Miomarmo

Simple Statement of the Day

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as life lasts.

~ Rachel Carson

Sunrise, Sunset

I took these photos today.  Same beach in Santa Monica. Early in the morning, then early in the evening (panning more to the north to the Pier and the Ferris wheel).  There is a cool metaphor for life here, but I think Fiddler on the Roof got it just fine.  I'm filled with wonder looking at them side by side....  Check out the Youtube video link.  It's one of those songs you have to hear every so often.  Mazol tov!

 

Open Your Ears, and Your Mind

I hear this beautiful line every day, "a more just, verdant, and peaceful world." It's because I listen to NPR, I know all the names of the news anchors and can almost tell you which is which even before they say their names:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. And I'm Steve Inskeep.

So, I started hearing this line all the time, it was always there, but it began to resound inside my head every time it aired on my radio, "a more just, verdant, and peaceful world." I realized that I didn't know what verdant meant! So, today I looked it up, it means green with grass or other rich vegetation. But it also can mean inexperienced or unsophisticated. What a perfect word verdant is! Innocence, lushness, fresh, flourishing, the promise of a bright future! It's such a strong positive word that one of it's antonyms is "dying."

What I love best about it is it made me look it up. It made me seek out its meaning, and to ponder what being verdant really means to me.

Children are verdant, a garden is verdant, my marriage (love) is verdant, dawn is verdant. Life is verdant.

More important than learning what this new word (to me) means, is hearing the new word. This line must have passed through my ears hundreds of times before I realized I didn't know its meaning. I knew it was something nice, based on the placement between the words "just" and "peaceful." And maybe that's all I needed, but the line means even more now that I've actually digested its meaning.

This made me ponder my own open-mindedness, and am I listening? Am I really listening, verdant is simply a new word, but am I open to new ideas? First I looked up open minded: willing to consider new ideas; unprejudiced.

Here are some thoughts on how to stay open minded:

• Let go of the need to be "right." Our egos will constantly demand to be right, to the point where we stop hearing and become stubborn children, saying we're right for the sake of being right. Resist this common pattern that all humans are subject to.
• Remember that people's beliefs are shaped by their upbringing, past experience (or lack of experience), genes, etc.
• Listen.
• Research your, and the opposing, viewpoint. If you feel strongly about something, find out why others feel so strongly about the opposing viewpoint. You may find some commonalities.
• But, don't rely solely on learned information. Books and resources are a tool, to be truly open minded you need to allow your own past and prejudices to fall away. Look at things as if you were newborn to this world.
• Be receptive. You don't have to accept every viewpoint, you only need to be willing to listen and learn. 
• Slow down.