If something is bothering you, whether it’s nagging at you or is a deep pain but you just can’t quite explain it, Then Name It! It might be pain or it might be fear, whatever it is, name it!

Name the pain! Name it anything you want, make up a name or use one you know, but give it a name! Then, the next time you’re feeling that uncomfortable, nagging bother, call it by it’s name.

When you do this, you’ll be able to realize it more easily and you’ll also be able to bring that pain or fear down to your level. Once you’ve done that, you’ve just won!

Peace

     …..Gregg

This morning I was talking with a young warrior who suffers from PTSD. We hit a lot of different topics but then she asked me a question that I apparently hadn’t thought enough about! She referenced something I had said easier that Love, Kindness and the conscious thought of right or wrong should be involved in every decision we make if we want to be the kind of human being we were meant to be. She agreed with my thought and then came her question.

“But, What does it mean to be a human being? With my PTSD, sometimes I lose sight of who I am or even what kind of human being I am. Sometimes I’m not sure what a Good Human Being even is or not!” I started to give the first answer that popped into my head and then realized that it needed more thought! Oh I know about being kind and the Golden Rule and can name a bunch of people who I think are good human beings, but what’s the answer to her question. “What does it mean to be good Human Being?”

We talked about it for a little more than an hour. We listened to each other describe what we each imagined to be the answer, but we each came up with lots of small examples but no definitive one. I remember reading Eckhart Tolle saying that it’s a two part equation, we are both Human and Being and the two must be in harmony for us to be the best that we can be. We talked about that, included other philosophers, religions and ideas as the time ticked away.

Our answer was that the conversation needed to be continued, but we did come up with several indicationsof both those who are working towards becoming a good human being and those who are taking the other road. Here are some of the feelings and indications we came up with that were on the right path towards becoming A Good Human Being. It seemed a lot easier to point out things for the people who were on the opposite trail! (I don’t see a reason to include those.)

So here are the traits that we came up with for a Good Human Being…

Being Loving, being Kind, Hopeful and Honest with yourself and others but doing so in action not just thought or feeling!

Realize the absolute need to delve into the deeper levels about you and your thoughts and actions, even though you realize you might not understand all of it right now.

A Good Human Being knows what they believe based on facts and input and feeling from others, but doesn’t pretend to know what others are thinking. They strive to make their thoughts, actions, words and gestures further something towards a better end rather than just responding. They know even a smile screams louder and means more than hollow rhetoric or rationalizations.

Doing your best. Realizing you’ll succeed sometimes and fail others but doing your best in the only way to move forward on this quest.

Don’t allow fear to stop you! (Sometimes it will! Strive to be on the better half!)Ask the questions you or others might fear, just as she did with me!

LISTEN!!!

Believe in yourself, including the parts of yourself you don’t know yet.

Develop confidence in your resolve, your insight, your soul, your guts and your love. Be confident you carry these within you and they’ll be with you on every journey.

Believe that even the darkest darkness can be pierced by a single light. Every lantern shines a light from within, right? Well, do the same thing! “Fire that puppy up within you!” When darkness descends  around you, absolutely know that you have a light within you! It might be so dark that you can only see right in front of you. That Is Enough! Focus on the fact that you have that light within you, not the darkness! FOCUS ON THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE THAT LIGHT WITHIN YOU, NOT THE DARKNESS!

The last thing she wrote down was that a Good Human Being cares! They care not only about what they want, but about the humanity. They care not only about others but about themselves. They care about being a good human being not so others can see them doing it, they care because that’s who they are, or who they’re becoming. They care!

When it was time to go, she took the list she had written down, folded them up and put them in her pocket. She told me that she wanted to keep them there, so anytime she felt those dark feelings, she could reach in her pocket and physically feel what we talked about, to get her focused on that path instead. I was honored!

I know this is longer than my normal One Minute Blog but I thought it was so important. The people like this brave warrior who struggle with PTSD 24/7/365 are amazing and struggle to walk in their light everyday. There are many others struggling with chronic pain or mental illness (…and their incredible caregivers who devote their lives) or people who live a “great life” who have never delved into themselves the way this young lady is. I hope they do. I need to do a better job of this myself. I’m so glad that I was put where I was put to consider these things today. I hope that some of this made some sense for you. I hope you’re happy. I am so grateful that I know so many of you who are Good Human Beings! Thanks for including me in your lives.

Peace

     …..Gregg

I’m fed up with labels!

I’m not talking about the labels on our food, (Although come to think of it, maybe we should have that conversation at some point too!) what I’m talking about are the labels that are attached to feelings, movements and people!

Labels that are easily degenerated into hatred or bigotry like has happened with minorities, immigrants, those different from us or the labels we place on others so we can divide up. Labels like Republicans or Democrats, men, women, etc. Even the less diabolical reasons like simply labeling for laziness or convenience should be included.

And who develops, promotes and attaches these labels?

We Do!  (…ugh…)

I’m not saying we need to get rid of all labels whether physical or implied. But what we must start doing is stop letting those labels tell ushow we feel! We must see the label but then work through the process and acknowledge for ourselves, how we feel! We get so hung up on wanting to label something so we can understand it, that we forget what we really want is to experience the feeling of it!For instance, you see a good friend walking toward you and think “…Boy, Bob looks good today, what a great looking suit!” We stare up at the the constellations we’ve named instead of allowing ourselves to  simply feel just how wonderful those stars make us feel. We hear that someone is a Republican, a Woman or Democrat, Disabled, a Liberal, a Conservative, Gay or a Policeman or Policewoman and immediately either like them or hate them based on that label alone! We didn’t take the time to “feel how we feel,” we thought about how we felt about them, without feeling how we felt about them.

We label everything from the flowers and the trees to the animals to our clothes, people and organizations. You don’t need to label the laughter of a baby, the smell following a rainstorm or the gaze of someone you love in order to “feel how you feel!” Likewise, hearing the scream of someone in pain, the sight of a swastika being marched down your street or seeing the mistreatment of those less fortunate, tells you all you need to know about them because you ”feel how you feel” instead of needing to see a label.

Instead of worrying so much about tossing a label on something or someone, “feel how you feel,” feel how theymake you feel!I understand that in order to do that, you’ll need to retrain your thoughts, retrain your mind to feel instead of think!

Aha!!! There it is! “…retrain your mind to feel instead of think!”

This is what we each must do! Begin that process right now, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. As you walk down the street or out into your yard, don’t name the things you see, “feel how you feel” about them. How do they make you feel? As you drive down the road, instead of naming those cars you see or wondering about the drivers, ask yourself how you feel. Sitting at home, look around at the things you’ve surrounded yourself with and dial in not on what they are, but how they make you feel when you look at each one of them individually and then how you feel when you look at all of them together. Why?

Yep, I’m fed up with labels filling my head every time I look, touch, feel, hear or wonder about life. Instead of describing them, I’m focusing on how I feel about them. I’m focusing on “feeling how I feel,” using it, expanding on it, relishing it and yes, I am moving on from it.

See you there…..

Peace

     …..Gregg