Monday, August 17, 2009

Doing Nothing

There's a stillness to this time of year. The explosion of growth is over. The growing things are maturing. Like me. I am enjoying doing nothing, just taking it all in at a cellular level. Summer is still in the saddle, but there are hints of Fall to come in the few yellowing leaves on the trees.

What I've most loved about this summer is this restfulness. Having spent most of my life doing, doing nothing is like a new skill. It leads to spurts of doing that are extraordinarily effective. Meanwhile, doing from a sense of "should" or "ought" - so clearly not productive - is losing its hold on me.

The garden is overflowing in flowers, fruit, weeds and a few veggies - this year, only peas and beans. The plants are crowded but seem happy to get along. The birds and squirrels enjoy the huge trees creating a wildlife zone in my yard, and those of the neighbors on either side. Life is always pressing in, saying, "See? See?"

I'm listening. I'm looking. Breathing in, breathing out. Doing nothing.

Books, Movies, Audios, Websites and Other Good Stuff

  • The Real Wealth of Nations by Riane Eisler - fastcinating insights into how to get economics back on track. Read it. Share it.
  • RAven's End by Ben Gadd - for adults and children - a fantasy set in the Canadian Rockies full of lore of the mountains and what lives there.
  • The Third Ear - On Listening to the World by Joachim-Ernst Berendt - giving us back listening and its power to reconnect us to the world.
  • As It Is In Heaven - Movie from Sweden, 2004 - perhaps the greatest movie of the human spirit that I have ever seen. So true to real life and so prophetic. It came to my attention as I've been re-discovering my own improvisational voice - the kind we all have whether we "can sing" or not. So rich and so healing.
  • Theory U by Otto Scharmer - An advanced handbook of public and group conversation that comes from a very deep place. It is refreshing in its authenticity and profound in its import: Leading from the Future as It Emerges.
  • His Dark Materials - The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, Oxford professor - epic fantasy of two pre-adolescent children as they explore parallel universes and engage goodness and what we call evil. Available in audio also. This makes great reading for all ages and is far deeper and more satisfying than Harry Potter. See www.hisdarkmaterials.org.
  • Lives of Others - movie - beautifully crafted story of being alive in a climate of fear and how even the most hardened can be touched by love of life.
  • Parrots of Telegraph Hill - documentary movie and subtle love story about a street guy, the parrots he cared for, and more
  • The Danish Poet - a short movie (great animation) on where we come from
  • The Biology of Belief - Bruce Lipton Ph.D. - Exposing false but deeply held assumptions about the nature of reality - cellular, animal and human - Lipton reveals how deeply embedded in our world view and the way we live is the belief in Newtonian physics and what has become known as Darwinism. He shows parallels between life at the cellular level and at all other levels and how much we can rejoice in our prospects, once we embrace the wisdom of our cells. Available in 3.5 hour audio and 8+ hour audio at www.soundstrue.com. Anyone want to form a book club on this one?
  • The Upside of Down - Thomas Homer-Dixon - How we can prepare to bring about constructive change when the destructive forces around us create an opening