1/21/2010 - Individuation of Wood & Benevolence

Shrubs of Western Hawaii cannot grow in the humid climate of the Eastern side. Likewise the Ferns of Eastern Hawaii cannot grow in the hot and arid climate of the Western slopes. The land and weather dictate the best climate for each plant according to its individual plan. A fern does not grow with the cacti of Arizona. It must grow in the jungle. A cacti cannot grow on top of a mountain. A banana cannot grow in Siberia.

Likewise, we must surround ourselves with the correct climate so that we can express ourselves fully and most authentically. We must be surrounded by people of like mind and spirit if we are to be supported on our path. We cannot grow where we are not meant to. This is why I moved to Colorado to find the medicine of the spirit. I realized that no matter how much I wanted to grow in my path, my surroundings were not supporting my growth. So rather than being a plant trying to grow in concrete, we must all transplant ourselves to the fertile land that nourishes our plan and our personal being. That which is nourishing for some is poison for another. This is why we cannot expect that our plan is the right plan for another.

We are all transplanted by the winds of change as seedlings throughout this world and with short travel time we can be in any new climate, culture and surrounding. Having all this choice is not necessarily the best thing for our spirits because we loose touch with what the most nourishing circumstances that allow us not just to survive, but allow us to thrive! How does Wood show us the difference between surviving and thriving?

Wood also teaches us that each plant grows at its own rate. Each plant also needs different conditions. Some plants grow slowly, some grow quickly. Some plants need volcanic soil, others need clay, others need just the air, while others need rich and loamy compost. Their plan, vision and needs are their own and we cannot judge them based on our plan, our vision and our needs. Their rate of growth is different and their individual needs are different.

In the same way, benevolence is allowing people to be where they are in life because we do not always see what people's plans are or where they are going because we are on our path, and they are on theirs. In a way its not our business. It is of more importance to be concerned with where we as individuals are going, and then helping others reach their own potential if they ask for help. Only when people are ready and willing to receive our ideas will they ask. We cannot force our way on others no matter how much we think we have the right idea. Not all people are ready, and our advice may not necessarily be the most important thing they need at the time.

The problem with being a prophet in our own village is that noone is asking for what we have to give. If they need water, we cannot give them a loaf of bread. And if they're not thirsty, but are hungry, giving them water will only frustrate them. This is why assuming what people need and that we have what they need to 'fix them' never works in our favor and we're like a tree trying to grow in concrete.

Instead we must focus on what we are doing as our own 'play' and then it no longer becomes our job to stand and preach to people about the path to righteousness. That is our path to righteousness. That may not be their path. The image we should go going for is not a preacher, but rather the counselor to whom people come when they are in need. Rather than telling people what to do, we welcome them to come as they are and then if we don't have what they need right now, to just be there with them on their own path. That does not mean to suggest that we shouldn't inspire people and encourage them. What it does mean is that we should not seek to encourage them to be like us.. but encourage them to be authentically who they are. And if part of who what they aspire and envision and dream for themselves is compatible with where they are right now, then we have give them what we have learned. Just like the plant knows when the time is right, we need to know when the person needs sunlight, and when they need water. This can only be done if we pay attention and not come at them with intention.

Our friends job isn't necessarily to agree with us. Its their job to support us in whatever we are doing by allowing us to be ourselves. Their job is not to change to become who we want them to. It is also not their job to change us and make them in their own image. We all walk around in the world trying to make people into our own image. But that is not their destiny. We don't know their destiny. Friends should only help friends express their destiny and not copy or mirror it from us. We're human and we do not have all the answers.

Allowing others the be who they are allows us to rest, be at peace, and be happy and not stress about where other people are going, what people want from us, or that we need to do something for people to like us the way we are. Benevolence allows us to be authentically ourselves, and others to be authentically themselves.

I had a realization last night that just because its possible to be a certain way in life.. it doesn't mean that I have to be that certain way. I must do what fits right for me and not worry about what other people expect of me, or what I expect of other people. Just because its possible to live an enlightened life as a buddhist monk, doesn't mean its the right possibility for me. Just because its possible to be a herbalist, it doesn't mean that its the right possibility for me. Just because its possible to be a nutritionist, a coach, a writer, a preacher, a seminar leader, a singer, a pianist, a cellist, a computer scientist, a nurse, a great swimmer, a great athlete, good at math, having a six-pack, being an astronaut, a underwater basket-weaver - it doesn't mean that its the right possibility for me. Its great that all those things are possible. And I'm glad there are plants growing in the world out there who's authentic self-expression is most alive when they are living their lives fully dedicated to those plans.

Its all possible - but only one plan will be followed according to each plant's nature. That's the lesson of wood. Vision and clarity allow us to see to our depths to see what is authentically our own self expression. For me right now it is the study to be an exceptional acupuncturist and healing physician. I don't have any vision beyond that. I don't need one. I authentically love and am playing at doing this. Where the path will lead after that doesn't matter. Perhaps its not my time to see. Being released from other people's expectations, social stereotypes, images, and other people's molds for what we're each 'supposed' to be, and then freeing myself from my own expectations and my insecurities and need to 'look good' gives me freedom to be me myself. In that I allow others their freedom to be different from me, and have the opportunity to help them get transplanted to the soil in which they will most flourish. This is benevolence.

The beauty of wood is that it has its plan and allows other plants to express themselves. Some express as ugly fruit, some as a venus fly traps, some as vines, some as strawberries, some as grass, and some as orchids. We cannot judge the validity of each type of self-expression. We can only judge whether we esteem to that, or to something else that is more authentic to us. Each has a destiny.

What soil do we need? What temperature? What type of bees to pollinate us? What kind of birds to nest in our branches? What amount of water? What amount of sun? Where do we get our nutrients? How fully and lushly can we express our plans. Benevolence then allows us to view those needs in others and to guide them not to our needs, but to their needs.