Gazehound's Animal Communication » RAOKA

Random Acts of Kick Arse: EQUANIMITY

Gayze — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 05:00:28 +0000

For the past couple of months, I’ve fallen behind on my RAOKA posts. Things have just been busy here. Baby bird season has begun, and I spend much of my time hopping up and down to keep little hungry mouths fed. I’ve been writing, editing, and putting my new e-book, Through Their Eyes, The Nature of the Beast, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I’ve been working on a paperback format, soon (I hope) to be available on Amazon. My clients have been given my time and attention, my family (both human and otherwise) has been a prime focus….

I’ve thought about RAOKA, and followed the posts, but I always manage to think about it after the deadline for posting, so haven’t participated as I so enjoy doing.

Still, though, life is good. Although it seems like there are a lot of irons in the fire, so to speak, there has been an aura of calm, of inner peace, that has made all of the craziness, well, not quite so crazy.

Finding that inner balance when everything around you seems to be spinning at lightspeed…that, to me, is equanimity.

I find it interesting that this is the current theme. I don’t believe in coincidence, so it’s not really surprising, that I just happen to be reading a very interesting book right now. Zero Limits, by Joe Vitale and Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, has been on my wishlist for some time now, and I was recently inspired to finally read it.

Zero Limits is the account of how Mr. Vitale and Dr. Hew Len became acquainted, and began a partnership to bring seekers of healing, and of inner peace, to a knowledge of the Hawaiian practice of Ho’oponopono. Ho’oponopono is a method of healing in which the healer looks inside himself, to find that place in which the Divine resides (the place of zero limits), creating balance, peace, love and forgiveness. The seeker looks within, taking 100% responsibility for his life and for all that is in his life, in order to heal both himself and those around him. The process is about creating peace, and seeking love; it is about loving and forgiving; it is about healing others by healing oneself.

It’s pretty cool.

Equanimity resides in that place of inner balance. It is the act of remaining calm, composed, at peace. It is about creating a calm sea when all around may be turmoil. Equanimity is about knowing that the love of the Divine exists within, no matter how outer circumstances may appear.

I have been striving to practice equanimity, not just in the past month, but for some time now. It isn’t always easy. Being human, we tend to get swept up in the tide of appearances, and behave as if we are controlled by circumstances instead of the other way around. When we find that place of inner calm, however, we learn that peace of mind is a choice we make, and something which we seek within. It is not dependent on how calm, or crazy, the situation around us may be.

Equanimity is not exactly about rising above circumstances…it is about going to our center to find that we are, in fact, the creators of our own reality. First we find our peace, we love, we forgive, we rejoice. As we reach our point of inner calm, it will radiate outward and sooth all that is around us.

May the peace of Divine love bless all your days.

==========

RAOKA logo by Melissa of Operation Nice

The following information is from Zeenat, of Positive Provocations, the caretaker of the RAOKA movement:

What is RAOKA? How can “you” be a part of it?
The RAOKA mission seeks to remind us that Random Acts of Kick Arse happen all around us—and also to spread the spirit. Each month, us RAOKA team core members vote on a new theme based on your submissions.
On the first Wednesday of each month (US time zone) we invite everyone to post about what we’ve observed, passed along, or created. During the first ten days of the month, contact me with your theme ideas for the next month.
I’m the Caretaker & Loving Keeper of The RAOKA Crusade with my core team mate Gayze. Check out her HUGS post along with other crusader posts linked at the bottom of this post.
Thank you Lori for entrusting me this awesome mission and thank you to Sami for starting it! Love you both! Raoka Logo created by Melissa

Be Involved in RAOKA!
If you’d like to become a Random Acts of Kick Arse Crusader—here’s your chance:

Propose a theme by contacting me the first ten days of the month or simply follow along with our monthly themes and spread the Random Acts of Kick Arse!
Write a post about what you have been up to and publish it on the first Wednesday of each month. If you would like a reminder emailed to you each month or would like more information, please contact me. If you don’t have a blog, you’re welcome to play along in the comments.
When you see my RAOKA post published, add your details in the Comments below including the URL address of your own RAOKA post and the title of your blog. I will then create a link to your post for others to see what kind of Beautiful Random Acts you’ve been up to. You can copy – paste the other Raoka team mates links from below this post into your post and write a two line intro to what Raoka is all about in your posts footer. Also, Let your readers know that they can contact me anytime if they would like to be part of RAOKA too.
I would love love love to have you on board The more the merrier!

