The 17th Ity - Generosity. (And books)

Almost done, followers of the swami! I wonder how you have been faring with the 18 Ities. It has been fun, but also hard sometimes. It has made me reflect, at least, and I have had a laugh at most.

Generous people have my admiration.

Some are generous with their time (good!), some with their money (nice!) some with their love (best!!!), and some have such generous ideas that I think 'now why didn't I think of that?'.

I have no idea who started with this, who had the generosity to think of it, but somewhere someone started spreading books around.

When I was in Amsterdam a week ago, we came upon an outside window sill which had a bunch of books on it and a card in the window: feel free to take one.

And last week I came across this  sweet little house on a street corner in Enkhuizen with a stack of books in it. Again - for free. The only 'rule' (if you want to call it that) was that if you took a book out, they asked you to put another one in.

What a great idea! It inspired me to start a little spreading around of my own. Now, whenever I buy a cheapish (but good) paperback, I pass it on. And I ask the person I give it to, to pass it on themselves. Most people react surprised but happy, and promise to do so.

And it doesn't have to be books, it could be anything really.

Generosity. Such FUN!

Sweet Charity - the 16th Ity.

Charity features in all religions - in some larger than in others, but you bet it is there.
Whenever I ask someone about what is best in their religion (and I frequently ask this question, as it interests me), this is often the first answer I get. You should do good deeds, share your wealth with those who have less, take care of the needy.

Then WHY is there so much suffering in this world of ours??? If all people who are of some sort of faith live by it?

Somehow it doesn't work...it is awry.

When I sold my flowers in a stall on a Kilburn street corner, a long long long looooooong time ago, I used to see the vagrants searching through the bins. Most of them had an alcohol problem. I was on a nodding acquaintance with some of them, and one of the females even talked to me from time to time. I had my money in a moneybag around my waist, and never once did I feel unsafe. I felt they recognised me as a non-threat, and they would therefore not threaten (or rob) me.

One time one of the men asked me for money, almost politely. I refused, told him it wasn't my money but that of my boss, but offered to buy him a sandwich out of my own lunch money. To my amazement and incomprehension, he started spouting abuse. He told me he did not want my charity (the bacon sandwich), he wanted beer money!

To this day I still do not understand what drove him to get so angry with me. I meant well.

My Mum always taught me to accept gifts gracefully, even if I didn't like them.  

Still. What I can relate to, is that if you are a proud person, and if you have to rely on charity for some reason, that must be really hard.

Oh well. We have a saying in the Wetlands: "It is better to give, then to receive". Even if this gift surmounts to nothing more than just a drop in the ocean, I believe this to be truth.

Magnanimity - the 15th Ity.

Only 4 Ities more to go folks, bear with me :-)

(Photo credit: vol.25)

Okay. I confess. This Ity has me stumped.
Magnanimity is NOT my strong point...

When you hurt me, I tend to want to lash out straight away, or if that's impossible, later. Perhaps even much, much later.
So the above picture is as much for me, as for you...

I do know the theory, that forgiveness is good for the soul. That you suffer most yourself by not being able to forgive. So magnanimity should be a balm, really.
Then why does it come so hard?

By the way, totally and utterly irrelevant, but I have just learnt from one of those infamous internet tests that give you a personality trait after 9 questions with 3 possibilities (I mean - why do I waste my time on that? beats me!) that - wait for it - my Native American spirit guide is a cat. So now I will not feel guilty any longer for 'slapping you around the face with my infernal cats' (not my quote - someone gets tired of my cats...poor thing).

Ah! 

Hey, Cat Hater! I forgive you!

There. That wasn't so bad.

Perhaps I will get the hang of it.

Equanimity - Balance Is All

Good evening! This is the 7th "ity" post. And one near and dear to my heart.

It is all about balance. And balance is something I've been trying (and sometimes straining) to achieve all my life.

When you are big on emotions, balance tends to get lost on the way.

My family used to mutter a German saying whenever I swayed hugely from one side of the emotional see-saw to the other: "Himmelhoch jauzend, zum Tode betrübt" (I hope I've spelled it correctly, if not, let me know? My German is strictly phonetic )

Exactly WHY they found it necessary to use a German saying, beats me, by the way.

These days I see the same thing in my daughter, and get reminded of how I must have appeared to the people I was living with when I was 17.

