Dangling their feet off the edge of the world.

babypixtable

“They came to sit & dangle their feet off the edge of the world & after awhile they forgot everything but the good & true things they would do someday. ”

 Brian Andreas,  StoryPeople

I have this picture and quote by Brian Andreas on the table that is reserved for newborn pictures of my grandchildren. I think it has the perfect sentiment. I love each one of these precious humans so very much! Each so unique and with so much potential to do good in the world.

Let's do all we can to ensure a bright future for them and for all of the children in the world. Their future is in our hands, all of our hands, just as the future of the generations to come after them in is their hands.

The connection between generations is more than just a continuation of families. It is a sacred trust that is passed from one generation to the next and the next, even to those generations far removed from our own.

It is a trust that we serve and honor by doing our best to live now, while we are on this earth, in a way that ensures future generations will have access to the resources we have now. It is a way of living that ensures the wonder and beauty of the natural world will still exist for them.

It is a way of living that says, "I did my best to be a good steward of the environment because I want the very best for you, my grandchild, and you, my great grandchild, and you my, great great grandchild, and all those children who are born into a future far removed from my own lifetime."

It is a way of living, that says, "I have lived fully with love, a love that extends not just to those who live now; not just to those who will be descended from me, but to all those who dwell on this planet now and in the future."

It is our sacred trust and it is reaffirmed for us every time we look into the eyes of a newborn child.

It is a trust born of life itself.

I Call Myself Earth Girl, my first novel, is available in bookstores, online retailers, as an ebook in all formats.

Order from Amazon.com

http://amzn.to/19uhw1p

Order from Barnes and Nobles 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-call-myself-earth-girl-jan-krause-greene/1115388792?ean=9781782790495

A New Year's Dream

I had a dream of a hill with many trees - trees of every shape and size, with leaves of every color, and some with no leaves at all.

A voice in the dream told me that each of the trees had been planted by a different person and that each person watered and cared for their own tree. Each person, in fact, truly loved their own special tree. The trees were so well cared for that they grew to be large and magnificent to behold.

But in order for any tree to remain healthy, all of the trees had to be healthy. Eventually, there were times when someone was unable to care for his or her tree and it failed to thrive. As one tree became weak, other trees would also succumb.

The people who lovingly planted their trees were desperate to save them. They concentrated more and more on the health of their very special trees, hoping to save them from the fate of the weak and dying trees.

No matter how hard they tried to preserve the health of their own tree, they met with failure. More and more trees were dying.

Until .....

..... until, someone walked away from her own tree and started caring for all the trees on the hill. Gradually, as she lovingly watered each tree, even the trees that were furthest away grew healthy again.

From that day on, all of the tree planters, worked together to care for all of the trees. The trees grew to enormous size. People who could see this hill from a distance were amazed by the vibrant colors. Some even thought they saw the whole hill glowing.

Gradually, the hill of trees became known for its healing properties. People made pilgrimages to this amazing forest to be bask in its essence. They were filled with peace of mind and heart just by being there. No special prayer or ritual was necessary to make the healing occur.

When I woke up from this dream, it made so much sense to me. It was so simple, but to me it is about so many things. Not just our connection to nature and our connection to each other;  not just how the welfare of society as a whole is close related to the welfare of each individual, but also, about the peace that emanates from a place where loving care is giving freely.

Dreams are usually hard to put into words that make sense when we are awake. But this dream was so clear to me. It was a great way to start the new year.

Living with compassion

Today I signed the Charter for Compassion pledge. I have joined with over 100,000 people around the world. It makes so much sense to me. The more compassion in our daily lives, the more compassion in the world.

At this time of year, when millions of people around the world celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace and the beginning of a New Year, it seems fitting to make compassion a priority. Learning about the Charter for Compassion and signing the pledge can be the basis for a truly meaningful New Year's resolution.

Of course, I have never really kept my other resolutions - exercise every day, lose weight, get organized, learn to paint, learn a new language, become a better cook, moisturize before going to bed... the list of ways to improve myself goes on and on, and has proven to be almost completely meaningless. Will I be any better at keeping this resolution?

I hope so, because this one is actually important. So to start, I should begin by understanding what compassion actually is.

The word itself means "co-suffering, or to suffer with." The common understanding of compassion is that it is an awareness of the suffering of another along with a desire to alleviate that suffering.

We have all felt this many times in our lives, particularly when we see the suffering of someone we know and love, or when we see the suffering of people to whom we can relate. But, the Charter encourages us to act compassionately to everyone with no exceptions:

"Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect."

                                

 This is not a simple task. Certainly, it is harder than exercising everyday or applying moisturizer before bed. It requires me to realize that I am not the most important being in my life...that everyone matters as much as I do. These words are easy to write, easy to think about, and yet, very difficult to live.

One of the characters in I Call Myself Earth Girl experiences a gradual shift in her worldview after years of trying to answer questions posed by her daughter about war, poverty, and why some people suffer so much more than others. When she realizes that she does not have much longer to live, she decides to leave a statement about her new understanding and how she wishes she had lived her life:

We share this planet with each other.  None of us own it.

