in a society jaded and skeptical as economic boom was followed quickly by a return to austerity. In the light of all those burned at the stake, hanged drawn and quartered, beheaded and more, I wonder at the world of men.

I am left with a line from the series resounding amid all the other thoughts and ideas and it is this...

'Praise the God of all, drink the wine, and let the world be the world.'

Amen.