Zeenat’s Equanimity Post
Joy’s Equanimity Post

Related posts:
1. RAOKA (Random Acts of Kick Arse), October
2. RAOKA for May — Serenity

RAOKA for February: Warmth

Gayze — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:00:25 +0000

This month’s theme was suggested by M, of The Exception

When I heard that the theme for the month of February was going to be “Warmth”, my first thought was “WTF”? (Which, of course, stands for “Warmth? Through February?”) Here in upstate NY, February is usually the coldest month, the harshest month of winter. As the month moved forward, I sat here on the 25th watching the snow pile a new foot of depth on top of what was already on the ground, and on the 26th, all I could think of was that it was the anniversary of Dad’s death, which was, itself, brought on by the cruelty of February….

And then, I noticed the end date, or publication date, I guess, of this month’s theme. March 2nd.

My mother’s birthday.

Suddenly, “Warmth” made perfect sense. My mom was the dictionary definition of “Warmth” … warm hands, warm heart, warm soul. She was the kind of person who warmed the lives of everyone around her. She spread physical warmth, with the beautiful items she would crochet and give as gifts. Every baby born to our (enormous) extended family began life wrapped in an Aunt Florence blanket. Every pair of cold feet would be tucked into a set of her hand-crafted slippers. Many laps were warmed by her throws, and many beds made cozy by coverlets of Mom’s “granny square quilts”.

The crocheted warmth she gave, however, was not the most cozy thing about my Mom. That would be the warmth of heart and spirit she was known for throughout both the family and the community.

Mom took in strays, I used to say. In fact when she would tease me about yet another animal, I would tease right back about all of the strays of other kinds that she opened her heart to. The children of the family all thought of her as a favorite, the aunt they could talk to, the one who would always say “yes” if someone needed a place to stay. I was, technically, an only child, but I never lacked for the companionship of other kids. When her sister went through a tough few years after her divorce, her two kids came to live with us, and stayed for a number of years. When my cousin had a rough time, her baby was brought to our home, and my Mom and Dad raised her. Those kids, both generations, would be back and forth to our home afterward, as well, sometimes staying a year at a time, while their parents attempted to get life straightened out for them.

It was not just family who could always rely on Mom’s warmth, though. For many years, “Mrs Stubbs” was a fixture in the deli at the corner of our road. In fact, the store was sold four times while Mom worked there, and each time, Mom went right along with the store. Each set of owners considered her their greatest asset, because everyone in the community loved her. Mom knew all the secrets of the neighborhood, though she’d never have revealed them, because most of the kids would come into the store and tell her their troubles long before they felt brave enough to talk to their parents. I have no idea what any of those secrets were, of course, as Mom would never break a promise not to tell — only that she’d be preoccupied and, when asked, would admit that a kid had yet again confided in her. It was not just the children, of course. Mom made many friends of the moms and dads as well, who would come in at all hours of the day to buy coffee and a hard roll, and stay for the conversation and comfort.

When I was in high school, a group home opened up down the road from the store. My “adopted family” suddenly expanded by ten or so kids. This home was for teenaged boys from the city, kids who’d gotten themselves in trouble with the law, and who were sent to live “upstate” with a couple trained to supervise them and help them to straighten out. This got the kids away from the influences that had turned them in the wrong direction, with the hopes of helping them to find their way.

Mom knew every story, held every hand, and many of these boys told me in no uncertain terms that they would do absolutely anything for “Mrs Stubbs”.

Mom was Warmth to everyone who knew her.

She died on November 1st of 2006. I sat in the hospital room, talking to her unconscious body, stroking her hands and arms. Her skin, old and frail, was as soft as velvet, but much too cool. When the doctors asked if we were ready to turn off the machines, I had to be the one to say yes. She never took a breath on her own again.

Mom is gone, but her Warmth remains. I do my best, not always successfully, to continue her legacy of love. I will never be half the person my Mom was in life, but I know that her spirit is beside me, helping me to at least be the best I can.

Every year, except for last year, as my Dad’s death a week before derailed me, since her death, on March 2nd, I have baked a pineapple upside down cake. It was Mom’s favorite, and the taste of the warm, tangy sweetness will always bring back the touch of her hand, the sparkle in her blue eyes.

