Just "go with the flow" she said. With a turned head every which way I thought "who said that?" for there was no one present...
"Go with the flow"...it came again... this time with a picture, a stream of thought in the form of "like the current of a river" as the advice continued, now in my mind's eye, as she continued by showing...
Life is like water you know... you are the vessel, encapsulated by the power of God and all the ones that love and protect you, held inside a golden vessel. The vibration of you, of your heart, of your love - and that which stays with you - it has the power to carry you... always carving the way ahead of you, as it buffers you - like a vessel riding down a river... In a river, you would ride easily with the current - the ride of the water - the passage of water - upon the path of least resistance...
As the story and visual continues, I ponder the beauty of the concept shown in this way... Ease. Just allow ease... thinking to myself, "allow the vessel that is created by me and that which surrounds me in protection - allow this 'golden vessel' as it were - to ride like a boat along the river of life..." As I continue to envision this analogy to life, the visual continues...
Like water and boat, you are riding along the current of life. Don't ever resist. Know that the power of your presence is in sync with all that surrounds you and all pieces are aligned... so when something is occurring, allow, don't ever push or resist, for there is a force so much greater, and it is the river... it knows how to move and it knows what you need - you make that clear all the time - with your thoughts, words and your heart - so your job is to receive all the parts that are put into place around you - the strangers you pass on the street, the encounters you have in a meeting, words exchanged, the timing of a phone call or email - all are in sync... Be the vessel riding down the river alongside every perfect particle that has been created around you... Everything is happening with reason, as an orchestra, harmonized with your desires and your purpose... So simply, allow. Be the vessel that rides the river of life...
I reflect on events of the day knowing that all things are occurring this way. Divine Timing is very, very real - in every moment! When we really truly - in every thought, action and word - "go with the flow" and follow our instincts, we are as one with the grace of this amazing harmony that has aligned all around us to create the given moment's encounters. In doing that, we allow the river, the water, the current and flow, to carry, to go where it is easy to unfold and flow with greatest harmony.
Truly without doubt, there is an enormous Divine force at work - always in every moment and every action - and it has amazing power, grace and promise to unfold everything in just the right way, at just the right time - It is only our job to simply allow that!
Be the vessel riding down the river of life - and allow this magnificent current to carry. Allow the encounters to come and go with ease - let water roll where it should and move as it naturally would. Allow the current, to carry.
As I come forth from this reflection, I know that everyday life is filled - brimming - with moments of ease and it is merely our choice to embrace them!
So, I share the "voice" of this vision - that you too may feel the presence that came to me - with love and clarity to help us all find life's greater ease ~ by allowing the river to carry!
by Sharon L. Corsaro online at growing-gold.com
Sharon Corsaro is a writer, creative coach and creative facilitator sharing tools for empowering the process of change and creative development in life, business, community and more. She shares "morsels of gold" from everyday life right here at Tid Bits of Gold, while continuing to work on her first book to share these tools more widely. For more information on Sharon's coaching or other services, please visit growing-gold.com.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
How We Believe
How we believe makes all the difference in the world. It dictates what we say, how we behave, who we will talk to, where we go. It dictates how our children are raised, how our companies are run, what officials we elect, and in the most bare bones form, it dictates what we say and do, on a constant daily basis.
So why would we not take a deeper look – deeply ponder and consider – what we believe. Funny thing is, beliefs can sometimes be so inherently rooted inside us that we may not even recognize them as “belief” – so woven into our very fabric – that we think the belief itself IS the fabric, when it is really only “what we believe.” Ancient wise men pondered this to no end with the art and science of philosophy – in truth, the analysis of “belief.”
“How a man thinketh in his heart, so he is” ~ the famous words of James Allen could not be more solidly true.
A story I learned just last night demonstrates a profound example of how "what we believe" makes all the difference in the world, for profound impact on us all...
Based on a true story, I watched a film that shared the story of William Wilbersforce, an Englishman of the 1800s who fought to end slavery in a world where commerce was built upon this "resource." He eventually won the war and abolished the slave trade across the entire globe - an astonishing feat - in what I see as one man’s "belief" literally changing the world.
Wilbersforce had spent a lifetime fighting the system when at a certain point, he felt defeated, his work had been powerful and strong in the British Parliament, but it had not reached the crescendo he needed – he became worn, and stopped the fight. He had given up and his health was drastically taking him down. It was at this point that a woman he met saw a fire of passion inside him, and pushed him to speak up again - to reignite the fight, and carry out his "war on slavery" - for which he had nearly lost all hope. She warned, it was time to push forward - and fight again - for the fire inside him around this one cause was in fact the only spark of "life" she could see in him. To her challenge, he could have said no – his health was very bad, he had fought long and hard and not won - he could have chosen to leave it alone, and give up. But something deep inside him – something in the passion of what he believed said DO IT. And with that decision – he set out to change the world, literally and dramatically – and he did!
One man's belief literally transformed a global condition, to set the stage for severe changes across the entire world... that affected millions upon millions of lives.
It was with this last stroke of energy that he came forth with new ambition, new charge, and in the end, new persons for his team emerged - with the brilliant ‘back-door’ solution that finally tipped the case to his side, and he won – slavery was abolished across the globe. An astonishing triumph - after years of long hard hours, passion all but spent - finally, an enormous victory!
I ponder this story, as I think to myself and pray others will too... "my goodness, what do I believe, that is waiting to come forth from inside me? What fire is inside me... what do I need to be doing with my beliefs – that also could be dramatically important to this world? ...heaven forbid I should not do what is burning to be done by me in this world?!"
I ponder the power of one man’s belief that unequal treatment was wrong - coupled with a willingness to stand up against the masses in conviction with courage - to literally change the entire landscape of the world. When he took on his crusade, 11 million Africans had been been affected by slavery – we can only imagine the thousands and millions of lives that were saved, once the trade was abolished.
All this to confirm my own conviction... There is purpose to our passion. Passion fires up inside us as a sign of strong beliefs – as the evidence for “what we believe” – and in many ways, it is a sign of hope, that we will take action, we will carry out our purpose.
When we feel with drive, when we fight with strength, when we know with depth, that something is wrong or must be changed – it could take a lifetime to correct - but we must still fight... take those steps, and keep going – go with what we believe - because it is there that we will win... we will unearth and uncover the final stones that carry out the grand plan "our beliefs" have had us fighting for, all along.
