Charity and Compassion

It was during the years I lived in Florida that I first began seeing men standing at intersections holding signs that read: Will Work For Food. At first, it was shocking in its newness; afterwards it became a personal conflict. I would often overhear groups of people talking about what a racket it was. They would say that limousines delivered the men to various corners. However, I had not seen this; could it be true or a lie? Then one day I was driving home from the grocery store. A man with a sign approached my car while I was stopped at the light. He was holding his sign to my window and looking in my eyes. I had to make a decision, it was no longer a matter for debate. It was there in that moment the world became silent. All the voices and arguments were gone. I had clarity. It was not my responsibility to decide if this man deserved my help or not. He was asking for food; I gave him a loaf of bread.  

What a relief and blessing it was once the decision was made. It is not my responsibility to judge whether someone else deserves to be helped.  When someone asks, give what they ask for. I did not give money, he asked for food. Where I live in Honduras, there is very little financial aid for those with physical limitations or the very ill. Often I’ll see a mother with a invalid child holding her hand out while standing outside a grocery store, a blind man with a brother or neighbor helping him request donations at a traffic light. There is generally some handicapped person in  a wheel chair holding out a jar at an intersection. People from other cultures can find these sights disturbing but within the culture here, there is a quiet understanding.

Those who have help those who cannot help themselves. I see it in so many levels here. If your life is blessed with a car then you financially aid those that are walking blind or in wheelchairs when they stand asking for help. If you live in a nicer house with a number of electric appliances, you pay the highest rate for electricity so that the poor who use little receive their electric free. The emotional benefit is a wonderful feel-good. There is also the added benefit of being free of guilt or shame in having while living amongst those who don’t. The benefit that comes on the energy or spiritual level is the highest reward. It is what is often referred to as The Golden Rule.

SING OUT A HAPPY SONG

It used to surprise me when  clients or guest from my Healing Vacations would complain that they cannot keep a happy positive focus. They start out with the best intentions; making commitments to personal practices, writing in journals and making lists. Then, once they leave the sanctity of their private space and reenter the everyday world, all their poise and peace vaporizes in the din.

It is easy enough to see how this might happen. I once read that the majority of the world lives in quiet desperation. Compound that fact with the stress levels of our culture and being drawn into the current of surrounding negativity probably feels more natural than the effort necessary to keep heads above the water. Those trapped within cycles of anxiety and depression or were raised using anger and resentment  as shields find staying positive especially difficult. 

The magic solution I use and teach is to have a happy song. During a time when you are feeling balanced and lighthearted, think of a song.  Practice singing your song so it becomes a ready tool. Thoughts can follow a downward spiral or an upward one. A day may be filled with events we didn’t choose, but only we decide how  to think  about the event. When something jolts your well-being or when negativity threatens your peace, sing aloud.  It is impossible to think of anything else when you are trying to recall the lyrics of a song. So, Listen to the Carpenters –Sing

Here are a couple more personal favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu7i0fnmW64

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A

photo courtesy of yahoo free photos

Applied Energy

When my husband and I moved to the Big Island of Hawaii, we bought a house nestled within an acre of jungle. On the edge of the house clearing stood an avocado tree of questionable age. Neither my husband nor I were fans of avocados and this tree was lanky and twisted from fighting for space in the sun. During our first 3 years, it had bore only a handful of fruit so we planned to cut it down sometime in the future.

Our house also had an above ground water catchment tank. It is a common practice in that area to collect rainwater for household cleaning. In times of drought, water must be bought by the truckload to fill the tanks. A truck holds 5,000-gallon or 2,500 gallons. If you order 5,000 gallons and only need 4,000, you pay for all and the driver dumps the remainder on your property. We had this happen once and the avocado tree received the excess gallons.

People familiar with growing avocados know the trees do not like soppy wet soil; it is sure death. Since we had no attachment to the tree, it was not a threat. However, friends that came by a few days later were devastated that we would allow a food-producing tree to die. They wanted to “save” the tree with blessing. Trying to explain our less than positive experience with tiny, hard avocados made no impression so  I gave them the go-ahead. They could have all the future fruit it bore. It seemed easier than trying to explain the fruitless history. 

The two women stood with their hands on the tree’s trunk. They spoke to the tree telling it how beautiful it was and how much they loved it and its fruit. They ended their 2-minute blessing by wishing the tree health and happiness. That year our tree gave us over 2-bushel s of beautiful and perfect avocados. 

I have been a student of subtle energy and energy healing for years before that event. I have used energy to help people and animals regain health. However, I had never thought to apply the idea to the tree. It was a wonderful lesson and I have since saved other trees from trauma, using the same process. It makes me wonder what else I am accepting as normal instead of offering healing. I find myself wondering why we, as a species, are not using the same healing force to shift the planet from hardship into harmony. If a tree can receive and respond, surely others of our own kind can. It only takes making a daily practice of thinking thoughts of kindness toward others; offering prayers of love and sincere wishes for well-being. What a beautiful example to teach and legacy to leave grandchildren and future inhabitants of our planet. 

A change in the way we look and things and applying positive energy will create a healthy planet.