Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 1:01am
Do something to change the world
Column: Our Place in the Universe
How many of us have a boss who tells us that he wants us to "do something that will change the world"? I'm one of the lucky ones! Well, he also tells me that I'm responsible for cleaning up his messes. That bit of inspiration I'm not as quick to make my own! But changing the world, yes, I can see that as a goal I'd like to engage my soul in.
I believe each one of us has the capacity to change the world — and it doesn't have to be a big thing. I remember one story that my daughter loved me to read to her over and over again as she was growing up. It was about a young girl who became a librarian, and then traveled the world over. When she had seen tropical islands and climbed tall mountains, went through jungles and across deserts, she made friends who touched her heart, and in whose hearts she would remain.
After all her travels, she came home to live by the sea. But she had promised her grandfather that she would do one thing — and that was to do something to make the world more beautiful. She didn't know what that could be, however, so she continued on with her life and eventually settled by the ocean, and she was almost perfectly happy.
You see, she knew that she still had one more thing to do — but she wasn't feeling very well now and had to stay in bed most of the time. While she was in bed, she enjoyed the blue and purple and rose-colored lupines that she had planted the summer before. She wished that she could plant more, but being sick she was not able to.
The following spring, Miss Rumphius, for that was her name, was feeling much better and was able to go for walks. As she rounded the hill by her house, she saw another large patch of lupines! It must have been the wind, who, with the help of the birds, spread the seeds and spread the joy. This gave Miss Rumphius a wonderful idea.
Well, you can all imagine what Miss Rumphius did next, wandering all over the fields and valleys scattering seeds as she went. People called her the Crazy Old Lady, but when the flowers bloomed, she knew that she had done the most difficult thing of all. The story does not stop here, though. Miss Rumphius has a niece who comes and listens to her stories of faraway places, and to this niece she gives a mandate: "You must do something to make the world more beautiful."
The story ends with the little girl saying, "But I do not know yet what that can be." That is the time we are living in now. We are charged with finding a way of making the world more beautiful. We must learn from the Earth herself what she needs our help in. We must learn from each other how we can share our own unique gifts.
Me, I like to give hugs. It is one thing that I am good at. Yesterday I was so busy that one woman, who only comes in on Tuesdays, to whom I always give a hug, went without. I realized this morning that I hadn't taken the time to offer her that connection and wrote her an email telling her as much, while sending her a virtual hug. She called right back, saying that my email had made her realize why she liked to connect with me when she came in.
I don't know whether this is my contribution toward changing the world; I do know that it can't hurt! Dr. Paul H. Ray writes in "On the Need of Our Time" that we must "converge on positive images of the future that humanity can work toward together." We must find and become engaged in cross-cultural concepts in order to find a common base for people to relate with — concepts, images and symbols that will connect to our original nature. Hugs may be just the ticket!
In discovering our original nature, we will uncover the vision or original purpose of our lives and begin to express it using our own unique gifts. This inspiration becomes our guiding ethic, our wisdom culture and the path of our heart. It is the sacred depth of the individual as he or she expresses the universe's awareness of its own being, and one that will certainly make the world more beautiful.
(In gratitude to Barbara Cooney, whose story and pictures tell the tale of "Miss Rumphius," Viking Press, New York, 1982)
— — —
Anne E. Ulvestad is a free-lance writer residing in Maryland. Having gotten her MA in earth literacy, she is now embarking on the further adventures of a Ph.D. in Wisdom Studies. She is available for public lectures and group presentations and rituals on Spirituality and the Environment. Anne can be reached at {email anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com}anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Anne E. Ulvestad.
I believe each one of us has the capacity to change the world — and it doesn't have to be a big thing. I remember one story that my daughter loved me to read to her over and over again as she was growing up. It was about a young girl who became a librarian, and then traveled the world over. When she had seen tropical islands and climbed tall mountains, went through jungles and across deserts, she made friends who touched her heart, and in whose hearts she would remain.
After all her travels, she came home to live by the sea. But she had promised her grandfather that she would do one thing — and that was to do something to make the world more beautiful. She didn't know what that could be, however, so she continued on with her life and eventually settled by the ocean, and she was almost perfectly happy.
You see, she knew that she still had one more thing to do — but she wasn't feeling very well now and had to stay in bed most of the time. While she was in bed, she enjoyed the blue and purple and rose-colored lupines that she had planted the summer before. She wished that she could plant more, but being sick she was not able to.
The following spring, Miss Rumphius, for that was her name, was feeling much better and was able to go for walks. As she rounded the hill by her house, she saw another large patch of lupines! It must have been the wind, who, with the help of the birds, spread the seeds and spread the joy. This gave Miss Rumphius a wonderful idea.
Well, you can all imagine what Miss Rumphius did next, wandering all over the fields and valleys scattering seeds as she went. People called her the Crazy Old Lady, but when the flowers bloomed, she knew that she had done the most difficult thing of all. The story does not stop here, though. Miss Rumphius has a niece who comes and listens to her stories of faraway places, and to this niece she gives a mandate: "You must do something to make the world more beautiful."
The story ends with the little girl saying, "But I do not know yet what that can be." That is the time we are living in now. We are charged with finding a way of making the world more beautiful. We must learn from the Earth herself what she needs our help in. We must learn from each other how we can share our own unique gifts.
Me, I like to give hugs. It is one thing that I am good at. Yesterday I was so busy that one woman, who only comes in on Tuesdays, to whom I always give a hug, went without. I realized this morning that I hadn't taken the time to offer her that connection and wrote her an email telling her as much, while sending her a virtual hug. She called right back, saying that my email had made her realize why she liked to connect with me when she came in.
I don't know whether this is my contribution toward changing the world; I do know that it can't hurt! Dr. Paul H. Ray writes in "On the Need of Our Time" that we must "converge on positive images of the future that humanity can work toward together." We must find and become engaged in cross-cultural concepts in order to find a common base for people to relate with — concepts, images and symbols that will connect to our original nature. Hugs may be just the ticket!
In discovering our original nature, we will uncover the vision or original purpose of our lives and begin to express it using our own unique gifts. This inspiration becomes our guiding ethic, our wisdom culture and the path of our heart. It is the sacred depth of the individual as he or she expresses the universe's awareness of its own being, and one that will certainly make the world more beautiful.
(In gratitude to Barbara Cooney, whose story and pictures tell the tale of "Miss Rumphius," Viking Press, New York, 1982)
— — —
Anne E. Ulvestad is a free-lance writer residing in Maryland. Having gotten her MA in earth literacy, she is now embarking on the further adventures of a Ph.D. in Wisdom Studies. She is available for public lectures and group presentations and rituals on Spirituality and the Environment. Anne can be reached at {email anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com}anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Anne E. Ulvestad.