There is a reason for our passion – and truth is, it’s our job to listen! To hear the voice inside that burns a fire, to be spoken.
I pray today, that we may each live with passion and act with conviction, that the ones among us who are to stand - will do so with grace, with courage and with ease ~ and the strength to carry on!
I can only hope that I will do my job - too!
by Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at http://www.growing-gold.com/
So why would we not take a deeper look – deeply ponder and consider – what we believe. Funny thing is, beliefs can sometimes be so inherently rooted inside us that we may not even recognize them as “belief” – so woven into our very fabric – that we think the belief itself IS the fabric, when it is really only “what we believe.” Ancient wise men pondered this to no end with the art and science of philosophy – in truth, the analysis of “belief.”
“How a man thinketh in his heart, so he is” ~ the famous words of James Allen could not be more solidly true.
A story I learned just last night demonstrates a profound example of how "what we believe" makes all the difference in the world, for profound impact on us all...
Based on a true story, I watched a film that shared the story of William Wilbersforce, an Englishman of the 1800s who fought to end slavery in a world where commerce was built upon this "resource." He eventually won the war and abolished the slave trade across the entire globe - an astonishing feat - in what I see as one man’s "belief" literally changing the world.
Wilbersforce had spent a lifetime fighting the system when at a certain point, he felt defeated, his work had been powerful and strong in the British Parliament, but it had not reached the crescendo he needed – he became worn, and stopped the fight. He had given up and his health was drastically taking him down. It was at this point that a woman he met saw a fire of passion inside him, and pushed him to speak up again - to reignite the fight, and carry out his "war on slavery" - for which he had nearly lost all hope. She warned, it was time to push forward - and fight again - for the fire inside him around this one cause was in fact the only spark of "life" she could see in him. To her challenge, he could have said no – his health was very bad, he had fought long and hard and not won - he could have chosen to leave it alone, and give up. But something deep inside him – something in the passion of what he believed said DO IT. And with that decision – he set out to change the world, literally and dramatically – and he did!
One man's belief literally transformed a global condition, to set the stage for severe changes across the entire world... that affected millions upon millions of lives.
It was with this last stroke of energy that he came forth with new ambition, new charge, and in the end, new persons for his team emerged - with the brilliant ‘back-door’ solution that finally tipped the case to his side, and he won – slavery was abolished across the globe. An astonishing triumph - after years of long hard hours, passion all but spent - finally, an enormous victory!
I ponder this story, as I think to myself and pray others will too... "my goodness, what do I believe, that is waiting to come forth from inside me? What fire is inside me... what do I need to be doing with my beliefs – that also could be dramatically important to this world? ...heaven forbid I should not do what is burning to be done by me in this world?!"
I ponder the power of one man’s belief that unequal treatment was wrong - coupled with a willingness to stand up against the masses in conviction with courage - to literally change the entire landscape of the world. When he took on his crusade, 11 million Africans had been been affected by slavery – we can only imagine the thousands and millions of lives that were saved, once the trade was abolished.
All this to confirm my own conviction... There is purpose to our passion. Passion fires up inside us as a sign of strong beliefs – as the evidence for “what we believe” – and in many ways, it is a sign of hope, that we will take action, we will carry out our purpose.
When we feel with drive, when we fight with strength, when we know with depth, that something is wrong or must be changed – it could take a lifetime to correct - but we must still fight... take those steps, and keep going – go with what we believe - because it is there that we will win... we will unearth and uncover the final stones that carry out the grand plan "our beliefs" have had us fighting for, all along.
There is a reason for our passion – and truth is, it’s our job to listen! To hear the voice inside that burns a fire, to be spoken.
I pray today, that we may each live with passion and act with conviction, that the ones among us who are to stand - will do so with grace, with courage and with ease ~ and the strength to carry on!
I can only hope that I will do my job - too!
by Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at http://www.growing-gold.com/
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A New Day Has Dawned
Our world and our country finds a new voice… one of youth, courage and strength. We found a way to break through enormous old barriers and elect to office a man of different race. One of color. One that’s different than ever before. Change it's true, is the sound of this voice.
"Newness" is here and perhaps with it we find the strength to say no to the past and yes to our future. To create the means and ability to look beyond our differences and reach into our souls – our collective – to find the new dawn of beginnings. New beginnings. Newness. The possibility of change, the possibility of something new.
Here today, we have the time and place to make a difference in our world. To find inside us, the strength that has waited a century or more, to come forth. The power of greed, corruption and disempowerment shed to the wayside, as we allow and embrace, something new. The hope of possibility. The hope of new ways. The hope of something new that has come to embrace us, come to engulf us, come to BE us, as we allow and embody, the new.
It's time, I say, to be that which we came here to be. To BE the spirit of our hearts and souls, to BE the spirit of newness. For in all things, there is an end and in the next breath, there is something new. It’s time that we, as a people, rise above and beyond, to know our power, our strength, and know that in truth, we have enormous ability to prevail beyond all indifferences, all question, all doubt – to BE the strength – as we unite.
In unity, we gain power, we build on our strengths, we grow with grace and dignity, to embrace and embody the truth that we are. In unity, we become whole. In all ways, in many ways, in the ways we were meant to be from the beginning of time. We've had this potential inside us, and now – today – we take a chance on something new. To become and go beyond - taking the peace of our world into the palms of our hands. For we have the power to rein. To allow and let go, let God be our force. The power within joined with the power without, to unite, in our souls, and be all that we can. To be the strength of our world, to be the strength we were meant to behold.
"Newness" is here and perhaps with it we find the strength to say no to the past and yes to our future. To create the means and ability to look beyond our differences and reach into our souls – our collective – to find the new dawn of beginnings. New beginnings. Newness. The possibility of change, the possibility of something new.
Here today, we have the time and place to make a difference in our world. To find inside us, the strength that has waited a century or more, to come forth. The power of greed, corruption and disempowerment shed to the wayside, as we allow and embrace, something new. The hope of possibility. The hope of new ways. The hope of something new that has come to embrace us, come to engulf us, come to BE us, as we allow and embody, the new.
