The Earth, our mother, gives us all we need and more. All things come from her - our families, our food, our water, homes, cars, all of it - there's not one thing created on this planet that does not come from our mother. It's a lot to be grateful for and I need to keep reminding myself of this because there are times when I forget and think about how rubbish my life is and how done down I feel.
There is a basic truth that life is what you make it - you create your own reality as sure as you can make an omelette. You may need to break some old habits and thought patterns first though otherwise they'll keep dragging you back to the same negative viewpoint. The popular manifestation techniques such as 'The Secret' are all based on the power of thought to create what you want. Thought is an extremely powerful force but rather than be its master we allow it to rule our lives and identify with unsconscious thought patterns that are not who we are. Meditation can help with this by just allowing everything to be and not controlling things with our minds but rather letting thoughts and obsessions drift across our mindscape like clouds and not attaching ourselves to them.
Meditation has come late in my life and I know my discipline is not that great so I am going to put myself through a steep learning curve by undertaking a 10-day silent retreat where you spend many hours throughout the day just watching your breath. After a few days, you are taught a method called vipassana which I can't explain because you don't find out until you do it. Even my partner, who has just finished her own first vipassana retreat can't tell me! I am hoping to still my mind which has the ability to jump all over the place. I am hoping that I will integrate this technique into a daily practice so that I can deal with things in a calm, non-reactive way. Then I can come back to my centre. When my mind is still, I will have better clarity of thought. I'll see how lucky I am to have food and water and shelter; to have people that love me and to have people to love.
A few years back I came across a hidden altar in the woods near where I live. Someone had planted flowers and arranged crystals and stones to make a space of beauty. It was a beautiful find and from time to time over the years I have visited it to see the welcome flash of colour in the otherwise green-brown landscape. I went there yesterday and I found a small lovely poem of remembrance dedicated to Ellie and a black chunk of rock carved with her name. It was simple and touching. I had been going to add to this forest altar with some more rocks and feathers but it did not seem right to intrude on someone's grieving and remembering in this way. Instead, I set about creating a new forest altar on the stump of a tree nearby. This was to give thanks to Pachamama, our mother, and to be a place in nature where I can go and pray and show my gratitude for my life and everything I have in my life.
I played my flute to the forest in gratitude and soon two small shapes came tumbling playfully through the leaves right in front of me, like two giant butterflies. One landed on a branch nearby and looked at me. It was a Goldcrest, a beautiful tiny bird with a fiery crest of orange on its head, a punk wren! What a gift. This was a timely reminder to practice gratitude in my life and to always be open to receiving. Thanks be.
Love and blessings to all.
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