Author Archive

>    The last question posed and answered last night in Austin, Texas by the Democratic contenders was for them to share how they had handled the most significant “crisis” of their lives. Hilary Clinton seemed to strike a cord when she explained that while she had clearly experienced many crises in her life, some quite public, these paled in comparison with the “suffering” that ordinary Americans routinely experience in their lives. As example, she cited a Veteran’s rehabilitation center in California. There, she said, she witnessed the filing in of single and double amputees, wheelchair bound and even gurney bound soldiers who were determined to hear she and Senator John McCain speak at a dedication.
    I think the cord Senator Clinton’s answer struck was that, in Life, there are no exceptions from suffering. Neither the rich nor the famous nor the powerful are able to escape the most fundamental characteristic of growth.
    Pain.
    Nor should we.
    I have a friend who likes to say,”No pain. No gain.” However, she always follows that up with,”To heal you have to feel.” She’s right. It’s the feeling part that we so often try to circumvent on our way to inner peace and it’s the absolutely unavoidable reality of Life.
    There is a difference between acknowledging suffering and wallowing in it. Each of us has a unique set of challenges in our lives and in order to move beyond them it is vital that we allow ourselves to feel the feelings that will necessarily accompany them. Acknowledging and experiencing the pain of growth can be a temporary challenge or it can be a state of mind we never move beyond. Like everything else in life, the choice is ours.
    I have often said that everyone’s suffering is the greatest because it’s theirs. And because that’s so, in a sense we are all equally challenged to learn this lesson.
    I do not speak in a vacuum or without empathy.
    I married at age 41 and, as a former divorce lawyer, thought it was a wise choice that would last this lifetime. Now, with a 14-year-old daughter, we are divorcing. I believe myself to be a mystic forever on the road to spiritual growth. Divorce certainly challenges that belief. Some days I am more gracious and spiritual than others to my soon-to-be ex-husband as we continue to live in the same house through this wrenching time. The challenge is to simultaneously feel the suffering associated with this loss while at the same time see the beauty of his Soul and what we have gifted each other on our individual journeys toward growth. Anyone who has ever been through a divorce knows the pain of which I speak and the magnitude of what I propose.
    Each day affords me the opportunity to either wallow in the suffering or transcend it by feeling the pain and then allowing myself to move beyond it. Every time I do just that, feel and allow movement, I experience a kind of peace and feel a kind of love that is new and wonderful.
    This new feeling holds the promise of healing.
    We are living through difficult times in almost every sector of our lives. It is a time of transition. There seems to be little relief from the pressures that accompany our transit. There was a time when I would have said,”I wish I knew the answer to relieve your suffering.” 
    What I will say today is that while I empathize with your suffering I would not want to relieve it but rather hope that you learn how to move through it, fully conscious.
    “To heal you have to feel.”
    I’m lucky to have such a wise friend.

P.S. Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book “TOO MANY SECRETS”

