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Latest Daily Words
What is mine to do?
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
Attributed to John Wesley, along with 6 or 7 other people. No one knows for sure and still a powerful commitment, rudder, and anchor in troubled times. What good can you do today?
Celebrating Love and Belonging
This weekend I celebrated getting back into my community after a 3-month sabbatical as well as my one year wedding anniversary. It was a weekend filled with the experience of love and belonging and reminded me that connection is critical to the health and well-being of my soul and my life. Sometimes I put my to-do list over my relationships and this week reminded me of the joy of having them in balance.
Where are you celebrating love and belonging in your life? Is your task-relationship balance where you want it to be? You are here to DO that which fulfills and contributes AND you are here to BE the love that you are. It’s like the song says “Be-Do-Be-Do-Be-Do-Be”! Celebrate everywhere that love shows up and all the ways and places you belong!
Breakdown before Breakthrough
The old saying “It’s darkest before the dawn” captures a profound truth about life. As we move toward our more fulfilling life and deeper spiritual awareness, there are moments along the way were things seem really dark in our heart, mind, or circumstances. Sometimes these moments are tipping points for our growth when we realize something simply can’t go on the way it is. At other times, things seem really hard because we are holding on to the very thing that we actually need to let go of – whether it’s a belief, a habit, a person, or a situation. Sometimes we get caught in our own resistance, so the juxtaposition between what we want and what is going on seems to be impossibly far apart. And finally, it can seem like everything is actually being taken away right as we are really working to claim something new.
Each one of these moments is a breakdown which comes before the breakthrough. This is the moment when the old – old habit, beliefs, ideas, activities, and ways we engage with life – no longer work because things are moving in a new direction, but we are still in the old model. If we don’t go willingly, the tension forces the breakdown. The old must die for the new to emerge.
When we realize that we are in a breakdown moment, we can take that as reassurance that we are absolutely on the way to our breakthrough. It doesn’t mean it isn’t working – it actually means that it is. This is true in our lives, in our relationships, and in the collective reality of our nation and world. Breakdown before breakthrough. Never lose hope.
Cosmic Awareness
You are the cosmos becoming self-aware. This is who you are. Why are you not always living in this awareness? Because you forget – you get seduced by physical reality and you accept the interpretation of reality provided to us by others. How do you remember?
Get still. Face your false beliefs about reality. Contemplate and accept the idea of who you really are. Practice embodying this truth by speaking and behaving as if it were true. Your experience will prove to you what your heart senses and your mind already knows – you are cosmic awareness already, right now!
Getting comfortable with Money
Money is one of the things we can be the most passionate and the most conflicted about. We can love money and obsess about it, hate money and avoid dealing with it, or ignore it and pretend it’s not important. Yet in today’s world, money is a necessary (although not the only) means to create the life you want to live. Like everything else, the most important thing is to examine your beliefs about money and your relationship to it, develop a healthy attitude and equanimity around it. Where does this start? By realizing that money is simply energy in a form we can carry around and use. And what is energy but Spirit (another name for God) in Form! So that means money is a way that we get to walk around with Love (another name for God) or Light (another name for God) or Creation (another name for God) in our pockets and wallets. Imagine that!
Today, every time you handle money, think about money, receive or pay out money, recognize its true nature. The more you do this, the more you realize that money is here to serve and support you in the creation of a meaningful and fulfilling life. So, let’s get comfortable with money and make the most of walking around with Life (another name for God) at our fingertips!
Routinitis
Are you missing passion, joy, and creativity in your life? it could be that you are suffering from Routinitis, like so many in the modern world. Routinitis is the dulling of joy, creativity, and passion in your individual life and is suffered by those who feel caught in a life of routine. Routinitis is accompanied by a sense of being flat and depressed or trapped and boxed in. But there is a cure!
The cure is to break out of the routines of your life, both externally and internally. You can break the habits of thinking that keep you chained to a life without Joy by imagining (not just wishing or hoping) the possibility that life is abundant and that you are not a victim of any outside circumstance. You can open your creativity by trying new things even if you are afraid. You can ignite your passion by rediscovering the things you truly love.
The biggest challenge with Routinitis is that it’s safe and convenient. Breaking out takes diligence, discipline, and dedication but YOU ARE WORTH IT! Take your life into your own hands! As you cure Routinitis watch the passion, joy and creativity blossom in so many unexpected ways.