It's time, I say, to be that which we came here to be. To BE the spirit of our hearts and souls, to BE the spirit of newness. For in all things, there is an end and in the next breath, there is something new. It’s time that we, as a people, rise above and beyond, to know our power, our strength, and know that in truth, we have enormous ability to prevail beyond all indifferences, all question, all doubt – to BE the strength – as we unite.
In unity, we gain power, we build on our strengths, we grow with grace and dignity, to embrace and embody the truth that we are. In unity, we become whole. In all ways, in many ways, in the ways we were meant to be from the beginning of time. We've had this potential inside us, and now – today – we take a chance on something new. To become and go beyond - taking the peace of our world into the palms of our hands. For we have the power to rein. To allow and let go, let God be our force. The power within joined with the power without, to unite, in our souls, and be all that we can. To be the strength of our world, to be the strength we were meant to behold.
Thank God for our strength, Thank God for our souls ~
Friday, October 24, 2008
Get Outta the Well!
I didn’t even know Theo before that phone call… But from the moment he said “What are you, like Baby Jessica fallen in the well?” we laughed incessantly, after I vanished from the return call promise, letting “I can’t hear you, let me call back from the landline” turn into Theo calling me back 10 minutes later - with the now infamous question. So the joke fit, but what got even better, was the prophetic nature of it all, as our instant chemistry grew into a heartfelt and very funny connection that had us both rolling – one line after another – as Theo proceeded, to throw me the rope!
You see, I think when we laugh at ourselves we soften an edge that makes it much easier to say “yeah, you’re right” when we’ve screwed up, or in my case, just been sitting on “it” for far too long. I needed a tug that day – actually, I needed a big kick in the ass – to get me out of “waiting” or "being too busy” – and instead, just DO IT!
The way I see it, Theo completely did his job that day, playing his role in my life to a tee – as the mighty creative force did its job of always finding a voice – this time, with some great humor from a complete stranger!
Theo’s words could not have come at a better time. The night before his call, when I found myself ready to offer too much time to someone else's project – I stopped myself, thinking “wait a minute, I have many of my own projects to tend to,” as I proceeded to say to myself, “Okay then, its time to get this stuff done – just DO IT.”
And so, it would seem amazingly Divinely orchestrated when Theo came along – perfectly on cue – completely unbeknownst to him – to do his job with me! I didn’t even know him, but I needed his call exactly when he took action. So in the grand scheme of this great cosmic play, Theo came along right on cue for me – of all things, to humor me into saying “YES, I know, I gotta get this stuff DONE – OK!!! I’ll DO IT!”
In the funniest way, he was there to hold me to my word – the “word” mind you that I had only thought to myself no less, just a few hours earlier! So really, all I had to do was decide… and there was Theo – a total stranger – knocking on my phone’s door, to say “Sharon!?… are you stuck in the well? Or are you gonna do it?!” Quite literally, kicking me in the ass – because I needed it!
So as the story goes, this is really how it works – all the time! Decide… and God and the Universe will respond… Dare to actually put words behind your decision – and watch out, there ain’t no turnin’ back!
Truth is, we really don’t even need to “know” each other, we really don’t even need to “know” the circumstances or “know” much of anything actually…
What we really need is to just show up, be present, make the call, say the words that want to spill out – and quite literally, just BE – to do “our job” of being in the right place at the right time, to let it all happen! When we do that, magical things unfold… as we help ourselves and each other – get exactly what we need – all the time!
So I say – DO IT! Whatever “it” is that’s calling in the moment – say the words, turn the corner, write the book, be the stranger… because more likely than not, you're onto something good!
You see, I think when we laugh at ourselves we soften an edge that makes it much easier to say “yeah, you’re right” when we’ve screwed up, or in my case, just been sitting on “it” for far too long. I needed a tug that day – actually, I needed a big kick in the ass – to get me out of “waiting” or "being too busy” – and instead, just DO IT!
The way I see it, Theo completely did his job that day, playing his role in my life to a tee – as the mighty creative force did its job of always finding a voice – this time, with some great humor from a complete stranger!
Theo’s words could not have come at a better time. The night before his call, when I found myself ready to offer too much time to someone else's project – I stopped myself, thinking “wait a minute, I have many of my own projects to tend to,” as I proceeded to say to myself, “Okay then, its time to get this stuff done – just DO IT.”
And so, it would seem amazingly Divinely orchestrated when Theo came along – perfectly on cue – completely unbeknownst to him – to do his job with me! I didn’t even know him, but I needed his call exactly when he took action. So in the grand scheme of this great cosmic play, Theo came along right on cue for me – of all things, to humor me into saying “YES, I know, I gotta get this stuff DONE – OK!!! I’ll DO IT!”
In the funniest way, he was there to hold me to my word – the “word” mind you that I had only thought to myself no less, just a few hours earlier! So really, all I had to do was decide… and there was Theo – a total stranger – knocking on my phone’s door, to say “Sharon!?… are you stuck in the well? Or are you gonna do it?!” Quite literally, kicking me in the ass – because I needed it!
So as the story goes, this is really how it works – all the time! Decide… and God and the Universe will respond… Dare to actually put words behind your decision – and watch out, there ain’t no turnin’ back!
Truth is, we really don’t even need to “know” each other, we really don’t even need to “know” the circumstances or “know” much of anything actually…
What we really need is to just show up, be present, make the call, say the words that want to spill out – and quite literally, just BE – to do “our job” of being in the right place at the right time, to let it all happen! When we do that, magical things unfold… as we help ourselves and each other – get exactly what we need – all the time!
So I say – DO IT! Whatever “it” is that’s calling in the moment – say the words, turn the corner, write the book, be the stranger… because more likely than not, you're onto something good!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Holiness
So much in a word... Holiness. Conjures many thoughts, images, feelings - and truthfully I think for me, the whole.
I share this today, as the Holiness of me has been brought glaringly to my attention. Who am I to hold back, who am I to not honor this, who am I to underestimate, the Holiness, in ME? I believe that we all - truly in the whole - are Holy. The spirit that makes all things alive, is the Holy Spirit, in truth - and that spirit is - wants to be at least - really alive, in all things - including us!
