Weaving the Web

Humankind has not woven the web of life

We are but one thread within it

Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves

All things are bound together

All things connect

This beautiful quote is usually attributed to Chief Seattle, pictured above in the only known photo of him, taken in 1864.  However the folks over at  snopes tell us it was really written by Ted Perry, a screen writer, in 1971.  Regardless of the author or era, these profound words remain true today, and always will.  

"Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves"

I believe the opposite is also true:

 Whatever we do to ourselves we do to the web

So be compassionate with yourself.  Make compassion your connecting thread to the web.  Weave it over, around and through everything you do for yourself.

Take time for yourself.  Do the things that feed your soul.   Yes, you can.  In fact, you have to.  It's like the flight attendant says before take off - you have to put your own oxygen mask on first, before you can help anyone else.

The Simple Life

"The simple life is simply not enough.

We have appearances we must keep up."   

 lyrics from "Poor Boy"by Supertramp

 This weeks GBE2 prompt is "Simplicity". 

When we get nostalgic we like to think about the past, about those simpler times when the world moved a little slower,  things were a little less complicated.  And we tend to get nostalgic when we feel like we have no choice but to go roaring along at full speed.    Humans weren't built for speed - at least not the kind of speed we need these days.  Our muscles are designed for old fashioned physical speed.  They get stronger and faster with repetitive use, pushing them to their limits only enhances their performance.  But physical speed is not what we need in modern times.  We need psychological speed - to multi-task and prioritize and time-manage our lives.  But our neurological circuits are not designed for this type of speed.  Instead of getting stronger with repetitive use they wear out, slow down and eventually overload.

It may seem an impossible task to simplify our lives - so many things feel like they're outside of our control.  But we can make changes.  Teeny changes that don't take much effort but can add up like compound interest to make a simpler life, a simpler day, or even just a simpler hour or two.   For me, silence is simplicity.  I don't have a lot of control over the sounds in my life, but I can control the sounds  in my car.  So I drive in silence.  It's not much, just 20 minutes to work each day and 20 minutes home again.  But it's 40 minutes of simplicity I wouldn't find any other way.

What small thing can you do to put a little simplicity back in your life?