Heroes Not Zombies

In the A to Z of Becoming, G is for GIVE.

Do you think giving is a satisfying experience?

I do. In fact, I think giving enriches your life.

Some people say life is a game of give and take, and that there are givers and takers. I’m sure you’ve come across that idea, and you can probably also identify individuals in your own world who are givers, and those who are takers. Not many people would be happy to accept the label of “taker”, and being known as a “giver” feels like being appreciated.

I’m not sure how useful labels are however, so I’m not thinking this week about who are the givers and who are the takers. What I want to be aware of this week are my opportunities to give.

What can I give?

My time, my attention, my compassion, my love, my effort, my full engagement with this present moment, my acts of kindness……

None of these are things, but I might have opportunities this week to give things too. What I find interesting is that we tend to think of gift giving as being about things, and I think physical gifts can be important. But, here’s something to experiment with this week….give every day, and make a note of what you give (in fact, even better, write an entry in your journal about it…..describe the circumstances of your giving, what your giving involved and why you decided to give) and then reflect next weekend on your week of giving.

How does it feel to give?

Let me give you this photograph (you can click through on any of my photos and download them for yourself, if you wish)

I stumbled across this in Kyoto a while back. In fact, I saw it a few times because it was in a street near my hotel.

I love this. Here is a game of Go, with a tub of black stones, and a tub of white stones. Anyone is free to make a move. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this in any other city. I wonder if the players know each other? It did strike me that every play was an act of giving, a gift of participation, a contributory gift, a gift of engagement.

Read Full Post »

In my monthly themes, February is the month of love. It was, therefore, serendipitous that, on the train, on my way to work this morning, I read about the four different words the Ancient Greeks had for love.

Eros, for physical love, sensual love, the love we feel in our bodies.

Storge, for affectionate love, the love we feel in our hearts.

Philia, mental, or intellectual love, the love we feel in our heads.

Agape, unconditional love, the love we feel in our souls.

It’s nice to take these four concepts and relate them to the four elements – Earth (body), Fire (heart), Water (head), Air (soul)

So, here’s a great exploration for you this month, the month of love – reflect each day and maybe write in your journal, or take a photo, or sketch a drawing, paint, or make a playlist of music which captures, or at least suggests, for YOU, the sensuality of the love you feel with your body, the affection which is heart felt, the conscious love of your thoughts and your intellect, or the times when you feel that soul connection with a person, a place, or some other….

By the end of the month, you’ll have a wonderful collection of memories and inspirations which connect you to the essential Earth, Fire, Water and Air of Life and Love.

Read Full Post »

In the A – Z of Becoming, the fifth verb, is EXPLORE.

Targets, goals and plans……how do you set off into the future? Do you set yourself some targets or goals? Do you draw up a detailed plan? Or do you decide what or where you would like to go and explore?

What’s the difference?

Well, think of taking a walk over the hills. You can either work out in advance where to start from, where to finish, and which particular path on the map you will follow. Or you can decide where to start, but then decide which particular paths to take, and where you would like to go, once you are there.

Or think of going to a gallery. Maybe you hear about a particular work of art (Rodin’s The Kiss has been on display in the Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh in recent weeks) and you decide to go and see it. So you plan your trip, go to the gallery, ask at the door where the particular work of art is being displayed and then follow the floor plan to go and see the work you want to see. Or instead you can decide to go the gallery for a few hours and wander around…..explore the rooms you’ve never been in before, see the works of art you’ve never seen before, or stumble over some old familiar works you haven’t seen for years.

For my next holiday in France, I’ve booked a flight, and a hire car. But that’s all. We’re going to explore an area we’re not familiar with, and might find our way into some neighbouring areas to see some old friends, some previously visited towns. I like these explorations. You can’t predict what you might find.

Exploring isn’t the only way to encounter life, but it is a different way. It maximises serendipity, surprise and wonder.

What, or where, might you begin to explore this week?

Read Full Post »