It is only my humanness, that forgets, feels badly, gets sad or regrets. It is my humanness, that worries. It is my human, that feels separate. And from that place, today, I am reminded, allow and be the Holiness of me... Allow the Holiness to shine, to be bright, to reveal to me - Allow the Holiness of me and through me, to be the guiding light - that has immense knowing, all powerful presence and magnificent plans, for me.
Allow the Holiness, to Be.
These are the words, that come to me today. And once they did, I realized it was time to share.
So in my times of loneliness, wonder, worry or despair - I am reminded that really my only job is, to Allow the Holy, to be - in me.
May this find peace with you - and may we all be blessed - in a world that remembers... above all else, we are Holy, indeed.
With love in the Spirit of Kindness,
slc
I share this today, as the Holiness of me has been brought glaringly to my attention. Who am I to hold back, who am I to not honor this, who am I to underestimate, the Holiness, in ME? I believe that we all - truly in the whole - are Holy. The spirit that makes all things alive, is the Holy Spirit, in truth - and that spirit is - wants to be at least - really alive, in all things - including us!
It is only my humanness, that forgets, feels badly, gets sad or regrets. It is my humanness, that worries. It is my human, that feels separate. And from that place, today, I am reminded, allow and be the Holiness of me... Allow the Holiness to shine, to be bright, to reveal to me - Allow the Holiness of me and through me, to be the guiding light - that has immense knowing, all powerful presence and magnificent plans, for me.
Allow the Holiness, to Be.
These are the words, that come to me today. And once they did, I realized it was time to share.
So in my times of loneliness, wonder, worry or despair - I am reminded that really my only job is, to Allow the Holy, to be - in me.
May this find peace with you - and may we all be blessed - in a world that remembers... above all else, we are Holy, indeed.
With love in the Spirit of Kindness,
slc
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Collaboration: What is that anyway?
As I set out to write on collaboration, I realize very quickly that while the concept may seem new to many - it actually is very old…
I just happened to catch a news program the other night that revealed an ancient civilization found living independently deep in the Amazon – strongly alive today in their old ways… Having just seen that piece, my awareness of indigenous ways, belief systems and practices comes top of mind, as I ponder this concept of collaboration - as I'm surprisingly, quickly taken back to our ancient times...
Just imagine… in the beginning, we always worked together... in community we coordinated our efforts to hunt and gather, then to farm, raise families, protect us from harm... the list goes on and on... We always - in our ancient times - collaborated with one and other for our greater good.
So it's funny that when I wanted to write about collaboration as related to our modern world - I was taken back to our old world - back to our ancestors - when I imagine working in collaboration was deeply ingrained in our bones.
I venture to say, collaboration is truly, very old... and perhaps it is only our time to recycle the old idea - and remember its value as a strong ideal to strive toward – where we work together for the benefit of many...
As I started this writing, I was remembering my early experience with collaboration and its strong impression upon me...
Professionally, I'd been deeply doused in business competition working for a maverick New York marketing group in the highly competitive world of high-end corporate communications and advertising - pretty dog-eat-dog for sure. Though years earlier I had run youth programs, my business mindset was firmly planted in the world of competition - cross promotions, selling, consumers, products, mass media, corporate sponsorships. After a refreshing break from that competitive life, I somehow landed in public service work and the world of government where I absorbed like a sponge a whole new mindset quite foreign to my 'private sector' self...
I had been hired by a rural county in California to create an evaluation system that would somehow monitor effectiveness of public human services for children and families in the region. Now this was foreign ground - not only for me, but for the entire system! A daunting task as something that had not only not been done before, but far worse, had never even been dreamed of being done...
So, the mystery stood before me... and as I looked for clues and happily welcomed the challenge, my boss who was a doctor of psychology and lifelong public servant, immediately suggested I learn from others - literally and directly. I clearly remember the reaction I felt when she suggested I actually phone professionals in other counties to ask for their tools and information on how they were doing the job - as I immediately said something like “you mean they’ll share that stuff?”
Much to my surprise, while very foreign to my competitive business self, thinking this way was entirely the norm in public service. You see, my business-orientation was from the competitive world - I wouldn't have ever dreamed of calling another professional doing my same job in another marketing firm to ask "how are you doing it?" - that would have been preposterous in a competitive marketplace. But in this world of public service, where taxpayer is customer, whatever we did – anywhere – was essentially for the same "customer" - from one county or state to another and even to the Feds. So I learned quickly, that in government it’s seemingly quite common for persons to share "how to" information across “divisional” lines... for they have no reason not to. If one person created a system, process or data grid that worked - why not share it with others to help the whole do its job better?! Amazing to me now to realize this progressive turnaround in my own thinking came from my time working for the government?!
Well, it was this way of thinking that opened a whole new world for me... Soon I was participating in all kinds of statewide meetings based on sharing information across all kinds of lines - with community collaboration trainings in my local area promoting local sharing too - to the point where I was quickly facilitating the collaborations myself, because I fully understood the power of sharing - the concept was entirely in line with my soul - as though the project itself gave water to a very deep “seed” planted inside me.
It didn't take long for me to get it – when we help each other, we all are faster to grow and improve - and we're all better off! To this day - as I share this writing - I am well aware that in that open-thinking-sharing system, we were able to be much more creative to more truly find solutions - when competitive barriers were removed, because there was openness...
So, on that day many years ago, in a dank rural county office in the middle-of-nowhere-California, my boss and now dear friend, opened a new world to me - as she unknowingly helped awaken a deeper knowing inside me - one that said reaching out for help - seeking those who share similar struggles in business - reaching over to share my solutions - is far more than okay - it is what makes the most sense, and even more, it's actually quite efficient!
And with that nudge, was born in me what I will now call an ancestral memory for what we call collaboration. As my own path has unfolded over the years since then, it's funny to realize that it was in government, of all places, that I found people collaborating - because they could! In working for the public, not selling product or service, there was little threat - and all to gain - in sharing information across what would otherwise be considered “competitive” lines.
It's true in our competitive business world, there's only so far we can go with this because we are in competition - but it causes me to think - what if... we actually took the initiative to help the next guy out – just to find out what it’s like. Perhaps we might simply decide in our knowing, that when we need help, we'll get it too - because we have given it out?
