This is me and my little grandson doing what we do best - having a lovely time in the woods! I am so happy he and his little brother are able to grow up in the countryside. He has the opportunity to really feel and know his place in the natural world, amongst the animals and birds, the trees the plants and all things that grow. He has the chance, within the madness of modern living, to keep his connections with the wild things, and hold close in his heart the true reality of Life on Planet Earth.
There is so much water running through the woods at the moment, it is as if all of nature is talking to us - chattering away as it tumbles over the rocks and stones, gushing down the little brooks, the streams and the rivers - reminding us of the endless movement of all things. Nothing in the Universe stays still. Everything is on the move, and it is only us with our fears and worries, who try to stop the natural flow by hanging on. When we hold on to things - people, possessions, ideas, beliefs, ways of being - we think we are making ourselves safe, but really the opposite is true. We are creating a false illusion of safety. That person will take care of me. With all of this, I am safe. If I build a wall around my house, my home, my heart, no one can get me! All of this is born of the egoic mind who thrives on fear. The mind believes that life is dangerous and consists of nothing but problems, difficulties and threats, and it will find plenty of evidence in this currently negatively based physical reality to back this up. Just read a newspaper, and the distortions reported are quite enough to send anyone over the edge. While we think like this, while we shut ourselves away from nature and deny the realness of our place in the Universe, we do indeed lead such uncomfortable, fearful lives because the freedom that we really are cannot flow to us. Our thoughts of our insignificance and frailty lead us to believe that being alive is frightening - we are scared of life and scared of death - not much fun to be had while we think like this!
If we take a flight and travel way up above ourselves, we can see from up here where the birds fly, that indeed our physical bodies do seem small. If we keep flying upwards, through the clouds and beyond, our physical presence becomes even smaller... and we seem to be almost invisible. Just like the stars twinkling over our heads, we become specks on the fabric of the surface of our Mother Earth. Further out again, and Planet Earth herself becomes a tiny dot on the blanket of infinity, and drifting even further still, our whole galaxy appears nothing more than a smudge of light, receding into oblivion. This is looking at the bigger picture! This is taking a snapshot of the enormity of what we truly are. We are all born of the stars - everything that our bodies consist of, everything that we know of in the physical world, came in the creation of stars. We are them! We know this scientifically, we accept it and believe it - but still the mind prefers to forget this expansive truth on a daily basis, and tries to lock us down into tiny little insignificant bundles - stuck, stagnant and awash with the fear of annihilation.
How can we be so fearful when really we are the Universe! We are connected to everything! Just because we think we are separate, doesn't mean we are. We build ourselves vast protective cages in which to live. Like battery hens we live under the glare of street lights, packed in closely, terrified of being alone. The illusion of a safety, which we know can crumble at any time, and so makes us even more fearful.
When we get outside into nature and walk and play and sing, life presents itself. It is real. It is us. We find ourselves out here... It is full of life and death, joy, bliss, excitement, challenges, peace, surprises, harmony, beauty... and all the colours and sounds of Life. Making connections to things that grow, and fly and crawl and swim, keeps us balanced, flourishing and happy. Nature holds the answers to our anguish, and our children deserve to be free of that pain.
We do not have to live in fear. We can choose to live in Life instead. When we remember who we are, we realise we are free to make our choices.
There is so much water running through the woods at the moment, it is as if all of nature is talking to us - chattering away as it tumbles over the rocks and stones, gushing down the little brooks, the streams and the rivers - reminding us of the endless movement of all things. Nothing in the Universe stays still. Everything is on the move, and it is only us with our fears and worries, who try to stop the natural flow by hanging on. When we hold on to things - people, possessions, ideas, beliefs, ways of being - we think we are making ourselves safe, but really the opposite is true. We are creating a false illusion of safety. That person will take care of me. With all of this, I am safe. If I build a wall around my house, my home, my heart, no one can get me! All of this is born of the egoic mind who thrives on fear. The mind believes that life is dangerous and consists of nothing but problems, difficulties and threats, and it will find plenty of evidence in this currently negatively based physical reality to back this up. Just read a newspaper, and the distortions reported are quite enough to send anyone over the edge. While we think like this, while we shut ourselves away from nature and deny the realness of our place in the Universe, we do indeed lead such uncomfortable, fearful lives because the freedom that we really are cannot flow to us. Our thoughts of our insignificance and frailty lead us to believe that being alive is frightening - we are scared of life and scared of death - not much fun to be had while we think like this!
If we take a flight and travel way up above ourselves, we can see from up here where the birds fly, that indeed our physical bodies do seem small. If we keep flying upwards, through the clouds and beyond, our physical presence becomes even smaller... and we seem to be almost invisible. Just like the stars twinkling over our heads, we become specks on the fabric of the surface of our Mother Earth. Further out again, and Planet Earth herself becomes a tiny dot on the blanket of infinity, and drifting even further still, our whole galaxy appears nothing more than a smudge of light, receding into oblivion. This is looking at the bigger picture! This is taking a snapshot of the enormity of what we truly are. We are all born of the stars - everything that our bodies consist of, everything that we know of in the physical world, came in the creation of stars. We are them! We know this scientifically, we accept it and believe it - but still the mind prefers to forget this expansive truth on a daily basis, and tries to lock us down into tiny little insignificant bundles - stuck, stagnant and awash with the fear of annihilation.
How can we be so fearful when really we are the Universe! We are connected to everything! Just because we think we are separate, doesn't mean we are. We build ourselves vast protective cages in which to live. Like battery hens we live under the glare of street lights, packed in closely, terrified of being alone. The illusion of a safety, which we know can crumble at any time, and so makes us even more fearful.
When we get outside into nature and walk and play and sing, life presents itself. It is real. It is us. We find ourselves out here... It is full of life and death, joy, bliss, excitement, challenges, peace, surprises, harmony, beauty... and all the colours and sounds of Life. Making connections to things that grow, and fly and crawl and swim, keeps us balanced, flourishing and happy. Nature holds the answers to our anguish, and our children deserve to be free of that pain.
We do not have to live in fear. We can choose to live in Life instead. When we remember who we are, we realise we are free to make our choices.
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