Posts tagged with "nature"
Monday, 17. July 2006, 07:18:00
nature, reconnect, reflect, interconnectedness
: Today's Reflection is about Mother Nature.
The part below is written originally by John Milton, who has been teaching these lessons for many years now. At least, I think it is his writing. Tomorrow morning I am off for two weeks of being in the wilderness of Northern BC, and am certainly looking forward to slowing down, reconnecting, and taking the time to be...
The profound healing power of Nature. This healing power comes directly and naturally, without any artifice or complicated treatments, prayers, rituals or ceremonies.
All that is required is a commitment to come alone to Nature's heart, to relax into the silence, and to trust. In living closely and alone with Nature for the first time, most people's initial experiences are of radical slowing down... and of silence. Both are powerful healers. Modern technocratic culture is characterized by ever-increasing pressures for speed, and by almost continuous noise - inner and outer. In our contemporary cultural frenzy to boost our economies, we produce increasingly processed products; we consume increasingly greater quantities of these goods and energy, hoping to fill the gnawing void within we fear to meet. As we feed this growing industrial/technocratic mesh, our natural world is systematically replaced by an artificial one. And in this artificial world, the values of silence and slow, organic rhythms are rarely encountered.
Consider how many millions of years it has taken for our current interconnected web of body, mind and emotions to evolve. And consider what kind of environment supported this evolution, and coevolved with us. The environments were natural ones, where organic rhythms of day/night, moon cycle, solar cycle, constellation cycles were part of us; and we were part of them. Trees, flowers, streams, lakes, ocean shorelines, mountains, rocks, sky, clouds - all of these elements of Nature have been companions in our journey into our contemporary embodiment, and influenced our growth. Now, in a few generations, we have leapt into incredibly new processed environments. Plastics, millions of new chemical compounds, air-conditioned air, fluorescent lighting, artificial food, powerful drugs, glass/steel/plastic housing and transportation units,
alien electromagnetic fields, intense performance stress, speed, environmental pollution of every imaginable kind, breakdown of community/extended family/core family/marriage/children and parent relationships - the list can go on and on. But it is characterized by one thing: the sudden shift from natural, organic, whole, mostly rural environments within which human beingness evolved - to highly artificial, speedy, noisy, crowded and polluted urban centers. No wonder the species is in trouble.
When we drop all our artificial lifestyles, and move back into Nature with simple, open hearts, Nature heals us. Healing happens even if we can only return for a short while. And the healing comes naturally through simple reconnection with the countless ancient relationships our species has always had with all the other living things, with Mother Earth, and with the cyclical energies of the Heavens. Our minds, bodies and hearts move into their ancient harmonies. Time slows into the way the moon fills the night, the way the eagle circles in the sky.
A sunny week to you all, inside and out.
Simon
Saturday, 3. June 2006, 05:48:43
nature, ecology, interconnectedness, environment
...
: Today's Reflection is about paying attention to a wonderful,
: patient, wise, often-forgiving, powerful and yet fragile,
: teacher of life. Nature.
Picking a leaf off the ground and contemplating it as an object in and of itself is very inspiring. Its shape and color, the way it feels in your hand, its delicate veins and the stem that once held it fast to the branch of a tree - all of these qualities reveal a leaf to be a miniature work of natural art. As we contemplate this small object more deeply and consider where it came from and what purpose it has served, we find that the leaf is one small but essential part of a system that harnesses the energy of the sun, plumbs the depths of the earth, and in the process brings into being the oxygen many living things rely on to live.
:: "Until a man creates something as perfect as a blade
:: of grass, he can only dream of being the master on
:: this planet." - Albert Einstein
A leaf transforms the elements of its environment - sunlight, carbon dioxide, rain -into nourishment for its tree. This beautiful, nearly weightless, ephemeral piece of nature is a vital conduit to the branch that is a conduit to the trunk that is a conduit to the roots of the tree. The roots, in turn, draw nourishment from the earth to feed the trunk, the branches, and the leaves. The living beings that inhale the oxygen that comes from this process exhale the carbon dioxide that feeds the leaves through which the tree is fed. It is difficult to know where one cycle ends and another one begins.