Whenever I am cold, cold to the depths of my soul, I know I can turn to Mom for Warmth.

Happy Birthday Mom.

==========

RAOKA logo by Melissa of Operation Nice

The following information is from Zeenat, of Positive Provocations, the caretaker of the RAOKA movement:

Be Involved in RAOKA!
If you’d like to become a Random Acts of Kick Arse Crusader—here’s your chance:

Propose a theme by contacting me the first ten days of the month or simply follow along with our monthly themes and spread the Random Acts of Kick Arse!
Write a post about what you have been up to and publish it on the first Wednesday of each month. If you would like a reminder emailed to you each month or would like more information, please contact me. If you don’t have a blog, you’re welcome to play along in the comments.
When you see my RAOKA post published, add your details in the Comments below including the URL address of your own RAOKA post and the title of your blog. I will then create a link to your post for others to see what kind of Beautiful Random Acts you’ve been up to. You can copy – paste the other Raoka team mates links from below this post into your post and write a two line intro to what Raoka is all about in your posts footer. Also, Let your readers know that they can contact me anytime if they would like to be part of RAOKA too.
I would love love love to have you on board The more the merrier!
Stay Tuned! Next month’s theme is “Less Stress” as suggested by Zeenat.

Awesome RAOKA Crusaders and Their “Warmth” contributions :

~Tim @ 360 Degree Self wrote RAOKA: Palm Tree State of Mind

~M, of The Exception shared with us: Warmth Inside and Out

~Zeenat of Positive Provocations Opens Our Hearts to Warmth

Creature Thoughts February 2011

Gayze — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 18:25:10 +0000

Creature Thoughts

Keeping in touch with the animals…

…and the people who love them

February 2011

New Beginnings

Every month I do two very regular things in the “blog world”. I put out my monthly Creature Thoughts newsletter, and I write a post to participate in the RAOKA (Random Acts of Kick Arse) movement. This past month, the theme for RAOKA was “New Beginnings”, chosen by Zeenat of Positive Provocations. This month, also, I have been completely wrapped up in the rescue of 100 llamas from the Montana Large Animal Sanctuary, which shut down and abandoned the animals to the elements.

The llamas have made me late (or is that llate?) with both projects, because, where time is scarce, one must prioritize. I’m sure no one can argue that getting those llamas safely to Northeast Llama Rescue at Red Maple Farm was the priority. Now that the llamas are here, we’ve been going pretty much 24/7 generating support via fundraising and publicity. (Be sure to click on the links in this issue to follow some of our news and TV coverage).

What better topic to write about under the inspiration of “New Beginnings”, therefore, than the “New York 100″, as the llamas have come to be called locally?

Reports vary as to how many llamas there were originally at the sanctuary. At the time they closed their doors, I’m told that 800 had been counted. There were 600 of those still alive when the rescue groups on that end of this massive rescue endeavor were finally allowed access. In addition to llamas, there were goats, sheep, horses, cattle and various other species of animal, totalling over a thousand, who needed to be moved off the land and to safety.

The hundred that came to Schoharie County in New York was, as far as I understand, the largest of the groups to be moved. It took weeks of planning, calling, contacting, and intensive fund-raising, to finally get the llamas here.

They pulled in to a parking lot down the hill from the sanctuary on a cold, snowy Friday afternoon. The livestock trailer which carried them was 53 feet long and 13 and a half feet tall, and never would have made it up the dirt farm road. It took us nine or ten trips in the smaller stock trailer owned by the sanctuary to get all of the llamas up to the farm.

Sadly, one llama was so weak from starvation and neglect that he did not survive the trip. Another, pictured above, was close behind him. He still is unable to stand on his own, but his will to survive is astronomical; he improves daily and gives us great hope that he will recover. He’s esconced in the hay storage area where he has a continual supply of goodies, as well as rabbits, ducks and chickens who keep him company and cuddle against him. People might think the little ones are just keeping warm. I believe they are channeling healing toward this fellow, and our Special Needs Boy is recovering in part due to their help.