What if we aimed to collaborate a lot more, and compete a lot less - to see what can occur when we join our energies for greater power, greater volume, greater mass... while helping one and other change our individual ways, as we collectively change, our whole?
What if we remembered our ancestral roots, and considered how they did it in their villages... when they would pass someone on the road, encounter a stranger for the first time, celebrate new solutions for channeling the community water system or getting a new crop of food.
What if we considered our differences - and honored our paths - as individuals and as a whole...
What if we connected with one and other with sincerity and hope, for our collective potential, to do much greater good for the whole?
These I ponder - all the time - and still, I am human. I get angry, frustrated and upset... as we all do... So today, I hold hope that I will pull myself back faster and more often, to remember - we're all in this together. If I can help someone else, if I can perhaps in fact teach them so they can bridge a change within themselves, then perhaps I have done more service to more people - in just the blink of an eye - than all my anger would have done - had I just walked away.
Collaboration goes down to our roots - Perhaps it is time, we remember!
God Bless and Good Night!
By Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at www.growing-gold.com
I just happened to catch a news program the other night that revealed an ancient civilization found living independently deep in the Amazon – strongly alive today in their old ways… Having just seen that piece, my awareness of indigenous ways, belief systems and practices comes top of mind, as I ponder this concept of collaboration - as I'm surprisingly, quickly taken back to our ancient times...
Just imagine… in the beginning, we always worked together... in community we coordinated our efforts to hunt and gather, then to farm, raise families, protect us from harm... the list goes on and on... We always - in our ancient times - collaborated with one and other for our greater good.
So it's funny that when I wanted to write about collaboration as related to our modern world - I was taken back to our old world - back to our ancestors - when I imagine working in collaboration was deeply ingrained in our bones.
I venture to say, collaboration is truly, very old... and perhaps it is only our time to recycle the old idea - and remember its value as a strong ideal to strive toward – where we work together for the benefit of many...
As I started this writing, I was remembering my early experience with collaboration and its strong impression upon me...
Professionally, I'd been deeply doused in business competition working for a maverick New York marketing group in the highly competitive world of high-end corporate communications and advertising - pretty dog-eat-dog for sure. Though years earlier I had run youth programs, my business mindset was firmly planted in the world of competition - cross promotions, selling, consumers, products, mass media, corporate sponsorships. After a refreshing break from that competitive life, I somehow landed in public service work and the world of government where I absorbed like a sponge a whole new mindset quite foreign to my 'private sector' self...
I had been hired by a rural county in California to create an evaluation system that would somehow monitor effectiveness of public human services for children and families in the region. Now this was foreign ground - not only for me, but for the entire system! A daunting task as something that had not only not been done before, but far worse, had never even been dreamed of being done...
So, the mystery stood before me... and as I looked for clues and happily welcomed the challenge, my boss who was a doctor of psychology and lifelong public servant, immediately suggested I learn from others - literally and directly. I clearly remember the reaction I felt when she suggested I actually phone professionals in other counties to ask for their tools and information on how they were doing the job - as I immediately said something like “you mean they’ll share that stuff?”
Much to my surprise, while very foreign to my competitive business self, thinking this way was entirely the norm in public service. You see, my business-orientation was from the competitive world - I wouldn't have ever dreamed of calling another professional doing my same job in another marketing firm to ask "how are you doing it?" - that would have been preposterous in a competitive marketplace. But in this world of public service, where taxpayer is customer, whatever we did – anywhere – was essentially for the same "customer" - from one county or state to another and even to the Feds. So I learned quickly, that in government it’s seemingly quite common for persons to share "how to" information across “divisional” lines... for they have no reason not to. If one person created a system, process or data grid that worked - why not share it with others to help the whole do its job better?! Amazing to me now to realize this progressive turnaround in my own thinking came from my time working for the government?!
Well, it was this way of thinking that opened a whole new world for me... Soon I was participating in all kinds of statewide meetings based on sharing information across all kinds of lines - with community collaboration trainings in my local area promoting local sharing too - to the point where I was quickly facilitating the collaborations myself, because I fully understood the power of sharing - the concept was entirely in line with my soul - as though the project itself gave water to a very deep “seed” planted inside me.
It didn't take long for me to get it – when we help each other, we all are faster to grow and improve - and we're all better off! To this day - as I share this writing - I am well aware that in that open-thinking-sharing system, we were able to be much more creative to more truly find solutions - when competitive barriers were removed, because there was openness...
So, on that day many years ago, in a dank rural county office in the middle-of-nowhere-California, my boss and now dear friend, opened a new world to me - as she unknowingly helped awaken a deeper knowing inside me - one that said reaching out for help - seeking those who share similar struggles in business - reaching over to share my solutions - is far more than okay - it is what makes the most sense, and even more, it's actually quite efficient!
And with that nudge, was born in me what I will now call an ancestral memory for what we call collaboration. As my own path has unfolded over the years since then, it's funny to realize that it was in government, of all places, that I found people collaborating - because they could! In working for the public, not selling product or service, there was little threat - and all to gain - in sharing information across what would otherwise be considered “competitive” lines.
It's true in our competitive business world, there's only so far we can go with this because we are in competition - but it causes me to think - what if... we actually took the initiative to help the next guy out – just to find out what it’s like. Perhaps we might simply decide in our knowing, that when we need help, we'll get it too - because we have given it out?
What if we aimed to collaborate a lot more, and compete a lot less - to see what can occur when we join our energies for greater power, greater volume, greater mass... while helping one and other change our individual ways, as we collectively change, our whole?
What if we remembered our ancestral roots, and considered how they did it in their villages... when they would pass someone on the road, encounter a stranger for the first time, celebrate new solutions for channeling the community water system or getting a new crop of food.
What if we considered our differences - and honored our paths - as individuals and as a whole...
What if we connected with one and other with sincerity and hope, for our collective potential, to do much greater good for the whole?
These I ponder - all the time - and still, I am human. I get angry, frustrated and upset... as we all do... So today, I hold hope that I will pull myself back faster and more often, to remember - we're all in this together. If I can help someone else, if I can perhaps in fact teach them so they can bridge a change within themselves, then perhaps I have done more service to more people - in just the blink of an eye - than all my anger would have done - had I just walked away.
Collaboration goes down to our roots - Perhaps it is time, we remember!
