We have much to learn from within,
but it is easy to get lost in the labyrinth
of the inner life.
We have much to learn from others,
but it is easy to get lost in the
confusion of the crowd.
“There was a time when farmers on the Great Plains, at the first sign of a blizzard, would run a rope from the back door out to the barn…
Today we live in a blizzard of another sort. It swirls around us as economic injustice, ecological ruin, physical and spiritual violence, and their inevitable outcome, war. It swirls within us as a fear and frenzy, greed and deceit, and indifference to the suffering of others.
We all know stories of people who have wandered off into this madness and been separated from their own souls, losing their moral bearings and even their mortal lives: they make headlines because they take so many innocents down with them”—Parker Palmer
One way out- or back as the case may be- is to reconnect with our soul (hence my commitment to Soul Food Friday’s for over half a decade)
This week:
An Inspirational vid about the Power of One Person to make a Difference
Responding with Soul to the Blizzard of the World with our Hidden Wholeness
The Paradox a poignant poem by Sarah Kay
Don’t think one person matters?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPeeZ6viNgY
The Blizzard of the World
“The blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned the order of the soul.” – Leonard Cohen
Esteemed singer, songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, painter and artist of life, Leonard Cohen passed away in November of last year
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen
Those of us that care can be healers in a wounded world.
Our fastidiousness for living a moral code with integrity (the state or quality of being entire, complete and unbroken) is a testimony to the power and relevance of the time-worn wisdom traditions and our opportunity to contribute to a better world.
In the martial arts we tie our uniforms with belts, and even this tradition every time we “train” reminds us to pay attention: “are we the same person on the inside as we seem to be on the outside?”
Both ways of tying the belt; whether the inside and outside are unified at the knot at your center, or the alternative way that actually creates a Mobius strip where there is no inside or outside but they both keep co-creating each other, remind us of our yearning to be “centered”.
All the great spiritual traditions want to awaken us to the fact that we co-create the reality in which we live…
We have much to learn from within, but it is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of the inner life.
We have much to learn from others, but it is easy to get lost in the confusion of the crowd.
If you are genuinely interested in understanding the paradox of both honoring your inner teacher, never living apart from one’s self, and at the same time never losing the awareness that we are connected to each other, then you need to create circles of trust in your ecosystem.
If this resonates, you might enjoy A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life by Parker Palmer
https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Wholeness-Journey-Toward-Undivided/dp/0470453761
The Paradox by Sarah Kay
When I am inside writing,
all I can think about is how I should be outside living.
When I am outside living,
all I can do is notice all there is to write about.
When I read about love, I think I should be out loving.
When I love, I think I need to read more.
I am stumbling in pursuit of grace,
I hunt patience with a vengeance.
On the mornings when my brother’s tired muscles
held to the pillow, my father used to tell him,
For every moment you aren’t playing basketball,
someone else is on the court practicing.
I spend most of my time wondering
if I should be somewhere else.
So I have learned to shape the words thank you
with my first breath each morning, my last breath every night.
When the last breath comes, at least I will know I was thankful
for all the places I was so sure I was not supposed to be.
All those places I made it to,
all the loves I held, all the words I wrote.
And even if it is just for one moment,
I will be exactly where I am supposed to be.
Thanks this week goes to the Eric K & the Conscious Leader Collective for the introduction to Parker Palmer’s wisdom, Kurt C for the sublime poem and the GameChangers team for the inspirational vid.
Pay it Forward!
Blessings & Hallelujah!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q
Love,
Neville
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria
“Afraid that our inner light will be extinguished or our inner darkness exposed, we hide our true identities from each other. In the process, we become separated from our own souls. We end up living divided lives, so far removed from the truth we hold within that we cannot know the “integrity that comes from being what you are.” –Parker Palmer
Happy Soul Food Friday! 