The Nature of Reality
Love is the very impulse of Life Itself to express and experience through all creation, especially as you. You are Love made manifest and Love in Action. You are the Beloved of Life. Life has completely given Itself to you and lives in, through, and as You. This Love expresses and experiences Itself as You in an orderly process that allows you to co-create your life, using the powerful Universal Laws and principles of creation. You get to decide how to use these principles for your own benefit and how you will use the Universal Laws for the benefit of others and all of Life. You are important and necessary to the full expression of Life. The more you embrace the nature of reality and accept your place in it, the more creative you get to be, designing, expressing, and experiencing Life in Its joy and fullness. The Nature of Reality always includes YOU!
Labor of Love
Labor of Love!
My sabbatical completes this Labor Day weekend and then I’m back to work! It’s been an amazing experience to travel by myself, spend time with my family, start writing my book, and then have a joy-filled vacation with my beloved. And yes, while I was disciplined about staying off any type of digital communication, I did still manage to work for a week at the CSL Conference in Switzerland and for a weekend at the San Diego Campus of our ministerial training.
I am so grateful to be coming home and back to work refreshed, rejuvenated, and renewed. What a difference taking time away makes, both to rest but also to take the time to focus on a project I’ve long wanted to get started. As I look forward to returning to my regular life and the work that comes from my deep desire to share spiritual living and be of service, I am reminded that a balanced life, with time for myself, makes work a labor of love.
I am once again inspired by Kahlil Gibran’s insights into work when he writes in the “The Prophet”
…Always you have been told that work is a curse and labor a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfill a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labor you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labor is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret.
…You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness, you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is an urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.
And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit…
..Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distills a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.
I look forward, once again, to making my love for Life, for Truth, for possibility and for YOU visible through my work, teaching, speaking, writing, and sharing the profound message of the Science of Mind and spiritual living with everyone who is seeking a new idea or wants to go deeper into the practice.
I want to thank my beloved, Rev Karen Fry, our leadership and staff, and the community at CSLDallas for so wholeheartedly supporting me and CSLDallas while I’ve been on my journey. I continually seek to be a better model of spiritual living, so that as I am loving my life and my work as an expression of Spirit AS ME, you too will be inspired to do the same.
Wishing you each a joyous Labor Day weekend, as you celebrate your work, your contribution to the whole, and the rest you need to keep your work a labor of love. And my labor of love, the Daily Words, will start up again on Tuesday, September 4th.
with love
Dr. Petra
For the beauty of the earth or for convenience?
All over Europe towns and villages have 2-3 windmills along with solar tiles on many roofs, trash collection includes not only recycling but compost and no one considers going shopping without their own bags. Plastic, glass, and paper are recycled everywhere, from restaurants to train stations to parks. Take-out food arrives with biodegradable wooden utensils and even from food trucks, if you are eating nearby, they give you real cutlery and plates. They seem to care passionately about what’s in the food, water and spread on the fields for fertilizer. In Germany, there are even huge fines for cutting down a tree without an arborist declaring it is necessary and, unless you are allergic, for killing pollinators like bees, wasps, or butterflies.
Why aren’t we further along in the US on these things? Is it because they have so little land, they’ve learned how to care for it? I think that’s very likely. In addition, what I most notice is how no one complains about being inconvenienced by these things. I believe in the US we have come to value convenience over many more important things. It’s more convenient not to have to do the dishes, to simply throw all the garbage in the same bag, and let someone else bag up the shopping. It’s more convenient to throw on more fertilizer than learn to husband the land or buy bottled water than work toward making it clean. It often seems we prefer the convenience of having everything easy and ready-made to the work required to actually live compassionately, sustainably, and interdependently with each other and our beautiful earth.
Unfortunately, it is actually more convenient to drive our cars, one person at a time than to carpool, take public transportation or ride bikes because our vast road system, that furthers our car culture and dependence on fossil fuels, has made caring for our air and water inconvenient. Everyone relies on conveniently available workers, jobs, customers, and profit. Yet without a healthy earth where will the jobs, workers, customers and profit come from
I believe that in the US we have built a culture that seeks short-term results more often then we are willing to work toward long-term health and viability, We value convenience over the long-term sustainability of the earth. We value this year’s profit over an economy that recognizes our interdependence with each other. We value our own comfort over a lifestyle which assures that our great-grandchildren will inherit something beautiful and that they too may prosper.
