Weekly Ponderings (9 May – 15 May)

These ponderings originally appeared one per day via MailChimp.
This weekly version keeps them in one place for people who missed the daily postings.
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Green Bananas
I was talking to my father the other day about a family celebration we are planning for late September.
He commented that it was a long way off.
I responded that it was already May (and I couldn’t believe the time had gone so quickly!)
He looked me straight in the eye (we were on Skype) and said, “Around here [the retirement community in which he now lives] the wisdom is, We don’t even buy green bananas any more.”reminded me (with humor and honesty) that we all walk a line between enough attentiveness to our mortality that we can live life deeply and appreciatively, and enough non-attentiveness that we aren’t paralyzed by Death — who is our constant companion and teacher.

Uncommon-wealth
We would not hand a stranger or, even, a colleague our ATM card and password, giving them the means to drain our bank account.
We would not wander down the street handing copies of our house key to passers-by, allowing them the freedom to empty our home.
So why do we allow others to claim, waste, or usurp our time –
a priceless resource infinitely more precious than our money or our material possessions?
Shouldn’t we guard our date book at least as carefully as our credit cards so that we lavish our time (and energy and passion) on those events that tilt the universe toward what we say we value most: equity and justice, mercy and love, peace and the common good?

Taking Time
And speaking of time:
The world used to have the luxury of meandering into mistakes at a pace that allowed even the most oblivious among us to (eventually) recognize on-coming danger.
The speed of modern life can catapult us into disaster between one eye blink and the next.
My guess is that if we want to have a world to pass on to the seventh generation, we are going to need to slow down. In fact, slow down to a complete stop more than just once or twice a decade.
How about starting today?
I suggest we stop and breathe. Stop and think. Stop and wonder. Stop and ask some pointed questions. Today.

The Placebo Effect
Repeated studies have shown that the placebo effect is real – whether that pertains to medical cures or golfing. Yesterday, for instance, NPR ran a small piece on the effect of brand name putters on golf scores. Turns out, if you think you are using a top-of-the-line Nike, you do better than if you think you are using a generic putter from Sports Authority.
Here’s a thought:
What if we had a placebo that cured us of a scarcity mentality?
What if we could all be convinced that we can actually be twice as generous as we currently are without going hungry sometime in the apocryphal future?
What if we had a placebo that alleviated our fear that life is a zero-sum game?
What if we no longer worried that there isn’t enough to go around…and were willing to pour out love and compassion and welcome and kindness as if those were limitless?
It’s just a thought…
…but then ‘just a thought’ is what makes placebos work.

Security
Sometimes, I confess, I confuse common sense and being proactive with magic.
I assume that if I wear my seatbelt in the car, my life jacket in a boat, my boots in the rain, my hat in the cold, eat veggies, avoid dangerous drugs, get my tetanus shots, and sleep 8 hours a night, nothing bad will happen.
So when life throws obstacles or challenges or crises in my way, I get cranky.
Helen Keller – who had more than a few challenges to overcome – approached life very differently. She said,
Security is mostly a superstition.
It does not exist in nature,
nor do [human beings] as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

Note to self: Wear (non-magical) life jacket and expect to be catapulted into the water once in awhile.

Confidence to Share
As I said back in Imbolc, that while I would love to have one of my fiber art pieces hanging in a museum someday, that is not why I make them. They are really intended to be companions on a spiritual journey or through a life transition or during a challenging time.
I also know (seriously, I know this!) that some of them are yearning to live with people who may not even know they exist. This is where you come in.
If there is someone in your life (including yourself) who you feel would resonate to this piece, please let me know. It you would like to know more about the solar plexus chakra, you can read about it HERE.
You can also read more about the art itself HERE.
I would like to offer it as a loan or gift from the universe through me to a person who needs this particular energy at this time in their life.
If you are interested in this piece, please send me your name and the person’s situation — just a sentence or two about why you think they may benefit from the loan or gift of this piece. I only have one of these, so if I have more than one request, I will need to make a choice.
If it needs to be shipped, I ask that you pay for shipping. I will include a note that indicates it comes to the recipient courtesy of your request. I also ask if you take it for yourself, that you use it for as long as you need and then either pass it along to someone you know who may need it…or return it to me so that I may pass it along. (I will include this request with anything I ship as well.)
[NOTE: This piece was sent to someone recovering from complications following major surgery to provide confidence and courage.]

You-nique
What would our world be like
if we all spent more time
celebrating our uniqueness
and less time
trying to fit into
some bland expectation of sameness?

You are the only ‘you’ there will ever be.
So, cultivate your irreplaceable beauty.
Yes, yours!