carnal knowledge

There are experiences that give me deep sensual delight that have nothing to do with sex - a masterfully grilled cheesesteak with the perfect amount of drip, a beautiful slab of lusciously marbeled medium rare prime rib with gloriously seared char, a toasted everything bagel with a double smear of Philadelphia Cream Cheese.  

 

 Earthy joys that fill my very being with a sense of ahhhhhh.   

But those delights, although immediate & profound, are shallow & should be seriously outweighed by FACTS. 

Hey, I taught biology & know our teeth are made for piercing & pulverizing fruits  & veggies, that we were created lactose intolerant, that modern dairy products are laden with gunk that does additional harm to our bodies.  

More to the pesky point, I believe it's wrong on so many levels for a flesh & blood creature to eat another flesh & blood creature.  Cut down grain, pick a tomato or peppers or onions - they grow back.  A dead animal is dead forever.  

Lately, my eating has been more carnal than ethical.  The senses of the body are alluring compared to the practical knowledge of the mind & the principles of the spirit.  

Here's the thing I need to keep in front of me - we are born to be FABULOUS.  When I live according to my - MY - highest, best beliefs, I feel emotionally & physically & spiritually splendid.  

Yes, I love those foods, but am blessed to groove out on vegetarian & vegan dishes just as much.  

Blow past grumbling to myself, "Oh my gosh, I so totally blew it!"  Instead, think, "That pesky Food Gremlin really got his way that time."   Then quietly, without fanfare, show him by subsequent, unlabored, wise choice actions let him know whose in charge.  No beating up, just doing better.  

And offer up thanks to be FINALLY moving past "wanting to want."  

Hey, old habits die hard.  My taste buds DO love the textures & flavors of those oh-so-bad-for-me on oh-so-many-levels foods.  

I know what I want - do it.  When I don't, no chastising & flogging myself.  Hear Cherry's voice in my head & let it super charge my heart & will ~ "Get over yourself & truly BE yourself." 
 
Keep it simple - do what the most real me wants, not the most immediate.  

Get out of its way & spiritual awareness can trump carnal knowledge any day of the week & twice on Sunday!

Bet she was a vegetarian on Earth!

like magic

This morning, doing an online search for material to help me get past the distractions in my life, it hit me that the whole thing was futile - distractions are illusion.  

In reality, life is so simple as to be almost unimaginable to the limited human mind.  

There is what we consider truly important & there are the actions to be taken to secure it.  

Know what we truly want, what we are willing to focus our energies & actions on, what to do to make it so.  Attend to that & illusions disappear, like magic!

CHOCOLAT - small group project?

 

Just finished up an older2elder blog post about watching CHOCOLAT with a dozen+ oldsters & ancients at a local senior community.  

My thanks to DAVID BRAZZEAL for suggesting taking my own experience up a notch.  He recommends:

• Rent the movie CHOCOLAT.
• Watch it again. (With good friends would be even better!)
• Write down your own thoughts/observations.
• And (this is the important part) – Try the experiment of living like Vianne (Juliette Binoche’s character) – forgive, care, unite, embrace, enjoy, inspire, include, listen, laugh, love…maybe even give away some chocolate.
• Notice what happens within yourself and the people around you. See if it spreads. This is NOT just the magic of movies….it is the magic of life.

Imagining what an interesting, enriching small group discussion/activity this could be.  The film is rich for delving & ripe for helping encourage spiritual change of the best sort!

On my honour...

 

Scout Oath   On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country & to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Scout Law   A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. 

 

This week, a young friend joined the Scouts, took his oath & pledged to live by the Scout Law.  Okay, so technically his oath* was a todd  tad different, since he's on the other side of the world, outside Sydney, but the basics are still the same - do your best.

 

This past week, I took my own version of the Scout oath, inspired by a quote from Helen Keller - When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is being wrought in our life, or in the life of another.

 

Zach - thanks for reinforcing how well we'd all be served if we lived by the Scout Oath!  Congratulations & blessings on you & your parents.  

* On my honour
I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to my God and
To the Queen of Australia,
To help other people, and
To live by the Scout Law
 
~ or ~

On my honour
I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to my God, and
To Australia
To help other people, and
To the live by the Scout Law

Power of DOING OUR BEST

When we do the best we can,

we never know what miracle is

wrought in our life, or in the life

of another.

  

Helen Keller 

Time & again, that message comes home to me, especially when well-meaning friends entreat me to go back to the business world, to return to hefty, steady pay checks.  Happy to say, am never tempted.  Everything around & within me tells me that my contribution to improving our culture's current abysmal attitude about aging might be small, perhaps no more than James Baldwin's famous millimeter, but that by doing the best I can, other miracles can be wrought.

 

That is entire WHY behind the crowdfund request I'm submitting this month.  I believe in the importance of my calling, that I am the only one who can answer it directly, but only through the belief of others in the value of what I offer.  

Skeptical friends doubt that I'll raise the funding needed to do all I want to accomplish in 2015.  They don't get it.  Just writing the request will be reward.  There is NOTHING more powerful than letting the Universe know what you truly want, especially if that happens to be doing your BEST.  

It might turn out that I might not get to more than next month's Leading to Well-Being Conference, might not get a back-up car for when the Grannie Mobile is out of commission, might not get out to Iowa to interview a remarkable "best practices" couple.  But forming those intentions in my mind & setting them in my heart - knowing what I believe will be the best use of my time & energies over the coming months - can only bring great good.

 

There is remarkable power in doing our best.  I was reminded of that yesterday, hearing tributes to a remarkable man who was a pleasant acquaintance & unforgettable role model.  What set Gerald Hurst apart from most of us is that he always brought his best game to whatever he did. To Gerry, there was no small or large, only what was in front of him that beckoned attention.  He brought his best & brought it out in everyone around him.

There is great power in doing our best.  In showing up.  In knowing what we want & giving it our best efforts.  Always.  In all ways.