Wide Awake Living

The month of May
Brings opening
From bud to blossom.

Tightly bound,
Each bud stands
Complete, still and perfect
Being a bud.
Yet there is movement too.
Imperceptibly the bud
Rests in the change,
The movement of opening.
Flourishing.

Still and at peace,
Being the epitome
Of life as it is
Simply as a bud.
Yet also it is
Pure motion personified
As slowly it opens
Into a full-flowered
Version of itself.

In the forest,
We find fiddleheads,
Perfect just as they are
At each moment
Of their unfurling.

Yet they slowly unroll,
Becoming the ferns
They somehow already are
In a vision far beyond
The thought of it.

Even the scent
Of springtime
Penetrates
The virtual world
Of thought,
Bringing us
To the real life
Where stillness
And motion meet,
And life comes
To its flowering
In us and around us.

© 2010 Alice Gardner

An excerpt from Alice’s upcoming book:

“Although there is a lot of argument about the word evolution regarding the origin of the humanity (evolution versus the other creation stories) we will stand aside from the fray here and look at the subject a bit differently.

“If we consider human evolution in terms other than purely biological (such as in terms of our ability to learn new behaviors in order to survive) it is easy to see the movement of it all around us in our individual experiences. We are developing new thought processes, behaviors, skills and capacities as we go through whatever our lives bring us, both individually and collectively. This is the kind of human evolution that plays an integral part in our daily lives, only it shows up in such small increments that we rarely bring it into focus.

“We are taught in school about ‘natural selection’ and ’survival of the fittest’ in regards to evolution, but giving some focus to the ‘adaptation’ involved is a broader and less biological way to explore the relevance of evolution to our everyday lives. Adaptation is the capability we and other organisms have to adjust ourselves to new conditions when they appear in our environment (in order to be naturally selected or to survive). It is the ability to alter our way of life, our habits and our behaviors when it is necessary to do so for survival or for other things that matter to us. It is about our ability to meet each moment freely and creatively and to let go of old habits of thought or behavior.

“This world situation that we are facing is inviting us to let go of old fear-based thinking habits that have in the past formed our ways of thinking about the world and its problems. Our old ways of thinking have brought us to this point - a point beyond which they are no longer able to help us survive and thrive. Through seeing ourselves and the world from a perspective outside of our old filters and frames, our perceptions are altered and we naturally are freed from old outworn thinking and behaviors that no longer serve us. We are then able to adapt ourselves to the new environment presented by the times we live in, and become creative in our relationship with it.”

© 2010 Alice Gardner from her upcoming book “Making Sense of Tumultuous Times” (working title).

First book: “Life Beyond Belief, Everyday Living as Spiritual Practice” available on Amazon, as a kindle book, other ebook, or at your local bookstore by request.

Barack Obama won the US election on a platform of change. Many of us may be hoping that he single-handedly can change how things are going in America and in the world. I would say that this is an unrealistic expectation if such hoping means that all the rest of us have to do is to watch and wait for things to get better. If, however, this moment in the history of the world can be seen as an opportunity for every one of us to take part in this change, then yes, yes we can.

Every single one of us is an amazingly unique individual and each one of us has a different part to play. This has always been true. It is nothing new. Each of us has been playing our part all along, getting us to this moment, this situation, this opportunity.

Each of us is looking at what is happening around us with fresh eyes every moment, even though our minds may still be making a lot of noise that is covering up that direct perception. In spite of the mind’s noisiness concerning survival, money, war or other troubles, we can begin to notice what lies behind it. We can get a glimpse of what this moment in history is offering us in particular. What feedback life is giving us personally and collectively. What direction is open for us to move in and what moves are possible.

For some of us, the only movement that is possible at this moment, may be inner. Perhaps the only thing we can do is to come to terms with our financial or other concerns inside ourselves–to confront our personal demons. I want to say that this is important work too. Each individual who finds a way to come to peace internally with themselves in each moment adds to the peace that is possible in the world. Ghandi told us to “be the change that we want to see in the world” and his advice stands. If we aren’t situated to be able to stop the Israeli/Palestine conflict outwardly, we can do our part by coming to peace with the inner counterpart: the part of us that would still want retribution and revenge on someone somewhere who has wronged us.

Perhaps life has positioned us in some way so that we do have obvious outer work to do in this time of change. Perhaps life has gifted us with certain skills, abilities or potentials that position us to do something outwardly, big or small. No need to push ourselves outwardly. We only need to listen inwardly (again, listening behind the noisemaker mind that thinks it knows so much) to see what we already know about this, to find out how life wants to move us. If there is work for us to do, the energy for it will appear and the direction will open up for us. And we will know, just in the moment that it is needed, exactly what to do.

Because this seems to be change on a collective level, it may be a part of it to stay in touch with what others are doing, including meeting informally in our local communities. Invite some friends over, leave egos at the door as best you can, and have a conversation about what is going on and see what wants to happen through you. See if there is energy there for you… see if it feels right. If it does, follow it and see where it goes.

Here are a couple websites for inspiration that I know about. I’m sure there are lots of other things you know about too. Send things to me and I’ll collect them together on a new page on wideawakeliving.com.

Obama’s website: change.gov
Alliance for a New Humanity: something Deepak Chopra started

The fact that change is in the wind is in no way a contradiction to the perfection of the present moment. The current circumstances of our lives are indeed perfect just as they are, and so is the movement of change that occurs out of those exact circumstances. Life is motion as well as stillness and both are perfect. You can see it in the waterfall photo.