“Keep it simple” — Van Morrison

Earlier this year, I witnessed a hummingbird as she cozied up in her nest. As I admired her handiwork I realized, yet again, the miracle of life on Earth. The tiny hummingbird was a master crafts person. Her little nest was perfectly formed, gloriously symmetrical and so cozy! I laughed because we are each our own master crafts person but we are so busy rushing to get somewhere we think will bring us happiness that we miss the whole point of life. We are so intent on finding happiness, we don’t seem to realize if we stop where we are right now, pause to take in and enjoy everything surrounding us we will be a witness to miracles and the present moment where happiness lives! We will, by being still, allow happiness to nest. Our purpose in living in the splendour of the moment is to find our inner light, and shine it for all to see! How can our inner light shine when it is covered up with our false sense of security (consumerism) and false pride (competition with others).

When we observe nature, see the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees, we learn all we ever need to know about life. We immerse in the now. Mother Earth is our mother, and our natural surroundings, are our brothers and sisters.

So what keeps us locked into past experiences, also called traumas and projects us into the future where anxiety lives?

Busyness!

There are so many choices to keep us busy. Choices of what to wear and what to do. When we venture into the grocery store we might be looking for one item and are splashed with 10 or 20 different brands offering the same item and then perhaps another 10 different flavours of it. The plastic pet toys lining the walls and shelves of the pet store, the huge selection of dog food for every breed and weight of dog. Do you think a dog or cat cares what their toy looks like or what it smells like? Pets desire love, affection and a satisfaction to their hunger. Somehow, we have become a race of people vying to earn the love and attention of our pet, when our pet loves us unconditionally and is trying to show us simple, uncomplicated, unconditional love We seem troubled that our pet doesn’t accept us, the weather, the flavour of food and the toy, when the root of the situation is that we cannot seem to accept the simplicity of our perfect self and that we are loved unconditionally just as we are, now!

From infant pacifiers, to linens, toys, beauty products, automobiles, cereal, furniture… there is simply so much choice, so much pretty useless packaging and advertising to attract the eye and the ear of the human heart blindly seeking love through acquisition. I believe that one of our core wounds as a human is a belief that we have to fight for what we need. This fear of not enough is born out of a fundamental lack of trust in life. We are afraid of death, of the perceived void in existence, therefore we are afraid to fully live! Is this where greed and selfishness are borne — out of emotional insecurity and a lack of trust in life itself? Deep down perhaps, there is a belief that there is not enough to go around, that sustenance of every kind, is scarce not plentiful. Hoarding is a prime example of this human frailty. We believe that without an armoury of “things” to insulate and protect us we are weak, unimportant and undesirable.

The solution to this empty feeling inside that we feel we need to pacify with things and bling is to simply allow ourselves to become empty. Empty our lives of things to simply become who we naturally are, perfect in our own unique self. Simplify, simplify, simplify! When we stop buying, the manufacturers stop manufacturing! Natural resources, such as trees and clean, fresh water, will have a chance to flourish, and so will we!

When we don’t purposefully slow down during an experience, and be mindfully present, our mind

hurries us on to the next experience and we don’t have a chance to complete or fully immerse ourself in the enjoyment of experiencing the moment we are in! So simple really, yet we insist on being at the mercy of our mind rattling along with our frazzled nervous system. Our nervous system, frazzled from all of the media methods designed to keep us in competition with each other and consuming, requires stillness to heal. The global environment we have created with our minds, our governments, our spinning economies has been designed to keep us on the hamster wheel of busyness and craving more, more, more to fulfill the illusion of perfection and keep us in competition with each other and separate from our surroundings.

When we simplify, we stop buying, our apparent “needs to survive” diminish and we become more charitable, and consume less; the word satisfied comes to mind. So simple really! When we consume less, the world machine manufacturers less, thus protecting precious natural resources such as trees. The world machine does not want us to stop buying and soothing, because then, the world machine begin to falter. We are not a human machine, we are a natural, adaptive, sentient creature of beautiful Earth. Covid 19, whether from a bat or manufactured in a laboratory, has given us one bright blessing, stillness. Stillness to explore dusty “old” board games, books, nature trails and sitting at the window and gazing outward (which by the way brings one inward). Funny how that seems to work. The natural human is a sentient being, just like the trees, the plants and the animals. When we are at peace within our self, we are at peace with all!

Food for thought? Experience a plant-based meal outside, eat with clean hands, no utensils allowed, smiling, savouring the scent, the feel, the look of basic, natural goodness from beautiful Earth. Smile. Breathe. Sit. Enjoy. Experience living in fellowship with our surroundings.

We the Earth. What have we got to lose?

Only our mind ❤

Love!