I have always admired the beauty of this evergreen. It stood tall and proud in the Perfect Liberty church parking lot. during a recent storm (one of many we’ve had this summer) it was toppled. Rev. Eugene took the pictures and he graciously has allowed me to share them with you.. I was surprised at how shallow the roots were, given its size I would have thought that the roots would have travelled down further, and spread wider.
Reminds me of how often I have seen people being judged by appearance … and not by their personalities and inner beauty. Every where we look, there are commercials and ads that will help one look more beautiful and radiant if this product or item is bought and used. the endless commercials on fad diets and supplements that are a must if you want to look younger, stay fit, etc. Most of the ads are about maintaining a “look” or appearance, You can be vain, shallow, superficial, self centered etc. go into debt to try to achieve what someone else considers beautiful and essential…. then spend endless hours lonely, distressed over debts, and trying to cope with feelings of inadequacy.
Being home these past weeks dealing with “symptoms” from my fall, I have had time to think, reflect and cogitate on the world around me. How “busy” everyone always seems to be, AND notice things about my own “habits” and “lifestyle”. S C A R Y…. when commenting on others, one should always look hard at the imagine in the mirror.
Be flexible to change. A flexible way of thinking and responding is one of the keys to getting along with others.
Hazy overcast with a delightful freeze. Still a welcome sight. We need to find more time to simply reflect and quietly enjoy our surroundings, wherever that may be.
Every day is a new sky a new beginning. Step outside your comfort zone, explore new possibilities.
Develop new ideas through your imagination – softly and flexibly- If you could find a way to add a twist, you will have more joy.
Perfect Liberty 2023.28
PL members – August 1. we will have service at 7 pm. There will be no 10: a.m. service that day.
Good Morning … how are you today? Please I would like you to take a moment … sit back and listen.. Can you hear silence? Do you recall the ” Sound of Silence.” When did you last hear “silence”?
Let me explain, the other night, the dog barked to go out, it was something like 2 a.m the house was dark, I didn’t even think to turn on a light I made my way to the back door, opened it and let them out. Velcro is very good and letting me know he needs out… Keeper being the smart whippet she is, knew to take advantage of the situation and join him in his outing. I let them back in, I still have not turned on any lights, we are moving around with the light from the back veranda and the moonlight.
I tripped and fell, I heard the dog dish clatter and the sound of my head hitting the wooden banister and the wooden gate we had installed to keep the dogs out of the kitchen when we needed them out of the way. After that I am aware of lying there taking inventory of my body, my situation. I knew not to move until I was sure nothing was broken etc. (if you are new to this blog, I am what is known as a mature individual, I can get senior discounts at some stores =^_^=)
Obviously I did get up, and I went back to bed, pulled up the blankets, snuggled down and went back to sleep. That was a couple of days ago. I woke the next day, a tad sore, but went about my daily routine and “business”…BUT of course the body was not simply going to snap back into “all is well”….so for the last 24 hours or so, I have been doing a lot of sitting, lying down, and when I can sleeping.
I lay there this morning realizing that I am surrounded by a constant “hum” “noise” whether the ceiling fan, the air purifier, the central air, outside noises, AND my own AI (artificial intelligence) “stuff”… iPad, cellphone, television, desk top…refrigerator, also known as “white noise”
When you are lying on your back just doing nothing (or trying to) it is amazing the “stuff” that runs through your gray matter. I also had read a fellow bloggers post on the summers in NY city back when there was no such thing as air conditioners, fans, and the like. People had to try to find somewhere, or place they could sleep the heat was so oppressive. You can see, being quiet, having to be still… was having an affect on me. I began to think back… and of course all the while I am aware of the whirling of the ceiling fan, the constant whirring of the air purifier, etc etc…
My audio from the iPad was droning on about the need for us to find silence in our lives (Alan Watts, philosopher).. darn… I thought.. I must be feeling better, I’m awake and hearing all this noise.. for the last while I hadn’t cared. my body was bruised and just wanted to heal. Now, this must be I’m feeling better..
I got up and turned off the air purifier.. and the fan on my bureau.. NO I didn’ t turn off the ceiling fan.. Daft I’m not.. nor is my brain fried… but I did hear the difference and it got me thinking.
So here I am.. asking you for your input, should you wish to join me in this exercise. Do we have access to quiet, real quiet…? What is quiet to you?
Today’s calendar…
Others are others … I am I … If you force your values on others, it can be self-righteous. don’t be overeater and have a sense of “Others are others, I am I”
Perfect Liberty 2023.13 English translation was done (quote) in Japan
Calling for rain for the next 3, 4 days… stay dry and enjoy your week-end it is just a day away,
Always be humble. If you work on things with the attitude of asking a favor, people around you will advise you what they have noticed. There is something in fact you are not aware of that you do
I found this one day, simply staring up at me as I carefully picked my way along a deserted part of the beach. I have a vague idea of where i was… if I close my eyes I can still hear the water washing up along the shoreline. I had taken a “road less used”, it was far from the area that was usually crowded at this time of year with people seeking a bit of nature. (this was an area easy enough to reach within the city, but where i had gone was behind the building that wasn’t open cuz it was a holiday) I notice that people will tend to stay where the “majority” of visitors gather. The road I took was used by “service” personnel, or trades people who come to work on the buildings. You know the kind of areas that during working hours it is busy with a lot of in and out of people working at what needs doing, they are not there for the view.
