Hear the Tiger’s Voice
This is a poem that my father, Ted Carter, wrote after watching a wildlife programme and realising, with great sadness, that he might see the tiger become extinct in his lifetime. It is a thought provoking poem to hopefully make us all realise we really have to make changes today.
Who will hear the final tiger roaring in the night
Who will see the final eagle soaring out of sight,
Polar bears are swimming where the ice floes ought to be,
And soon no longer will we have a harvest from the sea?
Jungle forests dying under chain saws and the flame,
Soil exposed, becoming dust will never be the same,
Every new road being built points straight to where trees stand,
With concrete being laid upon the purest, greenest land.
Air we breathe where will it come from, water fit to drink,
The human race should pause awhile and take some time to think,
Riches of the world for us can be found anywhere,
There will be a limit, we should use them all with care,
Hear the tiger’s voice and so hear Mother nature’s call,
To life upon the planet earth the natural world is all.
My husband took this beautiful poem and turned it into an incredible song called ‘Call of The Wild’ which we are selling in aid of critically endangered animals and their habitat. You can download (99p) or buy the CD (2.50+p&p) here: www.paul-oakley.com/cotw.php
With love and light,
Brenda Oakley-Carter
Are you being the change?
It seems all well and good to attempt to ‘be the change you want to see in the world’. However, how do we monitor whether or not we are being that change in our own world?
Up until recently, I was working for a large company in the City of London. The company in question had a temporary wall erected to mask the reconstruction of a neighbouring tower block. On this temporary wall, my employers chose to paint the above-mentioned quote.
Seeing this inspirational sentence upon arrival at the office every day served as a reminder that what I was doing in my ‘9-to-5’ was small, yet large at the very same time. I could make a conscious decision as I walked through the office door to be the change I wished to see in my world.
I endeavoured to be friendly, courteous, courageous, empathetic, thought-provoking, encouraging, supportive, and challenging within the limits of my office environment. Indeed, one of my colleagues (and a fellow Reiki healer outside work) ‘outed’ me as a ‘lightworker’, which was high praise indeed.
Ask yourself now, in this moment, are you being the change you wish to see in your world?
Elaine Thomas
Be the change
I often think how lovely it would be to live in a more caring and sharing world. It was my birthday recently and I was sitting on a bench enjoying a packet of biscuits, outside a splendid organic food shop in London.
I was so absorbed with my own enjoyment and thoughts of further delights that I failed to notice the traffic warden placing a ticket on the vehicle in front of me! I had witnessed its occupants just nipping into the shop with their musical instruments for a gig they were obviously performing there later that day. They soon came back out and were understandably peeved.
I was suddenly consumed with regret at my own lack of foresight concerning this situation. I had been so engrossed within myself that I had missed an opportunity to enhance someone’s day. I tried rationalising that perhaps they were karmically due a ticket, but the bottom line was that I felt I had received a gift of an insight from the universe.
If I had been the car owner I would really have appreciated the lady on the bench helping me out by forewarning me of the warden’s impending action. I would have loved to experience that. This occurrence reaffirmed to me that we are all one, and everything we do or don’t do affects us all. It also served to show me how I myself still need to be more of the change I want to see in the world!
Natasha Herman
Mole in a Hole
There is a splendid sort of mole
deep inside its little hole,
doing what must be done
to fulfil its obligations.
It is unseen, but they
know it is there.
Its trail is unseemly, but
it is loved by the universe.
Skittering along inside its
earthly chamber, ’til it surfaces,
freely scattering a ruffled pile
of nurturing, dark soil.
Is there anyone who can smile
at its handiwork?
Who sees the beauty and reason
behind those brown pyramids?
Natasha Herman
Changing our being
I'm confident that since time began, natural intelligence has consistently been being what is required to promote enquiry and change, and that positive transformation often happens in the most unexpected, unintentional ways, even through what might appear insignificant or, more interestingly, negative interactions.
It also seems that virtually all the world's present ills could be traced to a profiteering mentality which disregards wider consequences. But it's so easy to blame others for what we too are guilty of in some form, either through wilful ignorance, or lack of awareness. For example: by consuming factory-farmed animals or assuaging guilt with an annual donation to a (sometimes dubious) charitable cause.
Being the change is about being aware of the potential impact one’s actions might have. It's about living according to our integrity – facing the realities (and our denials) of the world we live in and assessing whether we are participating in the problem or the solution, eg: would we actively do something to change both ourselves and the things we disagree with over and above our personal comfort or interests? Spiritual retreating and self-obsession is surprisingly common.
This said, having a humble, unassuming, independently-thinking demeanour attracts interest and creates healing movement more than one purposely trying to lead. ‘The first step to creating change for oneself is to.... start from no point and follow no road....’ (Tao of Pooh) By being authentic, conscious selves, not imitating or competing, we attune with the supporting universe, and quietly – without prizes – make a significant contribution to living.
Sally Asher
The route homeward
We’re going back up sometime soon, to where the free wind of eternal love whistles above the chaos and confusion caused by schism and resentment.
Where the peace we’re seeking flows like an endless river full with golden dreams of blissful selfless kindness.
Where there’s a home great enough to satisfy all the longings, yearnings, and endless questions that could ever be asked, no matter how long this planet could last.
Where the cares of this fleeting vehicle are drowned in the hopes and glories of that wonderful vision, and success is measured by the level of surrender to all that is lovable and beautiful within this ever expanding creation play.
Where man’s hidden inner beauty is no longer blasphemed by giving it names, and the source of all life is everybody’s shared joy.
Where death, pain and sorrow are nothing more than inconveniences in this ever growing and expanding love play. And though we may be terribly hurt, we’ve lost all room for hatred and vengeance.
In our deepest dreams we have always longed for the justice and harmony that cascades freely from within us when unhindered by the divisions of country and rigid beliefs.
If enough people were open to this splendour then the best face of humanity would shine in rekindled fullness.
Kevin Smeaton
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