Let’s Put This Into Context

At the end of 2023 I had the great privilege of turning 70. Yes, turning 70 is a privilege, especially given so many wonderful people we all know did not have that opportunity.

I consciously chose a place called Phoenix to invite a very small group of friends to share a meal with me.

In Greek mythology, the Phoenix is a mythical bird known for its ability to be reborn from its ashes, symbolizing immortality and renewal. We are in a period of chaos that always preempts transformation. Transformation is not comfortable and does not lead us to the end of the journey, but rather carries us along the journey.

Last month I spoke about chaos and there is no doubt our precious blue planet is in serious chaos at this time. If however chaos is quelled, we will always fall back onto our safety net which is back to the way we have always done things. According to Ashi Akins in her TedEx talk, “Human beings have a desire to control, to order the chaos that surrounds us.” We human beings have always tried to rationalise and put in order the unknown. Akins says , we try to control to order the chaos that surrounds us.  And yet without chaos we are too stable to reorganize. Too inflexible to adapt to change.

And as I contemplated the outpouring of love and hate and kindness and cruelty, that is colliding on this plant, I was carried back in time.

Since that moment, 13.8 billion years ago, when the Big Bang triggered  a series of events, the world as we know it was born and has continued to be reborn over and over.

What caused that big bang is a still a scientific mystery. But who doesn’t love a mystery?   Especially those of us that are fascinated by the merging of quantum physics and spirituality.

Our own earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago and during that time there was unimaginable  chaos. Quarks , protons, neutrons, electrons, hydrogen and oxygen all colliding into each other, thrashing around through the force of gravity.

Slowing the bubbling lava settled, and a global freeze occurred.

Slowly the great melt formed oceans and life as we know it wriggled into being.

If we take the impossible step backwards 4.5 billions years the fact that I just turned 70 is utterly meaningless in the greater scheme of life itself

And yet the truth is, that we are all composed of dead stars.

Our DNA is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus. And all those elements (except hydrogen, which has existed since shortly after the big bang) are made by stars and released into the cosmos when the stars die.

The universe wastes nothing and everything is regenerated one way of another, every animal, plant , human, rock and cloud and amoeba is connected by the very fact that we are all matter. And from an evolutionary perspective that means we all matter.

So if particles of energy are the composition of life itself, then it must also be that we are constantly adding to our planet through every good, bad, kind, cruel, generous, loving, vindictive or understanding thought, belief and action.

Which means that whatever our age, the accumulation of a lifetime of our words, thoughts, beliefs, and actions continue to exist energetically in the world we live. Thought provoking to say the least.

I believe that the phoenix will rise again from the ashes and its universal symbol of hope and of life and of better times to come are born from the knowledge and experience of difficult and challenging circumstances.

The greatest power we have is the power of the word.

Group of young people men and women whispering each other in the ear. Word of mouth concept

Words have the power to heal or to wound, to encourage or to dishearten, to speak the truth or to deceive, to praise or to criticize.

We can teach our children to love, to hate, to reject or to accept, from the moment they are born.

If our word is filled with the intention and energy of generosity, compassion, forgiveness and loving kindness that energy will travel far and wide beyond your wildest imagination..

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

The Rule of Three says, whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times.

When the phoenix rises again and brings in a new magnificent era then let’s not underestimate the incredible power we have during this short time on earth.