North America - Houston calling...

The last few days back in North America, to the luxuries of living in a first world, concrete world….immense gratitude for being with the family and friends. And then the news - as I watched the cruise ship and its 4000 some passengers going through their personal stories of discomfort as the systems broke down on the luxury liner….unhappy people with unmet expectations. They paid for the few days of time off to relax and get away, to pause - all the reasons why we take vacations. Now we are talking about protecting the "planet from space"…. a meteor hitting Russia and a close call from an asteroid. One in a million chance of two cosmic events happening on the same day… I cannot help but think of Oscar Pistorius….an inspiration for many, those who met him speak of his kind, gentle and friendly disposition. Our behavior and interactions with others is the mirror, it is the outer projection of who we are. So are we to stop taking people at their "face value", the nicer you are the more hidden demons within? Not! yet it does reinforce the belief that the outer masks need to come off. Not only to express our inner demons, but for each of us to get closer to how we feel, in any and every given moment. The awareness of ones' feelings, without outer distractions - allows one in finding the thoughts surrounding those feelings. This awareness not only help to diminish the intensity of the emotional outburst but allows one to channel that energy; with the hope that the internal conflict does not result in a "volcanic" eruption. Awareness then becomes the freedom to "pause between the stimulant and the action"… Once the comfort level with being with the feelings becomes acceptable, then the "expression" of those feelings becomes manageable, it changes from hostile to compassion for self and for others. As a society we have been conditioned to start the outer relationships in order to feel good inside, could this be the unachievable approach or just another distraction. How about we start a relationship first with oneself and then with others. Life and living is not linear, its now with all its happenings, and all the cosmic coincidences are just another reminder. A daily pause, a ritual to find the space to pause. As essential to life as the breath. This is the journey we want to be on, the pauses and vacations to take from the hustle bustle of every day commitments. Just as the breath and breathing keeps the body alive, the awareness of each moment keeps the soul alive. Is it time to get back to the basics. Take time to appreciate, the laughter of a child, the one meal and each bite each person gets to eat. The joy of loving with just this moment, the presence, the immense ocean of compassion which drowns out all the dramas. Time to think and live simply, finding the beauty in the here and now. In the laughter shared, the mistakes called life, the freedom to feel without the outer distractions to numb this moment. To be simply humans, living and approaching life with the passion and acceptance - two sides of the same coin. The glamour, the perfection, and the inspiration we seek from the external and the outer - causes an imbalance if the inner is not touched. Taking time to be by oneself, to be introspective and contemplate. It is all inside - the outer seeking by so many becomes the destruction of "one"- sometimes the means destroys the end.