vivid dreams that intrigue - or - just torment.
Written thoughts that open doors & open mind allowing us to see the truth hiding in the shadows.
"A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read." -- The Talmud
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Thursday, May 22, 2008
Thought of the Day - May 22, 2008
Today, like every other day, We wake up empty and frightened. Don't open the door to the study And start reading. Take down the dulcimer. Let the beauty we love Be what we do. There are hundreds of ways To kneel and kiss the ground. - Rumi 13th Century Sufi Poet
What I am getting from this poem is to live what I love and pursue my authentic path. Don't die, as Wayne Dyer says... "with your music still in you." Express yourself authentically not only in what you do, but in what you say and in who you ARE. Let your essence shine thru and BE who you were meant to be.
I get that this is easier said then done. Circumstances, negative people & the daily grind of life keeps me in the "study" away from life, in my head. But allowing my authentic self to be expressed provides more joy in life for me then staying in my head. Every day - damn - every moment I have this choice.
And I get to choose what that moment will be like.
I love this idea! A Pirate Supply Store with an ulterior motive... A tutoring/ mentoring/ publishing center where kids can have one-on-one attention and find an outlet for their creativity & self-expression.
As Dave Eggers explains, one-on-one attention in getting homework done makes a happy kid. The kids have extra time to go home and enjoy time with their family, making for a happy family. Happy families create a happy community; several happy communities makes a happy world...
As Eggers jokes :
"The key to it all is homework..."
One-on-one attention & complete devotion to "turning on the switch" in the kids.
I have always wanted to have an architectural office that was more then just an office. Many architects have a basketball hoop to ignite the "creative spark" or a field trip to Disney to "get inspired." These idea were great, and did caused a friendly, creative atmosphere, but was not enough for me.
My dream is to ignite the artistic spark in kids. Nowadays, public schools are eliminating art programs & the creative spark in kids is flickering. Many kids do not have art classes at school anymore. In my field, new job candidates have great technical abilities, but artistically many are lacking. Some of them cannot visualize a 3-D image in their head (this is basic training in architecture school) - they rely on the computer to do it. Nobody draws on the 'board' anymore.
To me this is sad! The best part of designing is putting pencil on paper & channeling the ideas stuck in my head thru the pencil, onto the paper. Then seeing those ideas become something real is powerful!
So this video got me thinking. What about a tutoring/art center AND an architect/ Artist studio that helps kids do their homework while teaching them art side-by-side with architects/ artists who are doing it right now! Imagine the amount of self-expression that can happen? That really would inspire me to go to work every morning!
As a kid I always visualized myself one day working side by side with great architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, or artists like Picasso. "One day I will do that!" And I was lucky enough to sit with Robert Venturi for a few hours.
Well, how about that day being real RIGHT now for a kid.
Eggers, in his TED wish says... "The kids need you.. take the lead in partnering with the schools... Some kids just plain do not know how good they are... you can tell them. Shine that light on them - one human interaction at a time."
His website OnceUponASchool.org challenges us to shine that light on the kids in our own community.
The average students knows his teacher has to help with his schoolwork, and he knows his parents have to help. But there’s something very new and transformative about meeting a member of the community — a professional journalist, a radio disc jockey, a graduate student, an advertising copywriter, a software developer, a retired lawyer — and have that person give them 2-3 hours of undivided attention. Almost without exception, student achievement and understanding leaps when they are given this concentrated one-on-one attention."
Eggers' wish is for the community to create & submit 1,000 ideas & projects that support the kids in their local public schools.
But the way I see it, he is really challenging us to live our dreams & to help kids live their dreams through "transformational interactions."
Good Morning, May Light, Love & Peace be with you!
Cat Stevens - Morning Has Broken
Every morning I wake up with thoughts of what I have to deal with on this upcoming day. Sometimes they are positive things, but most of the times I do not wake up empowered. But my day will be what I say it will be. If I wake up and state "this day sucks already" - it will. But if I create a conversation that my day will be empowering, then it will be & I have a context to make it so.
So this morning my little voice is saying "today sucks already," BUT I choose to not listen & I will make it powerful
So Good Morning! May Light, Love & Peace be with you!
"Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so." - Belva Davis
Today I got a belated birthday surprise. My niece sings in a chorus & she calls with an odd greeting, no hi no small talk, just "you have a few minutes?" When I said yes, I hear her start singing happy birthday to me. Then all of a sudden her whole chorus starts singing.
WOW I was left speechless!!!
I have never had a whole chorus sing to me! I had tears of joy running down my face. I felt honored & humbled. She is livng her dream. There is no gap between her reality & her dreams.
Today is my birthday! I'm a little sad because I have 4 siblings, 9 nieces/ nephews, 3 brothers-in-law, a sister-in-law & a couple of close friends. A few of my friends wished me a happy birthday, but the reason I was sad was because, of my family, only 1 sister called to wish me a happy birthday. Even my best friend did not call.
So today I chose to not get stuck in the disempowerment of what I make that mean, but i choose to read inspiring thoughts. Inspiring myself and hopefully pass on some of that inspiration that I got from this quote. It inspires me to live an inspiring life no matter what the circumstances of life are like.
"If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." - Thomas Edison
"Pangea Day uses the power of film to bring the world a little closer together."