God Bless and Good Night!
By Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at www.growing-gold.com
Friday, September 19, 2008
Why Focus on "The Gold?"
Funny - or not - I write this as I check the news on our nation's latest apparent cleansing - this time of our banks, in addition to our land.
As I catch the news, I hear a U.S. Senator expressing the enormous importance of Congress working together to expeditiously process a piece of Legislation necessary by next week, to save us... As I witness our state of affairs, in preparation for writing this piece, I know that this Senator's call to putting aside partisanship in order to take care of us all, is an amazing example of the power we hold - as a whole - to look beyond the polarity of our differences, and come into greater ease, through unity for our overall greater good.
Turning this to the personal level, it is true that we always have the option to get upset at the way things are going, complain and be frustrated - or not. I can attest to my own experience of that very thing, just earlier today in fact. And yet, as the master of growing-gold that I am - I always know down to my core that I must focus on "The Gold" for the immense power and importance that our very focus, holds!
"Gold" is the precious metal not only in ore, but truly, in our invisible world - the world of our emotions, friendships, business partners, decisions and much more. Gold is the spark, the light, the creative force in its purest sense really - and Gold makes itself known, all the time, when we focus on seeing it.
The light of a sparkling smile - the beauty of a flower - the power of love in our chest when greeting a person we care for. Gold is happening all around us, all the time... and I propose, that when we focus on "The Gold," we actually help it grow. It shows up more when we put our attention to it... It shows up in bigger ways, in solutions to new problems, in the ease of a relationship, in joint ventures with new business associates. Gold is everywhere - all around us - and when we focus on it, we give it more power, and in truth, it really grows because it magnetizes more Gold.
So today I propose - to myself - and to you - that we focus our sights on the Gold all around us. That even if only a brief moment - hopefully much more - we try it and see what happens, when we collectively give attention to the positive potential for things in our world. And in particular, at this moment of need for our country, that we collectively focus attention on the positive potential of our Lawmakers' efforts this coming week - of our Presidential Election this month - for unearthing new positive solutions - new Gold - as we help them by collectively coming together in our attention and focus, to know that this (storm) too shall pass... and we together have the power - to grow more Gold. To focus our attention on the Gold in our presence, in each moment, knowing that our power is enormous - as we unite our collective creative potential - that we can prevail in supporting our Lawmakers to successfully reach across polarity to collectively grow more positive Gold for us all as they create positive solutions, and find resolve.
What a time to speak of Gold? As our financial markets falter... Perhaps it is time that our immense natural resource of inner Gold - that which is available inside us all individually and collectively - find its way to the forefront of our boardrooms, town halls, families, small businesses and Congress too - as we give more attention - more power - to truly growing-gold!
I'm holding the vision that this latest storm of cleansing - not of the land but of our very financial institutions - will be swift, without undue harm, and that all things come clean, as we grow toward greater goodness for the world we are destined to become - as greater balance and harmony find their way into our lives.
As I catch the news, I hear a U.S. Senator expressing the enormous importance of Congress working together to expeditiously process a piece of Legislation necessary by next week, to save us... As I witness our state of affairs, in preparation for writing this piece, I know that this Senator's call to putting aside partisanship in order to take care of us all, is an amazing example of the power we hold - as a whole - to look beyond the polarity of our differences, and come into greater ease, through unity for our overall greater good.
Turning this to the personal level, it is true that we always have the option to get upset at the way things are going, complain and be frustrated - or not. I can attest to my own experience of that very thing, just earlier today in fact. And yet, as the master of growing-gold that I am - I always know down to my core that I must focus on "The Gold" for the immense power and importance that our very focus, holds!
"Gold" is the precious metal not only in ore, but truly, in our invisible world - the world of our emotions, friendships, business partners, decisions and much more. Gold is the spark, the light, the creative force in its purest sense really - and Gold makes itself known, all the time, when we focus on seeing it.
The light of a sparkling smile - the beauty of a flower - the power of love in our chest when greeting a person we care for. Gold is happening all around us, all the time... and I propose, that when we focus on "The Gold," we actually help it grow. It shows up more when we put our attention to it... It shows up in bigger ways, in solutions to new problems, in the ease of a relationship, in joint ventures with new business associates. Gold is everywhere - all around us - and when we focus on it, we give it more power, and in truth, it really grows because it magnetizes more Gold.
So today I propose - to myself - and to you - that we focus our sights on the Gold all around us. That even if only a brief moment - hopefully much more - we try it and see what happens, when we collectively give attention to the positive potential for things in our world. And in particular, at this moment of need for our country, that we collectively focus attention on the positive potential of our Lawmakers' efforts this coming week - of our Presidential Election this month - for unearthing new positive solutions - new Gold - as we help them by collectively coming together in our attention and focus, to know that this (storm) too shall pass... and we together have the power - to grow more Gold. To focus our attention on the Gold in our presence, in each moment, knowing that our power is enormous - as we unite our collective creative potential - that we can prevail in supporting our Lawmakers to successfully reach across polarity to collectively grow more positive Gold for us all as they create positive solutions, and find resolve.
What a time to speak of Gold? As our financial markets falter... Perhaps it is time that our immense natural resource of inner Gold - that which is available inside us all individually and collectively - find its way to the forefront of our boardrooms, town halls, families, small businesses and Congress too - as we give more attention - more power - to truly growing-gold!
I'm holding the vision that this latest storm of cleansing - not of the land but of our very financial institutions - will be swift, without undue harm, and that all things come clean, as we grow toward greater goodness for the world we are destined to become - as greater balance and harmony find their way into our lives.
Monday, September 15, 2008
I met the most amazing dog yesterday...
People don’t often refer to “meeting a dog” – but it’s true – I met an amazing dog…
I was leaving the Hilton Hotel at LAX somewhere near midnight on the close of a powerful three-day seminar when, despite big exhaustion, I could not help but stop as I saw this beautiful ball of life tugging her keeper across the lobby floor… I just had to “talk with” Gracie, whom I found immediately melting in my arms with precious love.
And then I learned that Gracie is one very special dog. It seems that she is professionally trained to literally monitor the health of her owner. Yep, it’s true!
