When things go wrong

There are a lot of things going wrong in the world today. Some are small while others are life changing. I always wonder why something has gone wrong when it does that. Is it something I forgot to do? Is it something I should have thought about a bit more before doing it? And so on.

Our world is rather chaotic at the moment while the pandemic goes on and our thoughts and perceptions change. One of the things to think about when something goes wrong for you is why it has happened. Did your mail order not arrive or was it the wrong item? Did you order something you needed or just order something you fancied?

Did you travel somewhere and then find yourself unable to get back because of some kind of failure in transport or because of quarantine? Was the urge to travel stronger than your urge to stay safe?

All these things that go wrong are there to make you think about what you are doing with your life. We all know that changes are around and we need to look at these changes and decide which ones are for the better for everyone not just yourself. If we want a world where people consider each other and respect each other then we have to look at how we behave and change our behaviour if necessary.

One thing which has horrified me during the pandemic is the huge use of plastics. Where are these plastic bags and masks going to end up? I have my groceries delivered because I am unable to carry them and always stated no bags. Now I have no choice and I have collected a box full of plastic carrier bags during the lockdown. I shall reuse as many as possible. The lesson here is that although I made a good choice, the current state of our country means I am unable to keep that choice.

There is so much to think about and when things go wrong we need to be aware of the why’s of this and how we can possibly make the right choices in future.

Thinking for yourself

I have recently finished reading a book, ‘The Machine Stops’ by E. M. Forster. Here is what Wikipedia says about that book.

‘The Machine Stops is a short science fiction story. It describes a world in which almost all humans have lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual lives in isolation in a ‘cell’, with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Most humans welcome this development, as they are skeptical and fearful of first-hand experience. People forget that humans created the Machine, and treat it as a mystical entity whose needs supersede their own. Those who do not accept the deity of the Machine are viewed as ‘unmechanical’ and are threatened with “Homelessness”. Eventually, the Machine apocalyptically collapses, and the civilization of the Machine comes to an end. –Wikipedia

Reading it myself I could see how easy it would be for this to happen in the future as we lose the ability to think for ourselves. Many people take what they read or hear as the truth and never think of checking out what they hear or read to see if someone else thinks differently. There are always more sides to a story than are apparent. Although I rely on my gut reaction or my intuition as well as my inner knowledge of things I am one of those people who like to check out facts. From my own experience I know that statistics can be ‘played with’ to make them state what you want them to state.

When the pandemic started I did a lot of reading from various sources, scientific and medical and made up my own mind about it and what should or could be done. People have been asked to isolate or keep their distance from others even though we can now meet a certain number of people outside we still have to keep our distance. This is hard for many as social interaction is a large part of their lives and closeness to family and friends is important. Communications via phone and other forms of technology have become important as have ways of working from home. Forster’s book talks of this and how those in his book live purely via technology.

I feel that now is the time to think about what we really want our world to be like. We need to look at all the options that are there for us and make informed decisions. Take everything that is in the media with a pinch of salt and think about what is really being said. When this pandemic is over we need to have in place a good idea of how we want our world to look and how we want to live in it. Read and inform yourself then make your decisions.

If only…..

We hear the words ‘if only’ so many times but what do we really mean when we say them? There are times when the words ‘if only’ are like a wish. If only it would stop raining or if only I had more money and so on. Some of these ‘wishes’ cannot be helped. We can’t stop the rain however hard we wish to. But there are some ‘if only’s that we can do something about. If the words are said in relation to something you have done or said then perhaps it is possible to do something about them. If you said something hurtful to someone and then wish you had not said those words then at least you can apologise. If you accidentally bumped into someone and pushed them out of the way, you can apologise then as well.

But what about the ‘if only’ I had more money, a better car, better health or a larger house, for example? What can you do about those. First of all you need to think carefully about why you want these things. Do you really need them? Why do you want a better or a larger car or house? Are they something you just want or would like or are they something you actually need? In today’s world, less is better generally so think about that. Think about the effect on the environment a larger car would make. Think about the energy used to heat a larger house.

