Wednesday, August 17, 2011

What Loves You Back?

   I saw for myself that negativity wasn’t working and went on a 90 day challenge to eliminate it from my life. I learned a lot about what causes negativity and the adverse effect it has on our lives, our wellbeing and our world.  I write this blog because I need the reminder of that time. It’s a way of keeping the negativity that has become so pervasive in our world at bay.  And it’s everywhere.  Well, maybe not every where. There are pockets of light in the world. The Daily Good by Charmaine Coumbra  is one of them. The Daily Good is always worth reading but, occasionally one of them is real gem.   The last two sentences in this post from The Pacific Voyagers   is a particular jewel.
   
       “There's a theory that was developed for cultivating gardens, it's named after the old lady who used the idea. I can't remember it's name or hers, but the guts of it is that she had a garden overrun with invasive species and here and there were just a few of the natives that she really wanted. She didn't go for the usual method of trying to stamp out the things she didn't want, she simply made a little space around the things she did want and nurtured them so they would grow. Slowly the pockets expanded and moved the invasives out. We can apply this to social tendencies. If we decide that a particular way of being is what we want we can nurture it where ever we find it. Perhaps this works because we take the 'fight' out of the process. We're no longer 'fighting' to overcome the negative. We are nurturing to build what we want.  

 It’s funny how things work.  I’ve had similar conversations with a half a dozen different people this week.  Everyone seems to be saying the same thing that these guys said. What we’re doing isn’t working so isn’t it time we try what we know does work? I know, let’s create the kind of world we want to live in by nurturing what loves us back. That’s how Catharine put it.

When I was doing my 90 Day Challenge Catharine was of my biggest supporters. She witnessed my journey and offered wisdom when I faltered.  I have always found her to have some sense about things; partly because she has chosen to do some pretty heavy spiritual work.  We were discussing the Pacific Voyagers article  when she said that she has learned to, just STOP looking at what is, or what I see or perceive as negative influences, and START nurturing that which I do want, have wanted, desire to enlarge in my life, or want more of.”  Catharine said she did what loved her back. That’s a great way of putting it.  I see a lot of people doing they same thing. They’re taking back their lives and the world they live in.  They’re creating the world they want to live in.  They do what loves them back, what enhances their lives and is uplifting to their spirit and they drop what creates havoc and chaos. That would be all things negative in case you’re taking notes.

We’ve always known what to do and how to do it.  Now is the time to do it. That’s been the general consensus of people that I’ve talked to this week. We need to stop doing what doesn’t work. Stop blaming and finger pointing and pretending that it does any good. We have always known that love is The Way.  We’ve heard and been told that in every way imaginable by every sage and guide, prophet and saint sent to us.  The greatest of these is love. It’s not rocket science, guys. It’s really pretty simple.  When I was doing my challenge people kept asking if I was trying to be more positive.  I was very deliberate about not doing that. I decided early on in my challenge that I didn’t want to replace one kind of thinking with another because I was curious about what was in the space that negativity took up. It was love. All I had to do was give it space to grow. Now, how cool is that? Cultivating love in all its permutations; generosity, respect, kindness, compassion, tolerance, forgiveness, patience, is the essence of creation.  It doesn’t necessarily diminish our problems but does create more love and provides fertile ground for more inspired solutions to bloom forth.  What loves you back?  Nurture that instead of what you see or perceive is a negative, you would be surprised at what blossoms in your life. I know I was.  


                                                                    Part 2 Next Week












                                 

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