>     As I was reading
today of the allegations that John McCain not only had an improper
professional relationship with a lobbyist named Vicki Iseman, but may
also have had a romantic one with her as well, I couldn’t help notice
the uncanny resemblance between the photos of Ms. Iseman and McCain’s
wife, Vicki. The two women could truly be twins…which makes added
fodder for the rumors and suspicion mill.
    So, as a former
divorce lawyer, I started thinking about why people, whether married or
not, choose to betray the trust of a committed relationship by
surreptitiously seeking out some form of companionship with another?
    I have been married twice. Once, at age 23 for a year and then
again at age 41 until present. In between those marriages I had two
meaningful, longterm relationships, as well as practiced divorce law
for 13 years.
    I know a little about relationships.
    Actually, I know a lot.
    Most of us choose a partner by default rather than by design. By that I meant we choose unconsciously. No, I didn’t mean sub-consciously.  I meant un-consciously.
When we are unaware and unawakened as to who we are as whole and
complete beings in and of ourselves we are attracted to an “Other” who
fills in the blanks that are the result of our own lack of development
or who, by their presence, distracts us from the inner work we so
conveniently wish to ignore. This is choice by default and its doomed
to fail. Without an “awakening” by one or both parties to the neediness
underlying the relationship, there can be no real growth or
progress…just a lot of exhaustive running in place, so to speak.
    Without that “awakening” and the inevitable return to the inner
journey of completing oneself, the most frequent “cure” is to find, by
default, yet one more “Other” who fulfills the same role. Who’s
presence helps perpetuate the charade that change is occurring.
    This is why people go in search, unconsciously, for someone outside
their relationship. The relationship they are in was founded on shaky
ground and, at some point, they begin to feel the ground giving way.
    They are looking for firmer ground but are unwilling to “go the distance” it will take to get to higher ground.
    They will find a quick and convenient fix to stop the pain. The underlying dis-ease will,of course, continue to fester.
    The irony is that anyone we are in a close relationship with holds the potential for our highest good and maximum growth if only we are willing to awaken from the sleep of delusion and face the truth of who we are.
    Nature always holds answers for me. When I look at the intelligent
design of it in all Its’ beauty and wonder it’s a small leap for me to
conclude that a similar design exists within Human Nature.
    The people in our lives are there to provide the optimal conditions
and opportunities for us to awaken from unconscious choices and see
both the Other and Ourselves as we truly are…each innocent and loving
co-creators who hold within us the knowledge of the highest good for
all concerned.
    If it turns out that John McCain had an
extra-marital relationship with Vicki Iseman, then the only thing we
will know for sure is that he is in some way unconscious and unaware of
who he really is.
    You may or may not find that relevant to the position of Commander-in Chief.
    That’s beyond the scope of this blog.

P.S. Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book “TOO MANY SECRETS”

>     It’s difficult not to continue
to follow and comment upon Barack Obama’s remarkable rise to the top of
the Democratic Presidential nomination process. As I watched his speech
last night in Houston, Texas following his victory in Wisconsin, making
it 9 in a row, I was simultaneously captivated by both his delivery and
the crowd’s response.
    It goes without saying that Obama has
what it takes in the charisma department. He has presence, passion and
is gifted in the art of delivery. He is speaking the language of the
present to the hearts of the many. He uses the words “change” and
“hope” in ways that are credible.
    But we must stay alert,
because he is using those words, and others, in a way that also
satisfies a deep hunger within us, and hunger can run so deep and be so
pervasive as to consume good judgment.
    It’s not my intention to
say that he is disingenuous or manipulative when, by his words, he
rallies us to believe in the best of ourselves and our country. Words
are powerful fuel and fuel is needed to drive the engine of change. My
caution is not around his words but rather around our hunger. Because
if I hear him correctly, his is not just a condemnation of the way
things have been, nor a panacea that he alone possesses that will
change the present, but a call to ongoing commitment by each of us to
change the future by changing the way we prioritize, and the thereby
live, our lives.
    It is incumbent upon Obama to fully mean the
words he speaks and equally incumbent upon us to fully listen to all of
those words, not just the one’s that temporarily alleviate our hunger.
For the hunger runs deep and a snack will not cure it. The long-term
solution requires dedication, hard work and perseverance in remembering
that we are each responsible for self-nourishment. And while, in times
of lesser abundance, a helping hand can make the difference between
survival and extinction, it is but a temporary bridge to the place
where our reality is the product of how successfully we live our truth
and how fully we take on the responsibility to nourish and care first
for ourselves and then for those who for whatever reason, are truly
unable to care for themselves.
    Barack Obama cannot save us. He
can, if he is authentic, leads us in the path of righteousness as some
before him have done…although rarely have they been politicians. But
there is nothing wrong with rarity and a fisherman or a shepherd were
no more likely candidates.
    My job, and yours, is the more important one. We must listen to our hearts and not our stomachs. We must discern for ourselves,
without being swept up in the crowd’s momentum, whether this man…who
aspires to be the bearer of a profound and transformative
message…understands the gravity of his task and whether we,over time,
are willing to carry the majority of the weight of it for it is surely
too heavy for any one man.
    Coming from a place of truth with an
intention to prevail through both word and deed, there is nothing we
cannot do together.

