All at sea?

The sea of life is in constant motion; no one can stop its ever-moving waves. The stupid man drowns in his effort to cross; the Master walks over the waves; but the wise man swims in the water.
(A saying of Hazrat Inayat Khan)

Swimming becomes more difficult as the conditions get tougher. However we can learn techniques and develop tools to use that enable us to cope whatever the conditions. Developing mindfulness helps us get more from life. Whether we run a business, a family, or simply want to live above the circumstances rather than drown under them. Becoming aware, learning to respond rather than react, to be less judgemental, using the flow rather than paddling against it, these are the attributes of mindful living

Silver linings?

Sometimes having a 'soft' or 'moist' day (okay it's pouring down) is important. Just as some people might say every cloud has a silver lining, so we can recognise that at the very least a wet weather day may help us appreciate sunny days more. By being mindful we can learn to do much more. We can appreciate the life that rain supports, our own and others. We can recognise the depth, the variety of every day life. We can appreciate how fortunate we are that everyday is different, bringing new challenges, and opportunities. Sometimes even appreciating that nature is so much something we experience rather than control is important in realising that everything changes, life goes on, so engage fully, don't get stuck. Notice how you react rather than respond to each day, set yourself the challenge of finding something to appreciate in every experience, live fully! 

Do we deserve our leaders?

We need to realise that Climate Change isn't about the weather it is about life, the ability to have one.


Spot the difference:

All it takes for scenes like this to be more commonplace, for the greedy to have more while the list of 'have nots' gets longer is for good people to do nothing

With the Climate Change summit in Copenhagen ending with a weak agreement to do something rather than a strong legally binding agreement with specific objectives (you know - all the things we are taught at management school 101, SMART goals, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time framed - all the things we haven't got!), we have to ask do we have weak leaders because our own commitment is weak? Can we be bothered or would we rather keep spending, consuming until the resources run out? Until our cosy world is overturned by people looking for food and water?


Start taking control of the message you want to give - go to


www.350.org/signup

Mindfulness of stuff?

Had two walks this morning, one as the sun came up over Gummer's How near Windemere the other through the town centre where the market is taking place. One walk was full of new things to see, the other the same old stuff. One required some effort to get there, the other some effort to stay there. One had people looking cold and miserable the other no-one else for miles. Why is it that we often fail to remember the restorative power of nature? Watching the sun come up (or go down), seeing the bigger view, observing life going on without having to spend more money, noticing how everything changes even as we stand still and look. But being mindful needs effort, to look, listen, feel, use all our senses doesn't happen by accident. But if we can make an effort to go shopping for some momentary pleasure (often followed by the post purchase remorse - should I have bought/eaten/done that?) then maybe we can learn to engage our senses more with the real life going on around us rather than the false life in the marketing promise. We are part of nature not part of someone's business plan.

Let's make a difference

If we care about our environment, whether because we want to protect areas like this or because we are concerned about the future our children will be dealing with then we need to act. This year, thousands of individuals and organisations from across the country are putting aside their differences to help write the first chapter of 21st Century’s biggest story. The idea is simple: we work together to achieve a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions in 2010. From village post offices to City skyscrapers, everyone’s invited.

Cutting 10% in one year is a bold target, but for most of us it’s an achievable one, and is in line with what scientists say we need right now. And by signing up to a 10% target we’re not just supporting 10:10 - we’re making it happen. The success of 10:10 depends on getting everyone involved, and the 10:10 website has all the tools you need to pass the message on far and wide. We need to start spreading the word to every corner of the country, inviting our friends, family, colleagues, customers, competitors – everyone we know – to take part.

It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of a huge problem like climate change, but by uniting large numbers of people and institutions around immediate, effective and achievable action, 10:10 enables all of us to make a meaningful difference.

It’s the perfect opportunity to find out what’s possible when we work together. 10:10 is about putting aside our differences to tackle the defining challenge of our age. 10:10 is about working together.

5th IATC - Edinburgh

I've just returned from the 5th International Adventure Therapy Conference in Edinburgh. This gathering of psychologists, therapists, counsellors mindfulness and outdoor practitioners takes place every three years. This event had participants from more than 21 countries ranging from Australia to Greenland, Britain to Singapore, all with the common aim of sharing best practice, looking at how we can help people and the planet.

As well as the numerous speakers and workshop leaders, there was the opportunity to take part in discussions and activities, including a worthwhile visit to the Labyrinth at Edinburgh University (see photo). The difference between a labyrinth and a maze? A maze is a place to get lost, a labyrinth a place to find yourself, an opportunity to focus, try one and see!

Therapy in the outdoors (whether called by Adventure, Wilderness, or any other prefix) means engaging with nature, using the outdoors as a therapeutic component in our lives, recognising our connection and place in nature and our impact on the planet as a whole as well as our local society. It is a way of engaging with the full spectrum of life that could make a massive difference to our personal and planetary well-being.

Justice

Today I listened to the Scottish Justice Minister being interviewed on BBC Radio 4 about the decision to send back to Libya the terrorist guilty of the Pan Am bombing. Regardless of his decision which I know many will disagree with, it was a pleasure to hear a politician actually prepared to stand by his decision, to be prepared to defend it, to talk about principles at a time when many politicians are displaying their lack of them. To hear a politician finally talking about civilised society demonstrating compassion and humanity, instead of acting with equal or greater brutality was heart warming. The reporter unable to break through the statements about acting with compassion went on to challenge the statement that the terrorist was now under sentence of a higher power. Despite the efforts of the reporter to draw out whether he meant God or Allah (aren't they the same God - both abrahamic religions?) or Gaia or some other power, he stuck to his principles simply stating that the man was dying, something that not court or opinion can stop therefore entitled under Scottish Law to release on compassionate grounds. Great to hear, other politicians please take note, we want politicians we feel will stand up for what is right, not for who contributes the most, the biggest profit or headline. Even better to see that despite massive outside pressure, especially from the US (remember the compassionate country that challenges healthcare for all as been a 'social' construct, a country where states retain the death penalty, where people live in tent cities, and don't get federal help in a disaster because they are the wrong colour - the land of the free as long as you contribute to profitability, where international aid is given as long as you agree to trade restrictions, to rules on contraception, and of course that the world has only existed for a few thousand years, etc. The obvious experts on compassion!!) the Scottish stick to their principles - well done!