You may already be doing all these things. Congratulations, good for you! You are part of the solution! I do know that this can still include me. I, too, can be seduced by the convenient. Each time I get to ask myself, what do I value? What is really important to me. And are my actions in alignment with those values? I like to think of it as voting with my time, attention, work, and money. What values are you voting for with your life?
Angels everywhere!
I have a mild form of Dyslexia which can really get me in trouble, especially when I’m relaxed and not completely on top of every detail. So, last week it happened again. I set off from Denmark by train on Thursday morning. Since I’d unexpectedly ended up in Copenhagen, I had to purchase a ticket that hooked me back up to my earlier train and seat reservation. No problem.
Two hours in line at the train station got me a ticket, but no seat reservation. The very helpful lady at the counter told me she could sell me the ticket I needed but not reserve me the seat I already had about 3 hours down the line. Apparently, seats can only be reserved internationally. Uh oh. As I looked at her wondering what to do, she very confidentially told me that if someone was sitting in that seat it was probably a Danish traveler and I should simply say I had that seat reserved and they would move. I looked at her and she looked at me and I realized she was basically telling me that it would be up to my clear intention and declaration. Well okay then, my angel had shown up and I knew what to do.
So, I got on the train and got my seat. Then someone approached me and said they had that seat reserved, and had for weeks. I replied, as I had been instructed, that I’d had it reserved for months. I showed him the reservation with carriage and seat number and stayed firmly planted. Done. 30 minutes later, not done. He came back, after talking to the conductor who hadn’t reached our car yet, and informed me that the conductor suggested there must be something wrong with a date somewhere. What?! I knew I was right where I was supposed to be. I told him “Today, July 20th is what I have on my ticket.” But turns out it was Thursday, the 19th, not Friday the 20th. I was on the train a day early! So, of course, I was the one who had to move. Thank goodness there were a few empty seats.
This is sometimes how my dyslexia shows up. Switching things like dates and numbers, and days and times, while having absolutely no idea that my brain has made a switch. I’ve switched arrival times with departures times and missed planes altogether. I’ve switched days and dates and missed major meetings, even presentations I’m supposed to make. I’ve arrived early, late, or on the completely wrong day more times than I care to say. So I’ve learned to pay an enormous amount of attention to the details.
So here I am, alone, in my worst nightmare. Having made a mistake on a detail, and with no idea where I would be dropped off nor where I would get a hotel in high season. Panic? Attack? Woe is me? Well, actually, no, I’ve long ago learned through my personal growth that panic only makes it worse. And getting angry only makes it worse. And getting frustrated with or berating myself, only makes it worse. Did I immediately flip to a positive belief that everything would be okay? Well, actually. no again. Sometimes the swing from almost panic to downright cheerful expectation is a bit too far. Sometimes, for me, I need to slip into neutral first.
So I did nothing but what my spiritual practices have taught me to do, simply begin by breathing. Then I looked for a place to stay in the little town where my two reservation connected, somewhere in the middle of Denmark. Nothing available, everything sold out within walking distance, hell within miles. I needed a bigger city so I searched in the first major city in Germany I’d come to, where I also had a train connection. All the hotels left were priced well over $200 a night, except one. And that one just happened to be 5 minutes from the train station. I got the last room in that hotel and I got it for 50% off, under $100. I felt my angel had appeared, so I moved from neutral to a small positive expectation as I reminded myself that things usually work out somehow.
Finally, the conductor came by to punch our tickets. If I’d been traveling by plane they would have caught my mistake at the gate, but since they check the tickets on the train, by now we were 3 hours into our journey and had already passed the station where my new reservation connected with the original one. As I gave her my ticket I told her I was the one with the wrong date on her ticket. That I was actually supposed to travel the next day and could only apologize and claim vacation brain. I also told her that I hadn’t been able to make a hotel reservation for the night any sooner than Hamburg. Then I waited and breathed. She took it all in, and let me stay on the train. However, she let me know that her counterpart, the German Conductor, who would get on the train when we crossed the border might require me to buy an additional ticket from there to Hamburg, but she would tell him what was going on. And she wouldn’t stamp my ticket so I could still use the rest of it tomorrow. An angel in disguise who finished collecting tickets with all my gratitude.
Now, I was able to move to the place of perfect trust. That I really am absolutely supported by the Universe, and that things do work out. As we rolled into Germany, the conductor came by, and while he asked for my seatmate’s ticket, he never even looked at me. Another angel, just when I needed one!