P.S.   Remember to click here to get my FREE e-book download “TOO MANY SECRETS”

>     I grew up in suburban Philadelphia. There was, and still is, a restaurant in the historic section of the the city named “Bookbinders.” It is one of those places that tourists go to eat, but also a place my family and I frequented as well as I was growing up. Although both the food and the service were good, I dreaded dining there because as you were seated you had to pass by a large lobster tank filled with fresh lobsters. It was from that tank that you chose the specific lobster you wanted boiled alive as your entrée. A friend who knew me well back then said, “Carole, you’re the only person I know who can walk past a tank of lobsters and feel for their confinement.”
    My friend was right then and it’s still true today. It’s why I am a vegetarian and also why I cannot read the details of this past Sunday’s recall of 143 million pounds of beef processed and distributed nationally by Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company. When I got to the part of the article that began to outline the unashamed cruelty inflicted on the animals I couldn’t go on. It’s also why, today, driving in Center City Philadelphia and seeing a horse and buggy pulling smiling tourists around Constitution Center by a crippled and obviously pained horse, I cried.
    I don’t know what it is that makes humankind think it has been given heartless dominion over all other forms of life, but obviously something has. Whether it’s whaling to extinction, slaughtering elephants for their ivory tusks, or effectively torturing laboratory animals in the name of science, we have become arrogant about our relationship with, and responsibility to, all other living aspects of the planet.
    We make “progress” at the expense of our own capacity to empathize and sympathize. By so doing, we have over time hardened our hearts and set the stage for an ever descending spiral of indifference to pain and suffering that, perhaps, is not so unrelated to the proliferation of   violence we are now experiencing throughout the society at large. Which may, in fact, be the best proof going that what we do to others we ultimately assure we do to ourselves…for there is only One of Us.
    Nature is a gift as is Life itself. What we do with each is not only a statement about who we are, but also the way in which Source gets to experience Itself through Us. Do we really want to be the reason that the Beauty which created All That Is comes to know the intentional infliction of pain by one of It’s creations upon another? Is this who we really are?
    Coincidentally, I watched a wonderful movie tonight, Kate and Leopold. It’s a romantic comedy with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman that spans two centuries by finding a portal in time. Leopold is royalty from the 1800’s who accidentally lands in present-day Manhattan. Kate works for an ad agency and enlists Leopold, due to his charm and sincere delivery, to film a commercial for diet margarine. He does so until, on a break from filming, he tastes the product. Repulsed by it’s taste, he refuses to continue filming. Kate, panicked by the potential harm his refusal could do to her career, tries to convince him to just finish what he started. Leopold refuses on the grounds that he finds himself “peddling pond scum to an unsuspecting public.” Kate sees no conflict and Leopold is incredulous that she, knowing the product is awful, would still proceed with trying to convince people to buy it. He is a man who follows his heart regardless of what it costs him. In the end, it is what makes him so irresistible.
    Just as Leopold, each of us in our hearts knows that wanton disregard for the feelings and general welfare of living beings, regardless of their positioning on the evolutionary ladder, is wrong. Yet, each day we,just like Kate, ignore the shameful behavior all around us and by so doing, condone it.
    I don’t know the particulars of what Hallmark/Westland participated in and I do not need to. I hope they are put out of business, if not by criminal prosecution, then by the refusal of consumers to do business with them.
    After all, it is up to each One of Us to stand up for All of Us…and most notably for those who cannot stand for themselves.

P.S.   Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book “Too Many Secrets.”
    

