Pause for thought

In today’s manic world it is easy to get into a state of fear or panic. Situations in which we may find ourselves can become overwhelming especially when its one of those days or weeks when everything, both good and bad, seems to happen at once. It is far too easy to look at things in the wrong way and to do a bit here and a bit there supposedly to make it all better.

But does that work? Sometimes it is much better to sit down and breathe deeply then think about what is to be done or not done as the case may be. Taking a pause to think about it all allows you respite from what has happened or is happening and allows you to put it all into perspective. There are some things you cannot change so only change those that you can.

At the moment there is a lot of fear in the world, fear of war, of nasty flu viruses, fires and earthquakes. So what can you do? If you live in areas where any of these things are happening then you can take precautions to make sure you are safe. But think about what is best to do first.

If it is lesser things that have made you go into fear or panic, then again, taking pause for thought will help you to deal with them. I often find that what I think could be coming my way or has already come, is not really as serious as I thought it was when it happened. We can look too deeply though so be careful of this as well. One thing which I have found very important is to trust my intuition, the gut feeling that tells me what is right or wrong. I have found this very useful when I get into worrying about something that might happen or is happening now. I think on the I listen to my intuitive answers and then deal with whatever it is on that basis.questions such as, is it good for me, will it help me, should I ignore it, and so on. I also take time to reflect on this to see if there is anything else I can do. How do you deal with fear, worry and panic?

Footprints

We often talk about footprints. Footprints we make in the sand, fossil footprints, baby footprints and then there are carbon footprints.

I have been thinking about other footprints, those we make when in our garden or walking somewhere. In my younger years I was an avid cyclist and loved nothing better then riding through country lanes. Then I got into walking and climbing and spent many years amongst high mountains and hills here in the UK. One thing that struck me then was the damage done by erosion where many footprints had trod the same path and had also strayed from the path. Some country parks and nature reserves fence off vulnerable areas and allow them to regenerate.

I know we love to do the wild thing and wander everywhere freely but have you ever thought about your environmental footprint? Do you tread gently on the earth or do you trample heavily? It is very easy to do a lot of damage to the undergrowth and the creatures that live there if you are not mindful of what you are doing. I lead a small group once a month out to explore the natural world around us. We are a small group so any damage is small but it would be better to do not damage.

It is good for mental health to be outside in the country enjoying the walk and wildlife. Most reserves and parks have paths that are there for you to walk on. They are often set out so you can see what there is to see and to protect the grass and the insects that live in the grass. I have seen public footpaths abused when they go across farmland. They are often narrow and are at the edge of the field. But many walking groups tramp through the field and on the crops as well as the path because they are intent on reaching their destination and on talking to their companions so walk two or more abreast doing lots of damage. This is not good.

Another thing that is done now many people have one or more cars. They concrete their driveways and so there is nowhere for the rain to go and little room for the many insects that live near the top of the ground. There are other more environmentally friendly ways to make a driveway but they take more thought and care.

So be mindful where you walk and be careful not to trample the grass and its thousands of inhabitants as you walk. Tread gently on the earth.

I seem unable to place a photo here today for some unknown reason but I did find some nice photos of footprints by Anna Tremewan.

Looking at the bigger picture

A full moon, a lunar eclipse and a Saturn/Pluto conjunction all at once. That is really something. My astrology knowledge is rather rusty but I do know these combinations are going to bring in change. We could be leaving behind all our ideas that are now outdated and bring in new ideas. Pluto is about transformation and not just on a personal level but on the collective level. Life is going to get very interesting.

But I want to write about looking at the bigger picture. All the news is about the fires in Australia. However, a lot of South America, North America, Africa and Europe is also on fire. You can take a look at the NASA maps which show all the current areas of fire. There are also earthquakes and floods in other parts of the world. All of these fires are causing pain as people and animals are dying and homes are lost. Earthquakes also cause these kinds of losses as do floods. All disasters are painful to us especially when there is a loss of life, both human and animal.

There have been huge disasters in the life of our planet. Think about the dinosaurs who became extinct possibly due to a meteorite hitting earth. There are stories of great floods as well. The news media make the most of what they see as newsworthy and often twist the truth or exaggerate it to make it sound worse. But good does come out of disasters eventually. Already new leaves are sprouting on the trees burnt in the bush fires. People will be looking at how to rebuild their lives and look at ways of living so they are safe. They might look at the way they live and change it to make it easier to live with their environment. They may learn to oppose schemes that harm the environment like fracking and coal mining or the felling of large swathes of forest or selling the water to companies only wanting to make more money.

I have friends in these countries where there are large fires and where there are floods so I am involved on an emotional level. But I can see that good will come out of this and there will be change, change for the better too. The human race has gone too far in exploiting the earth we live on and we have to look at the way we live, eat and look at what we buy and how it is made. We read of buildings collapsing in countries where cheap clothes are made and there are no restrictions on buildings. Lives are lost when this happens and these people are often some of the poorest in the world. Look at the way our climate is changing and think about how you live. Look at the larger picture around the world not just your own community.

Wishes for 2020

Wishes is probably not the right word to use however this is what this blog is about. First of all I wish you all a Happy New Year whatever and however you celebrate. A week ago, one of my friends asked us all to give her one word to describe what we wished for her during this coming year. This brought up lots of suggestions and I am taking some of these words to use in this blog. First of all I wish you all peace during the year. This is peace with yourself and peace with others as well as peace around you wherever you live.

I’d like to wish you love as well. Love for yourself and your family as well as for those around you. Love is a powerful vibration and can change lives. So what else do I wish for you? Gratitude; gratitude for what you have. I give gratitude each night for three things that are not the obvious ones like a roof over my head, food and clothes. There are many other things we can be grateful for. Caring and compassion for others is something else I wish for you. In our current world, compassion and caring are extremely important when there are so many who need help of some kind.

I wish good health for you and happiness. With good health comes another wish, sustainable eating and living. This is another very important thing in view of the changes in our climate, living sustainably, not wasting anything that can be used in some way and not buying what we don’t need. Repairing items that can be repaired is good as well. It is better than throwing them away.

I wish also that you gain a deeper connection with yourself, with others and with the natural world around us and also with the spiritual world. Take time to stand and stare, to contemplate and to reflect, to look at the bigger picture around the current circumstances, to forgive and to share. But above all I wish you happiness. Be happy with yourself and then you will be happy with others.

There is a website called http://www.actionforhappiness.org who produce a monthly happiness guide. I am using the one for this month as my photo today. Can you do the things it asks of you?