Float On

Greetings, especially to those who wander and wonder.

It's a hot day, your air conditioner in the car is not working. The kids are restless in the back seat. The diesel fumes permeate your vehicle. Horns are honking. Brakes are squeaking. Tires are squealing. Music is thumping. And, oh yes, it's one stoplight at a time. Turn, stop, go. Turn, stop go. This is life. In many ways it is all of life, not just on the road in a busy city.

Now, you are stepping into a comfortable raft on a gentle, flowing river. Slowly it winds through beautiful greenery. Wildflowers wave gracefully as you float by. You glance and catch the inquisitive eye of a squirrel on the bank with a nut in her mouth, looking at you. The sun warms you in the moments you escape the cool shade of the trees on a picture perfect cool, late summer day. You notice your breath is calm yet sure, your mind is alert, yet relaxed. Your senses are alive, but not stressed. Your spirit feels home and free. And, you are harmonizing with the melody of life. Your life is the river. You are connected. Your soul soars, your mind dances and your body breathes. A beautiful journey. And to think, it is largely a choice we make.

Are we puppets unable to control the hand that moves us as a species, as a society, as a culture? We like to think we are critical thinkers and independent intellectuals. I believe we are, or can be, the latter. To begin that journey we do not have to get angry and throw our hands in the air. I am convinced we need to only be silent. While the following acronym may have some general and external applications for all of humanity, it is more a place of the heart. An individual thing. And, consequently, if we all practiced it, it would change everything.

P: Perform acts of kindness. Make it a habit because that is the way you are, not just a random decision.

E: Embrace times of silence and solitude in natural places.

A: Avoid the unhealthy pursuit of wealth and power.

C: Consider the interests of others as equal or more important than your own.

E: Encourage non-violence in all of life and every situation.

Peace, friends.