Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 12:12am
Patience, resilience and cooperation
Column: Our Place in the Universe
If everyone wants to be happy ... and in order to be happy we have to be doing something ... Wait, you say. I can be happy just sitting here watching the sunset. Yes. Happiness engages the five senses ... and more. It also must engage the soul, or, to put it another way, happiness must engage the sense of who I really am, where I've come from, and where I'm going.
How can that be done? So often our day consists of a series of mundane, superficial actions and interactions that keeps us apart rather than pulling us into relationship. Creatively cultivating a meaningful life takes intent, purpose and another to generate the energy to act and to live. It has to do with discovering what is valuable in one's life, what touches us, as well as what we are longing for in order to become whole.
Paulo Coelho, author of "The Alchemist," writes, "Everything on the face of the earth is constantly being transformed because the Earth is alive and has a Soul." Thomas Moore, in "Care of the Soul," goes further and writes, "Our own souls are inseparable from the world's soul, and ... both are found in the many things that make up nature and culture."
Engaging the soul, then, is not just finding out what we are good at and offering it. To become a complete person, we must be enjoined in the flow of life. In other worlds we are evolving, so let's jump into the stream and actively participate in it! I feel that in order to do that, we need to cultivate three important qualities or characteristics: patience, resilience and cooperation.
When we uncover what we have to offer, and how we are to grow, we can see it reflected in the larger picture. One pattern or characteristic of evolution is patience. Growth takes time. A foundation or environment is laid. A seed is planted, nurtured and cared for. A plan or idea is hatched and built upon. It blossoms forth, coming to fruition, and is, eventually, new seed or fodder for the next generation. (As you can see, even our speech reflects this notion that we are patterned after the creation of the universe.)
Another characteristic that we find in creation that can help guide our lives is resilience. Christine Carter, the executive director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, emphasizes that what makes a complete or fulfilled person is not just based on achievement. Teaching children to withstand setbacks leads to resilience, as well as empathy. No matter how successful or talented you are, being in transition is a struggle. Since we are all constantly being transformed, there will be mistakes and setbacks that, with resilience and patience can be learned from and expanded upon, especially when we work cooperatively.
That leads me to the last point I want to make today. Nature, and culture, or rather the cultures that have been successful, work toward the greater good, fostering interdependence and harmony — everyone finding their own niche. This was the pattern that Darwin discovered on the Galapagos Islands — not one finch, but many finches. One had a broad, wide beak for breaking large seeds; one had a longer, curved beak for extracting nectar from flowers; fruit eaters had parrot-like beaks, and insect eaters had small, prying beaks — all utilizing different aspects of the environment in order to survive.
Meeting life with these lessons in mind, ones that are a part of the process of nature, gives us the tools to cultivate a depth of life and deep, meaningful relationships that are valuable. Living with this in mind requires an intimacy that engages the soul and encourages our growth. We must be patient enough to embrace the whole, and resilient enough to embrace the individual.
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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.
How can that be done? So often our day consists of a series of mundane, superficial actions and interactions that keeps us apart rather than pulling us into relationship. Creatively cultivating a meaningful life takes intent, purpose and another to generate the energy to act and to live. It has to do with discovering what is valuable in one's life, what touches us, as well as what we are longing for in order to become whole.
Paulo Coelho, author of "The Alchemist," writes, "Everything on the face of the earth is constantly being transformed because the Earth is alive and has a Soul." Thomas Moore, in "Care of the Soul," goes further and writes, "Our own souls are inseparable from the world's soul, and ... both are found in the many things that make up nature and culture."
Engaging the soul, then, is not just finding out what we are good at and offering it. To become a complete person, we must be enjoined in the flow of life. In other worlds we are evolving, so let's jump into the stream and actively participate in it! I feel that in order to do that, we need to cultivate three important qualities or characteristics: patience, resilience and cooperation.
When we uncover what we have to offer, and how we are to grow, we can see it reflected in the larger picture. One pattern or characteristic of evolution is patience. Growth takes time. A foundation or environment is laid. A seed is planted, nurtured and cared for. A plan or idea is hatched and built upon. It blossoms forth, coming to fruition, and is, eventually, new seed or fodder for the next generation. (As you can see, even our speech reflects this notion that we are patterned after the creation of the universe.)
Another characteristic that we find in creation that can help guide our lives is resilience. Christine Carter, the executive director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, emphasizes that what makes a complete or fulfilled person is not just based on achievement. Teaching children to withstand setbacks leads to resilience, as well as empathy. No matter how successful or talented you are, being in transition is a struggle. Since we are all constantly being transformed, there will be mistakes and setbacks that, with resilience and patience can be learned from and expanded upon, especially when we work cooperatively.
That leads me to the last point I want to make today. Nature, and culture, or rather the cultures that have been successful, work toward the greater good, fostering interdependence and harmony — everyone finding their own niche. This was the pattern that Darwin discovered on the Galapagos Islands — not one finch, but many finches. One had a broad, wide beak for breaking large seeds; one had a longer, curved beak for extracting nectar from flowers; fruit eaters had parrot-like beaks, and insect eaters had small, prying beaks — all utilizing different aspects of the environment in order to survive.
Meeting life with these lessons in mind, ones that are a part of the process of nature, gives us the tools to cultivate a depth of life and deep, meaningful relationships that are valuable. Living with this in mind requires an intimacy that engages the soul and encourages our growth. We must be patient enough to embrace the whole, and resilient enough to embrace the individual.
— — —
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.