We are all connected

I think about the connectedness of our universe a lot.  Yes, I said that…connectedness.  I believe we are all connected together and with the universe, our creator, higher power, God….whatever label you want to give it.  Myself, I rotate between “God” and the “Universe” but with the same meaning.

I think about the chaos that has erupted in so many places on earth, our own country included.  There is so much hatred, violence and pain being inflicted on each other.  So this challenges the way I think about our “connectedness.”  I’m a firm believer that what you do to others, you do to yourself.  That includes negative thoughts and energy directed toward anyone, and especially physical harm.

Everyone has heard, “What you reap, you sow,” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Then there is the single word that means the same…..Karma.

From the time I was little, something inside me knew that if you treat others badly, it would happen to you.  I remember at six years old, seeing a friend of mine saying nasty things to another person that hurt them so badly.  I told her, “Don’t do that!  Don’t you know it will come back to you and hurt you!”   Where did I get that?  How did I understand something so complicated as a young girl?  I believe we all have an “innate” understanding of those things as we enter the world, and it is only through the “indoctrination” of societal beliefs do we lose it.  Lose it might even be a strong word.  I don’t think we lose it, as much as we forget it.  We forget who we really are…that spirit, connected to all things and part of the greater universe and God.

Ok, back to the real conundrum.  If we are all spirits of the greater universe and we are all connected together as one, does that mean the negative actions and energy of one is reflected on us all?  I’ve been pondering that all morning and talking about it with my husband.  The conclusion I have is, yes.  It does reflect on us all.

I’m going to use an example of one person in particular, who I won’t name, but that person is enjoying the limelight of his own ego and self importance by getting people worked up and angry.  Angry to the point where they commit violent riots and protests, hurting other people in the process; innocent people who had nothing to do with why they are so angry.  Instead of receiving the empathy and support,  they are greeted with anger in return, because they have hurt innocent people.  They have destroyed their own communities “as justification for their anger.”  They don’t seem to understand that through their violence they have hurt themselves.  Their city has crumbled, jobs are lost, businesses closed and there is no money filtering through the community.  In their hatred for someone else, they have hurt themselves.  So have they achieved what they want?  No.  Did they get the reaction they are looking for?  No.  Could they have made greater strides for their cause had they done things in a loving and peaceful way?  Yes!  This has already been proven with great leaders before them:  ML King, Ghandi and Mandela.  Not only did these men do things in a peaceful way, they also “forgave” those they deemed to be their perpetrators.

Love, peace and forgiveness strengthens and forms a bond between people.  Hatred and violence divide.  If we do things in love, we feel deeply the connectedness with one another, whereas violence and hatred make us feel isolated and alone, which is opposite of the way we are created.

So does this mean we are also held to the Karma of our governments?  The things we know they do and the things we are not aware of at all?  Will we be the recipients of their Karma?  You can draw your own conclusion here, but I will point out that governments and rulers make the decisions of what paths our countries take.  If it is a wrong path, I’ve only seen the innocent citizens hurt, not the ones making those decisions.  If we know our government is doing something wrong and we do nothing to stop it, we are responsible for not changing it.

Everything we do to others, we do to ourselves.  This is the law of the universe. We are all connected.  We are all responsible.  Will we continue the pattern of violence or will we choose love and forgiveness?

As I was pondering all these things this morning, I ran across this on Facebook:

together

The caption said, “A visual metaphor for the entire universe: everything is connected by the structure of space itself, even if it is not apparent to us on the surface… “

This was posted by The Resonance Project who is helping in the making of a film on the science behind the interconnection of all things in the universe.  ( I always think it is interesting when I think about something and more information about my thoughts appear to help me through my own process).  Synchronicity at its best.  It makes me smile because it’s nice to see Science catching up.

I want to leave a better world for our children and grandchildren.  We can only do that when we start realizing and believing that we are all One with each other and with the Universe.  We are the stewards of this earthly existence.  Let’s be good ones.  We will also reap the love that we give to others, and with that the abundances that life has waiting for us.  How we view the world around us, is what our reality will create for us.  I can just imagine the world we can create if we all joined together as one mind, thinking of a loving, prosperous, strongly connected human race.

So I end here with this:   The Pale Blue Dot

What is Christmas

I overheard someone the other day spewing negative rants about Christmas, how commercialized it was, and how he didn’t believe in a god, higher power or anything outside this world. “When I die, I’m dirt,” he said.

Whether you believe in a higher power than yourself, Christmas is not what’s in the shopping cart, but rather what’s in your heart. Christmas represents a lot of different things to everyone, but the most signifiant part of Christmas is a state of mind.

I love this time of year. I get to pull out my Christmas music and sing loudly, along with the songs that lighten my heart and fill me with happiness. It changes my state of mind from the daily chaos and grind. I shift into a spiritual state where I connect with the God I believe in and I allow silence to come so I can feel God’s presence. My Christmas then becomes the connection I have with my creator, the One I give thanks to. Life becomes one of gratitude and celebration.

Even as I start the “purchasing” part of Christmas….you know, buying for the kids and grandkids, my thoughts are those of gratitude, for my life being blessed with my children and my grandchildren and the loving husband I have.

My thoughts center around what I can do for those I love. That in of itself is transforming. There is no greater gift than the kindness you can show and give to others.

Still a lot of people think Christmas is all about presents, meals, and making things “perfect” in the “perfect setting.” There is no such thing as perfect. There only “is.” In this wonderful life, everything is perfect, in all its imperfections. Enjoy the moments. Pay attention to everything and everyone around you and just let it be as it is, and be thankful.

My husband’s sister is so cute. She had a hard time understanding how we could spend Christmas in a warm climate with 80 degree temps and sunshine. “There’s no snow!” she said. My husband just laughed and reminded her, “Honey, baby Jesus was born in the desert with palm trees.” We still laugh about that.

For my sister-in-law, Christmas was what she had grown accustomed to growing up, which is the same for many people. But then afterwards, they are exhausted and wonder how the time flew by, without many moments of pure enjoyment.

Christmas will be what you make it. Everyone has different traditions, religions and ways to worship. They are all good. I certainly have mine. But if you want to make it different than it’s been, you have to start by looking inside yourself and finding a connection to something deeper and greater than yourself. Spend even a few minutes in silence and feel the gratitude for your life. Everyone has something to be grateful for. Look for it, because it’s not hidden. You have to choose to “see it.”

I feel grateful for the quiet early dawn, savoring the warmth and slumbering silence of my neighborhood, and the rainbow of colors in the sky as the sun begins its ascent, bringing another beautiful day. My thoughts return to an old man I met on a beach one evening. He had been coming to that same spot every night for twenty years to watch the sunset. He told me, “I was blessed with one more day, to see one more sunset. As long as I can, I will come here every evening to be thankful for that.”

My wish for this Christmas is that everyone finds some peace, love and gratitude within their hearts, and then pass it on to everyone around them.

“Christmas is not what’s in the shopping cart, but rather what’s in your heart.”