Zoning Out

 

“Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.”
― Shannon L. Alder

 

Just for a minute, I’d like you to imagine something. Nothing you say or do ultimately matters. Imagine it doesn’t matter to you or anyone else. Now this might seem depressing for a moment where it may feel pretty dark but then somewhere in the murk of futility a light may shine. If nothing we do ultimately matters, then we are truly free to do or try anything. If it doesn’t matter whether or not I sing out in public, I can burst out into song or try Karaoke. I can go mountain climbing or take that risk because win or lose it doesn’t matter.
This freedom that comes from releasing the matter of our lives is incredible. So much of our safety zone is designed around our beliefs of what other people think or need or want or expect from us or what we expect from ourselves. If we drop those preconceptions then the risk factor goes down. We can try new things that we never would have tried and find possible success doing them. Ultimately we may find ourselves having lots of fun in the process. Fun, joy and delight in our lives to me are a few of the things that ultimately matter most.
Blessings, G

 

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Time Melting in a Fractured LandscapeTime Melting in a Fractured Landscape by G A Rosenberg

 

Mind Field 11Mind Field #11 by G A Rosenberg

 

Balance of Joy and Sorrow

 

“Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.”
― Kahlil Gibran

 

Perhaps the perfect time to talk about sadness is when I’m not feeling particularly sad yet feeling attuned to the sadness of others. There does seem to be more than enough to go around. Yet joy and sorrow do have one of those weird conservation of energy relationships. They can’t be created or destroyed but they can be converted one to the other. I do know that the people I have met who feel sorrow the deepest are the ones who seem to have the greatest capacity for joy and vice versa. Yet when feeling joy, how much is sorrow in our minds and when feeling deep sorrow, that 2 Am grey ashes in the soul feeling, joy feels out of the question, something almost unattainable.Oddly enough about the only way to heal another’s sorrow seems to be a willingness to listen and shoulder some of it if only as a witness. By drawing off some of the sorrow, then perhaps joy can slowly reawaken.
Blessings, G

 

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Eyes of the StormEyes of the Storm by G A Rosenberg

 

Hounding My DreamsHounding My Dreams by G A Rosenberg

 

Shared

 

Shared joy is increased,Shared pain lessened and thus we refute the law of entropy.”
–Spider Robinson

 

There are very few things better than sharing a good time with people whom we care about. We rack up memories of golden moments, of laughs and pure enjoyment of a day. We remember most the sunrises, sunsets and walks under the stars that we have shared with others and few things can be as wonderful as pure laughter of a joke shared. The joy of the moment is more than doubled.
Likewise when we are hurting, little helps more than being able to unburden ourselves on those we love. We can cry and cop to the things that we did wrong in the situation and ways we have hurt others and the pain that we allowed them to give us and find release where in solitude the pressure would just build up until we surrendered to it. It is important to have friends with whom we can do this and not fear the response, knowing that we will find understanding and solace and possibly a kick in the ass when we wallow in it. It helps also to know that we can be there for other people when they are hurting and be that sounding board they need, helping them find solution and absolution.
I have been lucky in my life to have people with whom I can share both joy and pain. They have taught me the true meaning of friendship and caring. I hope that I will have the chance to share this lesson with many others.
Blessings, G

 

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A Space in my HeadA Space in My Head by G A Rosenberg

 

Gaze DeeplyGaze Deeply by G A Rosenberg

 

En-Vision Art

 

Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film. Your bright eyes and easy smile is your museum.”
― Ansel Adams

 

What images in your day have made your heart sing? What have you looked at that has brought a smile to your eyes? What today for the briefest moment lit your world and made the day just that much better? If we try every day for that one moment, that one snapshot of joy our lives become qualitatively better? Perhaps it is something in the sky, there are always fascinating things to see there. Perhaps it is a never before seen flower? The face of a loved one, the smile of a child, dogs and cats and other pets acting goofy tends to be snapshots I continuously add to my daily roll. When I see an act of kindness such as someone doing something unexpectedly wonderful for a stranger in need or people being helpful when they don’t need to be that tends to be a picture I take and cherish.
Blessings, G

 

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Cavern of Ice and Strange FireCavern of Ice and Strange Fire by G A Rosenberg

 

Reach the Centre and OutReach the Centre and Out by G A Rosenberg

 

AgaresAgares by G A Rosenberg

 

Bearing Witness to the Joy of Another

 