If you often say things that are hurtful to others, then look at the reason why you do this. Is it because you are insecure in your own self or do you just like to hurt others? Look at how you control your thoughts and actions so that ‘if only’ becomes a phrase you do not use.

I often think ‘if only everyone could live together in peace and harmony’. Is this wishful thinking or is it something that I can work on, helping others to see that ‘if only’ can become something that is possible even ‘if only’ in small amounts. Like the ripples in the pond, wishes can spread out to others and maybe one day we will have peace and harmony in our world. If you can make your ‘if only’ work then do so.

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?

Saving the planet – some random thoughts

I keep seeing adverts for doing things to save the planet. One I saw was about becoming vegetarian as that will save our planet. There are many others around as well. But it is much more complex than that. There are many things that we can all do to save our planet. It’s not just about plastic pollution either.

Here are some of the things that everyone of us, in the western world at least, can do to help:

we can look at the way we use water, washing clothes, in the toilet and shower or bath, buying bottled water to drink (why not use a filter for tap water);

we can use energy efficient light bulbs;

we can recycle things we not longer need that cannot be repaired and we can compost;

we can repair items that can be repaired, we have become a throwaway world and keep buying new items when we could repair the old ones;

we can look at the ways in which we produce food, how far we transport it and how we cook and consume it. Do we really need to import so much food from afar which costs so much in fuel and air pollution?

we can moderate our meat consumption and buy locally not just meat but other food items.

we can walk or cycle to places and leave the car at home, dry the washing outside, and use paper wisely.

These are only a few random thoughts and I am sure you will have many more but what I want to mention now is to me a very important part of saving our planet. We are all human but we are all unique and we need to learn to respect each other and to love each other unconditionally. We need to learn to work together and not be divisive. Co-operation is a good word. I know of areas where people have come together making a co-operative and buying, selling and making produce to sell. There are shops which sell preloved items which people find they no longer need. There is nothing wrong with buying used items. We also need to look at our clothes. The fashion world keeps changing ‘fashions’ every season and many feel they have to buy the latest type of clothes. Is this necessary? Keeping up with the Joneses has long gone. This also applies to gadgets. Do you really need the most up-to-date mobile phone?

There are a lot of things we can think about and if we look at what we eat, wear and use in our daily lives, maybe we can make some changes that will be of benefit to the planet. Choose wisely, our earth is precious to us and keeps us alive and also those that live on it, plants and other animals. Bear in mind also that plants too are sentient.

Getting going again

I have enjoyed a lazy kind of week as I have recovered from my vertigo and a strained muscle in my shoulder and neck. It has been interesting sitting doing nothing apart from lots of thinking and reflection. The writing of my last book triggered lots of thought about where I was going next. Should I write another book? Should I do something else? Then last night I thought  that I should be doing something with my Reiki. My massage therapist would like me to teach her Reiki and I have agreed to do this as I am sure both of us will enjoy the experience. The next thought following this was that maybe I should get Reiki back on my web site. It used to be there and for some reason I took it off at some point. Then another thought came about using a blog for this kind of healing work as well as some of the other things I used to do. And what about my music composing for use with Reiki?

In the past I also ran groups for those interested in what I called tools for your journey. These included meditation, interpreting dreams, using numbers in your life, using colour, astrology crystals and the tarot. These were what you would now call starter courses to see if you wanted to go deeper. I also did a lot of astrology and numerology myself and used to do free basic reports for people via the web. I quite miss doing this but there is so much else available out there now that I would be  working against many others. I am not interested in earning money but in using my gifts and knowledge to help others. What they give back to me is better than any form of money.

So what do I do with all this knowledge? I am sure those of you who read my blog every week and who also comment on it, can come up with some ideas. I really do enjoy reading your comments as they often confirm my own thinking. I think it is time to visit the pond in the current sunshine and sit and reflect up there. Maybe another idea will come to me.