Human Well-Being AND Ecological Flourishing

I'm thinking about how 

"deeply destructive"

binary, dualistic,  

either/or, and us versus them mindsets, 

are to ourselves as individuals

as well as to the entire universe of beings.

I catch myself often.

We've been programmed

and the programming attempts continue.

We will not be hooked.

We see the complexity, 

the multi-faceted dimensions,

the continuum of beliefs and principles.

We won't be simplified into submission.

kastilwell

 

Our Attention

 I feel most fortunate to 

be in the company of

people who are paying attention

to the natural world.  

I am honored to have them 

as friends and mentors.

Dare I say I feel the tide turning?

The river of goodness continues

growing and flowing.

May it revolutionize our world.

kastilwell

I'd Like To Think

 

The Winter of Listening

 Pregnant with a shout of joy?

There's a thought to carry

for whatever period of gestation

required to be born healthy and wholehearted.

"Everything has its own voice

to make itself heard."

and

"everything is born from

an opposite and miraculous

otherness."

I will contemplate these lines

going forward as

I listen deeply for the great shout of joy.

kastilwell

You Are The Sky

To say so much 

in so few words,

is a marvel.

I will remember sky

when unpleasant weather

kidnaps me with

 thunder and lightening,

 dreary drizzle,

 scorching heat,

or drought.

As sky,

I will revel in 

weather's miraculous performances

and be patient with her shenanigans.

kastilwell

 

The Quiet Teacher

 "To hush everything that is somewhere else."

I sincerely hope the Quiet Teacher

is with me when I'm in the midst of the dailies.

When I get caught up in mind movement

and "worthy worries".

I respectfully request a gentle nudge,

or a firm push to help me remember

I carry this special place--

"where the sand meets sea, 

meets sky, meets setting sun" 

within me.

I can "be there--here" anytime.

kastilwell

Final Destination

 

Perhaps you can recall the scene in To Kill A Mockingbird

where all the people in the balcony stood

as Atticus passed by? 

That's how I felt when I heard the news yesterday...

that George Ellison died.

So I offer his words here as a tribute.

And again here from 2020.

Clearing

I must listen closely as

"trying to save the whole world"

and "doing something grandiose"

are giant impulses with large feet

walking all over my inner landscape.

I try to curb their enthusiasm

by reminding myself of the power

of making small steps close to home.

It just occurred to me that they 

also need to be close to my heart.

Which is where the clearing comes in.

And the "cupped hands"

and the "waiting patiently

in the dense forest."

kastilwell

Live Each Day As If

I love when a thought twists things around.

Why not as if it were the first?

What does that change for you?

For me, it adds a sense of adventure

and an invitation to wander/wonder

into places I wouldn't consider

if it were the last day.

That would be reserved for saying farewells.

The first would be about saying hello!

Seeing with fresh eyes

and an unencumbered heart.

kastilwell

No One Is Coming

This is hard reality 

and freeing at the same time.

I find myself wanting to add:

No one is coming to hurt you either.

This thought feels like a specter (fear?) 

carried subconsciously.

"Love yourself fiercely and fully."

That's where to focus.

kastilwell

Conflict Isn't the Adversary of Connection

Confrontation.  

Fear of it is alive and strong in me.

(Unless its someone else's.) 

Unfortunately my rage can overcome my fear.

That blast results in hurt and harm.

I spend a lot of time reading and studying conflict.

And I believe it can be done with mutual respect,

resulting in positive results.

I've witnessed it in mediation rooms.

And I have a very deep desire for it to be this way.

That's why it was good to run across this quote.

These days many of us have retreated 

into our corners, in what is currently 

an us versus them world.

Binary thinking in its extreme.

My deepest hope is that the river of goodness.

 gathers the power from both sides of the river

showing us how we can work together, 

Especially when there is conflict. 

Because we are all connected.

kastilwell

Light The Way For Love

 What a beautiful thought for today.

"Light the way for love".

Plus, aging softly among the tempest.

I will pick up my lantern

and carry on.

kastilwell

Happiness Turned To Me And Said

"It is time to forgive yourself for all the things 

you did not become."