“Suddenly summoned to witness something great and horrendous, we keep fighting not to reduce it to our own smallness.”
― John Updike

 

A few weeks back I wrote a bit on bearing witness to the pain of another and how we need to let our loved ones feel their pain at times without trying to fix it. I realized tonight that that is only the half of it.A friend of mine was telling me about the insights he had while on a pilgrimage. He was excited and transformed and I found myself wanting both to ask him questions and perhaps bring him down to earth somewhat. I held back from doing this and let him communicate what he would. Part of me figured that there would be time enough for questions at a later point and part of me was coming to a realization. If we need to experience our own pain and breakage without someone providing a buffer for us don’t we also need to be able to experience joy and healing without interfering. I don’t mean by this that we shouldn’t feel joy when our loved ones are happy, of course we should. I simply mean that the last thing needed at the point of healing or realization or joy is well-intentioned unsolicited advice. It is possible to be present with someone and bear witness to both their joy and sorrow without needing to steer it or help it along. By being present, we can perhaps connect to something within ourselves.
Quite often seeing someone experiencing the extremes of emotion can be frightening. Perhaps we can relate to the times that we have felt intense feelings and fear that loss of control and what it may bring. It is those very extremes that can often give us the most insight into ourselves and the universe and to deny that to ourselves and others is to rob them of this. At times it is better to be a silent wingman than the driver of the car. It is definitely more appreciated.
Blessings, G

 

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Archway to a Strange LandArchway to a Strange Land by G A Rosenberg

 

Fiery GoodbyeFiery Goodbye by G A Rosenberg

 

Amazing

 

““If you aren’t amazed most of the time you aren’t paying attention.”
Michael Lipsey

 

I sat in the woods meditating on the trees. The sun would go behind the clouds and the light would change causing effects that were magical. Later I walked on the beach, watched families walking together. Birds were flying overhead and the waves were coming into shore. I try to spend as much time as I can finding things to be amazed at. I love watching little kids walking with their parents. I love to watch the interplay with animals on their daily walk. Watching one person show another kindness brings me joy. Watching another person doing something for the first time, something they never thought they could inspires me. It’s not difficult to let go and be amazed. It means simply that at any given moment we have to be willing to give up some of our jadedness and see something that we’ve learned to take for granted as something wonderful and new. It’s amazing how much of the mental weight that most of us carry around with us becomes lifted by finding amazement in our daily lives.
Blessings, G

 

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Entering the ChambreEntering the Chamber by G A Rosenberg

 

Painted PlantPainted Leaves by G A Rosenberg

 

A Curious Paradox

 

“Wake up! If you knew for certain you had a terminal illness–if you had little time left to live–you would waste precious little of it! Well, I’m telling you…you do have a terminal illness: It’s called birth. You don’t have more than a few years left. No one does! So be happy now, without reason–or you will never be at all.”
― Dan Millman

 

It seems to me a curious paradox. On one side the I that is me is currently living the one life that I have to live. I should live each day as if it were my last one and take death as my advisor. On the other side there is a part of me that is timeless, It is beyond ego and nothing this identified self does or will do in its perceived brief time matters as much as the action itself, one more character that this eternal self plays. From one perspective everything matters because each moment is precious. From the other, its all part of a much bigger picture. Actions now may have ripples later on but then events then may affect this one. Few people tho can be in this world and may maintain an eternal perspective without at least living their temporal life at least a little.
Being happy feels better than the alternatives. The chemicals happiness releases into the bloodstream a lot more pleasant.
Blessings, G

 

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Extraterestrial on A Lonely PlanetExtraterrestrial on a Lonely Planet by G A Rosenberg

https://www.facebook.com/thebestoftumblr2/photos/a.195792080581860.1073741828.195763197251415/277963922364675/?type=1&theater

 

RadienceRadiance by G A Rosenberg

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

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

Happy in the Now

 

“Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.”
― Walt Whitman

 

If happiness is a choice
why do we choose it so seldom?
Do we feel unworthy
to take our fill of joy
our measure of infinite bliss?
Has our pain been
such a constant friend
that even as it stabs us
it feels so good?
Perhaps its the drama
we fear if we’re too happy
it will grow repetitive
forgetting that joy
finds ways to renew
and the new and delightful
in the ordinary
I choose happiness
or I have let it choose me
I looked in your eyes and surrendered.
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

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Point of ConvergencePoint of Convergence by G A Rosenberg

 

Wolves in My CornersWolf in My Corners by G A Rosenberg