Compassion and Paradox

 

“Toast, toast, toast…nothing trite, nothing corny, nothin crude. There went most of my repertoire. I remembered once I’d heard a wise old barkeeper say once, and used it: “To the ones who weren’t as lucky.”
–Spider Robinson

 

I recently thought of a paraphrase of the old capitalist motto: “He who dies with the most joys wins”. By this, I mean that a life measured in moments of joy, love and wonder seems much more worthwhile than a life measured in things acquired. Of course, to really up our joy levels, it helps if we discover and live our life’s purpose, our true will for a life filled fulfilling one’s purpose would almost naturally be a life enjoyed.
I have had friends challenge me on this. They ask me how I can enjoy my life when there is so much misery around. The very planet itself suffers from the rather horrible things being done to her. People live in terror and poverty and shame. Where is their joy and how can I possibly be happy without turning a blind eye to all of the pain. The simple answer is that I can’t turn away. I feel the suffering of others and feel it acutely. I do what I can and it is never enough.
Like so much in life there is paradox involved. Can I help others best by wallowing in misery with them or can I do more by radiating the joy of a life lived to its fullest? Compassion can often mean that our heart hurts and we feel the joy of existence simultaneously. This is seldom an easy balance but a worthwhile one to find.
Blessings, G

 

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Projecting From the CentreProjecting From the Centre by G A Rosenberg

 

HumaniformHumaniform by G A Rosenberg

 

Multi-WheelsMulti-Wheels by G A Rosenberg

Treating Myself With Compassion

 

“What if I should discover that the poorest of the beggars and the most impudent of offenders are all within me; and that I stand in need of the alms of my own kindness, that I, myself, am the enemy who must be loved — what then?”
― C.G. Jung

 

A strange thing about actively seeking one’s own shadow self is how difficult it becomes to criticize others. I see in myself the cynical jaded parts, the sarcastic parts, the parts that may wish another ill or wish to take advantage of others. I seldom, if ever, act on these impulses but still I know they’re there. I also have a painful awareness of the criticism I have cast upon others for this very trait. At times I catch myself becoming critical of someone else’s unkindness. I have the temptation to be derisive until I sense the echo of myself and realize that the unkindness is something that has come up for me too. Oops.
As I said I catch myself. I cannot deny the negative parts of myself because all too often denial is the nourishment that the shadow thrives on. Still if I come down too hard on myself it is no good either. How can I learn compassion for others if I have not yet learned compassion for myself? So I step back and observe the process. I practice kindness, if not gentleness on myself..acknowledging even the rough parts that will one day shine.
Blessings, G

 

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Origami MandalaOrigami Mandala by G A Rosenberg
 

intertwinedIntertwined by G A Rosenberg

Questioning

 

“At the end of the day, the questions we ask of ourselves determine the type of people that we will become.”
― Leo Babauta

 

How do I face my shadow self and help others face theirs?
How do I find the courage to become more each day?
How do I embrace the paradox of being without flinching or becoming positional?
How do I practice compassion even when its difficult?
How do I open my heart and surrender?
How do I motivate myself to prioritize these things when the world beckons me towards mediocrity?
How can I remember to keep questioning and to listen silently in stillness for the answers?
Blessings, G

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VoyageVoyage by G A Rosenberg

 

Rise of the New DayRise of the New Day by G A Rosenberg

Like Water

 

“Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is… The only problem in your life is your mind’s resistance to life as it unfolds. ”
― Dan Millman

 

When I first heard the concept that suffering is optional and that it shows resistance to life as it is, I immediately began to protest.
“Sure try telling that to people who are homeless and have nothing. Tell that to someone who is out of work and doesn’t know how to feed their families!”
Then I met people who’s lives seemed so much harder than my own and yet they had a joy that I don’t think I could match on my best days. I met people with death sentences from cancer hanging over their head who wanted nothing more than to tell jokes and misbehave. I learned that it was possible to hurt but not suffer.
It was then that I understood what Bruce Lee meant when he said “Be Like Water.”
Blessings, G