The llamas have been at NELR now for two weeks. They began their New Beginning as animals who had eyes filled of nothing but hope, spirits that had been drained of energy, and stomachs in desperate need of being filled. They stood shoulder to shoulder for days, doing nothing but consuming hay. After a while of gathering strength in the form of good nutrition, the llamas began to, well … do normal llama stuff. They started to “cush”, which means, in llama-ese, to lay down and chew their cud comfortably. They started to jostle for position at the grain bins and hay racks, ears back, giving that wonderful spirited llama grunt of, “My turn, you had your turn!” to one another.

The condition of the llamas is heartbreaking. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is “close to dead” and 10 obese, these llamas are checking in at a “1 or 2″. However, with each passing day, the life comes back into their eyes, they show more and more spirit, and their energy levels improve … as does their rescuers’ hope. We look toward spring, and to fattened llamas who are finally out of the woods and able to be put up for adoption.

These hundred, as well as the other five hundred that were divided up among caring rescue groups and given new hope, were literally plucked out of the hands of death.

When I connect with them, I feel waves of gratitude along with a great easing of fear. The smiles on their faces match the thankfulness in their hearts. Often, their emotional focus is on the plentiful food before them, something they’d doubted they’d see again in their lifetime. There is pain from many, but with that pain a new-found sense of hope. They understand that they are now safe.

Talk about a New Beginning!

Be sure to visit Gazehound.com frequently for updates on the llamas, and for a series of conversations I plan to have with them as they continue to recover.

Newsy Stuff:

Rather than the usual fare that fits into this section, I’d like to point everyone toward more information about the llamas now known as the “New York 100″.

As stated above, these animals are a long way from being considered “adoptable”, but if you think you have the resources to care for several of them, there is an application on the NELR website at http://redmaplefarm.net. The llamas will not be adopted out singly. They don’t do well as loners under normal circumstances, with the exception of guard animals for flocks of goats or sheep, where they can commune with their charges. There is also conflicting information as to the wisdom of using gelding (altered males, which all of these are) llamas as flock guardians, so please do your research before adopting a llama for your sheep or goats. They will go at least in pairs, or to homes which already have established llama herds),

Also on the NELR website, you will find a Donation button. The transport alone cost us over $9,000. We estimate that it will take another $15,000 or thereabouts just to feed the llamas until spring. We haven’t even tried yet figuring in vet care and other expenses.

The sanctuary, in addition to accepting donations, is also accepting items from the critical needs list posted on the front page of their website. If you have other ideas or resources, or can help with any of those items, you are welcome to use the email button at the bottom of every page to contact the director.

Northeast Llama Rescue and Barnyard Sanctuary, and New York Wildlife Rescue, housed at Red Maple Farm, are run by Wes and Darcy Laraway, the directors. In addition, we have a board of directors and a great many volunteers, all of whom were instrumental in getting the llamas here safely, and remain so in their ongoing care. Many of these volunteers are college students from SUNY Cobleskill and high school students from Middleburgh Central, where Wes is a history teacher and Darcy teaches middle school science. The center is an IRS 501(c)(3) charity, and is entirely volunteer and donation run, and thanks you immensely for your support.

Free Help For Our Animal Friends at NELR

Northeast Llama Rescue and Barnyard Sanctuary and New York Wildlife Rescue (an IRS 501(c)(3) charity) accept Paypal donations through their website at http://www.redmaplefarm.net. In addition, we have a totally painless (and free) way for anyone to support the care of the animals we rescue. If you sign up to shop online through iGive.com, at no cost to you, every purchase you make through the iGive gateway will earn a donation for the animals.
To sign up to shop through iGive for NYWRC:

http://www.igive.com/NYWildlifeRescueCenter

And even if you don’t sign up (but why would anyone not sign up since it’s free and painless?), you can still earn money with each internet search you do simply by logging in to the iGive search engine rather than Google or whichever other search engine you normally use:

http://www.isearchigive.com/NYWildlifeRescueCenter

NYWRC also has a fun little gift shop, where you can buy all sorts of items, from clothing to coffee mugs and more, with one-of-a-kind wildlife designs on them:

http://www.cafepress.com/NYWildlife

Wouldn’t you love this face on your mouse-pad?

================================

Gayle Nastasi (of Gazehound’s Animal Communication) is a professional animal communication consultant and writer, who hopes her connection to the animal world can serve as a way to help her fellow humans enrich their relationships with their animal companions. By better knowing our non-human friends, we ensure a kinder future for our world and we learn what it means to be a unique and essential part of all that is. Permission is given to forward this article to anyone you feel might enjoy it, as long as it is understood that copyrights are held by Gayle Nastasi, and the author’s name, and links to her website(s) are left intact. If this publication has been forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe to Gazehound’s free monthly e-newsletter, “Creature Thoughts”, just visit the newsletter link below.