Yet, all of us are responsible for its survival.

We are all connected by our humanity.

I know that every other human being is no less valuable than I.

I believe that love can overcome hate, just as light overcomes darkness.

I believe in peace. I will work for peace.

I will try to:

• Consider the impact of my actions on my fellow human beings and on the earth.
• Engage in no activity that deliberately harms another human being.
• Learn the impact of my choices on people in other parts of the world.
• Seek nonviolent solutions to the problems we face.
• Always recognize and protect the beauty of the earth
• Live with joy in my heart.

The character recognizes that writing a statement about how to live while on her deathbed is much easier than living that way for a lifetime. To have a philosophical ideal about how to live and to put that ideal into actual practice are two very different things.

One is about thinking.    The other is about doing.

         

I actually wrote this  statement years before I wrote the book. It is how I want to live. But, I  have failed at one or more aspects over and over again ever since I wrote it. I hope that signing the pledge and aligning myself with others who have signed the pledge will help me live up to it. It is truly the most important resolution I have ever made. I hope and pray it is also the most successful.

Please wish me success in this quest to bring true compassion for all into my life.

If you would like to join me and those 100,000 like-minded people, please sign the pledge and please share this blog so that others will sign too!

You can read all about the Charter and also sign the pledge at http://charterforcompassion.org/the-charter

Here are some other resources:

Raising Compassionate, Courageous Children in a Violent World by Janice Cohn, Longstreet Press

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, Karen Armstrong, Anchor Press

Popular books on compassion listed on Goodreads.com

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/compassion

Okay, then, I'll do it myself if I have to!

Soooo, dear readers, I made a request at the end of my blog on August 1.(http://whataheartcanhold.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/a-year-of-good-news/ I asked everyone to post a reply that contained some good news, or to tweet some, or to email some, or to post some on Facebook.  Sad to say, only two people replied with good news.  Now, for all I know everyone else has been tweeting and emailing good news like crazy.

I hope so, because even though I am very much a realist, I think learning about good things helps us to feel empowered to do more good to and for each other. I believe that good news lets us know that we can find solutions to complex problems, overcome adversity of all sorts, and be kinder to everyone we meet. We can live with less fear and more love.

Since that blog post did not get much of a response, I am going to post some more good news myself:

In the Really Massive Good News" category:   Mercy Ships!!  Really, if you don't know about these, check them out! They will give you renewed faith in humanity. https://www.mercyships.org/about-mercy-ships/     Their website says: "A dream that began 35 years ago in a young man’s heart has become reality—a big, white, state-of-the-art hospital ship that delivers hope and healing to people around the globe living in dire circumstances."  

Not only are doctors and nurses giving free, state-of-the-art medical care to the poorest of the poor, but also, they have to pay their own way to do it. I have to admit, that level of generosity astounds me. Again, from their website: 

Volunteers with Mercy Ships are responsible for paying all costs associated with their service, including crew fees, travel expenses, passports, immunizations, insurance and personal expenses.  Because of this commitment, Mercy Ships is able to use direct contributions from its supporters to bring hope and healing to the poorest of the poor.

Crew members typically pay for their service by raising support from family, friends and churches or by saving money for their time onboard. A financial-health service for crew members – Financial Accountability, Coaching and Encouragement (FinACE) – helps volunteers develop a budget, determine the best ways to fund their service, and provide support raising tools, including a personal support raising web page.

Think about it! It humbles me to know that there are such generous, compassionate, loving people traveling around the goal to ease the pain and suffering of people they don't know. You may have seen the story of the Africa Mercy Ship on 60 Minutes recently. If not, it is definitely worth finding and watching.  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57596889/africa-mercy-hospital-of-hope/

And wait, just one more thing, a little note from CBS: Since "Africa Mercy" first aired, a $20 million donation toward a new ship was made by philanthropists Sue and Bill Gross.

 In the Hope for the Future category:  I attended a workshop sponsored by 350 Massachusetts  (of 350.org fame) and A Better Future Project. Everyone who attended was there because of their concern about the environment. This was a group of people who not only care, but also, who actually want to do something about it. There were about 20 people in attendance. Some people traveled a couple of hours to get to the meeting!

One of the things that I really loved about it, but more importantly, that gave me the most hope was the make-up of the group. Male and female, older and younger, native-born Americans and non-native born, including a man in a wheelchair who came with his aide. I will continue to be part of this group and I expect everyone who attended will do the same. 

And another in this category:  City Growers used Kickstarter.com  to fund a campaign for urban farms. Their goal was $15,000 and people pledged donations of $29,305! This is how the money will be used -  City Growers is producing green jobs by creating nutrient-dense food farms on vacant lots throughout Boston's urban neighborhoods.  You can check this program out at  http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?id=6264

I'm sure you have some good news. Please share it here or tweet to @CallMeEarth Girl.  Let's spread good news, create optimism and do some good!