I arrived in Hamburg, drug my suitcase to my hotel, with a typically clean, modern room over a noisy street with lots and lots of people on it. I stopped at the front desk to inquire about food and a good German beer nearby. The gentleman behind the counter told me not to stay on our street but 3 street over, he circled it on the map, would be a lovely area to explore. Then he circled the shopping district and a famous landmark or two I might want to check out as well. So I went to that street and found myself right at home among the quaint cafes, the metaphysical stores, yoga studios, and meditation places. I found a lovely dark German microbrew at a bar with the rainbow flag in the window. Another angel! How he knew just what I needed to feel at home after such a day is one of those moments of magic I count on every day.
I spent a truly lovely 24 hours in Hamburg, exploring their arboretum-like area, which, like most parks in Europe, is free. I walked through the small Altstadt and the new shopping area and had a lovely lunch. All in all a delightful, unexpected, side trip. I caught the correct trains back to my cousin’s and they met me at the station.
I laughed as I told them the story of my adventures. How much better than to tell the story as an angry, frustrated victim of my own stupidity. How good it was to once again be reminded of how completely supported I am, by my beloved and by the Universe. And lest you forget, I tell you these stories so that you will remember that whatever is true for me, is true for you too! You are equally as supported. Don’t panic, Don’t get frustrated or angry. Don’t blame others or shame yourself. Slip into neutral, Do what is called for. Then expect angels to appear and for things to work out. They almost always do!
Finding a Rhythm
Sometimes it just takes time to find a rhythm that works in my life. This is one of the reasons why, when I travel, I love staying in one place for a week, or in this case three. I love feeling the rhythm of my neighborhood and the breath of the city. I love it that I know how to get the bus and a bike. I know where everything is in both grocery stores so I no longer go round and round looking for the balsamic vinegar. It makes me feel that although I’m exploring I’m also not a hurried tourist, passing through just to “see the sights.” Actually, I’m less interested in the sights than I am in how the locals live. I deliberately take myself off the beaten track wandering around to get a feel for the soul of the city. This one is laid back, open-hearted, diverse, loving all things yummy and nature and good. I’ve also never seen so many blondes or towheads in my whole life! I feel right at home!
I’ve also found a rhythm for my writing. After my first cup of coffee, I’m usually at my computer by 9 am. Then I write till I can’t write anymore – 30 – 45 minutes. Then I pace, play a game, read for 10 minutes or do the dishes, all the while thinking about what’s next. Then I sit down and write some more. I’m usually surprised to discover that in this rhythm I can easily write till 2 or 3 in the afternoon.
I’ve also decided just to write and not to worry about if it’s good or perfect or right. I know that I’ll need other people to read it, and then I’ll have to edit and edit again, Holding it this way creates another effortless rhythm and is very freeing. Just get it down on paper, don’t worry about whether its any good. So without the need to stay seated for hours on end or to get it perfect the first time, I am grateful that this rhythm has emerged. I am pleased that I’m not forcing or dreading, challenging or criticising my self or my process. I’m just letting the rhythm flow.
I think this is the dance we can do with life all the time. Set our goal and intention, that’s us leading, and then listen to how it wants to unfold, that’s Spirit leading. Where in your life are you dancing to your own, unique rhythm? And is there someplace in your life where you’re not? I support you in finding your rhythm, to dance lightly with Life, especially around your creativity and the things that are really important to you!
Happy People
Some words just can’t be translated. My cousin and I have not been able to find a good German translation for “rationalization” (my definition might be something like – applying to oneself or a situation something that is only partially true while ignoring that which is really much more true, in order to justify behavior).
I’ve always said there’s no English equivalent for either “spaziergang” (a walk that is taken for the enjoyment of friends and/or the surrounding environment, city, village or nature) or “gemütlichkeit” (the yummy state of coziness, comfortable intimacy, and friendly interaction in an environment that is conducive to this state). Well, that’s how I would translate these words. Now I know why. I’d heard that Denmark is one of the happiest countries in the world, so I looked into it and found this latest report. Denmark’s been in the top 3 for 7 years while the US is steadily slipping. Somehow it seems to be due to the fact that we have no word equivalent to gemütlichkeit. Here are some excerpts:
“The new World Happiness Report again ranks Denmark among the top three happiest of 155 countries surveyed – a distinction that the country has earned for seven consecutive years. The U.S., on the other hand, ranked 18th in this year’s World Happiness Report, a four-spot drop from last year’s report. Denmark’s place among the world’s happiest countries is consistent with many other national surveys of happiness (or, as psychologists call it, “subjective well-being”).