Links of Interest

The Llamas:

NELR/NYWRC
NELR’s Facebook Page (most frequent updates)
NELR’s Twitter Updates
CBS 6 Albany’s TV coverage of the NY-100
Albany Times Union article
Schenectady Gazette article
NELR/NYWRC’s blog
Booty for the Cause fundraiser
LlamaLovers Charity Auction
The Beekman Boys and Polka Spot, who are running a wonderful Virtual Adoption fundraiser

RAOKA

Visit Positive Provocations to read more about RAOKA, to view Zeenat’s “New Beginnings” post, and to follow links to posts by the other wonderful participants

RAOKA’s December Theme: Simplicity

Gayze — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 05:00:04 +0000

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain’d,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.
(“Simple Gifts“, a Shaker song, by Elder Joseph Brackett)

Simplicity

For many years now, my greatest personal desire has been to achieve simple independence. That statement will mean something different to everyone who reads it, I’m sure. For me, however, it’s more the “simple” than the “independence” that rings through my soul.

For me, the wish is to disconnect from dependence on outside sources: of power, of income, of sustenance, of heat, of reliance on the great monopolies that so dictate the workings of our society. I have visions of digging into the earth for insulation, for welcoming the light of the sun to power our home, to returning to the soil to provide our foods. I can even see chickens scurrying around my feet and leaving me gifts of brown, white and gold for my table.

When the theme of “Simplicity” came up for RAOKA, therefore, I couldn’t help saying, “Wow….”

It is funny, though, due to the way our society has buried itself in the thought that nothing happens without great financial input, that “becoming simple” is really quite a complicated endeavor!

So, while I visualize the dream, and try hard not to get hung up over the details, I’ve tried taking small steps. One of those, a minor one to many, though one that has become a major enjoyment for me, is knitting.

My mom was a crocheter. She created some lovely things, from slippers to full sized afghans, from baby booties to sweaters of complicated design. I always envied her, but when younger, I would try to emulate her creativity and lose patience. I’d lose patience with the hook, with the yarn, with trying to follow the patterns, but mostly with myself.

A little over a year ago, I had a dream about my mother’s hands. It was during the period when I was still relying on support to walk, after having come through a year of struggles in a wheelchair with a leg stripped of flesh and in continual pain. Mom had died in November of 2006, and I was in a state that I really, really just wanted to see her again, to hear her comforting words, to cry on her shoulder. That simple image of Mom’s hands, yarn entwined through her fingers, her crochet hook looping in and out of some lovely new creation, brought me incredible comfort. I woke up that morning knowing I had to do something with yarn.

However, nowhere in the house was a scrap of yarn. I did, however, find some kite string. Nowhere was a crochet hook, but I came up with a couple of newly sharpened pencils, and I began to knit.

Yes, knit: with two pencils and a ball of kite string. How simple can you get?

Today my pencils have grown into a really cool collection of circular needles, and my kite string is replaced by a large and growing ever larger stash of real honest to goodness yarn. I even have an entire llama fleece down in the shed that I’m guessing at this point I’ll never get around to cleaning and spinning (so far my efforts at spinning have shown me that there are some things for which I’ll never grow out of my impatient clumsy kid stage).

For the past two years, therefore, gift-giving times such as birthdays and Christmas have included hand-knit socks, mittens, gloves, and other small items. Eventually I’ll venture on to sweaters and more complicated garments, I’m sure. But for now, simple is as simple does, and I’m content to produce simple items that bless the wearer and bridge the gap between necessity and pleasure.

For the knitting, the simple act, the move forward, is a step toward Simplicity. It’s been my opinion for some time now, as I watch what is happening in the world around me, that the Universe is turning, turning, till we come ’round right. What this means, or at least it’s my theory, is that we are slowly watching the complicated machine of society fail us. This is not as dire as it sounds, though, because as we learn to embrace a simpler life, we embrace strength as well. We embrace the ability to return to the Earth Mother, to that which God the Creator has provided, for our resource. Instead of depending on that which mankind has woven in complicated inter-dependencies, we return to the Source. It is, of course, all there for us. We have, however, grown so complicated that we’ve forgotten how to access it.