This amazing dog was trained to “sense” and somehow know the blood sugar level of her owner! You see, her owner has diabetes and I was told that when his blood sugar starts getting too low, in a truly amazing act of Grace, this amazing dog senses the man’s blood sugar risk, and motions to alert him through specifically trained “cues” that let him know, it’s time to make a change in order to avoid trouble.
A potent tid bit of gold – from none other than a Golden Retriever – this one shows us that a “working dog” can mean many things, as Gracie taps into the amazing power of sensitivity to save a man’s life each time she lets him know, “it’s time to eat!”
And what can we learn? Hmmm.... what if WE listened to our own sensitivity, to monitor ourselves - not only physically - but truly, in everyway, to let our inner cues tell us clearly everytime when it's time to make a change to avoid the risk of trouble!
Lessons from a dog?! ... That's right!
Thank you dear Gracie - for your love and your very bright, light ~
I was leaving the Hilton Hotel at LAX somewhere near midnight on the close of a powerful three-day seminar when, despite big exhaustion, I could not help but stop as I saw this beautiful ball of life tugging her keeper across the lobby floor… I just had to “talk with” Gracie, whom I found immediately melting in my arms with precious love.
And then I learned that Gracie is one very special dog. It seems that she is professionally trained to literally monitor the health of her owner. Yep, it’s true!
This amazing dog was trained to “sense” and somehow know the blood sugar level of her owner! You see, her owner has diabetes and I was told that when his blood sugar starts getting too low, in a truly amazing act of Grace, this amazing dog senses the man’s blood sugar risk, and motions to alert him through specifically trained “cues” that let him know, it’s time to make a change in order to avoid trouble.
A potent tid bit of gold – from none other than a Golden Retriever – this one shows us that a “working dog” can mean many things, as Gracie taps into the amazing power of sensitivity to save a man’s life each time she lets him know, “it’s time to eat!”
And what can we learn? Hmmm.... what if WE listened to our own sensitivity, to monitor ourselves - not only physically - but truly, in everyway, to let our inner cues tell us clearly everytime when it's time to make a change to avoid the risk of trouble!
Lessons from a dog?! ... That's right!
Thank you dear Gracie - for your love and your very bright, light ~
At the heart of the matter...A Blog is Born!
[Writer's Note... While actually born on New Year's Day 2008, this blog did not come out for public viewing until THIS posting September 2008... Original articles of 1/1/08 and 2/8/08 now published, it's all official - and she is born!]
Years in the waiting... this blog is finally born!
With gold always at the heart of the matter, this posting brings to life the new blog “Tid Bits of Gold” - interactive sister to my virtual home at http://www.growing-gold.com/ - sharing “sightings of gold” experienced everyday!
Gold, of course going well beyond high finance, speaks in this case of the true gold that lies at the heart of the matter – within – all things… the invisible “stuff” that makes everything tick!
From the heart of a person, to the heart of a project, business, community and even government – gold is the blood that pumps through our collective veins, as society’s invisible heart beat~ And so with this posting, I bring to life, Sharon’s Musings on Gold… with an invitation to you... to ponder and grow, some gold from within!
Much more to come ~ I thank you for sharing!
by Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at www.growing-gold.com
Years in the waiting... this blog is finally born!
With gold always at the heart of the matter, this posting brings to life the new blog “Tid Bits of Gold” - interactive sister to my virtual home at http://www.growing-gold.com/ - sharing “sightings of gold” experienced everyday!
Gold, of course going well beyond high finance, speaks in this case of the true gold that lies at the heart of the matter – within – all things… the invisible “stuff” that makes everything tick!
From the heart of a person, to the heart of a project, business, community and even government – gold is the blood that pumps through our collective veins, as society’s invisible heart beat~ And so with this posting, I bring to life, Sharon’s Musings on Gold… with an invitation to you... to ponder and grow, some gold from within!
Much more to come ~ I thank you for sharing!
by Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at www.growing-gold.com
Friday, February 8, 2008
Watch out for Sparks of Gold!
[A sneak-peaking blog that came out before it was born... this the second article written before the "house was built"... while "under construction"...]
Sparks of gold are flying all around us! All the time… it's just up to us to find them, to see them… and in the seeing - to grow them...
The light that sparks when we have a great conversation – when a flash of an idea sparks alive while talking to a friend... Sparks of gold are the glittering moments of inspiration that come when we least expect – in the shower, walking down the road, talking to an old friend. Sparks of gold are like particles of God, waiting to be grown and fostered, waiting to be known.
When we see the golden moments, it's our job to say “hey, wait, there’s something good here” and even without thinking, to run down the path that's invisibly laying itself before us. To allow the innocent wander for something intriguing that's being revealed. For it is when we do that… that lo and behold, we uncover an entirely new walkway - filled with gold! Like the yellow brick road, but a lot better! For this one's unfolding something new and fresh that we've been brewing - perhaps something different than the norm we've been living…This golden path is the light of our soul pouring itself forward, to show us the way to something new. The way to a great new invention, idea, new solution to a problem we've puzzled over... The gold that is sparking, carries the answers... all around us... flickering in the moments we least expect.
So watch out for sparks of gold in your daily conversations… they’re flying all around us, just waiting to be known - and grown!
Have some fun... growing gold today!
Sparks of gold are flying all around us! All the time… it's just up to us to find them, to see them… and in the seeing - to grow them...
The light that sparks when we have a great conversation – when a flash of an idea sparks alive while talking to a friend... Sparks of gold are the glittering moments of inspiration that come when we least expect – in the shower, walking down the road, talking to an old friend. Sparks of gold are like particles of God, waiting to be grown and fostered, waiting to be known.
When we see the golden moments, it's our job to say “hey, wait, there’s something good here” and even without thinking, to run down the path that's invisibly laying itself before us. To allow the innocent wander for something intriguing that's being revealed. For it is when we do that… that lo and behold, we uncover an entirely new walkway - filled with gold! Like the yellow brick road, but a lot better! For this one's unfolding something new and fresh that we've been brewing - perhaps something different than the norm we've been living…This golden path is the light of our soul pouring itself forward, to show us the way to something new. The way to a great new invention, idea, new solution to a problem we've puzzled over... The gold that is sparking, carries the answers... all around us... flickering in the moments we least expect.
