THIS AND THAT

We had a terrific storm, last night, to usher in the new season. There are branches down and a dead sugar maple, that Jamie has been urging me to cut down, split in half and fell on our garden fence. I love dead trees and marvel at the food and home space they provide for a variety of birds. I have a lot of clean up to do; plus I am behind on many chores, I, normally, would have completed, over a month ago.

I saw a mother Sandhill Crane and two babies, the other Morning. This is the first time I have seen baby cranes. They are a darling little replica of their parents. Nature abounds this year. Blooming plants have rarely been so prolific. Garden flowers are amazing in their beauty. The two and a half inches of rain we  received last night, however, wreaked havoc on our roses. The ground is strewn with pink.

Although, the light shines brighter and brighter and more and more people are aware of the unconditional love that surrounds us, as individuals, we find ourselves having irritations. We may be short tempered, at times, or act irrationally, to something or somebody. We are dealing with ghosts from the past. Old programs, hidden in the psyche; you can't put words to them, but they are there. They generate feelings of unworthiness. Do we feel worthy of unconditional love? Do we need to punish ourselves, for a spell, until we know our worthiness? It is important we don't feel bad, if we see this is true of us. We have been programed all our lives, and the culture for thousands of years, to feel unworthy. It is understandable, that it might take a time to catch up.

One thing that is helpful, is to make a conscious effort, to see everybody else as deserving of unconditional love. Exempt no one. Everybody. That will help greatly in knowing your own worthiness.

Another thing is meditation. We don't have to be  accomplished meditators. We don't need a mantra. Find some time, twice a day, if possible, sit down close your eyes and pay attention to your breath going in and out of your nostrils. Concentrate on  your breathing. When we do this our thoughts will generally slow down. If thoughts, continually preoccupy the mind, one can use a mantra, such as, I AM. When we repeat a mantra to ourselves it tends to help calm the mind and attenuate the stream of thoughts.

Our attempts should not be aimed at reaching a state of absolute peace. Few of us can do this. We don't want to make another life challenge. We want this experience to be one of letting go. We don't need to examine any of our thoughts. We can just let them dissipate without further attention. We will feel a welling up of peace. Perhaps, not the first time, but it will happen.

We should not be afraid to ask ourselves for help. It doesn't matter if we are a devout Christian, Muslim, Jew, Atheist or whatever. We are the creators of our experience and contain, within us, the help we need to reach the Unconditional Loving state, we long for. When we are in a peaceful place, we may have a conversation with ourselves. We will get help.

I titled this piece THIS AND THAT, because I intended to talk about the storm and make a few observations and close, because I need to get out and clean up the branches, etc. So much for planning. I will leave the title as it is. I haven't even set up the dishes, yet, and it is almost noon. The branches will be there tomorrow too.

Love and Peace,  Gregg