Insights – Melannie Thomas

Archive for the ‘Health & Healing’ Category

We are getting a lot of it in my neck of the woods.  After six years of drought,  experiencing  ‘normal’ winter rains is challenging.

Good news for California…the snow pack is substantial.  The rain has restored lakes and reservoirs to capacity.  Bad news is underground aquifers are not reaching optimum levels.  Additionally, the quality of water is troublesome, not just here but throughout our country.  Flint, Michigan is a good example, and it is not an isolated event.

“Water is life, and clean water means health.”  ~Audrey Hepburn

Rivers of the Earth, both great and small are akin to the blood system in the human body.  When they are polluted, we are sick.

“I can’t imagine anything more important than air, water, soil, energy and biodiversity.  These are things that keep us alive.”

~David Suzuki

In America, and most of the Western world, we live in water luxury.  Turn on the tap, and there it is…easily accessible water.   We drink it (maybe), we bathe, wash everything, cook with it, and water our plants and gardens.  So easily taken for granted, and so easy to ignore the threat of poor water quality.

“Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.”  ~Jacques Yves Cousteau

Water is a sacred commodity.  (See Blog Post of February 3, 2014). It is a symbol of the Divine Spirit.  The Planet needs our help to keep functioning healthily, caring for our air and water is an essential requirement for our survival.

One aspect of the Tower in Tarot is radical shift.  As a nation we are experiencing ‘radical shift’ regardless of personal perspectives.

We humans don’t much care for change.  We don’t gleefully pack our bags and joyfully embrace moving from point A to point C.  We generally resist, dragging our heels through the process.

We are adaptable creatures, but adaptation is not easy.  The quotes below are both inspiring and encouraging.

“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.  And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom.  A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.”  ~Martin Luther King Jr.

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”  ~Stephen Hawkings

“Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth…these are one and the same fight.  We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, food security and women’s empowerment.  Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all.”  ~Ban Ki-Moon

This week’s word means trust, a desire accompanied by an expectation of fulfillment.

May the following quotes inspire renewal and strengthening of hope.

“Love recognizes no barriers.  It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”  ~Maya Angelou

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”  ~Robert Kennedy

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.  Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”  ~Helen Keller

Precious…of great value, of great price, highly esteemed, greatly cherished.

Acknowledging what is precious about life; about our personal lives is like stopping to smell the roses.  The pace of modern life is relentless.  In the act of keeping that pace, we easily take a great deal for granted.

The following quotes are about stopping and smelling precious roses.

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life.  Be happy now.  Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future.  Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family.  Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.” ~Earl Nightengale

“We’ve got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant.  You can’t just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think its going to get on by itself.  You’ve got to really look after it and nurture it.”  ~John Lennon

“Ordinary riches can be stolen: real riches cannot.  In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken away.” ~Oscar Wilde

It’s the time of year when many of us focus on getting fit.  Taking off some extra pounds, beginning a workout program, are top of the New Year resolution list.  We join health clubs, walking groups, diet centers and put a  plan in place for achieving our physical fitness goals.

Emotional and spiritual fitness are important too, but often overlooked as part of a fitness program.

I invite you this week to examine positive change from the standpoint of your strengths.  Rather than focus on the negative traits that you want to change or eliminate, make a list of your strongest virtues.

Some examples for your consideration; kindness, love of learning, humor, humility, creativity, perseverance, leadership, gratitude and hope.  Humans tend to focus primarily on the negative aspects of  being.  Changing the focus to virtues and strengths improves the overall perception of ourselves.

We now can function from a positive attitude about who we are, rather than engaging in a battle on the field of disparaging self-esteem.  Positive reinforcement from traits that are already functioning strongly is a powerful tool for achieving success.

“We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves happy.  The amount of work is the same.”  ~Carlos Casteneda

I believe it has been said that life is poetry in motion.  Poetic expression is a powerfully emotive reflection of the human soul in all it’s beauty, and in all it’s horror.  Poets throughout the ages, in all cultures, have shared the ethos and pathos of the human condition in words.

I love Robert Frost’s description of poetry, “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” Edgar Allan Poe said, “I would define, in brief, the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of Beauty.”  And Maya Angelou remarked, “Human beings love poetry.  They don’t even know it sometimes…whether they’re the songs of Bono, or the songs of Justin Bieber…they’re listening to poetry.”

This week I invite you to sample the world of poetry.

“Mental fight means thinking against the current, not with it.  It is our business to puncture gas bags and discover the seeds of truth.”

~Virginia Woolf

“When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations.  When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence.  When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”

~John F. Kennedy

Poetry Society of America, http://www.poetrysociety.org;

Life is Poetry in Motion, http://www.facebook.com;

Poetry Foundation, http://poetryfoundation.org.

It is wet and cold in my part of the world.  As Grandfather Time ushers in 2017, I ponder what the coming year will bring.

Energy is positive or negative, constructive or destructive in its application.  One of my new year resolutions will be to generate positive thinking and action; choosing not to dwell on what I don’t have, but, what I do have.  Not focusing on ‘what might be’, but being with ‘what is’.

Staying grounded and centered in the midst of rapidly swirling change is a spiritual practice.  The New Year is an auspicious time to strengthen our spiritual resolve, our spiritual connection…our spiritual practice.

Many wishes for an awesome New Year!

Seems like the Fall Equinox was here just a short time ago.  Yet, the Winter Solstice is on Wednesday, Christmas follows quickly behind; as do the Festivals of Light.

There is something primitively compelling for me in displays of light.  I feel a childlike wonder viewing the twinkling splendor.  Beacons of light bringing comfort to the long, dark days of winter.

As you and yours celebrate the winter Holy Days, I invite you into the light.

Blessings!

Cold weather is here.  As many of you know, I am NOT a fan.  I  enjoy the season, just not the cold that comes along.

Most of us are busy with preparations for Solstice and Christmas.  Most of us are blessed with warm clothing, warm cars, warm homes and warm, caring relationships.  There are many among us who are not as fortunate.

I invite you to give a gift of warmth.  Coats, blankets and sleeping bags to organizations and shelters.  Donations to food banks and food kitchens; helping out an elder; giving a gift of warmth to a friend; all such acts help us to manage winter cold.

“A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.” ~Pope Francis

Tradition is a belief, behavior or both, which is celebrated and passed down within communities;  families, tribes, cultures, religions, societies, government and art.

Tradition is from the Latin tradere or traderer, meaning to give over for safekeeping.

We have just celebrated Thanksgiving, an American tradition.  As we move toward the Winter Solstice, Christmas and New Year we will be celebrating traditions within our families, our culture, our society and our personal and collective belief system.

I invite you this week to review, renew and initiate traditions of honoring and celebrating!

“Science and technology revolutionize our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response.”  ~Arthur M Schlesinger