One of the many gifts that nature offers us is a clear demonstration of the interdependence between all living things. The person or a creature who exhales the carbon dioxide, the clouds that produce the rain, the sun that gives light, the leaf that transforms all these things into sustenance for a tree - not one of these could survive without being part of this cycle. Each living being is dependent upon other living things for its survival. When we look at the world, we see that this is not a place where different beings survive independently of one another. Earth is home to a web of living things that are connected to each other through a spinning kaleidoscope of relationships. We need each other to survive and thrive.
:: "This evolutionary pattern [of cooperation and collaboration]
:: has been repeated by countless species, as well as by entire
:: ecosystems, and is now on the agenda for our human species.
:: We will learn to cooperate as a global community or we will
:: live in increased misery and perhaps go extinct in the not
:: so far distant future." – Elizabeth Sahtouris
The more I think about it, the more I see the magic of Mother Nature. I also wonder about how I participate in this planetary game, called Life. I haven't started it - I was placed in it. And there is no way to not play, to not participate. How do I participate really? How do you?
A sunny week to you all, inside and out.
Simon
Tuesday, 2. May 2006, 07:37:36
inspiration, king, environment, metaphor
...
: Today's Reflection is about a warrior king
: in a faraway land. Or is it?
A mighty warrior king. Yes, that's what he was. He knew it, and so did all the neighbouring countries, for they all lost to him and his supremely trained armies. He spent his time training his armies, perfecting his military strategies, and winning wars. One after another. Other kings collected ancient treasures, prized horses, or concubines. He had no need for these. He collected victories. Yet, despite the fact that he already had many, it was never enough. A new war and a new victory would leave the king satisfied only for a short time, and then the excitement would subside and fade away. Time will come for another war and another victory. Then the next, and the next.
But, you see... the king had a secret that nobody knew. Deep down, he often felt alone, and even lonely. Because of his fierce warrior nature, he really didn't have any friends, and didn't know what to do with himself when he was not conquering a neighbouring country, or planning another war. Not even one person to really talk to.
Then, one night he had a strange and vivid dream. In it, he saw a young boy. This boy didn't run away, as did everybody else when they saw the king coming close. Instead, the boy looked at the king, asked "Are you happy?" and smiled.
Even though the king knew it was only a dream, he could not get this simple question out of his mind. It stayed with him, and would jump into mind at various unpredictable moments, as thoughts often tend to do. When working on a plan of a new sophisticated attack on yet another unsuspecting neighbour, when practicing his swordsmanship, and even during battles - the thought would pop to mind, together with the picture of the smiling boy.
At first, the king simply ignored the thought. "It was only a silly dream" he would say to himself. Then, as the thought persisted, he got more and more frustrated, annoyed, and even angry, yet there was nothing he could do to prevent the thoughts from appearing. Eventually, he started thinking about the question, and once even asked himself out loud, "Am I happy?" - of course, after making sure there is nobody around that could hear the king talking to himself.
"This was a quick and easy battle," thought the king to himself, as he was riding his horse back to the palace. It was indeed, for the enemy was not prepared for the swift attack by the king and his selected troops and their resistance was squashed almost instantly. The battle was barely over, yet the excitement of another victory was disappearing already. The king felt tired, disillusioned, and irritated. "I need to find something else to do."
He noticed a little creek through the edge of the forest and turned towards it, thinking of the refreshing cold water on his face. He got off his horse, and as he was about to kneel down, he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. Right there, to his right, in between the trees...
Quietly, step by step, he sneaked in closer, while remaining hidden from view. As he carefully moved the bushes aside, he saw an opening between the trees. In the center of it, there was an old man. He was wearing strange robes, and certainly didn't look local. He was moving in circles, with his arms spread to the sides, occasionally touching a tree or bending to put a hand on the grass. It looked like an odd ritual, or perhaps a weird dance. The king could hear him chanting in a foreign language.
"What is it you are doing here?" asked the king, as he stepped into the center.
The old man finished the last circle and stood facing the king. "There is war on this land," said the old man, "and the land is suffering. Animals are being killed for food, trees are being cut for fires, and water is being polluted with blood of the innocent. I am performing an ancient ceremony which helps the land heal."
