Get ready
Zen
Small things in a great way
Want to be an agent of change? Frustrated about what you can do to help?
Get proximate, go deep and start small. Stop trying solve problems from a distance. Work through the details. The devil is in the detail. The more you understand, the more compassion you will have.
By getting proximate I mean start with your own community, friends and family. Tweeting and posting to social media creates an illusion of action. Being physically proximate is greater than being digitally proximate. Being proximate fuels compassion.
When making any decision start with compassion and love. When carrying out the decision, do it with compassion and love.
Small changes and small interactions add up over time.
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”
Martin Luther King
Mountains of Energy
Leaving the coast and spending timing in Colorado was jarring at first. The ocean is an energetic anchor for me. The different moods of the sea, the smell in the morning, the shape shifting and sounds. I love it, deeply respect it and also fear it. If I ever need a refresher then a surf at Ocean Beach in San Francisco or watching the water move around the Golden Gate Bridge during an outgoing full tide always does the trick.
Heading to a landlocked state felt like I’d cut the umbilical cord from my power source But after watching the mountains on the Eastern Slopes of Boulder change color in the morning and evening light, and feeling the mood shift as storms rolled in over the Rockies, I started to recognize the same oceanic energy resonating from the mountains. Awesome power, slow moving and shape shifting.
The energetic anchor was the same. Different exterior, same interior. I plugged back in.
Springboks
Have you ever seen a Springbok in the wild?
They live in the now. Alert, guard never down. The routine is the same. Eat grass, freeze, flare nostrils, smell wind, look around, go back to eating. Keep moving, no time for zoning out.
They stay with the herd. The herd is a connected force shield. When the energy in the bush changes they feel it. A startled bird or a quick movement in the peripheral sends a lightning fast energy ripple through the herd. The herd body is one – muscles tighten, ready to explode in different directions in a split second.
Stay fit, stay connected and smell the wind.
Shibui
Shibui is a Japanese word that refers to a style that is simple, elegant, subtle, and unobtrusively beautiful.
I think that western culture is starting to appreciate the practice of shibui. In the way we live, in the things we buy, and how we spend our time. Just look at the elegant hardware coming out of Tesla and Apple, or Eichler designed homes in California with simple lines and natural light.
I love this trend.
(Giving + Joy) > (Getting + Joy)
Day Dreaming
In Praise of Dreams
In my dreams
I paint like Vermeer van Delft.I speak fluent Greek
and not just with the living.I drive a car
that does what I want it to.I am gifted
and write mighty epics.I hear voices
as clearly as any venerable saint.My brilliance as a pianist
would stun you.I fly the way we ought to,
i.e., on my own.Falling from the roof,
I tumble gently to the grass.I’ve got no problem
breathing under water.I can’t complain:
I’ve been able to locate Atlantis.It’s gratifying that I can always
wake up before dying.As soon as war breaks out,
I roll over on my other side.I’m a child of my age,
but I don’t have to be.A few years ago
I saw two suns.And the night before last a penguin,
clear as day.Wislawa Szymborska, View with a Grain of Sand
There are no maps of the change
“No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side.
Or you don’t.”Stephen King, The Stand
Uvivi
Uvivi is a Zulu word which means the darkness before the dawn. It’s true. It’s more so in the bush, but I sometimes get the same experience in the city.
My son woke me up this morning at 4am. After I had tucked him back into bed and coaxed him back to sleep, I paused for a second and looked out of the upstairs window. It was pitch black outside, the city was quiet…a rare moment in a busy and growing city like San Francisco. The moment felt like no mans land – a shift between midnight and dawn.
There are gateway places out there with thin membranes. Places like Point Reyes, north of San Francisco and Big Sur, south of Monterey. Places with thin membranes, where it’s a lot easier to feel connected to something greater than yourself and ‘tap in’. I felt a similar connection at 4am this morning. The moment passed and the next thing I knew I was crawling back into bed as the first hints of sunlight started to appear. The moment had passed but the impression remained.
Sometimes a connection to something bigger isn’t about being in a place it’s about being in a state of mind.
yt?
Turn off notifications and alerts on your phone and control when you interact with people. This includes all text messages and social media. Take back control your schedule and don’t let other people control your day.
Imagine if people felt it was okay to bang on your door at any time of the day or night with the expectation that you answer and be present with them. That’s not sustainable. Why should it be acceptable on your phone?
markbartels.org 