For me, that vision is not one of despair, but of hope. And the symbol of my hope, sometimes, lays in the image of a simple, knitted sock.

==========

RAOKA logo by Melissa of Operation Nice

The following information is from Zeenat, of Positive Provocations, the caretaker of the RAOKA movement:

Be Involved in RAOKA!
If you’d like to become a Random Acts of Kick Arse Crusader—here’s your chance:

Propose a theme by contacting me the first ten days of the month or simply follow along with our monthly themes and spread the Random Acts of Kick Arse!
Write a post about what you have been up to and publish it on the first Wednesday of each month. If you would like a reminder emailed to you each month or would like more information, please contact me. If you don’t have a blog, you’re welcome to play along in the comments.
When you see my RAOKA post published, add your details in the Comments below including the URL address of your own RAOKA post and the title of your blog. I will then create a link to your post for others to see what kind of Beautiful Random Acts you’ve been up to. You can copy – paste the other Raoka team mates links from below this post into your post and write a two line intro to what Raoka is all about in your posts footer. Also, Let your readers know that they can contact me anytime if they would like to be part of RAOKA too.
I would love love love to have you on board The more the merrier!
Stay Tuned! Next month’s theme is “New Beginnings” as suggested by Zeenat.

Awesome RAOKA Crusaders and Their “Simplicity” contributions :

- Zeenat’s post on Simplicity at Positive Provocations
-Joy @ Unfolding Your Path To Joy wrote Embrace Simplicity
-Tim @ 360 Degree Self wrote Raoka Simplicity

November RAOKA Theme: Wonder

Gayze — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 06:00:55 +0000

That Childlike Sense of Wonder

I believe in Santa Claus.

No, really.

“A Sense of Wonder” is something that all children are born with. Everything to a child is magical. They look at the world with eyes filled with curiosity and, if allowed to thrive in a safe and secure environment, very little fear. They stare into the reflections in a puddle as if looking through a magic mirror into a new universe. They watch the leaves rustle in the breeze as if expecting to see the gentle hand that is tickling the tree. They look into the eyes of their childhood pet and imagine all sorts of wonderful things going through that beloved alien mind. They watch the stars at night absolutely certain that the stars are watching back.

And then…they grow up.

Most of us, as adults, move through a fast-paced world. With bills and responsibilities laid upon our shoulders, we often don’t have time to look at the things around us with that same amazing curiosity that we did as children. A leaf rustling in the breeze only means we’ll have to hold our hats on tighter. The reflections in the puddle only make us wish we’d remembered our umbrella. To many adults, dogs don’t think and the stars are just great gobs of burning gas too distant to worry about.

It’s a shame, but it’s also a blessing when we do remember, to spout an oft over-used phrase, to stop and smell the roses. We will suddenly see something, hear something, feel something that stops us in our tracks and makes us wonder again. We’ll drive up a hill to be met by a full moon just rising on the horizon, huge, bright, taking up half our field of view, and we cannot silence the child inside the bursts forth and shouts, “I wonder why the moon looks so big tonight”. We’ll turn a city corner to see the brilliant sunset lighting up the sides of the buildings like glowing golden spires, and we wonder how we could have walked down that same street every day for a year and never noticed how beautiful it can be. We are gently jostled out of work-related reading by the cat who leaps, purring, in our laps and as we reach absent-mindedly to stroke her, we wonder how we could have missed the fact that this is one of the softest things we’ve ever touched.

Wonder. Children live with it from moment to moment, as a central core emotion of their lifes. For us old timers, Wonder strikes like a magical lightning bolt and gives us back our childhood, if only for one amazing startled moment.

Today is December First. In many western cultures, we are currently moving through our holiday season. Many grownups see this time of year as a time of burden. They spend gobs of money and rue every penny, they complain that the holiday commercials are appearing on TV too early, they curse under their breath as they think of the ensuing credit card bills, and they go on and on in frustration about how “commercial” the holidays have become.

