Cats certainly know how to pause--many humans not so much. Cats just seem to let go, reserving their energy for activity later. I had 2 cats for about 18 years. I doubt they spent much time thinking about what to do next. On the other hand, they didn't need to. They were housed, fed and loved. They were seemingly soft and warm, but were quite good at standing up for themselves, letting me know when they'd had enough or when they wanted more. I know that you are probably thinking "What does this have to do with blooming?" Well, initially not much, but it does have to do with the pause that most of the world seems to be in, or at least a huge slow down. It seems to me that this is a time to rest, reflect and gather healing energy.
It seems to me that, when life slows down, it's a time to breathe and think about what we want our lives to be like when the world is no longer on pause. Do we want to be the frantic, hurrying people we were? Or do we want to find a way to incorporate pauses, albeit smaller ones, in our lives?
I read this quote from Arianna Huffington in The Optimist Daily newsletter: "We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in." This, in a way, echos something Maria Menounos said when interviewing Jonathan Edwards. She said she thinks we need to redefine success. It reminded me that I have felt this way for some time.
I had a conversation with a friend just last week saying we need to make a change rather than it being all money, money, money. She said that she doesn't know anyone like that. I said it's our culture.
I think that we can begin to bloom cooperation and collaboration, concern and caring for others, pulling together when needed. Money is important. I'm not saying it isn't. But, hoarding money so that it doesn't circulate and help people is not good. Somewhere in the Bible it says that the love of money is the root of all evil. I take this to be beyond respect and honor for what money can do for us. I think that the Bible is talking about greed, just plain old greed and hoarding assets. It's talking about the constant search for more, more, more.
I believe that the people who created the Transition Town movement and those who work for local, sustainable economies, for mini power grids, for resilience, and for healing on all levels have figured out things that many people haven't. Yes, the local economies shouldn't be isolated from the global economy, but being resilient keeps us from crashing when things take a downward trend globally. Caring as much about others as myself is something I can do now and always in my quest to make the world a better place. Right now that means limiting my contact with others. What else can I do?
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The first photograph is by Ankhesenamun and was found on unsplash.com. I took the other two. Please click here to find out more about me, my services and my book,
Opening the Heart: Meditations on How to Be. You can look me up on YouTube under my name, Kathryn Samuelson, as well as on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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