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The Message Board Feature Article
THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE Part1: the Nature of Resilience
"Hi Joan and Frank!"
"Oh! Hi Yvonne, would you
like a cuppa?" asks Joan. "No thanks", says Yvonne as she joins
them.
"We were just sitting here, reflecting on the marvel of
nature to regenerate", says Frank. The three sit on the porch, gazing out
into the greening of the native bush that surrounds the house. The silence
is broken by Joan. "Who would've thought that only two years ago this
place and Marysville was scarred beyond recognition."
"Yes, fire
has such a devastating effect on everything in its path...," Frank pauses
to clear his throat and compose himself (in truth he is near to tears).
Sighing, he continues "and I sometimes wonder if nature has a secret to
regeneration that we humans have missed out on."
Joan consoles him,
saying "I know what you mean Frank. We all know someone who's been crushed
by Black Saturday. February 7 2009 will be forever branded into our
memories." A gentle breeze surrounds them all as they contemplate their
inner thoughts.
"You know Frank, I don't think we've missed out on
the power to regenerate or be restored," reflects Yvonne, "like nature I
think people have a wonderful capacity to renew and even grow stronger
after hardship. As I returned home that day it was impossible for me to
see any likelihood that life could return - for months I cried daily and
it was impossible to see a future here." Slowly, the tears make their way
down her cheeks and finally lodge themselves into the corners of her
mouth.
"Yet, here I am. No! Here we are! And just a moment ago we
were caught by the wonder of the new growth that surrounds us. And right
now, the people in Queensland are facing the floods and we witness daily
their courage. They have a strength that enables them to get up and take
one more step; just one more; like we have. No, I think there is a
powerful restorative force in us."
----------------------
Our inner choice: the art of intention and attention
Unlike nature which stands witness to the innate
restorative forces within LIFE, human beings are given a choice to allow
the forces of resilience to unfold in their lives - or to be innocently
rejected by reasons that we hold as proof to the impossibility of
rejuvenation in such circumstances.
Our lives can be confronted by
so many crushing moments: the death of a loved one, natural disaster,
crippling disease, mental illness, the terrible brutality we heap upon one
another; and the torturous belief that causes people to doubt their own
worthiness.
As human beings we put LIFE's resilient force to the
test in the face of such events or circumstances. Yvonne was able to
experience the crushing moment for days and months after the fire that
destroyed her home and township. Yet, there was a deep intention within
her to be faithful to the restorative forces of LIFE. And this intention
needed a loyal inner discipline to maintain her focus - a focus on a
reality that was beyond her present experience.
Yvonne's life has
been turned upside-down externally and internally. She is not unlike
Emmanuel Jal, a 29 year old Sudanese whose early upbringing was critically
impacted by being forced as an 8 year old to be a child soldier (the
subject of our podcast). The question we often face is: is there a point
in our life where the resilient forces of LIFE have no affect? The answer
to this question is determined by our inner minds and hearts. Each of us
has a choice.
The word choice is a strange word is this context. To
make a choice we must be able to see alternatives, discriminate and
evaluate the outcomes of a decision. Emmanuel Jal had no choice when he
was forcefully recruited as an eight year old to become a soldier. Did he
kill? Yes. Did he brutalise his enemy? Yes. Did he feel powerful as he
held the AK47? Yes. But he was innocently ignorant of his own moral
compass. Yet, there was a moment (where he refused to eat the bodies of
his dead companions) when he made the choice to act differently, to listen
to another voice. Not because he wasn't hungry, but because he made a
choice to give weight to his thought that it was 'wrong' - an act against
his own deeply buried moral compass; even in such abject
circumstances.
Even today Emmanuel has the feelings to kill,
stemming from the deep conditioning built from his past. But today his
deep intention is to live a life of non-violence - to love. And this
accompanied by an acute attention (an inner discipline) to his feelings
which are a reflection of his thoughts. In moments of agitation he is able
to quieten and do nothing other than find a contented space within his
being. He, like Yvonne, can see that dwelling and ruminating on 'their
loss' will crush the possibility of rejuvenation and the experience of
living LIFE.
So we see how important such intention and attention
is (especially in such appalling conditions as Emmanuel, Yvonne, Joan,
Frank and others faced). It is essential to our metanoia (or change of
heart).
Yet LIFE's restorative powers are just as available when we
face less momentous but nonetheless real times of anxiety, anger,
irritation, frustration and stress - the little ordinary occasions in
life.
What would it take to have an intention and the attentive
discipline to experience our inner calmness more each day, no matter if we
are facing the big events or the little occasions?
The Human
Experience Pt.2 continues next month...
--------------------------------------------------------
© David Bodman 2011. Permission to copy for personal use is granted.
 Comments
on this article? Email me here |
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Calendar Events for 2011
How do I become my own best friend? How do I live life more
easily? I sometimes wonder if LIFE is working against me - is it? I allow
and allow and allow but nothing changes - what am I doing wrong?
Does any of that sound familiar?
This Snapshot is a time
to reflect on and experience 'our natural best friend' and discover that
we live a graceful life through our intention to love ourselves via a
connection to LIFE as it is...
Join us, Saturday 26 March
Acceptance,
Resistance, & Everything Inbetween
Audio Podcasts
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...an opportunity to
listen deeply and reflect on our human experience, podcasts cover topics
from psychology, philosophy, anthropology, health & wellbeing,
business and spirituality...
What's
your experience?
Did
you like this podcast?
Guest
Writer: Allan Flood
Waking Up I
AM
Each of us wakes up every morning and has a split second
when we are free of our memories, in a state of bliss. It doesn't last
long. Then the details of our lives flood in and we remember who we are,
where we live and what we have to do that day. That pre-waking state is
closer to the reality of what we are than the "real" state that
follows.
If you remember for a moment what it's like in that state
not to have any emotions, associations or perceptions you'll find that
you're neither a man nor a woman, defined or unlimited or even a body.
That's the state of just "being", of not being able to say "I am Allan. I
am a man. I am working. I am married.", but rather of just knowing "I am".
That "I am" state is a spiritual state of mind and at the intersection of
our spiritual source and our physical life. It's a state very alive, aware
and joyful and the more we remember and appreciate that state of mind, the
more we're free, creative, aware, life-supporting beings fully alive in
the moment.
Links to Allan Flood:
Perfect
Misfortune
(Kindle/Revised)
www.allanflood.com
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