So watch out for sparks of gold in your daily conversations… they’re flying all around us, just waiting to be known - and grown!
Have some fun... growing gold today!
by Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at www.growing-gold.com
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
2008 - A New Year is Here!
[This article was the start of this blog, born on New Year's Day 2008, however the blog home itself was not physically built for posting until September 2008... Some births take little while... however, now that I think of it, that is 9 months! hmmmm.....]
Happy New Year, One and All!
The line of a song runs through my head for days now, “one without fear” referring to a new year starting - along with “the war is over, if you want it...”
An interesting theme starts the new year for me… no fear. To really truly live without fear. Sure to still have the healthy fear that tells me not to jump into a burning car, but without the other fear, the one that holds me back from good things. The fear that gives me doubt when my intuition says to do a certain thing…
A year without fear – what a wonderful, spectacular notion...
“The war is over, if you want it” – this line has particular meaning, too. I believe we engage in our own personal wars in away - and so in truth, it's not a wonder there's outward war in our world. For me personally, I've been well aware of the war I have waged with myself at times. And I’m ready, I guess I sort of dare myself, to let the war be over… just let it end. No more fight. Maybe I could try harder to love the part of me that I war with… and maybe in that loving, I would become more free, maybe if I loved the part I battle with, that part of me would find some peace, and if that occurred, perhaps, I would be more free, more whole, more at ease, and far more present in any moment, present with what is now in front of me, as opposed to the past, and the battle inside… the war between good and evil clearly reigns, in the hearts of man first, and from there it finds its way into our physical world. So what if... what if we tried to let it go. Give the fight a rest. Allow balance to find its place, allow those two opposing forces to no longer oppose, allow grace to equalize the oppositions and harmonize all sides into one level plane… No fight. No tug of war. No war.
There is so much energy waiting to be alive, fresh, new and vibrant in our world, starting with our own very hearts… the spark of light that gives us life wants to be stoked, wants to become a roaring fire in us. And that fire has a way of catching… light the fire inside me, and next thing I know, wherever I go, my presence, the presence of that fire in me, is lighting fires all around me… sparking alive the light that lives in others, sparking brighter and stronger light to be more alive all around me.
And so on this day, New Year’s Day, I hope and I pray, that we may find greater peace, inside... That the heart of the Mother, the heart of the Holy One, the heart of the Light of Christ and our Maker may be sparked alive, more vibrant and awake, in each and every one of us… That the heart of the Mother be alive in every man… That the heart of the Mother, the Love of Divine, be what we remember when we look in the eyes of our “enemy,” when we seek to find revenge against our oppressor, when we scream out in fear, anger or resentment... I pray today, that perhaps in those moments, a bell will ring inside the hearts of men, a bell will ring inside, to remind us, of love. The love that created us, the love that surrounds us, the love that is our lifeblood, the love that truly, reins over this world. I pray today, that the Heart of the Mother be alive and growing stronger, pouring forth ever more to awaken more light, remember our bonds and bring us more love in our moments of doubt, in our moments of worry, in our moments of fear.
I pray for the world, that we all may find peace. Peace inside, reconciled by God, all worries resolved, by our maker, in love.
I pray for this most, biggest blessings of all ~ for a New Year that is greater, than ever before!
God Bless Us!
January 1, 2008 ~ Hermosa Beach, California
by Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at http://www.growing-gold.com/
Happy New Year, One and All!
The line of a song runs through my head for days now, “one without fear” referring to a new year starting - along with “the war is over, if you want it...”
An interesting theme starts the new year for me… no fear. To really truly live without fear. Sure to still have the healthy fear that tells me not to jump into a burning car, but without the other fear, the one that holds me back from good things. The fear that gives me doubt when my intuition says to do a certain thing…
A year without fear – what a wonderful, spectacular notion...
“The war is over, if you want it” – this line has particular meaning, too. I believe we engage in our own personal wars in away - and so in truth, it's not a wonder there's outward war in our world. For me personally, I've been well aware of the war I have waged with myself at times. And I’m ready, I guess I sort of dare myself, to let the war be over… just let it end. No more fight. Maybe I could try harder to love the part of me that I war with… and maybe in that loving, I would become more free, maybe if I loved the part I battle with, that part of me would find some peace, and if that occurred, perhaps, I would be more free, more whole, more at ease, and far more present in any moment, present with what is now in front of me, as opposed to the past, and the battle inside… the war between good and evil clearly reigns, in the hearts of man first, and from there it finds its way into our physical world. So what if... what if we tried to let it go. Give the fight a rest. Allow balance to find its place, allow those two opposing forces to no longer oppose, allow grace to equalize the oppositions and harmonize all sides into one level plane… No fight. No tug of war. No war.
There is so much energy waiting to be alive, fresh, new and vibrant in our world, starting with our own very hearts… the spark of light that gives us life wants to be stoked, wants to become a roaring fire in us. And that fire has a way of catching… light the fire inside me, and next thing I know, wherever I go, my presence, the presence of that fire in me, is lighting fires all around me… sparking alive the light that lives in others, sparking brighter and stronger light to be more alive all around me.
And so on this day, New Year’s Day, I hope and I pray, that we may find greater peace, inside... That the heart of the Mother, the heart of the Holy One, the heart of the Light of Christ and our Maker may be sparked alive, more vibrant and awake, in each and every one of us… That the heart of the Mother be alive in every man… That the heart of the Mother, the Love of Divine, be what we remember when we look in the eyes of our “enemy,” when we seek to find revenge against our oppressor, when we scream out in fear, anger or resentment... I pray today, that perhaps in those moments, a bell will ring inside the hearts of men, a bell will ring inside, to remind us, of love. The love that created us, the love that surrounds us, the love that is our lifeblood, the love that truly, reins over this world. I pray today, that the Heart of the Mother be alive and growing stronger, pouring forth ever more to awaken more light, remember our bonds and bring us more love in our moments of doubt, in our moments of worry, in our moments of fear.
I pray for the world, that we all may find peace. Peace inside, reconciled by God, all worries resolved, by our maker, in love.
I pray for this most, biggest blessings of all ~ for a New Year that is greater, than ever before!
God Bless Us!
January 1, 2008 ~ Hermosa Beach, California
Learn more at http://www.growing-gold.com/
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