A Little Life Lesson

A few weeks ago I was sitting in the airport waiting to board a plane to New Hampshire to attend my niece's wedding. I sat casually observing the hubub of travelers as an elderly couple approached and eased themselves into the row of seats beside me. I watched as the old man leaned past his wife toward a man sporting a Boston Red Sox cap and causally remarked, "How about those Sox?"  The other man said nothing. He completely ignored this offer of camaraderie and left the elderly gentleman to simply lean back and contemplate the back of his hands.

I felt so bad for the old fellow. I wondered if he felt snubbed. My mind raced into stories about the snobby man hiding behind his newspaper, so smug that he wouldn't even give an old man a few seconds of his time. My heart felt so sad for the old man who I considered to be at least 88. He was vigorous once! People used to listen to him once! Or so I imagined.

We began to be called to board the plane and I glanced up as the snobby man gathered his belongings to start toward the check-in.

Oops... humbled again!

Suddenly I saw something that I did not notice before. The man was wearing two big hearing aids. He had not heard the old man and his offer of support for the Red Sox over the din of announcements and bad acoustics. He had not heard a sound. As he stood he nodded toward the elderly couple and smiled sweetly.

Sometimes even what we think we see with our own two eyes is not the reality of a situation. Next time I am jumping to conclusions I promise to give myself an opportunity to observe life through a kinder, less judgmental lens so that I may develop the ability to truly wait in order to really see.

I release myself from the need to interpret my world from the vantage point of its lack and failings. I embrace a new vision of life which is generous, loving and focused on the good.

BP Oil Spill

I have been moved to tears. My heart is breaking. I have been in mourning, sickened by the images I see reflecting the utter confusion and ineptitude of the handling of the BP oil spill.
The disaster has left me dreaming dreams of suffocation and death.

I am not writing to sway your opinion on drilling in the gulf. I writing to request that every one of us take responsibility for the disaster. We have all contributed to the "holocaust", as one newspaper reporter called it, in the Gulf waters. For years we have heard that we must change. For years we have watched our world being diminished in subtle ways. For years we have consumed as though there is a limitless supply of all we deem we need and can't live without.

We bury our consciousness in technology, texting and emailing, facebooking and twittering in order to receive bite-sized portions of life while huge chunks of our planet are driven to extinction. I am not sure we can stop the spiral of loss completely but we can begin to shift our own impact on our mother Earth and I know we can change our habits and expectations. Living with less needs to be seen as creating abundance.

There are a million ways to take less and use less. Research them and employ the ones that make the most sense for you. Start living differently. Send me the ways you are changing lifestyle and conserving and I will post them in the next newsletter. No action is too small or insignificant. And please, write, call, picket, vote and let your opinions be heard. This is one time that I do not recommend silence.
Love and Light,
Nora

We raise our conscious vibration through action. We honor our mother Earth and live with thoughtfulness and gentle care. Our steps are light and our hearts are loving.