spirituality

Op-ed: What to Do when Chaos Seems to Reign

~ Kim Olgren ~ Leave a comment

What’s happening in the US is a symptom of a bigger issue. Humans are, for the most part, selfish and warlike beings. Seriously, we are. Here me out.

Until we can figure out how to find the balance between humanitarianism, stewardship of our planet, and fulfillment of our individual dreams we will continue to careen toward ruin. We are fast-approaching the point of no return. I’m not trying to be an alarmist. I believe we can still pull out of the nose dive, but we need to act now and continue acting.

What are we supposed to do, you ask? Let’s break it down. Protests, phone calls, and emails are all well and good. We need to tell our leaders who represent us on a macro level what we will and won’t tolerate and what they should be working on; but we need to do more. Well, here’s some ideas. Let me know if you have more.

Humanitarianism

  • Be kind and Compassionate to your fellow humans.
  • One of my friends organizes a collection of hundreds of back-to-school packs for kids in need.
  • Another helps run a food pantry (one that has not qualification process, requires no ID, and never judges).
  • Or, maybe your work is on a smaller level like sharing your garden harvest with your neighbors, taking food to the person next door who is recently widowed or recovering from illness or surgery.
  • Find out which classroom supplies your kid’s’ teacher is short on and donate some.
  • Donate money to organization that help those in need like Care and Share or your local homeless shelters. Incidentally, food banks can use your money way better than the expired canned goods you just donated.

We should care for each other as we would ourselves. Machiavellian philosophy and practices have no place in the modern world. If we want to survive as a species we need to work together. That’s the way it’s always been. After all, we’re all just walking each other home.

Stewardship
Campers rule: Always pack out what you packed in and leave things better than you found them. It applies to little campsites and the entire planet. Think about it. It’s that simple.

Individual Dreams

We all have dreams and aspirations. Our dreams and aspirations are as varied as the humans who people the planet. Joseph Campbell said,

“Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”

Dreams and aspirations are important. Don’t be afraid to manifest yours. Sure, you’ll probably stumble a few times. But there are great people on big stages and tiny ones making a difference in the world every day by living their dreams and doing what they love.

But what about the people out there that are hurting, in need, downtrodden? Those who have no resources?

My friends, I’ve been there. In some ways I’m still there and in some ways I’m not. Here’s the thing, you’ll find that the people in the most need are often the people who are fully willing to share what little they have. But here’s the thing, those hurting, in need, and downtrodden are the very ones we should be supporting. Let’s not let the current US administration and state of the world make us forget what’s really important. Meanwhile, to the rest of the planet, please give us some grace while we fix this stuff.

Love.

Sorry May Not Be The Hardest Word…

~ Kim Olgren ~ 1 Comment

According to Sir Elton John, Sorry seems to be the hardest word. Although sorry is a heavy, heavy, word there may be an even harder word to deal with…forgive. Forgive can be an extremely difficult concept, especially when it comes to people, ourselves included. According to Merriam-Webster.com, this kind of forgiveness is defined as “to cease to feel resentment against.” Seems simple enough in theory, but it can be oh so hard in practice. Many people seem to think that to forgive someone they have to accept whatever the transgression has been as okay. That’s not true. Forgiveness has nothing to do with the violator but naming him/her, and everything to do with the victim.

And still it is sometimes so difficult to forgive. Knowing that it will free you, knowing that it will make you lighter, knowing that it will release the burden…still it can be so daunting. So some people keep dragging that burden around keep letting it make little cuts in their psyche, keep letting it hold them back, from the right relationship, the right job, the right whatever. Think about it, is there someone that still burns your chaps when you think about him/her? I bet there is. Maybe it’s an ex maybe it’s a family member or a friend, maybe it’s a stranger. Recently, for me, it was some previous coworkers.

I was recently reminded of my neglect in forgiving them when they ended up sitting in my line of sight at a local event. The first thing that entered my head was “You gotta be kidding me! There goes my afternoon!” Then “Really, you’re going to give these slime balls that kind of power?” I’m so grateful for those times that I can actually hear my quiet voice of reason whispering to me. She was right. That, my friends, is the power of forgiveness – the power to completely dissolve any power that someone has over you because of some transgression or violation they have perpetrated against you. As long as you haven’t forgiven them, they live rent free in your head all the time, affecting your thoughts, your actions, and how you feel. Did I walk up to them and say “Hey, yeah, uh, I forgive you.” Nope. That’s the cool thing about forgiveness, participation of the heathen violator is not necessary. One more thing that proves that forgiveness is for your own well-being, not that of the meanie that hurt you.

“But I’m still really mad!” you say. That’s okay. This was one of those particularly difficult forgivings for me, but I did it. I did it right then and there. Here’s how I know that it worked. I’m still pissed about what these people did, but it no longer sits in my heart like a cold, lead cannonball, weighing me down. My heart feels open and light like it should. You don’t have to give up your feelings and surrender; you just have to let the darkness out. You can work through the rest afterwards, but oddly enough, you can’t work it out and move on until you’ve done the forgiving part.

Have you ever had a hard time forgiving someone? I’d love to hear how you overcame it or how you’re working through it.

An Attitude of Gratitude

~ Kim Olgren ~ 3 Comments

"Dancing with the Goddess" Original Artwork by Kim Olgren

When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears. – Anthony Robbins

As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary gratitude is the state of being grateful: THANKFULNESS. Well that cleared things right up didn’t it? Like many seekers, I believe the effects of gratitude are so much more than what this simple definition provides. Gratitude sets in motion wondrous and varied reciprocal actions for the person who sent out that little bit of gratitude to begin with. It’s truly amazing what a little gratitude can do.

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you? – William A. Ward

We don’t even have to wait until something happens to grateful for it. We can be thankful in advance for whatever it is we are envisioning for the future, in fact gratitude helps manifest the things we are working on bringing to life. Gratitude lightens the heart, helps to keep us grounded, and focuses our attention on the positive rather than allowing us to dwell on the negative. Life has its ups and downs, the trick is to find the things to be grateful for in the downs as well as the ups. If nothing else, we can be grateful for the lesson a down time has shown us.

Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. – Oprah Winfrey

Gratitude is an essential requirement of healthy spirituality and a healthy mental state. Gratitude is an integral part of the life of every person who has had, is having, or will have a positive effect on humanity. Gratitude is one of the cornerstones of greatness. It doesn’t have to be the kind of change-the-face-of-humanity greatness of Mother Theresa. If you’ve managed to teach your children true, heartfelt gratitude or managed to touch someone’s heart with gratitude, you already possess greatness. You have an attitude of gratitude!

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” – Melody Beattie

Daily, mindful practice of gratitude changes our perspective on life and everything around us. If you keep a journal try incorporating five things you are grateful for every day. Another way to practice gratitude is to think of five things you’re thankful for before you go to sleep each night. Taking time to meditate on the concept of gratitude and the things you are thankful for is another way to bring more of it into your life. Make a point to say thank you…and mean it. Show genuine appreciation where it is due and show gratitude for the lessons you’ve learned.  It’s quite easy to find a myriad of ways to practice gratitude all through the day and it only makes each day, each life, better for you and those around you. How do you practice your attitude of gratitude?

For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything Thy goodness sends. – Ralph Waldo Emerson