“Danes have a stable government, low levels of public corruption, and access to high-quality education and health care. The country does have the highest taxes in the world, but the vast majority of Danes happily pay: They believe higher taxes can create a better society. Perhaps most importantly, however, they value a cultural construct called “hygge” (pronounced hʊɡə). (It’s now a #hashtag and in the Oxford Dictionary)
“Hygge is sometimes translated as “cozy,” but a better definition of hygge is “intentional intimacy,” which can happen when you have safe, balanced and harmonious shared experiences. A cup of coffee with a friend in front of a fireplace might qualify, as could a summer picnic in the park.
“A family might have a hygge evening that entails board games and treats, or friends might get together for a casual dinner with dimmed lighting, good food and easygoing fun. Spaces can also be described as hyggelige (“Your new house is so hyggeligt”) and a common way of telling a host thank you after a dinner is to say that it was hyggeligt (meaning, we had a good time).
“Research on hygge has found that in Denmark, it’s integral to people’s sense of well-being. It acts as a buffer against stress, while also creating a space to build camaraderie. In a highly individualized country like Denmark, hygge can promote egalitarianism and strengthen trust.
“Nor is Denmark the only country that has a word for a concept similar to hygge – the Norwegians have koselig, the Swedes mysig, the Dutch gezenlligheid and the Germans gemütlichkeit.
“In the U.S. – which also places a high value on individualism – there’s no real cultural equivalent of hygge. Income is generally associated with happiness; yet even though the country’s GDP has been rising and its unemployment rates have been declining, levels of happiness in the U.S. have been steadily decreasing.” www.weforum.org
Time for us to start valuing gemutlichkeit and having more hygge in our lives! You in?
Wrestling with Demons
I’ve spent the last 24 hours wrestling with demons. Ok, Ok, I know there aren’t really demons, only false beliefs, insecurities, and fears, but they sure can keep me awake at night and pacing around the room during the day.
So here I am working on writing this, hopefully inspiring, book using stories from my own life to show how anyone can use spiritual principles to make their own lives better. Sometimes I start writing in the shower or while I’m doing the dishes, and everything seems a lot clearer, and a whole lot funnier, in my head. When I start putting it down on paper I think “OMG – it’s so serious and quite possibly really boring. Who wants to read this anyway?” I am literally face-to-face with my fear and insecurity. I do actually believe I have something to share, but can I say it in a way that is captivating and will it really inspire people to try it for themselves?
My demon shows up as all these seemingly rational reasons why this won’t work – “so why am I wasting my time on another book when there are already so many like this out there; everyone is watching videos today; who still reads anyway; there are a whole lot of people funnier and more engaging than I am, just look at how many more FB likes they get.” And I ask myself, “why in the world did you tell everyone you were going to do this? Now you’re committed. Before it was a nice idea, but now you’ve got to pull it off!” And then I look at all the craziness in the world and the significant issues we are facing and I think “what in the world am I writing about this for? We have so many bigger problems to work on than people being inspired to live happy, joyous, and free lives. Are you kidding me, the whole planet is at stake!” Pace, pace, toss and turn…
How does your demon of fear and insecurity show up? And do you listen to it? I can’t afford to listen to this voice in my head or I will stop writing. And then I’ll never know, will I, whether I had something to say, and whether or not it would inspire someone. So I confront my demon with Spiritual Truth – “comparison is the death of Joy.” I will not compare myself to others. I will not let my fear hold me back. I will not assume that everyone is always better than me. I will persevere! I will keep acting on this inner impulse I’ve had for years. I will do my very best, every day.
Whether you are thinking about starting a business, writing your own book or creative project, having a family, moving, or whatever it is that is the inner impulse that won’t let you go….go for it. Otherwise, you’ll never know, will you? And what’s the worst that can happen? Nothing. That’s right, absolutely nothing. “You’ll just get to keep talking about it until you and everyone else is tired of hearing about it. And then you will have to put your dream on the self of things that might have been, but you were too scared to know. I believe that worse than failure is never actually trying. If you try, then no matter what happens, at least you’ll know you went for it, and you didn’t play it safe or give in to your fears.” That’s what I say to my demon and that shuts her up, at least until we have to wrestle again.
