SEEING

I was gazing out at the North pasture this Morning. I was admiring the huge thistles that are growing there. Winged dots of bright yellow and black darted among them. The goldfinches seem to own and shepherd these prickly creatures. I have never seen thistles so lush and beautiful.

It wasn't long ago that I would have cringed at the sight of so many thistles in my pasture. Why? Because the narrative of my world said they were bad. How were they bad? I don't even know. I suppose because they may spread and be hard to get rid of. That hasn't been my experience at all. There are thistle years, and years where there are few. Nothing I have done seems to influence this. I used to think that they proliferated more in a dry year- but this year has been wet.

Even back when I cringed at the sight of them, I knew their value. I knew they had deep tap roots and brought minerals up closer to the surface for other plants to thrive. I noticed that the grass growing at the base of the thistles was greener, longer and lusher. This could be because grazing animals avoid the prickles; but last year my sheep ate the same species of thistle with no obvious discomfort.

It has been a gradual process, but I have learned to give up the narrative and 'see' them. They are incredibly beautiful, standing like church spires topped by beautiful tufted purple flowers that emerge from a cone like bud. The flowers turn to wonderful, dandelion like, fluffy seed packages. That is when we really see the goldfinches. They love those seeds.

How can we be so influenced by a cultural narrative that we fail to see? How is it that our perception is so malleable? I know most of us are aware of this phenomenon with dandelions; when we were children we saw their beauty and loved them, as we got older, the culture wears us down and some capitulate and can no longer see their beauty. In the case of dandelions, I have always loved them.

How are we so influenced by cultural narratives? Is there a narrative that okays war? Is there a narrative that okays poverty? Is there a narrative that says it is okay to allow people to be homeless? Is there one that allows inequality? How about the rich and powerful, ripping off the rest of us?

How is it that we have accepted these narratives? Narratives are not truths. They cannot exist without some agreement, acknowledged or subliminal. It is just like the thistles, I couldn't really see their beauty until I gave up the narrative. I opened my eyes. I awakened in this small area.

We are awakening now. Many are flabbergasted, that they ever thought, violence against another people was okay. Many are appalled that we have allowed people to be hungry in a world of plenty. Many are startled when they realize how much their country spends in preparation for war and a mythical defense.

Yes! We can give up the destructive narratives that we have been imbued with. And we are. Every day more and more folks step out into the Light and they realize they have been blind. Oh, to remove the scales from the eyes and see everything is love.

The world seems crazier than it has ever been, however, it is just a demonstration, so folks can see how destructive the narratives of our culture have been. It is clearly obvious we have been stark raving mad. It takes a mad, mad, scene for some people to open their eyes.

All-a-long there have been other narratives. It is paradoxical that the core narratives of any religion would help lead us to paradise: the sermon on the mount; love thy neighbor as thyself; treat others as you would want to be treated; etc. Yet, religion has served more to reinforce the negative narratives, than support the ones they espouse. Let us not dwell on that. Perhaps that is the past. Folks everywhere are waking up.

Let us look around us, maybe that thistle we were seeing is not so bad after all. We don't have to see, how we were programmed to see. If we can see, without our programming, we will really 'see'.

ALL IS LOVE!

Love and Peace, Gregg