I am the final authority over myself.  Ethics is rooted in empathy, recognizing other people as selves who are the final authorities over themselves, except in cases of impaired judgment (e.g. from injury or illness); ethical principles delineate the boundaries and balance to maximize autonomy and minimize harm to others via the abuse of autonomy.  I do not believe in the Divine as some kind of Authority or Ruler over us, but rather as the Source and Life which is within each of us and empowers us.

When we rule ourselves, and respect others' rule over themselves, balancing individual liberty with community responsibility, life is good.

My work-in-progress is waiting for me to finish it. ;-)  The first draft came so easily; the process of revising, fine-tuning, and filling in the gaps is a true test of patience and perseverance.  I know it will be done eventually, but sometimes I fear I'm taking too long--however long "too long" is.   I get impatient for the baby to be born, already!

Where are you?

Here.

What time is it?

Now.

Who are you?

This moment.






(From the movie Peaceful Warrior, based on the book by Dan Millman.)

This is my niece, Spammy.



This is The Dolphin, a lamp owned by Spammy's mother, my sister.


Spammy "talks" to The Dolphin.

I kid you not.

I wonder what The Dolphin is saying to her.

How other people are perceiving me.   Goes with the territory of introversion, I guess:  inwardly focused on how things feel to me, versus outwardly focused on the environment around me.  I'm not saying I don't perceive the people around me, just that it seldom occurs to me--until someone points it out to me--that someone is perceiving something about me in a way contrary to how I am perceiving, feeling, and experiencing something about me.  As a trivial example:  I dress for comfort, not to make an impression (well, except that I do attend to basics like being clean and reasonably well-matched).  And even when I dress to make an impression, the impression a certain outfit evokes in me is not necessarily the impression it evokes in a given observer.

There.  Who said this was a silly question? :-D

Here.  Look at a picture of my niece.

My own judgment and intuition. ;-)  Something I've had to learn to do; there are plenty of people in this world who would have us NOT trust ourselves to think and evaluate for ourselves.  A truly "authoritative" other holds up under scrutiny.

As the Buddha said, "Be lamps unto yourselves, be your own confidence."

(If anyone has the source of that quote, I'd love to know where it came from!  I just know I heard it years ago, and took it to heart.)

I just got home from work about 20 minutes ago (5:30 a.m. Central Time) and am checking my email and a few blogs before I listen to my World Peace Meditation for the day and get some sleep.  Enjoying the stillness of the transition from late night to early morning. ;-)  Looking forward to seeing my youngest sister to celebrate her 31st birthday, which was two days ago, with a cup of chai at a local cafe known for having excellent chai.  Also looking forward to seeing my sister's 2-1/2 month old daughter, who has the most amazingly intent, focused eyes and an adorable smile.  I will sleep well this morning!

Deep down, beneath all the surface wants, I believe that people seek a sense of security and inner peace.  John Shelby Spong once wrote that insecurity is the "original sin," in the sense of being the origin or root of all the harmful things we do to ourselves and to others, and I've always thought that was a very wise observation.  When we lash out at others, or observe others lashing out at others (or at us!), it's because we feel threatened in some way, and we're trying to "eradicate" that "threat" and restore ourselves to a sense of "strength."

When we have a sense of inner security, inner stability, inner peace, we have a core of stability that helps us remain grounded and centered regardless of how unsettling the external circumstances may be.  As Paul of Tarsus put it in the Christian scriptures, we learn how to be content in all things.  I think it's also what the Buddhists call equanimity.

We learn that our strength comes from within, rather than from without.

Because nobody "out there" can give you YOUR answers.

Because your inner life affects your outer experience of life.

Because the inner work is the only thing you take with you. ;-)

Speaking of peace (see previous entry), I was looking online for Bill Douglas' version of the Gaelic blessing "Deep Peace" and I found a beautiful, serene cover of it by Shaina Noll.   Have a listen.

It's a great song to share with anyone who is stressed out, grieving, or otherwise in need of a bit of calming and healing.