We may have to say these kinds of things to ourselves many times along the way, but because we understand how the Universe works, we know that we are rewiring the fear-based grooves in the brain to a positive expectation of a creative outcome. We know that as we follow our intuition we are listening to Spirit’s impulse that is individualizing and expressing Itself as you and me. And I know that no matter what the outcome, success or failure are only human conditions. The spiritual truth is that I know who I AM. And I know who you are, too! Write On!
Lessons from cycling in Denmark
My favorite transportation in Copenhagen one of the bikes I can rent all over town. I’d say the traffic here is split pretty 50/50 between cars and bikes. Any area built after the invention of the automobile has 2 lanes for car traffic, flanked on either side with a bike lane going the same direction, and then on either side of that, there’s a large sidewalk. The older sections all of have marked bike lanes or bike pathways. And everywhere there is a traffic light, there’s a separate light for the bike lane, and sometimes for the walkers as well. The only other city I’ve seen with more bikes, and that’s more bike-friendly, is Amsterdam.
What’s so amazing is how unfailing polite the people here are, and how completely they follow the traffic rules. I’ve relearned all the hand signals for turning and stopping. I’ve noticed that people simply don’t ride their bike in the crosswalks or on any pedestrian street. They simply hop off their bike if they need to and then hop back on again without hesitation or seeming to begrudge it for an instant. Pedestrians cross at the crosswalks and everyone obeys the traffic signals.
Now, I’m clearly a tourist. I’m riding a rented bike, pretty slowly, and gawking all around. I often have to make a left-hand turn from a right-hand bike lane and I had to walk my way around the intersection till I watched and learned the polite way to cross and merge into the other bike lane. Lots of people, young and old, men and women, ride way faster than me. An occasional tinkle of a bell lets me know they are coming up behind me. But no one has every raced past me in a way that was startling or scary, no one has continuously klingled in some rude way, shouted words at me, or even seemed to mutter under their breath while they had to wait to pass me. When we come to a stoplight there’s no jocking for position or trying to squeeze to the head of the line.
Oh, and let’s talk about the drivers. Clearly, the order of who gets to go first is – pedestrians, then bikes, then cars. And no one seems to be in a hurry. I’ve heard a few horns in downtown but always a short “Hey, I’m here, please see me” rather than the long or loud “get out of my way you stupid idiot” kind of honking.
How different this is from home. How different this is from our road rage and everyone zipping around always trying to get ahead of everyone else. What does it say about our cultures and the way we engage in our lives I wonder? Not only are the riders and drivers unfailingly polite, but the people are friendly and helpful. Everyone I’ve asked for help or directions has gone out of their way and assured me it was “no problem!” I’ve had a stranger let me use his phone to make sure I could get into my place and another let me tether my phone to his because I desperately needed the internet to return my bike. And when we discovered we needed to walk a block to where my bike belonged, once again, it was ‘no problem!” People have spontaneously helped on the trains and with the coins which I’m having trouble reading, and even the locksmith who had to fix my door wanted to do more than necessary because it was simply “no problem.”
How often to we feel put-upon or interfered with? How often do we feel like we don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to go that little extra bit to make someone’s day? Sometimes I feel rushed and too stressed, and sometimes simply too self-absorbed, to see what someone else might need. What does this say about our cultures I wonder?
It’s a bit annoying, but I’ve also noticed that most stores are closed by 5 or 6 pm 3-4 days a week, only the restaurants are open late into the evening. When you ride the streets after 7 they are pretty empty except in the more touristy sections. Everyone seems to have decided to go home to their families and their non-work lives. As I was walking through the park yesterday, there were at least 50 people on a little round amphitheater type stage, all there to learn a Danish folklore dance, kind of like an old-fashioned square dance. And there were probably another 50 sitting around watching. All just for fun and something to do on a summer Sunday evening.
So here’s the question – what does the way you drive say about you and how you are engaged in your life? That’s the question I’ll be asking myself when I get back to the States, but you can start asking it now. Let me know what you discover!
A Prayer on Freedom
My prayer for you and for all humanity –
May you and all beings experience
Freedom from fear – Freedom to express
Freedom from want – Freedom to prosper
Freedom from indifference – Freedom to care
Freedom from loneliness – Freedom to connect
Freedom from bondage – Freedom to expand
Freedom from despair – Freedom to hope
May you experience true freedom in your life today and every day! Happy 4th of July!