Smelling the Roses
My little town in the USA's northern Rocky
Mountains used to be a pretty laid-back place. Not much traffic, not
much noise, not much pollution, lots of peace and quiet, lots of
friendly folks. It was, and still is, a great place to live. But
lately I've noticed a trend more typical of big cities, not little
western towns.
As I drive or walk around town, more and more I see people
talking on cell phones in their cars. I see people running red
lights, cutting off other cars in traffic. People in stores and out
on the trails are glued to their cell phones, often glancing at
their watches to see what they're late for now.
It seems nearly everybody wants everything right now. And
you damned well better stay out of their way!
Are we losing our ability to enjoy life, even here in this
beautiful little corner of God's green earth?
"Yes," would be my answer, "we are losing
it."
It's taken me many years to learn how to live now. And I
still have to occasionally remind myself to do it. I used to spend
most of my waking moments thinking about what I should be doing the
next moment, the next hour, the next day, the next year. It was
ridiculous! I rarely got to enjoy the present moment.
We're so fixated on what's going to happen 10 minutes from now,
10 days from now, 10 years from now, we no longer live in the
present moment. And yet that's all we have.
Today news literally flies around the world in seconds. No one
with a computer is shielded from the planet's problems. We're so
focused on all our global and personal problems, all the
distractions, rushing here and there. Few of us are doing anything
else, certainly not being in the moment, "smelling the
roses."
Here's Chief Joseph.
Chief
Joseph
"Smelling the roses" -- that's a beautiful image
because, for most of you, roses represent love, goodness, pleasure
and passion. All the experiences you want to have in your lives --
right?
Yet you allow yourselves to get so distracted, so drawn away
from, what you really dearly want for yourselves.
Why do you do that?
Well, we have a few theories. But, basically, what it all comes
down to is what John said -- there are too many, far too many,
distractions you allow to pollute your pleasure, the pleasure of
being in a physical human body at this time in your human history.
Friends, this is such an exciting time to be physically alive on
your planet. There has never been a time like this, a time when so
many of you are waking up and wondering "What is it all
about?"
There is so much happening, so much intensity, it often totally
blindsides you. Two perfect examples of that are your so-called
"global recession" and the swine flu scare. You have so
many forces at play on your planet today. So many conflicting ideas,
so much confusing information, so much "bad" news -- all
the stuff that can go "wrong."
Yet nothing is going wrong. Yes, you’re undergoing huge,
earthshaking changes. But change is always a good thing.
Change means you're growing, you're evolving. Which is one reason
you incarnated to begin with.
You're obsessed with having everything right now. You know the
attitude we speak of -- "Okay, we're changing. Let's just get
it done and over with." (You'll never get it done, by
the way.)
You've lost, or are quickly losing, your ability to have fun.
Yet fun, in our perspective, is what it's all about. Life is
supposed to be fun!
Period!
If each one of you focused on fun -- having more of it in your
lives, helping others have more of it in theirs -- you could
transform your troubled planet into paradise on earth.
But you cannot have fun if you're obsessed with all the
distractions, disasters, and dramas in today's world.
Those distractions, disasters, and dramas are the realities
others are creating for themselves. There's absolutely no reason you
have to follow in their footsteps.
You can create lives of absolute bliss and abundance. But there's
a catch.
To create that life of your dreams, you must go within.
And stop giving your attention to the "without" --
everything "out there."
We're not saying to withdraw from your world, to "bury your
heads in the sand." We are saying you have the power to
create a different world for yourselves. And to thereby help others
create a different world for themselves.
But -- a big "BUT" here -- all your power is in
this present moment. Absolutely all of it!
So be here now. BE in the present moment. BE you. Take time for
smelling the roses.
=============================================================
This
Week's
Newsletter Reflection Questions
News Updates
1) Tuning In,
a brand-new spiritual
movie featuring some of today's prominent channels and their spirit
guides, including Chief Joseph and me, has been released.
It's now available to the
public. Get
more information and order your copy here. Watch the trailer
(short video preview) here.
2) We're now doing regular
podcasts with Chief Joseph.
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