Nature's Details: Springtime

Beauty is a form of genius--is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts in the world like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in dark water of that silver shell we call the moon. - Oscar Wilde

  

 

 

 

 

  

It's Friday

While we should be grateful for every day that we are granted, I must admit that I am especially grateful for Fridays. Another work week has been successfully filed away into history and the weekend awaits. So, Happy Friday, Everyone!

Design With Gratitude: Gratitude Timeline

Ok, so this picture isn't great but the concept is BRILLIANT! Yesterday the company I work for held its bi-weekly staff meeting and because we had almost all of our national and international staff present, we made a conscious effort to get to know one another.

One of the activities we all participated in was to write down five important events that have happened in our lives on sticky notes and post them on a timeline drawn on the wall, forming a very simple yet cool piece of art that we all contributed in making.

There were marriages, trips to foreign countries, births of children and even the losses of loved ones. From a conceptual standpoint, the idea as fantastic. What a wonderful tool for reflecting on poignant moments of our pasts.

For the purpose of my office and coworkers, we used it to get to know one another a little better. But for the purpose of Grateful Brand, I want to encourage you to incorporate this design into your homes, reflecting upon something you are grateful for, for each year you have been alive. You can literally write on the walls as we have done in my office or you can design your own smaller version and perhaps even frame it.

I will be sharing my timeline of gratitude soon. 

A Poetic Realization

Listen

with the night falling we are saying thank you 

we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings 

we are running out of the glass rooms 

with our mouths full of food to look at the sky 

and say thank you 

we are standing by the water thanking it 

smiling by the windows looking out 

in our directions  

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging 

after funerals we are saying thank you 

after the news of the dead 

whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you 

over telephones we are saying thank you 

in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators 

remembering wars and the police at the door 

and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you 

in the banks we are saying thank you 

in the faces of the officials and the rich

and of all who will never change

we go on saying thank you thank you 

with the animals dying around us 

our lost feelings we are saying thank you 

with the forests falling faster than the minutes 

of our lives we are saying thank you 

with the words going out like cells of a brain 

with the cities growing over us 

we are saying thank you faster and faster 

with nobody listening we are saying thank you 

we are saying thank you and waving 

dark though it is

- W.S. Merwin

I love this poem because it speaks honestly to the truth of the world. That truth is that there is darkness. But in giving thanks in the midst of darkness, even when no one is listening, we effectively oppose that which would make us dark, resentful and negative. We say 'thank you' to express our gratitude if only for simply being.

At times, giving thanks may seem utterly pointless in light of circumstances, but giving thanks always makes us better people.

Let's Play a Game

Actually, lets just imagine we're playing a game. Ready?

Ok, you're in a room among dozens of people from all different walks of life, ethnic backgrounds, etc.

Now, imagine you have all of your problems--things you are currently dealing with that could be anything from an inconvenience to a life altering condition-- crammed into your pockets.

Now, on the count of three, toss all of your problems into the air and let them all fall to the ground with all the other problems in the room.

1. . .

2. . . . .

3!

Now, get on your hands and knees and sort through all of the other problems to find your problems once again.

Do you think you would want to trade with anyone else? Do you think anyone would want to trade with you?

The thing is, everyone has problems. Too often we make the mistake of assuming that because someone lives well or receives considerable favor or privilege, that they are by association, free from the problems of ordinary people. 

Calvin Coolidge wrote, "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a Proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

If it were not for our problems, we would never know what we are ultimately capable of. Thus, our problems are something to be grateful for. While they may be burdens in the moment, knowing what you are capable of overcoming is a far greater reward than living problem free.

Be an Invitation

Mark my words ... no one is obligated to be kind to you just because, nor is anyone entitled to kindness being bestowed upon them. Great philosophers and advocates of peace have proposed a noble argument that refutes my claim, suggesting that we should be kind even to our enemies in spite of their behavior against us. I do agree with this approach, but I live in Los Angeles, CA where simply being social can be equated to pulling teeth around strangers who deliberately cling to a self imposed sense of exclusivity that prevents them from being inviting. Please believe me when I say, I am able to identify the difference between being shy and being a closed person.

While we should all strive to take the high road and exude kindness at all times, kindness functions as a two way street. You must be and give kindness to receive and be surrounded by kindness.

In my social venturing, the volume of people I have encountered who behave based on the expectation that kindness will not be the first response to their invitation of friendship is mind boggling. As a result, they become conditioned to needing familiar people around them when they go out or they just avoid being social for fear of being rejected by those who are unfamiliar.

It is a damnable shame that closed people have such unnatural and undeserved influence over the socially harmonious norms of society. The concept of the "Mean Girls" clique is the perfect example that has even been adapted into a feature film, yet this concept is by no means gender specific. Those with beauty, popularity and privilege and many other gender, racial, or common interest groups self segregate themselves from the majority, forming closed social groups. I do not object to a person choosing to only surround themselves with similar, like minded people, but there is no excuse for being unkind to those who differ based on means or appearance, etc.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if these closed off people made a concerted effort to be welcoming? Can you imagine the empowerment, influence and collective good that would permeate the social landscape? It would be amazing; a metaphorical seasoning of culture and kindness on the stew of life. Unfortunately, too many people feel that being closed and unkind is worthier of esteem. 

Believe this: "There is no duty more obligatory than the repayment of kindness." - Cicero

Whatever your experience has been, you will expand your circle of friends and increase the quality of that circle if you exist as an invitation of kindness, believing that in doing so, kindness will be reciprocated. If it is not, then that person has saved you from making a poor choice in who to welcome into your life. As the old adage says, you are a reflection of the company you keep.

Be an invitation of kindness and prepare for your life to be enriched. 

Magic or Illusion

Magic tricks have been stumping the minds of people for centuries. Even some of the most logically astute have been left baffled by seemingly unexplainable slight of hand or masterfully executed illusions.

If you have ever attended a good magic show, the entertainment value is hard to deny but, as a logical person, you must remember that what you witnessed was indeed, just a show; illusions designed specifically for entertainment and shock value.

Magic of the cerebral variety is another story. The imagination is an incredible tool that allows creative expression to manifest itself in great works such as The Harry Potter series; books adapted into films that revolve around literal magic; potions, spells and crafts. Upon turning the last page or leaving the theater, facing reality seems utterly dull in comparison. But what if we were subjected to magic right now, at this very moment? What if magic were apart of our every days lives and we just never noticed?

I have to admit that the order in which certain events have happened in my life or the timing at which these things have happened can be best described as magical. A need was met at such a precisely accurate moment that the experience was akin to pristine customer service; being listened to and addressed right then and there at the height of my need but, amazingly, no one was around to even know what that need was. It was simply taken care of.

As a species, people really enjoy illusions, but an illusion is something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality. Living in Los Angeles, the appreciation and praise given to illusion based culture is overwhelming. Plastic surgeons are bountiful, tanning salons are everywhere, what people drive and where they live might present a lovely facade but the story of financial turmoil most certainly includes a chapter on this city. With so many aspiring actors, you often wonder if some people are introducing their true selves or a made up character.

I would dare say that amidst such a severe volume of illusion, there does exist some magic. Think of just pure kindness expressed from one stranger to another. How is this not magical?

Some of us spend so much of our lives striving for a bigger, better and more expensive illusion that we completely miss the magic that makes life truly valuable.

What matters most to you? Magic or the illusion?

Nature's Details: Land of the Lost