 

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Cloud WatchersVICloud Watchers VI by G A Rosenberg

 

Indigo GlassIndigo Glass by G A Rosenberg

All the Flavours of Life

 

“Everything in life is miraculous. It rests within the power of each of us to awaken from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness.”
― James Branch Cabell

 

Quite often, we find ourselves unable to see just how amazing life is. From time to time we all end up going through shit and it can get to feeling rough. Loved ones pass and relationships fail. We deal with ill-health and loss of jobs and it can feel pretty dark both inside and out. However if we could look at those dramas from an outside perspective, they can look quite different. I think of some of the rough things I’ve gone through and survived and there is beauty there. Painful beauty has taught me much. It has given me an appreciation for the good moments and has made them sweeter. They are the downside turn of a wheel that is exquisite in all the flavours of life. If all we had was pleasant then we would take the worst moments of that pleasantness and call it hell. If all we had was misery then the best moments of that would be joy. Life it seems grades on a curve.
If there is truth to the idea of reincarnation (which I tend to lean towards most days) then this perspective gains even more currency. It would follow that we would go for the full experience deal and want one of every life possible. If reincarnation is not true than for me either through books or through appreciation of the lives of others, it would be much the same. I would want to vicariously experience as much as possible as to gain the fullest experience possible. At times this has exposed me to some terrible pain both for myself and for others. I would rather experience all extremes, joy, pain and as much as possible in between then be limited to only my one existence. How can I understand others if I limit myself to even the happiest of lives?
Blessings, G

 

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Fated EncounterFated Encounter by G A Rosenberg

 

Violet Flame With SilverViolet Flame With Silver by G A Rosenberg

What We Deserve…

 

“We deserve all the good things that happen to us. Don’t feel guilty. Accept the blessings”
— Paulo Coelho

 

When I first read the above quote, I was struck by how many different levels there can be in a simple eloquent statement. On the one hand I asked myself, is he saying that we deserve and are deserving of whatever comes to us either good or bad? Does that mean that people who suffer deserve their suffering? It occurred to me that that is a stretch for Mr. Coelho does not talk about the bad things but the good.
I have know several people who were so convinced that all they deserved was hardship and pain that when their lives actually improved, they sabotaged them because they did not feel they deserved it. In many cases, the people who did this were kids which made it even rougher to experience along with them. If only they could see that the full experience of life was available to them, the joy and delight as well as the sorrow. Indeed this full gamut seems to come part and parcel with the spirit and the DNA. If only we could accept it.
Likewise, if we only see the good, then our experience is also limited. Many times it is through adversity that we receive our greatest gifts. We become able to see just how strong we are and we develop compassion for others in whatever difficulties that they are experiencing. Indeed, often the parts of our lives that seem the most difficult are the ones we look back and treasure.
I hope to maintain equilibrium and continue to know both joy and pain, compassion and appreciation.
Blessings, G

 

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Volcanic EveningVolcanic Evening by G A Rosenberg

 

Alternating CurrentsAlternating Currents by G A Rosenberg

All The Friends I’ll Never Meet

 

“In the long run there is no real way to stop someone from doing whatever it is they are going to do no matter how foolish, or destructive of self or the world around them. You can care but you cannot convince someone that they are not alone if they refuse to see you or your heart. Sometimes all you can do is show up as real and as compassionate as you can. Sometimes that is enough.”
— Randall Wolfe

 

It’s a strange thing having so many people whom I feel so close to yet in all probability will never meet face to face. With my friends on the net I have laughed and cried, shared confidences, argued with and have shared both joy and sorrow.Yet it occurs to me, with most of our interactions being somewhat removed there is no way to show sincerity or lack of it. I mean I am pretty conscious of where I am coming from at any given time and being authentic only becomes more important to me with the passing of time. Yet I have only my words and presence to speak for myself.
Perhaps that isn’t so different from life off line at that.
Blessings, G

 

