by Karen Cumming | Aug 9, 2020 | Earth Rocks Blog
A global pandemic leaves a girl with a little time on her hands, you know? Time to do things she’s never had time for before. Webinars, for example. You’ve probably signed up for one or two of those over the past few months… maybe more.
I took one back in May that was all about stress relief. Who doesn’t have a little stress they could relieve now, right?
The woman hosting it had some great tips. One of them really stuck with me. She suggested that she wasn’t “sheltering in place” the way so many other people were then. Instead, she told us she was “sheltering in peace”. “Wow,” I thought. “What a great way to re-frame all of this.”
In the blink of an eye, pandemic life became more of a pleasure. Instead of feeling frustrated that it was Saturday night and watching movies was the only thing to do, I flipped the switch to peace. Suddenly, it was Saturday night and watching movies was the only thing to do!!! A cup of tea, a bowl of vegan ice cream and Netflix and Prime were all that I needed.
Just like in the movies, though, the plot was about to thicken. A friend of mine told me her daughter was watching the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time – one famous flick a night. That lit a fire under me. Excitedly, I began to watch even more movies… big ones, small ones, quiet ones, moving ones… movies I’d heard of my whole life but had never made the time to see.
And I began to love and appreciate them more than I ever had before. During this time of unprecedented solitude, they’ve been connecting me to the human experience… to laughter and tears and the messiness and joy of living.
How’s that for a movie script… One that all of us can star in if we choose to give it a try. Sheltering in peace and connected to people.
Perfect.
by Karen Cumming | Aug 2, 2020 | Earth Rocks Blog
With everything going on in the world these days, sometimes a girl just needs to turn off the news, you know? A little Anderson Cooper goes a long way in these strange times we’re living in. Especially when you consider these strange times are likely going to last for awhile.
News is an interesting kind of negative energy. It’s like watching a train wreck; you want to look away, but you can’t.
Here’s the thing. There’s nothing we can do to control what’s happening, and there’s nothing we can do to change it. So why would we want to subject ourselves to the gory details day in and day out?
Consider a little strategy that just might help. I call it “Two Bites”. Instead of eating at the all-day buffet of news – try this. Take one bite in the morning after you get out of bed, and a second bite later in the day to check on what you’ve missed. It’s more like a snack than a buffet, and it’s a lot better for your mental health.
Read your tablet, watch TV, scroll through your social media for five or ten minutes and then be done with it.
The secret to the “Two Bites” strategy is the not cheating part. No matter how much you want to check your phone to see what the latest “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it” story to befall the planet is, you have to be strong. You have to stand firm.
Remember the brownie. It’s just like that. You’ll be glad you did.
by Karen Cumming | Jul 19, 2020 | Earth Rocks Blog
Richard Alpert was a Harvard psychologist who went to India in 1967. His experience there was more than just a vacation… it was a transformation. Alpert became a student of a guru who gifted him with a new name: Ram Dass.
As Ram Dass, he went on to become a spiritual teacher and a major influence on the world… mostly thanks to his suggestion that we all Be Here Now. Those three simple words became a book and a life philosophy: focus on here, live in the now, notice the world around you in every moment.
If only Ram Dass could be here now with me on my nightly walks through the neighbourhood.
Together, we’d see folks of every age and description out in the cool night air… walking past the birds in the trees, the frogs in the bulrushes, the golden sun setting low in the purple night sky… focusing all their attention on… their hand.
They text, they Facebook, they Instagram, they tweet. And as they walk with their eyes cast down, they miss the beauty of the world and the chance to connect with the human beings around them.
They’re blissfully unaware. Their attention has been hijacked from now for the sake of profits and shareholders at corporate giants like Apple and Google and Twitter.
They’re missing the moment. They’re missing in action. And we are allowing it.
You know, we’re finally woke to Black Lives Matter and #MeToo in 2020. Maybe it’s time for us to be woke to this issue as well… this #CrazyLittleThingCalledNow.
I think Ram Dass would be proud.
by Karen Cumming | Jul 12, 2020 | Earth Rocks Blog
Pema Chodron is a beloved Buddhist nun who spent years as a teacher at Gampo Abbey, a monastery in Nova Scotia. One of her most famous books, When Things Fall Apart, is a guide designed to help people navigate challenging times.
Talk about challenging times: a global pandemic, worldwide social unrest, economic instability and political craziness all at the same time. 2020 may go down as one of the most challenging times in modern history.
Thank heaven for Pema Chodron. In her usual calm, measured and wise way, she suggests that life is about being comfortable with uncertainty. We humans prefer to stand on solid ground… and yet so often the universe has other ideas. Like it or not, getting comfortable when the earth starts shifting beneath our shoes is the only smart way to go.
Pema also says that nothing ever goes away before it’s taught us what we need to know. So what is this global pandemic teaching you? The list may be short or long; the important thing is that you ponder the question every now and then.
And finally, perhaps the best advice of all when things appear to be falling apart: “We can make ourselves miserable, or we can make ourselves strong. The amount of effort is the same.”
18 words that could change your life. Really.
by Karen Cumming | Jul 4, 2020 | Earth Rocks Blog
Living through a global pandemic isn’t always easy. The life we once knew has transformed into something very different. It’s kind of surreal… like we’re all characters in a Stephen King novel. We don’t know where the plot is taking us, but we have no choice but to go along for the ride.
The silver lining in all of this is that we now have the chance to transform into something very different, too. Oh, I don’t know… kind of like the lotus.
Just like us, one of the most elegant, beautiful flowers on Earth transforms on its journey through the muck. It’s rooted in the mud beneath the murky water of a pond. Before it can blossom, it has to float up through all that goo and break the surface.
But the lotus has a secret weapon. Its petals are coated in a special wax that sheds water and dirt. When the flower finally makes its appearance, it is pure perfection. That’s why it’s a symbol of enlightenment, re-birth, and triumph over obstacles.
As Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh famously says, “No mud, no lotus”. Heck, he even wrote a book about it, where you’ll find this bit of wisdom:
“Everyone knows we need to have mud for lotuses to grow. The mud doesn’t smell so good, but the lotus flower smells very good. If you don’t have mud, the lotus won’t manifest.”
So the next time the pandemic gets you down, just visualise yourself as a lotus rising up through the world’s mud and muck… and looking mah-ve-lous.