In my eyes, I cannot join the Grinch Ranks. I don’t know why, but even in our most desperate times, I look forward to Christmas as I did as a child. The Eyes of Wonder return to me, and my heart is seven years old again. Oh, I’m not delusional–I know the extra money spent is going to be hard earned, and we’re going to, on the surface, struggle to make the holidays bright. But I don’t care, because the joy, the magic, the Wonder of the holidays is worth all that boring grown up angst to me. I’ll never be one to complain about commercialism, or about how much money is being spent. I remember the Wonder. I remember the Magic. I remember that, somehow, from somewhere, a miracle will always happen to make the holidays special. By letting go of the grouchy grown-up growls, I open the door so that magic can enter freely.

By embracing that childlike Sense of Wonder, I hang my stocking for Santa to fill.

I’d like to take this chance to wish you all a Magical, Wonder-Filled Holiday Season. However you celebrate, or even if you don’t, may this special time of year bring back your childhood belief in miracles and magic, and may you find the Peace on Earth that we all hold dear in our dreams.

RAOKA logo by Melissa of Operation Nice

The following information is from Zeenat, of Positive Provocations, the caretaker of the RAOKA movement:

What is RAOKA? How can “you” be a part of it?
The RAOKA mission seeks to remind us that Random Acts of Kick Arse happen all around us—and also to spread the spirit. Each month, us RAOKA team core members vote on a new theme based on your submissions.
On the first Wednesday of each month (US time zone) we invite everyone to post about what we’ve observed, passed along, or created. During the first ten days of the month, contact me with your theme ideas for the next month.
I’m the Caretaker& Loving Keeper of The RAOKA Crusade with my core team mate Gayze. Check out her HUGS post along with other crusader posts linked at the bottom of this post.
Thank you Lori for entrusting me this awesome mission and thank you to Sami for starting it! Love you both! Raoka Logo created by Melissa

Be Involved in RAOKA!
If you’d like to become a Random Acts of Kick Arse Crusader—here’s your chance:

Propose a theme by contacting me the first ten days of the month or simply follow along with our monthly themes and spread the Random Acts of Kick Arse!
Write a post about what you have been up to and publish it on the first Wednesday of each month. If you would like a reminder emailed to you each month or would like more information, please contact me. If you don’t have a blog, you’re welcome to play along in the comments.
When you see my RAOKA post published, add your details in the Comments below including the URL address of your own RAOKA post and the title of your blog. I will then create a link to your post for others to see what kind of Beautiful Random Acts you’ve been up to. You can copy – paste the other Raoka team mates links from below this post into your post and write a two line intro to what Raoka is all about in your posts footer. Also, Let your readers know that they can contact me anytime if they would like to be part of RAOKA too.
I would love love love to have you on board The more the merrier!
Stay Tuned! Next month’s theme is “WONDER” as suggested by Gayze at Gazehounds Animal Communication.

Awesome RAOKA Crusaders and Their “Wonder” contributions :

-Zeenat @ Positive Provocations wrote — Can You See The Wonder?
-M @ The Exception wrote -The Season of Wonder Begins
-Eric @ Eden Journal wrote – Wonder

October’s RAOKA Theme was HUGS

Gayze — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:19:44 +0000

Hugs.

Hugs, though not exclusively human (there are quite a few primate species who will hug one another for comfort), are not really a form of affection that other species engage in. Although many people will (in a most primate way) hug their dogs, cats and horses, those species actually tolerate hugs more because they’re incredibly adaptive and forgiving than that they actually like to be hugged. Watch a dog’s face next time you see him being hugged. Most dogs will lean slightly away (though many are too polite to actually pull out of their person’s arms), roll their eyes, pull the corners of their lips back, and look uncomfortable. But they put up with us, and with our habit of squeezing them in odd embraces, because, well … they’re dogs, and in their own doggy (or kitty or horsey) way, they love us despite our idiosyncrasies. “I love you too, Mom, let’s get this over with.”

Then again, to us humans, a hug of affection is a lot nicer than sniffing our friends’ butts, jumping on them, and licking their faces. It’s all a matter of perspective….

I thought about “hugs” a lot during October, and had entered the month concerned that this theme was going to be a tough one for me. Oh, it’s not that I’m not a hugger, because I am, but I’m also a bit on the shy side with people, and tend to be extremely aware of the personal space of those around me. So, I do hug, but am inclined to be reserved, and pay close attention to the people in my life, waiting to get that “feeling” that a hug is needed or welcome.

Oh, my family gets hugged often, but even within that closest of circles, I tend to remain very aware of when a hug is comfortable for others, and when it feels awkward.

