The World We Want To See

Never before have I read a book

where I found myself highlighting

nearly every passage.

Is it the initial thrill of discovery?

Is it the resonance I feel with what she is articulating?

I do not know.

I only feel the pull of the thoughts,

the ideas and the words conveying them.

And it ignites my imagination.

And makes me want to share it with everyone.

To envision a different kind of world. 

To release the old ways of thinking

and develop new neural pathways.

To appreciate that the time spent alone,

contemplating and ruminating

is valuable and perhaps revolutionary.

What if we get it right?

kastilwell

A New Order Emerges

 It's like a potentially deadly game

is being played right now.

Two forces at odds with each other.

One sees only binary. 

Black. White.

Right. Wrong.

Dominate and control.

The other seeks to grow and evolve,

sees and appreciates complexity and nuance,

erosion and evolution,

is willing to engage and create

innovative ways of solving problems.

Change is inevitable.

How do we bring about change

for the enhancement of living systems?

Can we imagine a world where 

the dream of democracy is actual reality?

Where the earth is restored and 

all beings are treated with mutual respect?

Where humans learn from each other,

engage in conversations, 

and grow in understanding?

What we can imagine, 

we can bring forth.

kastilwell

Thoughts Inspire Our Making

This thought will inspire me when

the tedium of a long, repetitive stitching pattern

provides plenty of time for thinking.

I will connect the movement of my fingers

with the transformation of the yarn

from a skein to a shawl;

and I will think of that shawl

as symbolizing the knitting together of

everything in the universe.

I will think of the astounding

complexity and beauty contained

in the seemingly ordinary, 

such as dandelions or grass

and rejoice to be a part of the intricate web

 containing and connecting me 

to such a dazzling system of existence.

kastilwell

What A Time To Be Alive

 On Being's last podcast was well timed and the boost I needed 

given the recent SCOTUS decisions.

Brown's thought here and the ones she lays out 

in what I've read so far in her writings

feel like lightening rods of truth.

She voices what I've been feeling 

but unable to articulate.

She echoes the theme of Mysterial Women

from what I witness 

as a more organic and inclusive perspective 

and asks the questions 

we need to ask as we navigate

this incredibly complex evolutionary time.

kastilwell

What Do I Think Of My Country?

Democracy is about the will of the people not the will of the privileged.  

It's about what is best for most, not for a few.

It is civil and just and dedicated to a rule of law...

laws which are intended to promote truth and justice

dignity and fairness to everyone.

Democracy is about giving equal voice to 

the weak and the strong;

the affluent and the disadvantaged; 

the insider and the outsider,

the powerful and the powerless

and all gradients in between.

We have far to go 

and the forces of opposition are relentless.

Let all decent hearted people stay the course

and preserve and promote 

the democracy so many

have fought and died for.

kastilwell

Dream of Democracy

My belly clenches when I consider 

the state of our democracy.

We must find a way of 

talking with each other.

Respecting each other.

Listening and understanding.

Our country cannot be only about

division and derision.

We can overcome the forces

tearing us apart.

The river of fair minded 

quietly courageous citizens

continues to flow.

May it gently dilute and disperse

that which separates. 

May it restore parched hearts

with common values.

May it drown out what is detrimental

to dignity, decency and democracy.

kastilwell

 

Your Looks

 These wise thoughts don't need any additional commentary.

kastilwell

Blaze of Astonishment

Thanks to Maria Popova for bringing this to me.

This thought,

about the incredible luck of circumstances

contained in the fact we exist at all,

is one I want to keep

front and center,

alive and alert,

at all times.

I find when I do think of it,

my appreciation for life increases,

and helps me navigate

the more challenging aspects

of being human.

kastilwell

 PS:  I hope my insertion of feminine pronouns isn't too distracting.

Shy As Magnolias

This thought motivates me

to reconnect to the child inside,

the one who is still innocent

and shy as magnolias.

Especially since I caught sight of

a surprise magnolia blossom

just recently which

was there and gone 

like the flash of a lightening bug.

kastilwell

 

Evolve a New Consciousness

This caught my attention immediately.

It follows the theme from earlier in the week

about using our imagination to help create

a world where we get it right.

Where we save our planet and our species.