What a giant jolt to my heart...

in a good way. 

In a way that makes me see

I need much more time with happiness.

Less time with scanning for trouble,

or preparing for whatever challenge

may or may not lie ahead.

Focus is key.

Focus is everything.

Move the lens until happiness appears.

(Even, or especially when wrapped 

in gut wrenching sorrow.)

Tack sharp and filling the frame.

Lock in on it and hold steady.

Take it with you everywhere.

It's the worthiest kind of companion.

and life enhancing friend.

kastilwell

Go Out and Expand Your View

What I love about this quote is:

"go out and expand your view of things."

Perhaps this is a way to begin to heal

what is plaguing our world?

kastilwell

NOTE:  This may need a bit of context unless you've had a chance to hear the interview.

Here is a blurb from this article which describes his book: "Keltner has made a career of studying and teaching positive emotion.  But after the death of his brother Rolf Keltner 

in 2019 from cancer, he turned his attention to a tricker human emotion: Awe. 

Wonders of Life

 As down as I am on churches these days,

I agree that AT THEIR BEST, this can be true.

I confess to being deeply enamored with the

music, rituals, ceremony, service to others, 

and sense of belonging I experienced as a "believer".

Is it possible to navigate so as to absorb the positive attributes

while avoiding the less desirable aspects?

Nature is my alternative.

Nature has no agenda other than being real.

kastilwell

We Are Part Of An Ecosystem

I love how this beckons back to Sand Talks  from last week.

And I love how other people provokes even more awe than nature.

If you think about it, we are living in an awe filled world.

It only requires our attention to reveal it.

kastilwell

Allowing Goodness its Own Speech

This quote builds on yesterday's post.

I love the idea of "allowing goodness its own speech."

It seems a natural progression from the river of goodness.

Now the river is speaking in gestures of kindness.

Going forward, I'm going to focus on

"ordinary humans doing amazing things."

This makes me realize how many "amazing" things

being done by ordinary humans every day often go unnoticed.

They carry the weight of physical difficulties, and serious illness;

they suffer extreme loss; and supreme emotional distress;

yet they meet each day to the very best of their ability

with quiet grace, without fanfare or recognition.

To me, this is ordinary humans doing amazing things and

it's awe inspiring.

kastilwell

Everyday People Bring Us Awe

 The quotes this week are from an OnBeing podcast with Krista Tippett

and Dacher Keltner, the author of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder

and How It can Transform Your Life which some of you be familiar with.

The sources of awe revealed in the study were surprising in some ways.  

For example, this quote about how the one mentioned most often was 

observing other people doing amazing things or "moral beauty". 

I find it fascinating, and uplifting to read about 

how seemingly insignificant these sources can be.  

What is most encouraging for me to hear is how 

the studies show that we humans, despite all efforts

to separate and divide us from each other, 

are actually wired for unity.

kastilwell

In The End

This quote puts to rest any residual hesitation

about attending to one's own needs.

It scrubs away any guilt, 

for not living up to perceived expectations of others

and the unrealistic ones we put on ourself.

It's helpful to turn a deaf ear to those voices anyway.

There's only one person who knows best

what you need and its you.

kastilwell

Remove the Unspoken Dread

"Allowing myself to have authentic feelings?

What a concept.

Allowing others to have them?

There's a meaty question.

Now for a trip to the subterranean regions

of inner space to excavate what those are!  

The "training" in "self control" 

is seasoned and mighty, yet 

placid will not be the street where I live out my time.

(I'm ok with serene and content.)

I'm looking for property in "unvarnished reality".

I'm eager to be taken by surprise.

kastilwell

You Can't Make Amends

 There is much to appreciate here.

For someone who has always felt responsible

for fixing every single "shortcoming",

hearing you cannot fix your DNA,

archetypal forces, or your unconscious,

is pretty remarkable and severely freeing.

That's plenty to consider already.

Then, the realization that becoming

who you truly are, is going to create

responses and opinion and judgements 

from others and you can't change that either.

So get on with your life!!  

The trick is to view it all with a loving gaze.

We are as spacious and complex and dazzling as the Universe.

kastilwell

Happy February!!