Thus, I have always greatly admired balanced people. I read articles about yoga, not practicing this myself. I can watch ice-skaters, tight-ropers, anything-using-balance-ers with baited breath, for hours. Joke.

Seriously, the Dalai Lama must be one of the most balanced people of the world. He oozes equanimity, to me.

This week Maya Angelou passed away. She strikes me as a very balanced person. I don't know if you have ever read her work. Truly, her death has robbed the world of a wonderful, extremely wise woman. I've linked one of her inspiring poems for you. Maya Angelou: And still I rise

Someone said this photo reminds her of a portal. How very apt! I like to imagine it is through a portal like this that Maya Angelou passed on her way to another dimension.

Oh...and about that balance? On a good day I seem to have found it. Until it gets lost again.

Good night.

Regularity

Good afternoon to all my regular and-not-so-regular readers!
Last week I started blogging about "The 18 Ities", inspired and challenged by Happinez Magazine.
This week's post is about Regularity.

Regularity

The fact that the same thing happens again and again, and usually with the same length of time between each time it happens.

The fact that  something is arranged evenly or in an organized pattern.

A thing that has a pattern to it.

Regularity means a lot of different things to me.

The first thing that comes to mind is that there can be both peace and boredom attached to regularity. There is a certain predictability, thus peace (you don't have to think about it), to having to travel to work at the same bus every day. Meeting the same people at the bus stop. Seeing the same people at the tube platform, where everyone predictably takes up position at the same spot every day. At the same time it can be boring as hell.

Regularity is going to the toilet for a bowel movement at the same time of day every day. If you, like me, have experienced a period of troubles in that department, you know how wonderful it is to be regular in that aspect.

Regularity is going to the same holiday destination for twenty years in a row (why do people want to DO that????), often sleeping at the same spot as well. It provides a feeling of security, I guess.

Regularity is trying to write a blog post every day. Or every two days, or every week.

Regularity is having your period every 4 weeks, instead of having to wait with baited breath whether you are having one or if you are with child. In these days of birth control this is hardly an issue any more, but I can remember my own adolescent years, when birth control  for most girls meant being careful.

Regularity can mean having the same argument about the same issues with your spouse time and again.

To me, regularity is all around me in my garden. Lots of flowers and leaves are patterned very regularly, but so are the wings of butterflies. It is the opposite of chaos. It is connected to tranquility. 

What does it mean to you?

Serenity

Good evening, my good people.
In my country there is a magazine called Happinez. It is a very popular magazine, about mindfulness and everything new age and a bit of zen and yoga. I read it with pleasure, for it has such a lovely layout and beautiful photography besides interesting articles.
The latest issue has an article about Sri Swami Sivananda and his "18 ity's" song. And Happinez has set us an assignment. Or rather a challenge. Work through those 18 ities, one a week,  and describe what they do to/with you.

I like a good challenge; so here it is.

The 18 ities are: serenity, regularity, absence of vanity, sincerity, simplicity, veracity, equanimity, fixity, non-irritability, adaptability, humility, tenacity, integrity, nobility, magnanimity, charity, generosity and purity.

What is serenity? 

The word serene means calm and peaceful.

The first image that comes to mind is of a calm landscape, without wind or people.

Still waters, empty views, the only sound that of birds or of a lazy bee, and it depends very much on which birds. The urgent cawing of crows kills serenity as fast as a ghetto blaster sounding as a blast from the past, or the happy cries of children for that matter.

Children and serenity don't go together, except when they slumber.

Serenity is a trait often associated with religious people. Nuns, monks. Most of us cannot be called serene. Although very old people sometimes come close to it. Probably because they have accepted that the only thing left to them is letting go of all urgency.

Am I serene? No way! I often try to remain calm, but it feels like a calm in the eye of a storm. My life isn't peaceful, and never has been.

Would I like to 'have' some serenity? Certainly. It sounds like a good thing to experience. Perhaps, some day.

Meanwhile, I will try to find some serenity in the days to come. Since it's hard to find it within myself, I'll try to find it in life around me.

One of the places where I will look, is next to my pond. I'll have to filter out the sounds of street life outside my garden; revving engines, screaming kids, laughing neighbours, barking dogs, airplanes starting their descend to Rotterdam Airport. My frogs are allowed to sing though.

What I can attain, right now, is a serene picture.

Here you are.  Serenity.