So no tourists, birders, nature lovers here, just me, myself and I, wandering along a baron beach, where the bleached driftwood and I shared the afternoon sun and lazy meanderings of the small birds that flew past. I remembering being treated to the sight of ducks floating down past me towards the open water of the lake. When I come across one of the pictures I’ve taken of the “personalities ” I meet in my travels, it is always a happy memory.
Today in PL we have service – 1st of every month, Day of Peace. Through this ceremony we pray for World Peace and dedicate ourselves to live as peaceful human beings in our own worlds, which includes our home, schook, work and community. Service today is at 10:a.m.
In Canada it is also Canada Day, there will be festivities all across and around the city. Celebrate, enjoy .. stay safe.
Yes,there will be service tomorrow Sunday as well.. 10:a.m.
Chris took this back in June 2012, or at least that is when I first encountered this find of his. when I saw it, I was so taken with the creativity of the artist’s sculptures he’d found. I remember thinking at the time, that the artist had to have had vision.. the picture has always stayed with me, I often see trail bike riders enjoying the woodland trails, wondered if I would love the feeling of traveling through the woods with the canopy of trees overhead and all around.
The idea appealed to me, yet at the same time, I love the slow wander through the various endless vignettes I find when I am enjoying the calm of an unpreoccupied mind when I give my mental faculties a rest as I tune into my surroundings while practicing mindfulness exercises.
Get things started with grit. If you work on things in daily life with the attitude of “let’s do it” you will feel a power to accomplish things. People around you will rely on you
Perfect Liberty 2023.
Tune into your surroundings. Try narrowing your attention to something very small, i.e the woodgrain on the bench where you are sitting, a blade of grass….. acknowledge just how being in the outdoors bring you peace of mind – disconnect from the hectic world you are often surrounded by.. find yourself . try the exercise for 10 minutes. find the sense of true calm.
— We may not be able to change those around us – but we can change our reaction to them —
When we encounter a situation or “person” that creates in us a negative or upsetting reaction, pause, take a moment to reassess your reaction. We all have moments where we have to readjust our “thinking/reaction” to a colleague, in-law, family member, whoever could be a total stranger. This is an exercise in becoming more adept at communicating from a position of awareness rather than one of defensiveness.
Develop new ideas through your imagination -softly and flexibly. If you could find a way to add a twist you will have more joy,
The turning point is now. life is a sequence of moments called now. You have the key to turn yourself around.
Perfect Liberty 2023.19
After many days, weeks and months, these two turkeys are comfortable enough with me to sit beside me on the fence and simply BE. They acknowledge that I’m an “energy” that they “know” shares space in their environment from time to time. I respect their space and they mine.
I have reached a stage in my life where I thrive on quiet, a contented state of “being” … I try to have my first interaction of the day a happy one. I remind myself of the positives in my life. Knowing that I can walk peacefully in a wilderness… where coyotes wander, rabbits join me for walks, birds of every size and colour go about their business while calling out greetings to each other … yesterday I heard and saw an “odd couple” of gulls bickering and arguing not far from where I was having lunch. In the morning I watched as a turkey vulture swooped down gliding on a current over and past my car as I drove down to P23. He landed on a tall tree where I could see him clearly .. but too far for me to get a decent picture with my cell phone.
What pleased me, I had stopped the car, my window down I called out a greeting… and he stayed in place and didn’t fly away. That was a stunning moment! These moments in time, happen because I have made the woodland part of my everyday … I do my best to simply BE … I let the energy around me happen, I try to blend in to allow life to happen.
When I was teaching meditation active/passive… I often encountered students who when asked why they wanted to meditate replied, they wanted to connect with “themselves”.. still the chattering of the mind… if the mind is constantly charging through all the “to do’s” and filtering through past events, holding on to old grudges…. your aura, personal energy will be exhausted and cluttered in no time.
Even if it is a few minutes of each day that you set aside for YOU…. you will find that YOUR personal well being will thrive. Your inner feelings are like rivers of lava, emotions can be like a volcano, they bubble under the surface…waiting for the time they can flow hot and searing with their own momentum… It is in letting go that the emotions will lose their heat ..cool and no longer be damaging and dangerous.
Today, zero in on one “thought” “thing” that is cluttering your mind.. and lose it. Less clutter (negativity) will help you stay calm.
TAOIST Life is Art (Perfect Liberty precept #1)
contact info.- via blogs
--- there are two energies, Yin and Yang = ONE
---to have balance we must live each moment
of our lives.. with Makoto (sincerity)
The only constant in life is change. I am grounded in the reality of Living.
This is true, in all worlds. RL or virtual. I am me and only me.
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