Let My No Be My No

In a previous post I wrote about the vision of the country and the world that I am holding. It’s a way of saying yes to the world I want to create. Years ago though I learned that No can be equally important.

There was a time in my life when I didn’t know what my future looked like, when I didn’t know what I wanted it to look like. I found that the only way I could make good decisions during that time was by simply knowing what I didn’t want. I learned to let my no really be my no and my yes really be my yes. I learned a great deal during that time and said some very big Nos that created a lot of change in my life and took a lot of courage.

Now is a time to practice some of those learnings again. It is a time to let my No be heard loud and clear in balance with my yes.

I have been simply stunned lately by the realization of the magnitude of the things that we have been saying yes to in the world we have created. Does that mean that I have said yes to the atrocities in the world? Yes, on some level I think it does because I didn’t stand up and shout, No! Now is my time to do that.

The words feel harsh compared to the gentleness of my yes, but must be said. Sadly the list could be much longer. This at least is a beginning.

No, I will not accept a world where people starve to death while others throw excess food away.

No, I will not accept a world where womens' and girls’ bodies are used as weapons of war through rape.

No, I will not accept a world where a fifteen year old girl is shot in the head at point blank range because she spoke an opposing point of view.

No, I will not accept a world where our natural resources are seen only as a commodity and are depleted without regard for the future or the lives lost in the recovery of those resources.

No, I will not accept a world where one is judged to be less worthy than another because of the pigment of their skin, their religious beliefs, who they love, how much money they have or how much they weigh.

No, I will not accept a world where the outside of a person is deemed more important than what is within.

No, I will not accept a world where hatred guides people’s choices.

No, I will not accept a world where people die for want of medicine when those medicines are readily available.

No, I will not accept a world where whoever is the strongest or has the most money has power over others, where people use that power to bully and oppress others.

No, I will not accept a world where young men feel so desperate because society leaves them behind that they turn to violence toward each other.

No, I will not accept a world where whole villages, whole races are murdered because of their beliefs, color or creed.

No, I will not accept a world where people are forced to live on the street and are ignored rather than loved, assisted and seen.

No, I will not accept a world where love thy neighbor is merely spoken but not acted upon and lived.

No, I will not accept a world where multi-million dollar corporations are guided by greed rather than community.

No, I will not.

A Visit from Snake

I was sitting in the woods on a log writing. I was so in the joy of writing I didn’t even see the snake coming. When finally something caught my eye I looked up and saw a three foot long, black snake about four feet out in front of me and moving very quickly in my direction. There really wasn’t much for me to do so I just stayed completely still to see what he would do. I figured he would sense me and veer off. I was wrong. Apparently I was good at being still and I’m not afraid of snakes so I was decided to simply enjoy the experience. As I watched he just kept coming straight toward me. Soon he arrived about four or five inches to the right of my right foot. I figured that when he reached the log I was sitting on, he would go under it or turn off to his left where there weren’t any obstacles like my feet. Apparently my ability to figure was way off today! Instead of turning any direction at all, he came straight up onto the log! He finally stopped at the top as if he was sitting down for a little visit, with his head swaying only a couple inches from my thigh.

I had been watching him out of the corner of my eye this whole time so I wouldn’t have to turn my head and startle him. I knew he wasn’t a poisonous snake so I wasn’t scared and I new if I didn’t startle him he wouldn’t strike at me (even non-poisonous snakes will bite if they feel threatened). As he sat there next to me for a moment I just took a deep breath and watched him with my peripheral vision with curiosity. That is when he finally sensed me. I could just barely glimpse him turn his head in my direction. I can only assume he flicked that little forked tongue out and picked up a trace of me and the bug spray on my leg. It was of the herbal variety but I guess it was not to his liking because he promptly turned back around, went back down the log and slithered off in the direction from which he had come. I laughed as I watched him go from sheer joy at his visit. What a strange and wondrous moment it was!

That was not the first time I’ve had the joy of the company of the creatures of the woods simply by being still enough in their environment for them to venture by, and it’s not the only interesting encounter I’ve had with a snake. However, it was a delightful reminder of what treasures can be found by simply being in the joy of the moment and being enveloped in the wonder of the spectacular array of life we share this planet with. Thank you my friend snake for the visit and the reminder!