"Not much help you are, aren't you?!" smirked the king. "I am coming back from yet another war."
"Yes, I know," replied the old man. "There is only me here. I could certainly use some help. After all, what can one old man do?"
"Are you happy?" The thought popped up again into the king's mind. He looked at the old man, who - despite the enormous task he was faced with - looked peaceful, serene, almost smiling, and... perhaps even a little happy...
"Well, old man" said the king. "Guess what?! I am a king, and I am going to help you with your task."
"Ohh... thank you for your offer," replied the old man. "It is most kind of you. But you see... you cannot. A warrior cannot be a peacemaker."
Never in his life has the king felt rejected before. And by who? Some strange old man, who dared to say no to the greatest warrior of his time?! As his hand instinctively reached for the sword, the image of the smiling child crossed his eyes again. "Are you happy?" As the king stared into the old man's eyes, they suddenly looked like the eyes of the boy in his dream. Peaceful, gentle, yet radiating something extremely powerful in a way the king never felt or experienced before.
His hand froze on the tilt of the sword, and then gently moved away, as if guided by its own will. "Will you... will you teach me?" quietly asked the king. It was almost a whisper, yet the old man heard it and smiled again. "I will be happy to. This land needs all the help it can get, and the time is short."
With these words, the old man moved to face the king and stared deeply into his eyes. "I see that you have been engaged in a battle. It is all over you. I see it on your clothes, and I see it in your soul. The first thing to do is to brush the war off of you." He started chanting rhythmically in a strange language, while circling the king and moving his hands as if they were wings, occasionally touching the king's clothes. The king felt like he was being showered with waves of wind and sound, touching his clothes, skin, as well as penetrating deep into his body.
The chanting stopped. The king stood still, feeling lighter and stronger, yet somehow uncomfortable. It was like a veil has been removed from his heart, and he was beginning to see and feel parts of himself he has not known for a very long time. The old man stood facing him again, this time holding three necklaces with colourful stones in them. "These are special stones that hold ancient powers," he said. "They were given to me by my teacher, who received them from his teacher. Carry them with you and use them wisely."
He put the first necklace, with a red stone, around the king's neck, saying "With this stone, I release the pressure in your chest. You are feeling tight in your body from the wars and struggles, so I release you from that."
He took another necklace, this one with a blue stone, and gave to the king. "With this stone, I remove the tears from your eyes and heart that you have been crying because of all the people lost in the war."
Putting the third necklace around the king's neck, this one with a green stone, he said "With this one, I release your voice, so that you too can start speaking for peace."
He then said to the king, "Now, go and bury your sword, so that we can put our minds and hearts together to see what kind of a world we can leave for our children."
Time has gone by, and wars stopped in the land of the king. The king was not looking for more battles to win, for he had more important things to do. The old man has passed away, and the king was very busy continuing his work of healing the land. Lots had to be done, and the king had his hands full with the many aspects of bringing peace into the Nature, as well as into the hearts of his people.
One night, the boy from his old dream appeared again. He just sat there, smiling yet saying nothing, looking at the king. And the king saw himself, in the dream, saying "I am now."
A sunny week to you all, inside and out.
Simon
Tuesday, 18. April 2006, 05:13:33
reciprocity, nature, principle, tao
...
: Today's Reflection is about one of the more ancient
: laws of the Universe - reciprocity.
Just about now, or perhaps a moment ago, a very old Russian folk saying came to mind. It speaks of the echo in a valley, saying that as you send it out, thus it will come back to you. An ancient principle of our universe, this phenomena. Reciprocity. Confucius said that all of his teachings could be wrapped up into one word, which is "reciprocity," giving back what we take. "What you sow, you shall reap" is written in the Upanishads.
