random thoughts from yours truly

Living in Vancouver, like any place has its ups and downs.  The major down for me is the rain… I say I don’t mind it but you get to this point and after a week of consecutive showers you definitely begin to mind.  Then something great happens and the sun comes out… the sun comes out and you see all the beauty the rain enables.  That way, when it does rain again, that beautifully sunny day helps you remember that beyond those thick gray clouds, the sun is always shining. 

                                 If you close your eyes for just a minute you can feel its warmth.

Today at the end of a yoga class I took the instructor said some thought provoking words (well, for me anyway)…  She said something like:

“Today I noticed commitment in all of you.  It was not all present in the same form but every single one of you was committed in your own way.  With each of your commitments, the results you want to attain will become a reality; each reality will manifest uniquely according to your devotion…”

I first found it odd that she used the word commitment. I personally have thought of that word to be static.  Certainly not changing through time.  The word was seen to me as being stuck on this one thing- this one thing that doesn’t change.  I would usually be more inclined to take the word dedication to describe what the instructor did.  However, thinking about it, it makes sense.  That thing (or many) that you are committed to may not change, but where you get with it, what you learn from it, what it may open your eyes to can change.

She is right in another sense as well.  You can’t give up too soon.

                                              commitment always has to start somewhere

This little is way ahead of the game!  He just forgot to mention the cockroach DNA that’s also put into tomatoes to make their skin tougher (ya, gross right?!).

http://www.ted.com/talks/birke_baehr_what_s_wrong_with_our_food_system.html

Nature is in a mode of constant giving.  It has mastered what many of us choose not to… the ability to love.  To radiate pure happiness and joy all while expecting nothing in return.  In spite of this, humans do give back to nature.  Yet what is given back to this peaceful agent is rarely anything good.

Humans have this tendency to get greedy.  To see this we don’t need to look far; it can be seen in the decline in large fish populations or the condition of the soil in many places, for example.  All it takes is that first paycheque for anyone to see what kind of economic benefit can come of practices such as these and then the desire exploit them. Exploit them and make millions, leaving nothing for our future generations.

                                                      Alberta Tar Sands- Before/ After

Growing up in such a beautiful place such as Vancouver I have been spoiled.  I have got to see some of the things nature has to offer us.  It is sad to think that some people have not yet seen or experienced the beauty, serenity and inner silence that these communities… these ecosystems… this world can offer.  It is even sadder to think that one day, such lush and green environments may no longer exist.  That at the benefit of one persons income, we may lose this clean air that we are so lucky to breathe everyday.

                                                         The Chief, Squamish BC

Something needs to be done. The question undoubtedly is “but what?”