>     As I write this entry there is news of yet another shooting spree at a University that has killed 5 and injured 17 others, with the gunman finally shooting himself. This time it’s Northern Illinois University. The murderer had two hand guns and a shot gun. Whenever I write following one of these tragic sprees I am tempted to pursue a line of thought that speaks to the issue of gun control. I never-the-less try and resist that urge as I think there are other issues of greater importance that underlie the degree of violence we are experiencing.
    Today I resist the urge yet again.
    What is of greater urgency is how we foster and enable violent behavior by the continued proliferation of violent media presentations combined with a lack of parental responsibility for monitoring our children’s exposure to it.
    Just this week there was a report on the results of studies done by the National Institute of Health (NIH), Kansas State University and Iowa State University finding that children who watch violent video games are more likely to exhibit violent behavior that children who do not. Repeated exposure to the violence normalizes the behavior. Well, I don’t know why any thinking person needs a study to get on that bandwagon but apparently, to many of us do.
    It shouldn’t take a scientist or sociologist to figure this one out. Watch an uplifting movie with a happy ending and you feel good. Watch a tragic movie with a sad ending and you feel bad. It isn’t a quantum leap to conclude that watching violence, repeatedly, is bad for the psyche leaving the viewer predisposed to violent behavior.
    And it’s not just the video games. It’s music, too. And TV. The Pittsburgh Gazette reported that one-third of popular songs condone or glamorize drug use. Rap, sure. But Country/Western came in second. Surprised?  Then you’re not listening because it’s out there for the children to hear and they do…everyday.
    This is not a Congressional issue. Nor a State’s Rights one, either. Nor is it for the schools to fix. This one is Ours. Yours and Mine. Each One of us needs to de-normalize violence as a socially acceptable way to respond. We need to be pro-active with our children…what they listen to and watch. We need to have the courage of our convictions and risk them not being happy with the limitations We impose. We need to model non-violent behavior and be vocal about our opposition to it as a viable way to resolve anything. We need to not purchase the products or patronize the vendors who distribute and promote products with violent, sexual and drug related content.
     Over time, we have abdicated this responsibility for expediency’s sake. When you give up power, there is always someone waiting nearby more than willing to assume it for you. Usually, what they have in mind is a far cry from what you intended. And before you know it, they have set the standard you find yourself living by, no matter how low.
     The good news is that I’ve made it easy for you to fix.
     See all the words in bold?  They’re the key to moving away from the present state of things and toward higher ground…where the air is cleaner. If you’re not up for the climb, know that the future holds more of the same. When that happens, you won’t be able to deny that you knew and turned a blind eye and a deaf ear. Although time is short, and the moment is now, you and I can still make a difference.
    Let’s.

P.S.   Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book
         “Too Many Secrets.”
    
    

>     Last night I listened and
watched both Barack Obama and John McCain give “victory” speeches
following the primary votes in Maryland, Virginia and the District of
Columbia. The contrast was stunning. And while I
continue to have my hesitations about Barack Obama, mostly around his
lack of experience and relationship to Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr.,
there is no denying that the content and delivery of Obama’s speech was
stirring. He has a gift for using language and passion in a way that
inspires and uplifts. These are qualities for which Americans are
hungry and this, I believe, is the core of his appeal.
    Last
night he spoke about “hope.” I find it fascinating that former
President Bill Clinton, husband of Obama’s rival for the nomination,
also rode to the Presidency on the same word. It was Bill Clinton’s
“The Man From Hope” carefully produced video retrospective of his life
(referring to Hope, Arkansas where he was born) that moved and inspired
many. But the hope that Bill Clinton held out was a Hollywood
orchestrated production lacking in a core truth that ultimately gave us
a national scandal and deep disillusionment of character.
    The hope
that Barack Obama spoke to last night was the real thing. It wasn’t a
play on words or a political web he was weaving to obscure the truth of
the matter. The hope he spoke of reaches into the heart and uplifts the
Soul. It is the hope that enlivens people and makes them want to be the
best they can be. He isn’t promising anything other than that each of
us will have to be fully engaged and part of the solution.
   
