Facing It

 

“Facing it, always facing it, that’s the way to get through. Face it.”
― Joseph Conrad

 

Facing my own ignorance rather than arguing for it.
Facing my own lack of discipline rather than justifying it.
Facing my odd turns of thoughts and accepting them
Facing the things I don’t want to face.
Facing the injustices in front of me rather than decrying those in the world.
Facing my own inaction.
Facing my own joy in hopeless situations
Facing my partner with honesty and an open heart.
Facing my son through good and bad
Facing the sunset.
Facing the young children at play.
Facing the random acts of kindness performed by strangers.
Facing the joy in an old woman’s face watching her grandchildren
Facing lovers walking arm in arm
Facing the animals at play
Facing that their are good things in this world.
Sometimes it is as difficult to face the good as it is the bad. The difference between the two is not a constant but a variable and where the line falls can vary according to both the perceiver and the context in which they are perceived.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Within the PatternWithin the Pattern by G A Rosenberg

 

EncroachmentEncroachment by G A Rosenberg

A Conversation With My Future Self

 

“Be silent and listen: have you recognized your madness and do you admit it? Have you noticed that all your foundations are completely mired in madness? Do you not want to recognize your madness and welcome it in a friendly manner? You wanted to accept everything. So accept madness too. Let the light of your madness shine, and it will suddenly dawn on you. Madness is not to be despised and not to be feared, but instead you should give it life…If you want to find paths, you should also not spurn madness, since it makes up such a great part of your nature…Be glad that you can recognize it, for you will thus avoid becoming its victim. Madness is a special form of the spirit and clings to all teachings and philosophies, but even more to daily life, since life itself is full of craziness and at bottom utterly illogical. Man strives toward reason only so that he can make rules for himself. Life itself has no rules. That is its mystery and its unknown law. What you call knowledge is an attempt to impose something comprehensible on life.”
~ C.G. Jung

 

Lately I have been attending a webinar life coaching series. One of the exercises in it is a guided meditation to talk to my future self. In it I evoke that best possible self and engage in conversation with him. I imagine it would be something like this.
I start out walking on the beach in Tofino, BC. Tofino has always been a magical spiritual place for me tho I have not known many beaches that aren’t. There the land, sea and air meet beautifully and there is a sense of peace. Especially at night. In this walk, I pass by a campfire and there is someone sitting there watching the flames. I know this man somehow tho we haven’t met. I can tell he is older than me but there is a joy and peace in his eyes that somehow make him look younger.
“Are you going to sit down or what. I’ve been waiting for you and we don’t have a lot of time.”
I look at him again and of course I catch on pretty quickly. Between the science fiction I’ve read and the spirit visions I’ve known both my own and that of others. Besides the face may be slightly different but it is close enough to the one I see reflected in the mirror.
“What year are you from?”
“Oh not too far ahead but enough that when you called I came to help.”
“How has it been going?”
“For us and those around us not too bad. Believe it or not, we’re still here and things have gotten better. I can’t say how. Spoilers you know.” We both grin at the Dr Who quote.
“How are Zev and Aaron?”
“They’re both doing great. Oh Zev still knows how to push our buttons yet the communication improves quickly from the point you’re at now. We do a lot of laughing. Aaron is doing great. He has actually learned how to take and enjoy down time and we’ve done a lot of travelling. We’ve come a long way together in many ways. Like you always tell people, ‘shovel the shit out of the communication room and good things will happen.’The rest… Well let’s save some mystery.”
“Well what can you tell me? Do we manage to focus on art? Was the tarot book published? How about web design? What have you learned?”
“Well which deck and book are you working on now? Oh yes, still the first one… well that one goes over well tho didn’t set the world on fire. Still people said your poetry made the cards clearer for them…We do work on the more complex one that you are so worried about. Listen you’re on the right path. Yes we meander but we always end up exactly where we need to be. Our combination of dumb luck and internal guidance still stands. I do recommend more time spent meditating. The time I’ve spent paid off well on helping me focus. Play to our strengths and you’ll be fine. You have an amazing ability to communicate in various ways and you can and will help many. Believe it or not, you’ll second guess yourself a lot less as time goes on. Remember there are no mistakes. Just lessons we give ourselves on the way”
“Wow all the things I tell other people.”
“Yes, don’t you think its time you listened to yourself…”
“Obviously.” We both laughed. I liked the confidence I saw in this older me. I also liked it that he had kept himself in shape. He was at least 20 lbs lighter than I am and was well toned. The fire started burning down.
“It’s time for me to leave.”
“Wait I still have questions.”
“Do what you do now. Keep the question in mind and then go get busy doing something else. Take the dogs for a walk. Do dishes. Listen to music or meditate. You’ll get the answers the way you always do.” He started to fade into shadows.
“Any last words?”
“Take Neil Gaiman’s advice, trust yourself and trust your story. You’ve already done more than you realize. It’s not going to be all joy and laughter but you already know that. Keep your sense of humour, try to do something productive, crossing a few things off your list each day and you’ll be fine. Goodbye, I love you.” He was gone.
I sat by the remains of the fire, lost in thought and smiled.

 

Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Another Land Another TimeAnother Land, Another Time by G A Rosenberg

 

Dark FountainDark Fountain by G A Rosenberg

In Love With Your Life…

“Be in love with your life, every detail of it.”
― Jack Kerouac

 

How do you love the parts of your life that seem hard or that you fight or that you wish never were?  When I was growing up my older sister used to complain about the shape of her face. My mother would advise her part by joke and part by rote. “I love my nose. I can’t change it so I will love it and accept it. I love my chin.” She shared this with me years later and while at first I laughed at the cheesiness, it made me think. What if I took it beyond the physical?  “I love my frustration. I love my irritability.” When something bothered me about my life that I felt I couldn’t adequately address I started telling myself how much I loved it. It was amazing how empowering surrender could be. By being aware of these negative emotions or circumstances not in a confrontational way but in a loving way I found myself becoming less frustrated and less easily irritated. That’s not to say these traits have left me completely but at least they are loved rather than used as a means to kick myself.

Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized
Rainbows at nightRainbows at night by G A Rosenberg

 

TransformationTransformation by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – September 16 2011

“I am content to follow to its source
Every event in action or in thought,
Measure the lot; forgive myself the lot!
When such as I cast out remorse
So great a sweetness flows into my breast
We must laugh and we must sing,
We are blest by everything,
Everything we look upon is blessed.”
–William Butler Yeates

I cannot find the right words
or feelings
so I will feel what I feel
until I no longer need to
I will say what I say
for expression is better than unexpressed festering
I will know what I know
until other knowledge supplants it
In the battle with my inner being
I surrender
for only then can I go on
–G A Rosenberg

 

Click on images to see full-size

Infinite Colour by G A Rosenberg

Colour Play Dark by G A Rosenberg