Hell On Earth

"I think hell is something you carry around with you,

not somewhere you go."

Neil Gaman

Discord, whether personal, physical or spiritual, can trigger hell on earth. When allowed, the fuel for the fire is created by doubt, criticism, and judgment. The heat intensifies when we close in on ourselves, allowing the smoke to cloud our vision. Amplified emotions distort the path to escape and scars occur.

There are many facets of hell, some of which can be regulated. It is our preparedness that impacts the degree of heat. During the normal course of life, we experience mini fire drills. We can sniff out the smoke before anything is ignited, simply through awareness. When we ignore or become careless, degrees of intensity are amplified.

We cannot side step the heat of fire, but we can learn to regulate it by the actions we choose to take. When we first feel the flames, we decide to either stomp them out or allow them to escalate until we scream out for help. The burn helps us to be more diligent while seeking the aspects of heaven upon earth.

 

The Binding is my Spine

"A book is a dream you hold in your hands."

Neil Gaiman

I have been a proud library card holder since third grade.  Imagine my delight in discovering a city building packed with books that I not only could have access to, but in addition, could bring them home ... for days!  Overly grateful, I would check out books stacked together, later realizing that a reader could pick and choose.  Thank goodness for kind librarians who eventually realized my hauntings of the library aisles were sincere.  

Understanding what kind of books I enjoyed, I was guided by these librarians which kept my pace moving constructively farther than I would have ever gone by my own searching.  Worlds were opened before me which fed my imagination and allowed awareness of true hardship and dismal living.

As life proceeded, I found myself in college libraries with interests expanding.  Non-fiction provided as much mystery and speculation as fiction, if not more.  My mind remained a sponge absorbing  documents I didn't truly understand and poetry leading me to the depths of my soul.  My spine became the binding to the book that I am.  And yes, there is still joy in holding a book in my hand, stiff spine, touching worn pages, and inhaling that old familiar book smell.

Out of Our Hands

"I'm just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh Lord,

don't let me be misunderstood."

Neil Gaiman

Good intentions and structured follow through help us to deliver support to those we perceive as being in need.  We determine an offering that is in alignment with what we have to share.  Even with certainty of our goal, our efforts can be misunderstood.

We tend to back off from our original thought of reaching out.  We talk ourselves out of our imagined plan for fear of being criticized or misunderstood.  As time lapses and we do nothing, we are critical of our selves which is totally contradictory of our original plan.  

If we become aware of someone who has needs whether emotional or physical, an intention surfaces and without further consideration, we need to follow through.  We go with our reaction and with good intention we deliver our support.  Our responsibility ends there.  We leave feeling good to have honored our selves and the rest is out of our hands.

Carved From Stone

"Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, 

make glorious and fantastic mistakes.  Break rules,  Leave

the world more interesting for your being here.

Neil Gaiman

There is insight to be found during discussions regarding errors.  The bottom line question is of course, "Is there such a thing as a mistake?"  What we once considered a great idea, may in hind sight be one of our worst decisions.  If we can create a little distance from our inner critic, we might salvage the importance of any experience.

When we view challenges in our life with a broader lens, we can see where events are like building blocks.  Individually, they might just look like stepping stones, but when seen from a fresh perspective, we find ourselves observing a well placed stones creating a solid foundation.

To appreciate our lapse in thinking by sifting through the debris, the emphasis on mistake shifts to the lesson learned.  Each stepping stone contributes to our individual path leading to our intended unique self.  In a sense, our character is carved from stone.