Obama is laying out the recipe for change, although there are many who
are missing what is being set before them. I hear them in the media every day,
talking about his lack of policy or, worse, his disastrous policies. We
have had leaders with great policies in theory who could neither
inspire nor lead. In the end, I do not think these criticisms will be
enough to obstruct his path to the White House. At the moment, he is a
man on a mission who appears to have a destiny.
    There are two common theories about leadership. The first is that great men (and hopefully someday women) lead
the governed where they  see a nation wanting to go. The second is that
people get the leader they deserve…one that reflects the times. Under
either theory, Barack Obama’s rise is encouraging. If nominated and
elected, the challenge for him will be to keep nourishing the seeds of
hope that he now speaks to and engenders. Faced with the realities of
the world and the temptations of power, this itself is a daunting task.
    I am heartened by Obama’s presence and the vision he paints. We as
a nation have, in many way, misplaced hope. It is important to be inspired and reminded of all that is possible when one puts their heart and soul
into creating something good.
    What Obama is reminding us is that each one of us is an aspect of a greater One. He bears the message that when we as individuals are joined by both heart and purpose we can, together, co-create something greater than the sum of our parts.
    This has always been this nation’s message.
    Now, let us hope.

>     There is a Blackberry “blackout” today, the cause of which is yet unknown. I’m not a Blackberry user but I have friends who are and their professional and personal lives are tied to it’s function and their reliance upon it. So I think it’s a good opportunity to examine our dependence upon the technology of the 21st century and contemplate life should tomorrow it disappear…or at least became non-functioning, for whatever reason.
    I’m neither a Doomesday nor an Armageddon proponent so I’m not attributing an onerous source or ill intent to the possibility. The “how” of it isn’t my concern. What is my concern is how far we’ve strayed from what it takes to live life in the “slower lane” and just how prepared we’d be to step up and meet that challenge.
    A place we can go to get an idea about what it would be like is one of the many geographic areas that have suffered a natural disaster that interrupted basic services as well as life in general. People who have lived through such experiences have some idea of what it requires and the toll it takes.
    What I find so fascinating about those experiences is the camaraderie and general “pulling together” that is so often exhibited under extraordinarily devastating circumstances. More often than not, something deep within the best of us is touched and moved to heightened levels of empathy and compassion. Somewhere within our Souls we see “the other” as ourselves and seek to render aid and relieve suffering. Out of these moments are born meaning and joy beyond reason.
    This drive towards Oneness, I am certain, is what is at the core of each of us. I am also certain that the pace of the technology has so overridden our natural rhythms that it has become increasingly difficult, in many cases impossible, to slow down long enough to notice discomfort in those we interact with each day, including those closest to us. It may take a disaster of monumental proportions to get our attention, to bring us present, sufficient to open to the needs of those around us. Sadly,  disaster comes in many forms. Yes, it can be the hurricane, the tornado, or the tsumani, but it can also be the cancer, the auto accident or the attempted suicide…although this need not be the case.
    We can awaken voluntarily of our own accord and become conscious around the rate of speed at which we travel and what we’re likely missing along the way. We can respond to little hints, as opposed to tragic acts, to re-focus and re-prioritize our lives in such ways that we become the masters of the technology and therefore the rate of speed, rather than slaves to both.
    I noticed some time ago that when my computer is booting up and loading, some of the technical language built into the hard drive actually uses the words “master” and “slave.” There are no accidents. The words are there and were built into the creation of the technology because like everything else in Life…we get to choose.
    In this case, the choice is whether we continue to be enslaved to our own creations or whether we have the inner strength and outer courage to reverse these roles and take back control of the quality of our lives.
    The Blackberry blackout of today is tomorrow’s technological tsunami. Let’s take the hint and pass on the disaster.

P.S.  Get my inspiring FREE e-book download “Too Many Secrets” at my website!