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Her Knowing GlanceHer Knowing Glance by G A Rosenberg

 

Signal ReceivedSignal Received by G A Rosenberg

Going the ‘Wrong’ Way

 

“Many times the ‘wrong’ train took me to the right place”
— Paulo Coelho

 

From the age of seventeen until well into my thirties my life choices could easily be judged as off. I did everything from leaving high school and home for half a year and joining a religious cult to hitchhiking across country to coming out to exploring as many different head spaces and points of view as possible. Oh for most of it, I was employed gainfully tho even then they were either jobs that involved travelling from city to city or sales jobs that I was vastly unsuited for. I also had a few minimum wage jobs and a few stints where I read cards professionally. Those, my family would look somewhat askew at tho they dismissed it as me being a ‘free spirit’ (as opposed to one chained? I would often wonder.) Still all of this wandering and exploring has helped shape me in pretty great ways. I have had direct experiences of the universe. I have met fascinating people from all walks of life and am probably more accepting and less judging of the choices of others than most of the people I know. If not for all of the adventuring I never would have fallen in love, gotten married and been raising children. I would never have had the courage to create and sell art or the willingness to explore my life and my spirit in so many ways. I have been blessed by all of the wrong trains I have taken and would not have chosen any other way.
Blessings, G

 

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Lord of the WoodsHern, Lord of the Wood by G A Rosenberg

 

InterspatialInterspatial by G A Rosenberg

Tools For Change

 

“If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don’t bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.”
― Richard Buckminster Fuller

 

I would like a new pair of glasses. Ones that will make what now seems crucial and important seem trivial and trivial things vital. In this way I will learn that what we deem important is relative. Time tends to do this anyway. How many things that seemed urgent to you on a particular day and time five years ago affect your present life at all. These glasses tho would serve as instant time and lend a new perspective…
While we’re at new tools for thinking, how about foot ware that show what its truly like to walk in any given person’s shoes for an hour or two and truly show life from their perspective…How about a ring that would show what true love and commitment felt like so that it would never be confused with anything else?
What would it be like if we each lived our lives as if these tools were real?
Blessings, G

 

This is my 2000th post on Waking Spirals. Keeping this blog and sharing my art, poetry and observations with all of you has been truly rewarding. Thanks for the amazing feedback. Many Blessings indeed

 

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With Eyes Like Galaxies She whispers My NameWith Eyes Like Galaxies She Whispers My Name by G A Rosenberg

 

A Crystal that Will Reveal DreamsA Crystal that Will Reveal Dreams by G A Rosenberg

Healing the Wounds

 

“Children show scars like medals. Lovers use them as a secrets to reveal. A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh.”
― Leonard Cohen

 

His emotional wounds called to me. They were so sharp and so painful that I had to look for myself. He had never felt special enough to anyone and asked for a space in my heart. I felt that wound myself so I tried to give it to him. Then I realized that the reason I felt his wound was because I had the same one. I wanted to matter, to have weight for someone. If I mattered to but one person than I would feel more worth in myself.
Is a weight what I wanted to be to anyone tho? Something that would hold them or myself down. Far better to be a balloon, something that would lift the spirits and add buoyancy. I could only do that by healing that part that needed to matter to anyone including myself.
How do you heal a wound tho? The first step is to admit that it exists not so much as an object of aversion but as something to deal with. Then can come treatments of affirmations and healing but never denial. I catch myself with amusement when i see myself enter needy mode, not in a derisive way but in a way that acknowledges what I feel. I already ‘know’ all the whys of it. Why I needn’t feel that way and all the self-talk in the opposite direction yet I feel what I feel. Each time that is honoured but acknowledged for what it is, It becomes that much easier to do without.
One day I’ll have realized how long it has been since the last time I felt unworthy. The wound has healed leaving only the slightest of scars.
Blessings, G

 

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Freedom on a Stormy DayFinding Freedom a Stormy Evening by G A Rosenberg

 

Purple Feather MandalaPurple Feather Mandala by G A Rosenberg