Today was a gorgeous spring day. One blessing I have of being self-employed is to have some freedom to change my schedule as I need and within reason. Springtime weather is fleeting in this harsh Mid-western climate so it was essential to me to arrange my schedule to include some outside time today.
So I slung my pink backpack across my shoulders, doubled up on socks, tied by gym shoes tightly and took off walking. The intention was to take a two-hour spirit walk. A spirit walk for me is a space in time where I meditate, perform some distance healing and work on self-healing and clarity. It’s an important time for my spirituality and to nurture good health for my mind and body.
About two miles from home, the warm sun beating down on me, I turned onto a trail that leads to a vast open field, with few trees and mostly tall grasses, and the various insects and birds that go with such a glorious place. At a fork in the gravel path I noticed this little tree near a bench.
Encircling the little tree was fencing and stakes. It sat in the center of that small enclosure by itself. It had a little yellow ribbon around its fragile trunk. I stopped and stared.
Looking around at the big open lands around me, the blue sky decorated with white, fluffy clouds, I noted some trees that stood at a distance but within my eyesight, big and bold. Then I looked back at the tiny tree protected by the fence around it, decorated with a yellow bow…that no doubt must have some sort of meaning it.
Then I thought about a conversation I had this past Friday with a friend. She said that a Jehovah Witness came to visit her earlier and they talked about the tragedies of the past in the bible. They talked about the tragedies that are happening now in the world. She said to me, “we both agreed that everyone is talking about the bad things that are happening and what is supposed to happen in the future.” I stopped her and said, “I don’t know anyone who is talking about that. Nor do I know what is supposed to happen.”
Totally surprised she said, “You’re kidding? Really?”
“Really,” I said, “I know no one talking about that nor is it something I want to talk about or dwell on.”
After that we got side tracked by another topic, thankfully. But I didn’t forget that conversation and I felt bad for her. Thinking about what happened in the past is important so we don’t do the same things again. BUT that does not mean, I don’t think, that it should be part of any every day conversation. And talking about how bad things are now and what will come of the world if we keep doing bad things to each other, I think again, may be a point of limited discussion but not part of our everyday thoughts.
Why? Negative thinking stokes the fire for more negative thinking. We are made up of energy, all of us…humans, animals, nature…everything. We share the same space and the same energy fields. This is a proven scientific fact. So I personally won’t be stoking that fire.
Now back to the little tree. As I stood staring at that little brown, leafless tree I thought to myself, somebody loved that tree. Someone saw the value in the life of that little tree when it could have easily been forgotten and left to fend for itself. It was probably a group of people who decide to protect these beautiful parts of nature. It was a good, compassionate group of people who saw to it that that tree had a chance to survive and thrive.
Then as I walked away from the tree I thought about all the ways we humans are doing things to help the defenseless. So often we are bombarded by negative things on the news, on social media and in conversations. But if we can just see past that there are so many people doing so many wonderful things every day. If we just shift our attention and our energy to notice those subtle things that happen all the time then they won’t be so subtle anymore.
Instead that positive energy will grow onto itself and we can stoke that fire instead. We all have the ability and responsibility to share, care and give of our love to this world. Believe that this world can not only survive but also thrive and it will. Collectively, we decide.
Always with love,
Sandy Kamen Wisniewski