For the last weeks I’ve been focused on other things and not been writing much. I say ‘other things’ but in reality it was just one thing.
A ‘big thing‘ nonetheless.
The ‘big thing‘ was the birth of my daughter, Sara Emma Peatey.
I’ve been overwhelmed by the welcome she’s received from those who know me through Facebook, Twitter etc.. So a huge ‘Thank You’ for that.
They say having children changes your life and, even though Sara is my third child and I was ready for that, things are definitely different around here! We are gradually getting back to ‘normal’ as we settle into sleeping, feeding and diapers. There’s not a whole lot else in these first days!
I’m going to be resuming regular service here in the next days, starting with some reflections on the birth – so look out for that!
Basically I just wanted to say I’m alive, well and enjoying watching the first days in the unfolding of new life.
Journey Of Life
I’d also like to take the opportunity to promote a workshop I’m running in the summer with some dear friends.
The workshop is deep in ‘vampire country’ in the Romanian mountains close to Dracula’s castle in Bran. If you’d like to find out more then we have a small website Journey Of Life.
It would be wonderful to have some of you join us there, and as an added bonus you would get to meet Sara!
It’s not often I come across a YouTube video clip that brings a tear to my eye. This touches many of the things I’ve been writing about recently.
It’s only two minutes long (don’t worry about the words -- you don’t need to understand them). I guarantee it will lift your spirits.
Changing the world really is quite simple -- just make a start.
Credit
I found the clip through Joe one of my recently discovered blogging friends -- check out his blog Speak Compassion. He’s also writing about many things related to Nonviolent Communication and I recommend a visit there to see what he’s writing about.
When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavour and purpose. When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else.
When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child’s song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child’s song. When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the people again come together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song. Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person’s bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life.
There is something inside each of us that knows we have a song, and we wish those we love would recognize it and support us to sing it. How we all long to be loved, acknowledged, and accepted for who we are!
In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child.
If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the centre of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them. The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behaviour is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity.
When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.
A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.
When I first read this (and there are many variations of it), my attention was caught by the line about singing.
My immediate reaction was that it was a call for hedonistic living without regard for the consequences on others. I’m laughing as I write this because I realise that was purely my own stuff. In particular it brought back some painful memories of feedback I received about my singing having an unpleasant effect on the listener. Now I’m wondering if my singing would have had that effect if I’d followed the advice and sang like nobody was listening!
There’s two things I particularly like about this ‘poem’.
1 Full of optimism
At first glance it appears to be one of those ‘feel-good-but-rather-naive-and-unrealistic’ sayings written by an optimist for other optimists.
One thing I like to do to test sayings like this is to state it in the opposite and see what happens. If I have a little fun with this then it might become:
Work like you are desperate for the money
Love like you’re sure you will be hurt again
Dance like everyone’s watching and laughing at you
Sing like everyone’s listening and rolling their eyes
Live like it’s Hell on Earth
I know which version I prefer!
2 Full of life
It picks out four activities I consider essential to the human experience.
Working – Loving – Singing – Dancing
I don’t know if the author meant these as the most important elements of living but I’d be hard pressed to choose better ones.
Which activities would you choose for your ‘top 4′ elements of living?
Help build a world where everyone is valued irrespective of wealth, origin, colour or beliefs and conflicts are solved peacefully. Here you'll learn how to do this in day to day life.
Click the buttons above to get updates by Email or RSS (what is RSS?) whenever I publish.
First visit? These popular posts give an idea what to expect:
Of all methods I know, Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication (NVC) has been the most meaningful for me. I'm a Certified Trainer and my upcoming public workshops are:
I also offer 'in-house' training, coaching and mediation. Drop me an E-mail for more information about any of these.
I highly recommend the NVC Academy with many free resources for learning NVC. They also offer a variety of very affordable virtual workshops and materials. Try it out.
Search
Recommendations
Shambhala has been an independent publisher for 40 years with some great authors such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Shunryu Suzuki and Ken Wilber.
'Zen To Done' is one of Leo Babauta's (Zen Habits) great eBooks - a simple system to get you more organized and productive, and keep your life saner and less stressed, with a set of habits.
'30 Sentences' is an eBook by the wonderful Dragos Roua. As Dragos writes "I finally understood that a millionaire mindset has little to do, if nothing, with the amount you have in the bank."
Book Of The Week
If You Enjoyed This Site …
... consider hiring me. Find out more about the possibilities HERE.
... leave a comment, recommend articles you enjoy, subscribe to RSS updates and promote this site in any way you enjoy.
... donations are always gratefully received. You can use paypal to send me money:
