Friday, January 1, 2010

A New Year, Dogs and "Invictus"


This morning our dog, Dori, was happily awake and ready to go at 4.30 a.m.. Her bed is in our room so she just thumps her tail against our bed and puts her face right in ours when she is ready to wake us up. I told her to go back to sleep to no avail. Steve and I both decided to get up.
After stoking the woodstove and feeding the dogs (they returned to their beds directly after eating) we each sat for meditation. I started by remembering all that I have been given this year. I have been working on really feeling and opening my heart to the fullness of Life and all the abundance that has so freely been given to me.
It was a beautiful early morning-bright with the moon. When I took the dogs out I heard an owl blessing our day, "whowho . . . whowho".
I am happy to be moving forward into the Light of a new year.
Yesterday afternoon we saw "Invictus". Do not miss it. It is such an inspiring tale and perfect for the beginning of a new year. The most powerful part of the whole story for me was this: Mandela was jailed for his plans to sabotage the S. African government who continued to oppress blacks. "Mandela - a lawyer by training - told the court earlier: "I do not deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation and oppression of my people by the whites."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/12/newsid_3006000/3006437.stm
After 27 years of imprisonment in a small cell without even a mattress, afetr 27 years of back breaking quarry work as a prisoner, Mandela maintained a peaceful and forgiving stance. He lived Gandi's famous teaching, "we must be the change we wish to see in the world."

The most potent scene is when Matt Damon's character says, "He was imrisoned for 27 years and came out ready to forgive his oppressors."
This year I want to embody this way of living. Change starts with me. When I am in touch with my own light, when I am embodying the change, I will serve others naturally.

It has come to me through so many messengers, including this movie, that my heart and soul's work is to nurture my own self-knowing. From this place I align with the powerful flow of Grace. I will know where to go, what to do next, how I can best be of service to my fellows.
I leave you with one final Mandela quote:
“As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.” Nelson Mandela

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