Campaign Pledge 2012

It’s an election year here in the US. Unless you’ve been living in a cave you already know that I suppose. With the political conventions that have happened over the past couple weeks there have been an awful lot of politicians making an awful lot of pledges and accusations and smug jokes at the other party’s expense and a whole lot of blaming. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, in the rhetoric and go along with whichever point of view you ascribe to. In fact that’s just exactly what they hope you will do, go along with them to wherever they’re going.

Here’s the thing, I don’t want to go along. I want to create. 

Now, I can clearly see that there are plenty of people out there already who are willing to take the role of politician, lobbyist, pundit, and certainly Facebook political commentator. That left me asking myself last night, “Well then, what is mine to do to help create this new world?” The answer was quite clear.

So here is my pledge to you my fellow Americans (and fellow souls of Earth): Until this presidential election is over I will not focus on one candidate or another, nor one party or another. I will not focus on rhetoric or statements of blame. I will focus on the vision of a peaceful country. I will focus on the vision of a compassionate country. I will focus on the vision of a tolerant country where we practice the golden rule of do unto others as you would have done unto you. I will focus on a country where we can discuss and disagree in love and understanding. I will focus on a country where all people are treated equally, where all people have equal opportunity, equal education, equal rights. I will focus on a country that sets an example of fairness and that holds a vision of a world that reflects all these qualities. I will focus on the country I know is possible, that I know most people who live here want. I will focus on the world I know already exists in so many hearts.

I will focus on these things because I know that in holding that vision the leader who aligns with it will naturally be called forth, whoever that leader is.

The only way to create this world of love and peace, compassion and kindness is to do it together. So I would invite you to do the same. The more people who hold a clear vision of the world we want to create, the sooner we will manifest that vision. I have felt it, I have seen it, I know it is already there waiting to be called forth, just as a leader who holds that same vision is also ready. Join me now, and in each moment of your day, in holding the vision of a world that is a worthy gift to all the children of this country and this earth.

Morning Opera

I have a confession to make. I love mornings! I have resisted this truth for years now because I’ve never been a morning person. I like to sleep! But this morning I finally admitted it to myself. I used to give my friend, Julie, a hard time for her morning perkiness (sorry Julie!). I wouldn’t say that I’m exactly perky in the morning, but there is a joy there for me in the silence before the onrushing of the day. It is a time when my heart and mind are in unison and my thoughts and feelings have a beautiful clarity (not all mornings of course). It is a time when I can hear the words clearly. It is a time when I can intentionally begin my day in conscious connection to all and to the One. It is a time when I can focus easily on gratitude and the multitude of blessings in my life. It is a time when I can see the world around me clearly and with great joy. I love those moments. I love moments of being witness to the incredible beauty of this world.

This morning for instance the field behind our house took my breath away. It wasn’t butterflies this time. This time it looked as though all the plant residents of the field were dressed for the opera! The tiny trees and tall grasses were all draped with shining spider webs. They were heavy with dew and hung from their necks and shoulders sparkling in the light of Grandfather Sun. Some were adorned with strings of jewels lit from within. Some wore instead glittering stoles draped from their shoulders. They were dressed lavishly. Each time I passed I swore I could hear their hushed voices in the moment of excitement before the curtain rises. Then came the voice of the rooster strong and clear and the singing began. Next thing you know I will be become an opera person too!

Joe Pye Weed

The past few months have been challenging in terms of finding time for writing. Joyfully, things have settled down some and I'm finding a new rhythm and time to write! It's amazing how much better I feel overall when I am allowing time for the words to flow. This morning I wrote the following poem. It felt wonderful to spend time with the words again...

Joe Pye Weed
by Lynda Allen

along her morning way
the slightest of flutters makes her raise her eyes
she pauses,
amazed that color could take form and fly.
a moment of grace.
yet the smile slips from her lips, like the dew from the leaves,
as her gaze follows the flight of pale yellow
to a field of mauve and green alive with wings.
her breath desserts her,
awe and wonder instead sustain her
as she takes in the miracle of beauty.
hundreds of wings of yellow and periwinkle,
black and cobalt
gently stir the air
as they sit two and three upon a flower
sipping and visiting
wings overlapping,
unaware of the splendor of their gathering.
breath eventually returns along with laughter,
joy overflowing in sound,
at the delight found along her morning way.

