WHAT DO WE KNOW

It is hard to believe the Summer is half over. It seems like it just started. It has been hot, and rich in mosquitoes, here on Laughing Water Farm. Time flying is not a new phenomena for me; but, June and the first half of July just zoomed by.

My month old chicks are about ready to go outside for an adventure in the grass. They are mostly feathered out. We have 25 broilers and 25 assorted, old fashioned breed pullets. We have been raising chickens since 1974. Yet, every year, I am not sure when to turn the heat lamp off, when is it safe to let them out, etc. They are little balls of fragile energy when you get them and as their mommy/daddy, you develop a protective attitude towards them. But, they grow so fast. At four weeks they try to run out the door when you open it, to feed and water them. They look to me to be ready for their next adventure.

Our new lambs have settled in. They are very gentle and friendly. The woman we bought them from, obviously loved them. They have that gentleness and familiarity with humans that comes from being cared for and feeling safe. Much of animal temperament is genetic. We have seen, loved and cared for animals, that were frenetic and off the wall. These sheep, however, appear especially peaceful.

So what do we know? What do we believe and why? What if our world, was turned upside down, and everything we used to think, proved untrue? Could we take the shock? How did we inculcate the belief systems we do have?

Most of what we believe, we learned from parents, teachers, ministers, priests and our culture. As we sort through the validity of our beliefs, it is easier to scan what we learned from people, than it is from culture.

Our culture, our environment, our peer group influenced our beliefs greatly. Yet, it is more difficult to see. We absorb, what we think of as knowledge, which is just group opinion; "everybody knows that". The kind of knowledge that everybody knows, on close examination, is unfounded opinion.

How do we get our mind straight? What can we believe? It is easier to label what cannot be believed. For centuries public opinion was manipulated for the gain of a few. All wars, conflicts, divisions, prejudices etc. were engineered to give power and wealth to a few. What we think of as history is nonsense. The successful aggressor always eliminated, the recorded history, that conflicted with their agenda. The destruction of the Alexandria library; the destruction of the Mayan codex by the Spanish; the destruction of native European 'so called' pagan cultures- first by the
Romans and then the Christian church; examples go on and on. We don't really understand ancient Greece, Egypt, Crete, Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Maya, etc; so much has been destroyed, and what is left is misinterpreted by archeologist under the influence of their [our] culture.

Are we okay with accepting the idea that we know nothing? Can we accept the idea, that nothing, we currently get from the media, is true? Perhaps, it wouldn't be as difficult as it seems.

Can we approach each day, as a fresh beginning, a new dawn? A day without a past? A new day to create with our thoughts and feelings? Perhaps we can go about our business, each day, looking for things to love and expecting love around every corner. We don't need to believe anything. We have a beautiful world to explore. Everything around us teaches us.  Our illusion is based on duality, so we accept only what is love. We, no longer, accept the darkness in our lives.

Soon truth will emerge. When it happens it will be obvious. We won't be shocked or turned upside down. We recognize we have been manipulated into accepting a whole array of untruths. We are eager to hear the truth. In the meantime, we will go through each day shining our love on the world and feel the love reflected back on us.

Love and Peace,  Gregg