We Deserve more than Second Hand Experiences!
Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything. George Lois
After a minor hiccup of things not going my way, I was reminded of the meditation that I listened to in the morning by the amazing Deepak Chopra. As we go through life contrast provides us with experiences that may frustrate us – whether it is work, relationships, finances, or conditioned behaviours that affect our perceptions, we start to believe that our choices are limited.
This is what is known as second-hand experience – the way of living that is responsible for pressure, and frustration and driven by others’ beliefs, expectations and demands. Familiar repetition guides our life and we remain blissfully stuck in the comfort zone even though these predictable patterns turn us into biological robots.
If we learn to abide in our essential being, a simple change in perception can have profound effects. It is in that safe place we can trust in the organizing power of the Universe to effortlessly help us navigate a world of first-hand experiences because we deserve it!
I can hardly wait for tomorrow, it means a new life for me each and every day. Stanley Kunitz
With this in mind, I decided that I would set an intention to have first-hand experiences – to be the author of my own story instead of living up to someone else’s expectations. I thought about the experience when people fall in love – the excitement and newness of it all produce emotions of overwhelming joy. Could that same feeling be amplified and recreated every day? Of course, it can, we are able to experience creativity in its highest form just by taking a walk in nature and seeing the ‘beauty in the ordinary!’
So, as if for the ‘first time’, lets us take the opportunity to look at our world differently today – perhaps ponder the dynamic relationship between mankind and Nature – the unbreakable bond that sustains, nurtures and heals us. How plants help humans breathe by providing us with oxygen, and how humans help plants “breathe” by providing them with carbon dioxide – feel the pulse of all life today and as we fill our lungs with air, try to
see every breath as a first-hand experience. Embrace our limitless potential and look at life with renewed clarity, and appreciation for the oneness of Creation
And as we continue to recalibrate our experiences, may I encourage you to read this hymn, and pause enough to greet the day with the spirit this song encourages…
Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world
Sweet the rains new fall, sunlit from Heaven
Like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass
Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God’s recreation of the new day
Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world
Cat Stevens