Pangea is the hypothetical landmass that existed when all continents were believed to be one. This is where everything, all of us originated.
Pangea Day is the day where people in Barcelona, Spain; Madurai, India; Maputo, Mozambique; Medellin, Colombia; and little old me in Boynton Beach, Florida, USA can be part of a singular global event. I AM one not only with my thoughts, my family, BUT with the whole world!
It is the experience of what it is to BE human.
In one segment of the event Jonathan Harris presented his website wefeelfine.org where he explores human emotions on a global scale. I realized that I am experiencing many of the same emotions. He shows that we are one!
"Stories are the glue that holds the world together."
It's funny to see what one posts on a blog can actually inspire something in someone else. I guess this is why I write this blog - to actually make a difference out there. Maybe something I say can make a difference out there.
Another presenter, Ishmael Beah was a child soldier when he lost his family at war in his African country. He asked us to
"See each other's common humanity and not the differences that tear us apart."
He expressed that Hope is a form of strength! So my hope for the world is that war, anger, hatred, indifference will all one day disappear and we can live united as one!
I was reading Redondowriter's blog today. She said something that struck me!
Both my husband and I were extremely active in this parish until we separated in 1984. In 1987 I moved and only go back now for weddings, funerals and baptisms. The years fell away..."
Her post was about spirituality and faith. I don't know why this stuck so deeply, they are only words expressing a moment in time. But maybe because it seems to be an impactful moment in her life, that it became impactful for me. So I started to look at it a little deeper. I instantly got a flashback - sort of a stream of consciousness started to flow thru me.
When I was growing up my father was very religion-oriented. Any activity we did was church related or had to do with religion. I remember the one time he would let us go to the movies. Very unusual - he was even excited about a movie opening. It was in the early 70's, at the re-release of The Ten Commandments. He was so excited! We got to the movie theater early, waited in line for hours and this was on a Friday night - after sunset, no less.
What's the point? Her post (not necessarily what she was referring to - but the mere fact that it was posted for me to read) was a catalyst for a moment of clarity in my life. That is, that because of conditions of my life, I've used my dad's commitment to religion to separate myself from the church. Allowed it not to be a part of me anymore - only returning for - weddings, funerals & baptisms...
Every day I observe someone, some situation, some place and I['m]comforted, connected. I've had a spring resurgence of sacred ordinary."
I am experiencing that spring resurgence. My spirituality keeps calling me. I've come to the realization that I'm connected to a stream of consciousness (God) that keeps calling - only I've not been listening. The message is clear. It is the return to the truth of life; to the simple cycle that we are connected to:
weddings, funerals & baptisms... Life, death & rebirth
I too continue to grow-up when it comes to my faith.
If you are not familiar with EuroVision, it's a song contest where one representative from each European country competes to be the best song in Europe. Citizens get to vote via phone or SMS to decide the winner of the contest.
It's pretty cool because I get to hear many different styles of music that is not common here in Florida / dare I say - in the U.S.A.!!!
Here is England's Entry : Andy Abraham - Even If
Serbia's Entry : Jelena Tomašević - Oro Very soft (almost lullaby), beautiful song!
Moldova's Entry : Geta Burlacu - A Century Of Love
Today I sat down to watch some TV. Its been a while since I've watch live TV. Usually it's the Tivo with my favorite show.
Boy! Show after show is negative gossip; he-said-she-said talk show; bickering reality show!; Even Nancy Grace was gossiping about Rob Lowe's sexual harassment allegations. We have become a society who feeds off the negativity.
Channel surfing was not an activity I was enjoying today. It was no longer an exploration of what is possible but a running away from something pessimistic.
Wow! I found myself getting anxious and worked up. Negativity started running me! I even started reacting negatively with my wife. I never realized how much negativity generates even more negativity. The energy started to change inside me.
So what do I do?
I empower myself - that's what there is to do! Clear myself of that stuff and chose to be empowering and at ease with my circumstances. I of course put on my favorite show Star Trek - Voyager - to get away from that reality. In this episode, called Body and Soul, Seven is forced to incorporate the Doctor's matrix into her own body to hide the hologram from their captors so that they will not destroy him. The captors consider them terrorists and are negative, suspicious and doubtful of the Voyager crew.
Anyway the Doctor is fascinated by the new found 'zest' for life that he is experiencing in Seven's body. He is fascinated by what seven/humans take for granted - taste, smell, touch and emotions. He is even fascinated by the taste of prison rations.
The captors are fascinated by these unusual strangers and become friendly with the Seven/Doctor mix. The negativity and distrust they felt for the Voyager crew just faded away by Seven's way of being. They even start to work side-by-side.
Anyway, the point is that all the characters are in their own way subjugated, self-absorbed and find themselves isolated. To the point - they are lonely (sound familiar). By experiencing one another they are each pulling the other out of the negativity that the circumstances gives them.
It is in the indulgence of our own humanity where "life is worth living."
"The whole world is full of experiences and sensations but you insist on denying yourself." -The Doctor to Seven - Voyager
As a society we deny ourselves the good and choose to indulge in our own negativity. Negativity breeds negativity - and keeps us from living a happy life. So by extrapolation - positivity can breed positivity.
The program ends with a toast to a new friendship:
"To shared experiences."
How about choosing that over the negative that our circumstances gives us. Free yourself and live life like it was meant to be - Happy!
