monday morning motivator!: 17, chaos and some change

 

downtown

it’s 7:15 am and i’m sitting in the “lower level” of the starbucks outside arlington station, boston. funny thing that i live in boston technically, and spend almost no time here. maybe that’s because roslindale, my community, is off the subway, so it’s either pony up the big bucks and take the commuter rail, deal with the awesome awfulness of bus service, or drive to jamaica plain and catch the t, since i refuse to deal with parking in boston.

today i did the latter. and i can safely say that i have never been in boston at a starbucks at 7 in the morning before. change, and all that comes with it, has moved me in a new direction.

chaos and some change

maybe that heading is purely indicative of a yearning to put some of chris brogan’s wisdom into play. and maybe it’s just appropriate at this point in the game. all is flux, as the old-school taoist bhikkhus would say. and so change is inevitable. and then what most of us mean when we wish for change is “good” change, change that gives us hope, or confidence, or cash. change for the better. 

and yet, all is flux. things are always changing. life is chaos. and then…take a look at the flower. then take a look at the field. one is the chaos, the flux, the indeterminate and indistinguishable. and one is the change that we long for. spring perhaps. an improvement in our relationships. or a new job.

funny thing there. on the t i was reading a bit of dreams from my father, the section where barrack has just moved to chicago to work as an organizer. and the focus is on bringing jobs to the community. and the bit where i left off was when this fellow will was talking about raising the neighborhood up, and then barack hears a woman whisper “i don’t want to hear about the neighborhood, girl. where are these jobs they’re talking about?”

put your hands on me

so i’ve taken on a job. no worries…it’s just part time. two 7 hour shifts a week. very hands on, here and now stuff. bodywork at a spa in the most shi shi part of boston. hot stones. lavender salt scrubs. aroma veda massage. that sort of thing. it’s definitely a change. i’ve always approached bodywork from a more punk-hippy-healer perspective. cosmic energy from the wise-assed yogi kind of thing.

and while i’ve always held to the words of tom gill, almost-governor of hawaii back when that state’s soul was on the chopping block, that not all change is progress, i’ve also come to recognize that all change is opportunity. and if change is just chaos that starts to make sense, chaos with proper perspective, then change is always an opportunity to gain a new perspective, a new awareness; an opportunity to learn new skills that will further our agendas, be they for good or ill.

good vs. evil

now as i see it, good generally comes from the perspective that everyone can win, that we can play the game in such a way that anyone who puts in a fair effort can achieve a fair result. good comes from the perspective that there is enough for everyone, that this world is a good and fair creation.

evil, on the other hand, comes from a perspective that there are winners and losers, there isn’t enough for everyone, the world isn’t fair; and given that, what’s the harm in making sure that you and yours come out on top?

every moment is an opportunity

my perspective being the former, that this world is effectively limitless, as long as you are willing to shift your perspective and see the yellow flower in the field of chaos, i see every moment as an opportunity to resonate more surely with the basic pulse of loving radiance that emanates from universe center.

and so i look at this current change, which could be seen as a result of certain macro downturns, or as a limiter of freedom in time and space, as well as self expression and style, as a great opportunity to ride a new wave to new shores, as a chance to learn new ways of being and interacting, and as an auspicious signal that a new day is dawning, that spring is just around the corner, and that as long as we keep playing the game in earnest life will continue to surprise and delight us, as long as we know how to direct our eyes in the direction of the prize.

Tags: 2009, change, chris brogan, dreams, dreams from my father, jamaica plain, massage, motivator, self expression, starbucks, universe, want

If you liked this, you might might like these too:

• goodbye bni (4)
• monday morning motivator! 10, talk about the passion (4)
• friday afternoon update! 24: the “making this up as we go along” edition (10)