This comes from Suzanne Anderson's session on her 

Mysterial Murmuration Community website.

kastilwell

 

Questions that Cannot Be Answered

Quote by Mark Kidel

I'm intrigued by this thought.

I've not thought of art as a "refusal to bare everything".

However, upon reflection, I've certainly

witnessed my share of "a certain impenetrability".

This causes me to shift the way I see art. 

I'll ask myself what is hidden from view;

or what is not being said.

kastilwell

Back to Basics

 This is an intriguing thought.

The only hesitation I have is

"contributing something meaningful to the world".

 I remind myself that each of us

gets to decide what is meaningful for ourselves.

Which raises the question, 

"What if it's contributing something meaningful to me,

but not necessarily to the world?" 

How does "the world" judge the merit?  

My reply to that is, "Lose the judgement!"

My own AND "the world's"!

kastilwell

It's Still Possible

 This follows yesterday's post.

The idea of "how much possibility remains"

is one I want everyone to give 

far more consideration and action to going forward.

We are bombarded with gloom and doom.

It's easy to despair and give up.

But, what if we're not destined for extinction?

What if we humans focus on what's possible

and save our planet and our species? 

kastilwell

Following Love

 I heard this on an episode of On Being and it blew me away.

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist was being interviewed.

She is working on a book titled "What If We Get It Right?"

Her statement that we have a failure of imagination gripped me.

It got me wondering what a truly eco-friendly world

would actually look like?

Let's start with airline travel. 

Will we finally harness the power 

of human teleportation like on Star Trek?

What about my trip to a grocery store?

Solar panels on the roof?  

What will our highways look like?

Our farms?  Factories? 

The ocean?  Our landfills?

What if we get it right?

kastilwell

Always Says Yes

 I confess, this quote jangled me at first.

It dramatically shifts the perspective out of 

my rote belief about death. 

The "true Yea-sayer"? Wow!

And yet, it is such a consoling thought.

In combination with the earlier

thought that when we die, 

we become a part of everything.

That's something I can live with.

kastilwell

I Can Hear Her Breathing

 Thanks to Suzanne Anderson 

for posting this on the Mysterial Murmuration website.

It's such a powerful thought,

and fills me with hope and confidence.

I am listening for her breathing.

kastilwell

Every Moment A Gift

 Being the recent recipient of

unasked for and strangely wrapped gifts;

this thought seems timely.

It's a good reminder to cherish

the small, slow measures of my life

as well as the swift, chaotic stanzas.

All is gift.

kastilwell

Hungry For Your Beauty

 Your deepest gifts are often

seemingly invisible,

especially to you.

Trust yourself

to bring them forth

in whatever you 

happen to be doing.

kastilwell

Joy in Relation...World In Abundance

 Two things caught my attention on this thought:

"nowhere grasping"

and

"earth enough".

It awakened me to times when I grasp

at things I think I want instead of things as they are.

A human tendency, I believe

but it is worth thinking about.

Earth enough?

That is a loaded statement

and one I can only

contemplate in 

small, hopeful

measures.  

May it be so.

kastilwell

If I'm Known

 Daniel Siegel didn't actually say this.

One of his patients whose first name was Tommy did.

That being said, it was like an arrow

straight to my heart when I heard it.

I can handle becoming a part of everything.

What a spectacular place to be.

kastilwell

PS:  Mindsight is an excellent read.  Highly recommended.

Weaving Gratefully

This is a long-lived and long-loved quote of mine.

I am glad to have it resurface as a reminder.

It is especially meaningful 

as I spend my days knitting pieces of "unmatched threads".

William Shatner's quote from the documentary about his 

trip into space fits nicely into this theme.

“Everything is connected. It’s like a knitting.  A shawl of life.” 

May we drive the loudmouths from the hall

and let the mighty river of the "Silent Majority"

(I'm referring to them as the Mindful Majority)

"clear it for a different celebration."

kastilwell

 

Whole Against the Sky

 I love this thought 

as it opens up wide vistas of potential 

at a time when it's more common

to see each other as fixed

in set patterns, sizes and modes of being.

Reducing each other to only 

what is familiar and habitual

keeps both of us small.

It gives growing 

a whole new perspective

as the years taper down.

kastilwell