>     There’s a
fascinating “exercise” I once read about and it goes like this. Each
morning, upon awakening, picture an Angel walking in front of you
everywhere you go. Now picture that same Angel preceding your every
arrival by announcing these words: “Behold! The image and likeness of
God.” Imagine how you’d feel throughout your day, and imagine how that
would affect how you behaved. Pretty powerful stuff.
    Now, take it one step further.
    Picture everyone else in the world also having an Angel preceding them announcing their arrival, proclaiming the very same words.
    Now, we’re beyond powerful stuff. Now we’re talking Earth-changing.
    That’s the point.
    I was reminded of this “exercise” as I listened to, and read, this
morning’s news. As the economy slips towards recession and people are
generally concerned for the 2008 Presidential election and the
candidates capabilities to handle tough issues in a new and meaningful
way, these concerns pile atop the existing stressors with which each of
us is already trying to manage. As all these stressors reach critical
mass, I see the seeds of discontent beginning to spout around an “us”
vs. “them” mentality.
    Historically when times are difficult,
it has been easy for individuals and groups, with less than noble
intentions, to rally the masses against a common enemy, or target a
scapegoat, to distract us from the real challenges of the day. By
exaggerating differences as opposed to highlighting commonalities, the wedge of separation and the indifference it engenders, opens the door to a place where hateful speech and actions follow.
    Ever the optimist, this crossroad we now face also holds the
potential for a very different outcome. If, instead of falling into the
rut of worn out paths that have not served us well, we acknowledge and
honor our differences while simultaneously acknowledging in word and
deed that we are of One Source having One Intention, then it will be
possible to forge a new path where diversity becomes the capital we
exchange to enhance not only ourselves but also one another as well.
    What does “in the image of likeness of God” mean?  Well, I would
say that “in the image” is some reference to our biological and
physiological components. And while not meaning that literally, I do
mean that on some level, our physical composition and
functioning is an energetic semblance of the essential components of
Source. There is nothing we need do to be in the image of God. Our physical existence makes us so.
    However, to be “in the likeness of God” means to act in a way that also reflects how God “acts.” I
would suggest that the answer to that conundrum in evidenced in the
beauty, harmony and self-organizing principles we see manifested all
around us in Nature. There, exists clear evidence of a level of harmony
and cooperation that is for the highest good of all concerned. Not that
it is free of death, but that it is free of greed and
baseless aggression. There, diversity is the stuff the continued
existence of All is made of and, so, has it’s rightful place.     In
Nature, it is as if before every living creature, except humankind,
there goes an Angel proclaiming, “Behold the image and likeness of
God.”  From this, we can now learn a valuable lesson.
    Or not.
    We can be blindly led and ultimately consumed by the purveyors of
hate and division, or we can say “no” to that choice and instead say
“yes” to our own inherent divinity as well as the inherent divinity of
all others.
    Remember, at the beginning I said it was an
“exercise”…this walking with you Angel and seeing others in the same
light.  As such, it will take the practicing of that exercise to shift
our consciousness to the point where this becomes for us the natural
state of things. But losing 10 pounds or becoming proficient at tennis
or piano are also exercises that take practice.
    I don’t know about you but I certainly think having my own Angel is definitely worth the workout.

