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| Simple Blessings AS SEVERAL OTHER INMATES and I meet on this barren prison yard, we often greet each other with this question: "Are you feeling the blessings of another day in paradise?" Of course, we're joking about the "paradise" part, but there is an element of truth here, too. After countless pursuits to find peace within or become something special, we discover that where we are is where it can be found.
Great questioning, unexpected suffering, original innocence
- Our discovery of the blessings of life calls for transitioning from one state to another, from one circumstance to another. These changes ask our hearts to be present and to trust at deeper and deeper levels. Honoring the truth of this allows our experience of darkness to be part of the greater whole. The simplicity of recognizing blessings reminds us to find the relatedness, the value, even the beauty, in simple and ordinary things. It reminds us also not to externally demand a cosmic drama, an entertainment, or an extraordinary intensity to everything. We can discover the sacred in the midst of the humble and ordinary happenings. The divine can shine through even in acts of ignorance and fear, inviting us to wonder at the mystery of all that is. The Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart, suggests that if the only prayer in our lifetime is "thank you," that would suffice. Yes, and why not say it every day? Let's put a song of praise on our lips in the early morning hours... praise for the breath that fills our lungs and for our miraculous bodies... praise for loved ones and our circle of friends... praise for the bountiful little blessings which arrive in our lives unheralded.
The Long Journey IN MANY WAYS, the longest journey we will ever have to take is from the head to the heart. Our head (mental level) always wants to be right, always wants to justify, to judge someone or something. Our heart, however, has no need to be right or to justify. The heart simply wants to love and understand. Recently, a television documentary told the story of a daughter who was able to answer a letter from one of the men who murdered her father and later to meet with him. This compassionate act raises the question, "How do we reconcile our grief with the offender's inherent worth and dignity? By quieting our minds and going deep within our hearts, we are able to allow both truths to coexist in the spaciousness of a bigger mind and heart. Our grief becomes just grief. The stretched heart hurts but can hold it all. We learn to see the uniqueness of every person and situation and the interconnectedness that binds each of us to everything. If I have learned anything in relating to my fellow inmates here in prison, it is that each one must be treated with meticulous individuality. The more we classify people and warehouse them into groups - "prisoners," "mentally ill," "condemned" - the less we can see who they are and be of help. If we will refuse to label others, to stereotype, categorize and prejudge, we will see the oak tree in the acorn. We will understand the process of helping the oak to become a great oak.
This journey from head to heart is the one true path. Without heart, without increasing love and compassion for oneself and for others, all the rest is an empty form. Our inner core is love. Like the sun, it can be hidden by dark clouds of fear and negativity and limiting beliefs. But it is never put out. And like the sun, our hearts know only how to radiate the golden warmth of love. © 2001-08, Tom Brown
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| ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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| The underlying philosophy of Planetlightworker.com is to provide a space for many different flavors of the truth. The views and opinions expressed by the authors of our articles and/or interview subjects are not necessarily those of the editors, management and staff of New Earth Publications. New Earth Publications does not endorse any individual product or concept, but rather, offers this information for your individual discernment. We are happy to receive your opinions and feedback and actively encourage you to send us your views for publication in future issues. Copyright: New Earth Publications, 1999-2007. This © also includes all art, photography and animations (unless otherwise stated). Please contact us if you wish to use PLW imagery. |
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any of these require us to open beyond our daily routine. Every
day brings its own call back to a remembrance of our blessings; some
calls are small, some are large, some surprising, some ordinary.
Charles "Tom"
Brown
was a successful investor who did very well in real estate, oil, and
the stock market. Friends began asking him to invest for them, too.
And he did. Things went well, and more people heard about his abilities
and wanted to be included in the investment strategies he had devised.
All went well until there was a dramatic change in the market. All
that went up turned down, and Tom wanted everyone to still have a
profit - his big mistake - as he wanted to be well thought of. Tom
was accused of defrauding investors. Although it was shown that he
had never diverted any money for himself other than a modest commission,
through unbelievable mishandling by an incompetent or dishonest attorney,
what should have been a one-year sentence became a 17-year sentence. At
the time of judgment, Tom was 62 years of age.