Thoughts: Joining the particles, as one
Writings: Success stories…and they start where the money ends
When I dropped by the doctor the other day, I got the chance to look over the magazines in the waiting area, partly because it took an hour for her to get to me, and partly because I thought my appointment was at one (it was at two). This gave me an opportunity to review the success stories that were celebrated in the stories of business magazines, “people” magazines (unlike anyone you or I have ever met), sports magazines, and National Geographic.
Cool ’nuff, except it appears to me the writers (and editors who accept their stories) have never read the Ten Most Important Things According to Brother Ian, one of which says: “The more things you own in the world, the poorer you are. Count your days & hours by the number of hugs, smiles & laughs.”
So, regardless of what they say in their glossy mags, I’m gonna suggest these are stories of real success, with real people, in the real world around me:
• There are brothers & sisters who have come back from active duty to literally turn swords into ploughshares – there’s a highly successful program that is matching up growing things with folks who have PTSD & other wounds, and the healing begins. Here’s more & here’s a little video about it.
• A good friend of mine was jogging last December and came across a guy assaulting a woman. The guy ran away, and my friend volunteered to testify. Charges were brought, and in a case of “he said, she said,” in which the guy denied doing what he did, the final verdict (guilty) was returned, and the DA indicated my friend’s testimony turned an uncertain result into a sealed deal. It took guts & bravery & courage, and I’m so proud of her.
• A shy mom-friend of mine got two days off from her two jobs, so she could hang with her kids. The brave part? It’s really, really hard for her to talk to bosses & ask for what she really wants & needs. She did it. If you see her tomorrow at the park, she’s the one with the huge smile & the kids who love playing with her.
• Talked to a street singer named Steve two nights ago, here in Victoria, who was wrapping up for the night with I Shall Be Released. I asked him how long he had been playing that evening.
He said for four hours…he hadn’t made enough money as of an hour before, so, as he said, “I got to play for an extra hour – it was awesome!” I asked if he had made enough, and he grinned big & said, “Beats me – I haven’t counted yet!”
• Try this: I got to help two friends – mom & college-aged daughter – move to a new place this week. All their stuff fit in two small-load cars. Keeping it simple – who NEEDS so much stuff? Not them.
• Last one for this week: Another mom-friend had a (nearly) no-cost birthday party for her kids. It took a little talking (she had three other mamas to call, and one papa), but they agreed all the eight & nine year olds coming to the party would bring a present of a certificate/card about something they could do with the birthday kids (their birthday were two years & two days apart, so they have it together, on the same day). The certs suggested coming over for a Netflix movie, taking a hike along the trail that went to the beach, coming over to the giver’s house to make cupcakes, having a board-game night, even helping babysit the two kids’ two year old cousin. Birthday cake? Everybody cut up fruit & sprinkled nuts & granola & a little whipped cream on it.
Then everyone went outside & played soccer, and yes, the girls beat the boys. None of the adults kept score, but the kids did.
And they declared it the best birthday party ever, and said they wanted to do theirs like that.
There’s success all around…it’s fun to think up ways to make it happen!
Love you & wishing you great success in the coming weeks…
Brother Ian
Writings: New year’s resolutions for 1942/1943, from Woody Guthrie’s notebook
It’s a bit easier to read, if you click on it (make it bigger, hey – )
And here’s Woody’s “This Land is Your Land” with most of the words, with Pete, Arlo, Judy Collins & Fred Hellerman in 1976
Thoughts: Lightly, now.
It’s dark because you are trying too hard.
Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly.
Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply.
Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.
Aldous Huxley
Poetry in music: Paul Simon, with “The Obvious Child”
You may remember Paul Simon’s foray into Brazilian accents for his music back in 1991 with “Rhythm of the Saints”….I’ve always loved the first song on the collection, called “The Obvious Child,” with its drums (recorded in Salvador, Brasil) and rhythm section (in Rio), as well as the words, in which there’s a drift into the past which helps craft the present.
Opening up the dusty yearbook to see friends who “have fled from themselves,” the song wistfully looks back at the old times that shape what’s going on today & tomorrow. But to get there, he has to watch the progress of the seasons, the years, and the day:
I’ve been waking up at sunrise
I’ve been following the light across my room
I watch the night receive the room of my day
This little meditation steps back to the now (“he wanders beyond his interior walls”), carrying what it means to finish our time into the present, wiser and more aware.
And…I’ll bet you play it at least twice, just to dance to it. As dark as the words are in places & the tone is throughout, it’s a up-tempo, upbeat, nearly optimistic song.
Thanks for listening, and see if you agree.
Brother Ian
Poetry of music: Arlo, with the story of Amazing Grace
You might have heard the story behind Amazing Grace, but it still shares the chills that the story always gives….along with a moment to remember Steve Goodman. Here’s Arlo & Shenandoah:
Writings: Finding your “Blue Mind”
You’ve noticed the difference & so have I – it always feels better to be close to the water. What’s involved here? The Huffington Post’s Carolyn Gregoire offers an insightful review of the special connection between H2O and us – here’s more:
Why Being Near The Ocean Can Make You Calmer And More Creative
by Carolyn Gregoire
Since ancient times, humans have assigned healing and transformational properties to water. In early Rome, baths were an important part of cultural life, a place where citizens went to find relaxation and to connect with others in a calming setting. In ayurveda, the ancient Indian medicinal wisdom, and traditional Chinese medicine, the water element is crucial to balancing the body and creating physical harmony. Rivers have long been seen as sacred places, and in a number of different spiritual contexts, water has symbolized rebirth, spiritual cleansing and salvation.
Today, we still turn to water for a sense of calm and clarity. We spend our vacations on the beach or at the lake; get exercise and enjoyment from water sports like surfing, scuba diving, sailing, and swimming; refresh ourselves with long showers and soothing baths, and often build our lives and homes around being near the water.
Our affinity for water is even reflected in the near-universal attraction to the color blue. We’re naturally drawn to aquatic hues — the color blue is overwhelming chosen as the favorite color of people around the world, and marketing research has found that people tend to associate it with qualities like calm, openness, depth and wisdom.
Wallace J. Nichols, a marine biologist, believes that we all have a “blue mind” — as he puts it, “a mildly meditative state characterized by calm, peacefulness, unity, and a sense of general happiness and satisfaction with life in the moment” — that’s triggered when we’re in or near water.
“We are beginning to learn that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what’s broken,” Nichols writes in Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do, published in July. “We have a ‘blue mind’ — and it’s perfectly tailored to make us happy in all sorts of ways that go way beyond relaxing in the surf, listening to the murmur of a stream, or floating quietly in a pool.”
Whales: Want anchovies? Open up!
A Bryde’s whale and seagulls feast on anchovies in the Gulf of Thailand, on September 9, 2014.
Bryde’s whales are a baleen medium seized whale with dark grey colour and a white underbelly and live in tropical to temperate waters. An estimated population of 30 to 35 Bryde’s whales are commonly seen along the upper Gulf of Thailand coastlines, between March and October.
The Bryde’s whale is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which prohibits international trade of any parts of the animal. (photo: EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT)
Thoughts: As we rise toward remembering….
Check out SolPurpose
About Brother Ian
Over the centuries, Brother Ian has been collecting stories & information & discourses for the purpose of elevating the human condition as needed, dissecting it when necessary, and building the case for hope.
In the spirit of noting that organized crime, organized baseball, organized labour, and organized religion tend to engender controversy & occasional discord, I promise to be neither organized or critical of those who are.