A Force Of Nature

As I scrubbed the last of many pots and pans late last night, (I’m a horribly messy cook and my “sous chef” husband was MIA,) I realized that my feet had barely touched the ground since I’ll sleepily dragged myself out of bed that morning. I was exhausted, but actually a good exhausted, if you know what I mean. I was tired from gardening, writing, cooking complicated recipes, driving my daughter hither and thither, hauling  overstuffed grocery bags into my kitchen – need I go on – I’m sure it’s much of the stuff you do too. As I finally slumped down on a kitchen chair, I thought of a quote that I used to have up on my fridge, by George Bernard Shaw.It’s one of my all time favorite quotes and it goes like this:

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

OMG, reading it again reminds me of what a fantastic piece of writing it is. No matter how tired I am, it makes me want to be that force of Nature too, and I would love for  my life to be a “splendid torch.”

I am lucky enough to have had some amazing mentors in my life, who have held up that torch for me when I really needed it. Those individuals inspired me and wouldn’t have allowed me to be that “feverish, selfish little clod of ailments,” and I’m so grateful for them.  I love George’s description of a little “clod.” What is a clod anyway? As I thought, the dictionary definition is either a lump of earth, or a stupid person!! So for now let’s go with the lump of earth. It’s such a great description because the thought of being like a selfish little lump of earth is extremely unattractive. If we’re doing the nature metaphor thing, I’d rather be likened to a free-spirited Redwood tree or a vibrant flower – not a clod of anything.

That all being said, there are times when we need to have a “feverish/selfish” moment, when we can just get it out and have a good old moan. The important thing is that it doesn’t go beyond a few minutes. Sometimes I just need to have a mega grumble or crying fit  with my husband or girlfriend and then I can get back in the saddle – after all, the thunder and rain clouds are all part of the “force of nature.”

The part of the quote I love most is:

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Our lives do belong to our community, and that’s the very reason I became passionate about the environment. I realized that we don’t operate in little separate bubbles because everything we do has a direct affect on our immediate and global community. If I pour hazardous waste like paint thinner down the drain, it affects my community negatively – if I use laundry detergents with phosphates  – it affects my community negatively, if I spray pesticides all over my yard – it affects my community horribly – and so on.

Conversely, here are some of the things that I can to which will affect my community positively: conserve water, grow an organic garden and share the produce, bicycle everywhere and get others to join me, start a hazardous waste collection program, create a green and non-toxic neighborhood school – and the list goes on.

I’ve always thought of green living as something which needs to start with me at home – I can’t be of any use until I’ve sorted my own back yard out, but then my actions move out in concentric  circles around me  as they affect my immediate community, the larger community and then the global community. A great example is that if I choose to feed my family organic vegetables at home, I’m taking an important step, but in doing so I’m also casting a vote for the kind of world I want to live in because I’m supporting small organic farmers (and boy do they need support right now.)

When we really understand that we are all interconnected, that there is no separation, then we realize that whatever we do to other people and the environment, we also do to ourselves.

Like Mr Beranard Shaw, I want to be “thoroughly used up” at the end of every day and certainly at the end of my life. I just love this phrase because I’m of the firm belief that if my energy is used towards an entirely positive end, it’s a great thing for that energy or life force to move through me to get things done. Being thoroughly “used up” from negative/angry/fearful thoughts, however, is an entirely different thing, and is why it’s so important for me to check in everyday and observe my thoughts: Am I operating from Love or fear?

Before I burn out my torch here and lose you completely, I want to give a huge shout-out to an amazing teacher called Byron Katie. She was one of the keynote speakers at the Autism One conference that I was speaking at a couple of weeks ago. I’ve known Bryron’s work for many years and she is absolutely brilliant at helping people release negative thoughts. Unlike any other “self-help” teacher, she proactively invites you to do “The Work,” which never fails to move you to a place of freedom and Love. There’s nothing new-agey or airy-fairy about Byron. “The Work,” is hard-core and you’ve got to be up for being brutally honest with yourself. If you do this work, you will find yourself free to become that “splendid torch.”

That’s all for me today – I’ve got to jump into that flow of life and do great things like hand wash my bras, and dream of what on earth I’m going to cook for supper tonight, but as we all know, God is in the details, and I’ve always believed that it’s the small things that make a difference – even if it’s a sweet-smelling bra!