Standing on Solid Ground

Standing on solid ground while the world shakes, sways, and moves seems an exponentially daunting task indeed. There does seem to be an extraordinary level of confusion on what it actually means to "stand on solid ground" and I thought it might be nice if I clarified MY perspective regarding:

·      what it means to me

·      how I use it for gain

·       and the biggest one for me is, how to see through to the intent and purpose of the design

I bet you would like to know what makes it okay for me to say what I will. What trainings, certifications, diplomas, degrees, and all that jazz, do I possess or have I earned, that qualifies me to answer any question about faith or religion, family and married life, social and economic developments, education, employment, health, wellness, nutrition, politics...the list is endless really but the fact is that regardless of what pieces of paper or institutions tell you of my quality or qualification...my true merit rests in:

·      my identity

·      in who I am

·      my life experiences

·      and the actions of my every day

I do have some of those papers, and if you would like to, I welcome you to look and explore what I learned from where, although chances are, if you read and agree...our teachers are the same.

I recently received an email that told the fable about the ant and the grasshopper. A tale usually attributed to Aesop (ca. 620-564 BC). According to Wikipedia, there are actually several adaptations of this story and it seems that each one will reflect the tone of a specific set of people and their perspective on the value of the contributions of people not themselves.

The email, however, stated two specific tellings and since I am unsure as to where it originated, I will simply paraphrase the versions in the email so that I can offer my personal insight.

In the first scenario ‘The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away...
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.  The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.’

‘MORAL OF THE STORY: ‘ 
 
‘Be responsible for yourself! ‘

In the second version of the fable called the modern version, I will say that I have a very difficult time reading it, so I won’t subject you to its discord but it does, in fact, contain the entire first version. This time, however, the grasshopper, instead of just giving in and dying, starts yelling as loud as possible that it too wants to be warm and fed. The grasshopper gets a bunch of attention from all kinds of other insects who understand that the grasshopper deserves the comforts of humanity because the grasshopper does what the grasshopper was designed to do, and they all band together to convince the ant to share…the ant does share but is very upset about it so he whines and cries all alone or is surrounded by a bunch of other ants doing the same thing, and the entire ant colony that was once prosperous is now a cesspit of grief and torment.

The moral of that version was to be careful how you vote in 2010. (Guys I seriously went off and wrote this exactly how I interpreted it; however the original post has a vastly different view. The people who need this message will receive it because they have read this email. The rest of you really don’t want to. Be Lifted!!)

My question is this…Who determines what the grasshopper felt, believed, or knew to be true? I mean, was the grasshopper actually behaving in a way that would lead any reader to believe that he thought the ant a fool? Was the grasshopper not playing music, dancing, singing, and rejoicing in life under the sun and upon the earth? Anyone who knows me will understand when I say that this type of behavior emanates a certain type of energy that both our planet AND our universe respond very well to. Is it possible that the grasshopper helped bring the comforts of food and shelter just by being a grasshopper?

Would it have made a difference if the ant viewed his preparing as a thing to do with joy in his heart and laughter in his throat? What if the ant had said to the grasshopper…’you know, I just seem to work better and like what I do more, whenever I hear you singing in the background. Thank you.”

I was planning on going into an entire diatribe about this but I think that I just finished saying what needed saying. As part of this great planet and as a member of the HUMAN race, I would like to say that perception is not religious, spiritual, or scientific but is rather a combination of them all that points out the truth. If you doubt that…go read up on it yourself. Be Lifted!!