July 2008 ~ Wa
For my "jottings" inspiration this year, I am drawing from a book called "Worldwords," which is a collection of words from around the world… one word for each day of the year… with an explanation of the word and a brief interpretation of its meaning. I will share a word from each month, along with some thoughts from the book and some of my own. The word for July is:
Wa (Wah)
Sense of harmony and well-being.
I probably watch too much CNN. Whenever I think about watching less news, I am reminded of the early Tuesday morning when Wayne came rushing in from a 7:00 a.m. meeting he had attended to tell me about the World Trade Center being attacked. All of this had happened, my world had changed, while I was feeding my cats! Since then, I have tried to pay more attention to the “news.”
During the recent primary elections, I began to check in to CNN more often. I say CNN because that’s where I begin, moving to other news channels from time to time. I think it is good to have an overall awareness of the “big stuff” and there always seems to be some “big stuff,” especially in an election year. Unfortunately, there is a down side to the decision to watch more news and that’s the stressful feelings that often come with it. On any given day, there are at least a half dozen things I can wonder about, worry about, feel helpless about, have opinions about. And, on any given day, there are as many or more “big” things I can know about without losing my peace of mind. That is, if I understand that “the news” and “peace of mind” are not mutually exclusive.
Here are a few lines from “Worldwords” ~ “Life’s turbulent waters always seem to be stirring something up: concerns about material goods, a variety of physical and emotional aches and pains, and the anxiety of our crazy minds worrying about it all. It seems that the norm is to live with the mindset that things are never quite right. To choose instead a worldview that wa is always accessible requires changing some fundamental habits. As we focus on discovering peace, the old patterns will wither of their own accord.”
This is not a new idea to those of us who are familiar with New Thought, the parent teaching that birthed Unity and other similar organizations. The name “New Thought” is sometimes misunderstood as meaning something new… never heard before. New Thought, of course, is a teaching that goes back at least as far as the biblical record and so cannot be seen as "new," in terms of time. It comes from this idea: You can change your life by taking a new thought.
More from the book: “First you must believe that you deserve to nurture yourself in this way. Then it is possible to allow this sense to permeate your being. Drink serenity in like water from an oasis, like nectar from a flower. Breathe tranquility into every fiber of your being. The floodgates will open and a river will flow within you from a calm center.”
Perhaps nobody has said it better than our old friend, Paul, who wrote, in his letter to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Or, to put it more succinctly ~ Wa!
jbm
Wa (Wah)
Sense of harmony and well-being.
I probably watch too much CNN. Whenever I think about watching less news, I am reminded of the early Tuesday morning when Wayne came rushing in from a 7:00 a.m. meeting he had attended to tell me about the World Trade Center being attacked. All of this had happened, my world had changed, while I was feeding my cats! Since then, I have tried to pay more attention to the “news.”
During the recent primary elections, I began to check in to CNN more often. I say CNN because that’s where I begin, moving to other news channels from time to time. I think it is good to have an overall awareness of the “big stuff” and there always seems to be some “big stuff,” especially in an election year. Unfortunately, there is a down side to the decision to watch more news and that’s the stressful feelings that often come with it. On any given day, there are at least a half dozen things I can wonder about, worry about, feel helpless about, have opinions about. And, on any given day, there are as many or more “big” things I can know about without losing my peace of mind. That is, if I understand that “the news” and “peace of mind” are not mutually exclusive.
Here are a few lines from “Worldwords” ~ “Life’s turbulent waters always seem to be stirring something up: concerns about material goods, a variety of physical and emotional aches and pains, and the anxiety of our crazy minds worrying about it all. It seems that the norm is to live with the mindset that things are never quite right. To choose instead a worldview that wa is always accessible requires changing some fundamental habits. As we focus on discovering peace, the old patterns will wither of their own accord.”
This is not a new idea to those of us who are familiar with New Thought, the parent teaching that birthed Unity and other similar organizations. The name “New Thought” is sometimes misunderstood as meaning something new… never heard before. New Thought, of course, is a teaching that goes back at least as far as the biblical record and so cannot be seen as "new," in terms of time. It comes from this idea: You can change your life by taking a new thought.
More from the book: “First you must believe that you deserve to nurture yourself in this way. Then it is possible to allow this sense to permeate your being. Drink serenity in like water from an oasis, like nectar from a flower. Breathe tranquility into every fiber of your being. The floodgates will open and a river will flow within you from a calm center.”
Perhaps nobody has said it better than our old friend, Paul, who wrote, in his letter to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Or, to put it more succinctly ~ Wa!
jbm
posted by Wayne Manning at 4:34 PM
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