Mourning Dove

I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I have had a moment of revelation on my morning walks. I’m not talking about lightning strike, angels singing, heavens opening revelations - though there have been a couple of those! : ) I’m talking about reminders of simple truths or the coming together of pieces of a puzzle.

This morning was a puzzle piece kind of morning. I have been noticing lately how much I like it when the mourning dove takes flight. The sound she makes as she leaps into the air is like laughter. I have just been taking note of it on my walks and enjoying the moment of it. I noticed the contradiction of the laughter compared to her call when she is at rest which sounds sorrowful and so lends her her name, but I hadn’t given it much thought.

That’s usually how the revelations come about, through things I observe and take note of but don’t try to hard to figure out or see. I’ve learned the pieces will come together in their own time, at just the right time for me to absorb the learning they offer.

As I walked along this morning I once again came upon one of these lovely creatures. She took flight as I neared and I heard her joyous laughter. I thought again of the contrast of her joyful cry and her mournful one. That’s when the moment came. I wish I could describe it to you adequately, but it’s as if the pieces come together to form a key that opens a place within my heart where that learning fits. Everything pauses for a moment and I say, “Oh,” as I see the connections and the opening happens, I breathe it in and the lesson settles into my heart like the dove settling on her perch.

The lesson of the dove was a reminder of something I’ve written about many times, the bond between joy and grief. This morning it was timely for things I’m moving through in my life right now; moments of great joy intertwined with moments of sadness. What the mourning dove reminded me of was that the sadness is grounded and earthly and a natural part of the process, but that the joy filled laughter comes with taking flight.

I am about to take flight into a new chapter in my life and I will leap with glee into that flight, but I will also occasionally settle on my perch and let my mournful cry come. It won’t keep me from my flight though, any more than it keeps the dove from hers.

Intuition

I guess I had never really taken the time to look at the word intuition. But knowing me, it was bound to happen eventually! So if you break it down into two words you get in tuition. Surprisingly, that surprised me. I had never noticed the wisdom of that before.

Yet, there it is as plain as day, the truth about intuition. The most literal meaning being, in instruction or more accurately for my human journey, in the process of learning. And what better way to learn than by using my intuition, my inner knowing?  There is where I find the less literal meaning, inner tuition – instruction gained within, at that place where all wisdom, all knowing can be found, a place I would call Divine wisdom. Why would I want to live any other way?

Well, it’s not so much that I would want to live another way, but that I sometimes allow myself to get distracted by the daily human stresses, problems, issues, etc. I mentioned that it is a human journey right?

So it then becomes a process of stillness. In any moment I can choose to be still and listen for that instruction, that wisdom within me. In any moment I can choose to focus my attention on my inner knowing rather than my outer distractions and then live from that place, interact with the distractions from that place. It definitely shifts my perspective on what is before me.

When I allow my intuition to guide me more clearly and more regularly, then those distractions become something else all together, they become moments in the classroom. They also begin to lose the power that I have given them to even be what I would call a distraction; they lose their power to create stress or disruption in my life and instead can become objects of gratitude for lessons learned.

Most importantly, when I am allowing for the stillness to listen to the inner wisdom, that inner wisdom and knowing eventually become the expression of my being. That is my goal; to be a pure expression of that inner, Divine wisdom and energy. Will I achieve that goal in this lifetime? For me that is irrelevant. The practice of it is enough to shift my life and even the world around me in a positive way and so I will continue on my journey of inner tuition.

As intuition would have it, I listened to the nudge to wait and post this after my morning walk today. Why? Apparently so that as a confirmation of this line of thought I would see a car drive by me with the license plate Hear Now. : ) I smiled inside and out.

PS - Would my intuition ever lead me astray? How could it when the origin of the word intuition comes from the Latin word tuitionem (nom. tuitio) meaning "a looking after, defense, guardianship?” How comforting to know that there is something within me that is always looking after me.