>     The now confirmed tragic and unintended overdose-caused death of actor Heath Ledger is an opportunity for us all to shine a bright light on the several issues his life, and death, present. On the surface, it’s about the proliferation and ease of obtaining both prescription and illegal drugs. However, just below the surface are lurking several deeper issues equally, if not more, in need of our attention.
    Yes, the drug issue is the most obvious. Ledger was in possession of a potentially fatal cocktail of legally prescribed sleeping pills, anti-anxiety meds and pain killers. The question first asked is “What physician, if in fact a single physician is involved, would have prescribed such a combination and allowed a patient in such “pain” (physical and/or emotional) to have unfettered access?”
    Yet the underlying issue around the prescribing of drugs is “Why are we as a culture so quick to medicate and suppress symptoms rather than treat root causes?” While I do not know if Ledger suffered any physical source of pain, it does appear from reports that he suffered from emotional pain and depression as witnessed by close friends. In this regard, he was no different than countless numbers of Americans who daily take drugs, legal and illegal, to mask their underlying problems.
    I have a good friend, a chiropractor, who has always said, “To heal you have to feel.” And it’s true. Whether it’s a broken leg or a broken heart…whether it’s Hyrodcodone for the broken leg or Prozac for the broken heart…at some point real healing cannot be accomplished by sedating or distracting the conscious mind from the painful reality of the growth process. As we experience pain, we learn from it. We learn what and how not to do as well as where and how not to go.
    I am reminded of Thomas Edison’s reply when asked how it felt to fail so many times before he succeeded at inventing the light bulb. “I never failed” he replied. “I discovered a thousand ways how not to make a light bulb.” Edison ultimately succeeded because he was willing to experience the pain of not succeeding. Edison learned by that pain how not to reach his goal, which gave him momentum and direction on how to reach it.
    We have become a nation unwilling to feel the pain. And so, in our desperation to hold true to that goal, we try and circumvent the natural process of how things evolve, and what evolution feels like, by trying to insulate and sedate ourselves. It’s a losing proposition. For it’s impossible to shut down one aspect of yourself without impacting all of the other aspects as well. We, like Heath Ledger, have moved into a quiet sleep from which it’s very easy to slip away.
    We are in denial about this pervasive problem. I was reading an ABC World News on-line article about Ledger’s autopsy findings and navigated over to the comments that people were posting. Almost all of them were raging against our denial of the magnitude of this problem and how children, in record numbers, are on drugs.
    Then there’s the fact that he was 28 with enormous success and a child out of wedlock with a woman he had met on the movie set of Brokeback Mountain, and, with whom he had recently split up. He was reported to be a doting father to their new daughter and yet a wild partier. So many issues here: The capacity to handle fame and fortune at age 28; bearing children out of wedlock; sex vs. love; the pressures to achieve money, fame, stardom, success, whatever.
    Such are the stuff of a national dialog that needs to commence and run deep. We need to get to the root causes of our weakest links and do something about strengthening them rather than anesthetizing them. Like Edison, we need to acknowledge out loud all the ways we have tried that have taught us how not to get to where we want to go so that together we can alter course.
    It’s too late for Heith Ledger, but not for the 1.5 million runaway children each year…or the 1 million high school age children who attempt suicides each year…or all the others of whatever age group who cannot seem to understand how we’ve created the world they inhabit…or who cannot seem to find an opening to a path leading to a better one.
    Death is only meaningless if we fail to find meaning in it. Heith Ledger has left us an opportunity that, if taken, can provide him a legacy far beyond any Oscar ever could have.
    Let’s give him that.

>     Over the weekend I had a conversation with some friends about politics in general and the upcoming election. One of the women voiced her concern about global warming and said she was driven by that issue in deciding for whom to vote. She seemed really concerned so I asked her if she was as worried as she looked and to my surprise she answered, “I am. It really scares me.” I was shocked by her reply because this is one person who has the most positive outlook on life you could imagine. She is genuinely, and generally, happy every day just to open her eyes and breathe. Everything after that is “gravy” to her.
    I suggested to her my take on global warming and asked her to give it some thought. I’ll share what I said with you, too.
    Whether we humans caused or contributed to the current state of things or, in the alternative, it’s a natural cycle that Earth partakes of…it really doesn’t matter. That’s not to say that I am callous about the subject of deteriorating environmental conditions or vanishing species. Both concern me deeply. It simply means that “order and chaos” are the heartbeat’s rhythms of Creation. When anything is in a state chaos what occurs is “correction” so as to move it back towards order…and so forth and so on. I see global warming as a necessary correction as we transit this particular heartbeat of chaos.
    It is not possible to separate we humans from the environment in which we live, whether it be “lesser” life forms, the Earth, or the Universe Itself. All of It is an integrated, interdependent self-organizing system that will seek to move Itself toward balance when too far astray from an optimal state of equilibrium.
    That’s what we’re in the middle of right now. Whether it’s the demise of the effectiveness of systems of governing and commerce, or radical weather patterns and cataclysmic events, they all originate from One principle and seek to achieve One end: movement from chaos back to order.
    When a balance is once more obtained, do not think it will stay that way. It is the natural course of energy to move, to change. Within the order that will soon manifest will be the seeds of future chaos. This is as it should be. This is Life.
    What I told the woman who is so frightened of the thought of global warming was not to think about it…well, at least not to think about it with fear. Thoughts are things, too. And powerful energy they are. So if any of us must dwell upon global warming, let’s see it as one of many symptoms of changing times and better to think about how we can best adapt to, as well as contribute to, the emerging order.

style=”font-weight: bold;” size=”4″>P.S. Get my inspiring e-book download FREE at www.carolegold.com