It would be interesting to see what we sow as individuals, and collectively, and what kind of a harvest do we reap as a result. I recently came across several interesting facts (courtesy of YES! Magazine, Winter 2005 issue):
- Percent of female representative in the national legislature in Rwanda: 48.8
- Percent in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan: 21.6 Percent in the US: 14.3
- Percent by which Abbott Labs increased the price of a month's supply of the AIDS drug Norvir in December 2003: 500 (to $250)
- Percent Abbott CEO's bonus increased weeks later: 40 (to $1.75 million)
- Tax bill for oil and gas company Nabors Industries in 2001: $83.7 million
- Tax bill in 2003 after Nabors reincorporated in Bermuda: $8.5 million
- Number of US oil and gas company subsidiaries incorporated in Bermuda: 126
- Number of beauty products, out of 72 studied, found to contain phthalates (toxic chemicals): 52
- Amount of these products that list the offending chemicals on the label: 0
- Amount Iraq is paying Toys R Us in reparation resulting from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait: $189,449
- Amount Iraq is paying Phillip Morris: $1.3 million
- Amount Iraq is paying Halliburton: $18 million
And I wonder how would the law of reciprocity apply here, and what would the consequences be...
:: "Hands grasp, but also give.
:: Mouth tastes, but also speaks.
:: Nose breathes, but also smells.
:: Eyes see, but also show.
:: Ears hear, but also balance."
:: - Deng Ming-Dao, Teachings of Tao
These parts of our body teach us to not be selfish, to both give and receive. The interesting thing here is that these are our five senses, through which we experience the world around us. They function on the same law/principle of reciprocity, which is inherent in their very character.
If our senses are so noble, shouldn't we?
A sunny week to you all, inside and out.
Simon
Tuesday, 7. March 2006, 19:20:03
Costa Rica, adventure, retreat, jungle
...
: Today's Reflection is about one of the thoughts that
: have impacted me quite deeply, while being on a recent
: vacation/retreat in Costa Rica.
I spent the past two and a half weeks in Costa Rica, co-facilitating and participating in an amazing retreat. The purpose and the intention of the retreat was "integrating body, mind, and spirit" - and we could not even imagine how true it was. In retrospect, it was all that and a lot more. The link to some of the photos is here: http://www.SimonGoland.com/news; the following is but one perspective of my adventure in Costa Rica. The retreat center itself was hidden in the jungle of the Nacoya Peninsula.
The jungle is very much alive. It is a being on its own - alive, vibrant, primal, and quite inseparable into different components. It is breathing, thinking, feeling, and communicating. Day and night, in many diverse sounds and languages. Still, all sounds blend into a symphony of one voice, which - while might be discerned - cannot but coexist together in a complimentary, interdependent manner. The jungle is a single creature. Mysterious, luring, inviting, exotic, all-encompassing, with its own rules and ways of being.
:: "As we have moved into the cities, burdened ourselves
:: with artifacts, extended our bodies and minds into
:: machines, gotten our thrills from watching the screen
:: and not having the experience, and thus became progressively
:: isolated, alienated, and angsted, we have departed from the
:: real knowledge of the world. As a result, animals have
:: become ever more important as our guides and allies - the
:: ones who bring us home to life." - Jean Houston
The jungle has its own pace of life. It slows down during daytime, taking a long and leisurely siesta during the hot hours of the sunny afternoon. As the heat subsides and the evening approaches, the jungle begins to slowly wake up, shaking off its long nap. It stays awake all night, talking, shouting, playing, eating, chomping, fighting, and conversing in multitude of voices and languages.
The armadillo, the monkey, the scorpion, the parrot - they are all parts of the jungle. They are the jungle. They are also very much themselves, going about their days, nights, and their lives. They cannot exist without the jungle, and - equally important - the jungle cannot exist without them and the myriad interdependent actions each creature and plant in the jungle performs.
Yet, the jungle is disappearing. One tree after another, one creature after another, it gives way to what we humans call "growth," or "development," or "evolution." It calls to us, speaks in its own language, hoping that we will hear the call and learn to coexist, together, just like we used to in the ancient times.
:: "We are living in a time in which our very nature is in
:: transition. The scope of change is calling forth patterns
:: and potentials that have rarely been needed before."
:: - Jean Houston
The jungle needs to be protected before it disappears. There are people who call the jungle "the lungs of our planet." Others talk about all the mystery that the jungle still holds, whether medicinal or other. Either way, this live creature is a very complex system, an entity, a life. What do we humans know of such systems? What right do we have to interfere, thinking that we are the masters of this universe, or even of one of its creatures - The Jungle?
