A
few years back I took a turn off the busy
roads of life and went down a quite country
bridal way. That bridal way was called, 'self-discovery'
(spirituality).
I
liked the bridal way and felt like I could
have stayed on it forever. And I might have,
had it not been for my responsibilities -
children and bills and stuff.
At
the end of that bridal way I came to a busy
road. It seemed busier than ever. That was
when I realised something that I want to share
with you today.
What
I learned at the crossroads - where the bridal
way of spirituality met the busy main road
of life - is that spirituality is not about
leaving life's problems behind, it's about
continually confronting them with honesty,
integrity and courage.
This
was a meltdown moment for me. It meant I had
to stop hiding on the bridal way of life and
end all separation from me and my troubles
and heal relationships, find compassion and
put myself at the feet of others.
This
week I traveled around five hundred miles
across the south of the country and have seen
first-hand the devastation the summer floods
have brought.
I
saw a house where the first floor was under
water, a farm where the barns were flooded,
fields that had turned into lakes and roads
where the tarmac was now missing as a result
of the conditions.
Then
on the news I heard the survey that 61% say
this is just freak weather. 25% say it's global
warming.
Then
I heard that severe flooding happens around
every fifty years in the UK and that all this
might just be a planetary cycle.
Perhaps
the answer is: who knows. But the consequences
of the weather are that bees aren't making
honey. Cow's winter feed is being ruined,
wheat isn't growing and people's lives need
to be rebuilt.
I'm
not mentioning these things to scare. I'm
saying them to apply the principal of facing
our challenges with honesty, integrity and
courage.
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you have a friend or relative who
might value the thoughts or ideas
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If
it is just 'freak once in fifty years weather'
then fine. Over the coming months communities
will pull together to make things better again
and it will all work out fine - until next
time.
On
the other hand we can't discount the fact
that climate change is a ticking clock and
that maybe sitting on our botty's until the
politicians make a decision is not sensible.
While
carrying my thoughts around this week I came
to sit my botty on a friend's sofa this week.
On their wall they had the words of a Cree
Indian.
The
words said, 'Only when the last tree has died
and the last river has been poisoned and the
last fish has been caught will we realise
that we cannot eat money.'
Thinking
about this the following morning led me to
a discussion at our breakfast table.
We
discussed the possibility that for one week
we attempt to avoid anything that comes in
plastic wrapping, tin, glass bottles and cardboard
- since it all takes natural resources and
energy to create.
The
reality of the thought of this thought seemed
tough, especially on my daughter. She realised
she'd go without bread, margarine and marmite
at breakfast. Her lunch wouldn't include crisps,
tuna, lettuce and cucumber (when it stops
growing in the greenhouse).
I
would have to forgo olives. I'd miss out on
herbs except the ones I grow. I'd also need
to get serious on growing even more in the
garden or doing deals with my neighbours.
I
read a quote in a book recently that there
is a need for this generation to become saints
and heal what has been done.
Is
that a big ask?
My
thinking is not to separate from the problems
I'm a part of. Of course we've reduced, where
we can we reuse and if we can't we endeavor
to recycle. Yet still we produce rubbish each
week that took resources to make and is still
being dumped in the earth.
However,
today's article is necessarily about the environment,
it's about not burring our heads in the sand.
The point I want to get across is that there
is a need for us to face our challenges with
honesty, integrity and courage, whatever the
challenge - be it health, money, business,
family or whatever.
I
hope you'll find the tips useful.