A sunny week to you all, inside and out.
Simon
Saturday, 31. December 2005, 20:53:22
2006, 2005, meaning, ecology
...
Today's Reflection is about a year in review, and about the endless cycle of life - from day to night to morning.
2005 was a rich and diverse year, both on global and personal scales. There were natural disasters and human-made horrors, from the tsunami in Southeast Asia to human bombs in Amman and Iraq (as an aside thought, perhaps all the natural disasters are simply Nature's way of saying Enough - and we humans need to start listening). Yet, hand-in-hand with those, there were amazing acts of individuals and groups to offset these disasters, highlighting the perspective of increasing human kindness and collaboration in dire times. The darkest hour of the night is indeed just before dawn.
This has also been a rich year on a more personal scale. Among them was the completion of a Masters degree in the spring, only to move me to further studies of a Certificate in Sustainable Business, which I started in the fall. There were some short vacations, which combined reconnections with friends and visits to new places of nature and different cultures.
The key theme throughout the year was the refinement, or perhaps as much as redirection, of my professional focus. A life-changing one, in many ways. Reorienting my life, my work (and my website - check it out), and really everything else around what I call Ecological Literacy. This is a way of belonging, of being in the world in such a way that we begin to develop the awareness of ourselves as being a part of the ecology, environment, Nature, and everything else around us. Contrary to what many want us to believe, the earth has not been given to us humans to rule and exploit. And we are not the pilots of Spaceship Earth. We are but one of the many passengers - and probably the only dispensable ones. It is a humbling thought indeed, when we see that any species that is eliminated completely, will have unforeseen - yet profound - implications on Nature; that is, any but us humans. If we were to disappear tomorrow, I am sure Nature will have a deep sigh of relief.
I believe we are facing an important learning in the next immediate years - and not too many of them. How to play by the rules of belonging, how to participate as equals, how to harmonize our lives with the natural environment, and how to be partners in Nature's Web of Life.
"Taken in its entirety, the increase in mankind's strength has brought about a decisive, many-sided shift in the balance of strength between man and the earth. Nature, once a harsh and feared master, now lies in subjection, and needs protection against man's powers. Yet because man, no matter what intellectual and technical heights he may scale, remains embedded in nature, the balance has shifted against him, too, and the threat that he poses to the earth is a threat to him as well." - Jonathan Schell
While some of these learnings might seem daunting (and rightfully so), they don't necessarily have to be such. The key to any change is self-knowing and self-awareness. Knowing who we are, why are we here, and what can we bring forth are questions that many have been exploring for ages. Sometimes, it is easy to get discouraged. Sometimes, we can underestimate what we can do. Perhaps the following story will bring a different perspective on what is possible.
"It is the start that stops most people." - Anonymous
Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that...
In a time not so far past from here, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he has braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches.
To see him walk across the stage one step at a time, painfully and slowly, is an unforgettable sight. He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he reaches his chair. Then he sits down, slowly, puts his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps on his legs, tucks one foot back and extends the other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play.
By now, the audience is used to this ritual. They sit quietly while he makes his way across the stage to his chair. They remain reverently silent while he undoes the clasps on his legs. They wait until he is ready to play.
But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few bars, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap - it went off like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what that sound meant. There was no mistaking what he had to do.
People who were there that night thought to themselves: "We figured that he would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage - to either find another violin or else find another string for this one."
But he didn't. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra began, and he played from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before.
You could see him modulating, changing, recomposing the piece in his head. At one point, it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds from them that they had never made before.
When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium. We were all on our feet, screaming and cheering, doing everything we could to show how much we appreciated what he had done.
He smiled, wiped the sweat from this brow, raised his bow to quiet us, and then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone, "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left."
"Night. You are the mother of all. You existed before all. You are the background, the fabric, the whole underpinning of the universe. You are the mother without a mother. ... And then, new life begins with dawn. ... When you come to the end of a cycle, a new one will begin." - Tao
Happy endings and happy new beginnings!
Simon