I used to hug a lot more, when I was in a rather odd situation where everyone in that same circle tended to hug and kiss everybody else. The hugs were rote, routine, and I often felt they were not very sincere. Everyone was doing it just because everyone else was doing it, you know? This particular phase of my life, which lasted for seventeen years, left me with a few scars that, unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), included a much keener awareness of the comfort levels of the people around me. I’m the first to admit that I may in fact read more into that than is actually there, and remain a bit too cautious.

It’s not that I’m insincere when I hug, not at all. It’s that I’m “hyper-sincere”, I suppose, and tend to shy back from the urge to give people, at least people I don’t know extremely well, hugs unless I get a sense that they really, really want or need that hug.

I find it extremely interesting to note that thinking about a topic so simple and pure as hugging has led me to a lot of self-examination, and I realize how many small details of my life have been affected by those memories.

That said, when a hug is sincere, and not just done out of expectation or appearance, there’s no feeling in the world quite like it. Even when my mind returns to those memories, some of which were very negative, my thoughts will automatically go to a few people … people whose hugs always seemed different, people who, when we hugged, I knew they meant it. Those few faces stand out like shining lights in my memory, while all the others blur together in the shadows.

These thoughts also lead me to my online friends, to people whom I’ve gotten to know over the last couple of decades, or the last couple of months … and I find myself wishing that the vastness of this planet weren’t quite so impassable. I often will include the word “Hugs” in my emails, in my posts, and receive similar sentiments in return. There are so many people whom I’ve “hugged” virtually whom I wish I could really put my arms around. Without ever having met these friends in physical form, I have absolutely no doubt that when they hug, they mean it.

Visit my good-and-growing-closer friend, Zeenat, who now so lovingly heads the RAOKA movement. Her post on Hugs will bring smiles to your face, and, as you get to know her, you’ll feel as I do: Zeenat is one Sincere Hugger!

RAOKA logo by Melissa of Operation Nice

The following information is from Zeenat, of Positive Provocations, the caretaker of the RAOKA movement:

What is RAOKA? How can “you” be a part of it?
The RAOKA mission seeks to remind us that Random Acts of Kick Arse happen all around us—and also to spread the spirit. Each month, us RAOKA team core members vote on a new theme based on your submissions.
On the first Wednesday of each month (US time zone) we invite everyone to post about what we’ve observed, passed along, or created. During the first ten days of the month, contact me with your theme ideas for the next month.
I’m the Caretaker& Loving Keeper of The RAOKA Crusade with my core team mate Gayze. Check out her HUGS post along with other crusader posts linked at the bottom of this post.
Thank you Lori for entrusting me this awesome mission and thank you to Sami for starting it! Love you both! Raoka Logo created by Melissa

Be Involved in RAOKA!
If you’d like to become a Random Acts of Kick Arse Crusader—here’s your chance:

Propose a theme by contacting me the first ten days of the month or simply follow along with our monthly themes and spread the Random Acts of Kick Arse!
Write a post about what you have been up to and publish it on the first Wednesday of each month. If you would like a reminder emailed to you each month or would like more information, please contact me. If you don’t have a blog, you’re welcome to play along in the comments.
When you see my RAOKA post published, add your details in the Comments below including the URL address of your own RAOKA post and the title of your blog. I will then create a link to your post for others to see what kind of Beautiful Random Acts you’ve been up to. You can copy – paste the other Raoka team mates links from below this post into your post and write a two line intro to what Raoka is all about in your posts footer. Also, Let your readers know that they can contact me anytime if they would like to be part of RAOKA too.
I would love love love to have you on board The more the merrier!
Stay Tuned! Next month’s theme is “WONDER” as suggested by Gayze at Gazehounds Animal Communication.

Awesome RAOKA Crusaders and Their “HUGS” contributions :

-Zeenat @ Positive Provocations wrote – Healing Hugs Experiment
-M @ The Exception wrote -So Many Kinds of Hugs
-Joy @ Unfolding Your Path To Joy wrote -RAOKA-Hugs..
-Eric @EdenJournal wrote- RAOKA –HUGS
-Keith @ Straight Up Living wrote -Powerful Four Letter Word!

RAOKA — The Essence of Grace

Gayze — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 05:00:23 +0000

The Essence of Grace

Now he walks in quite solitude, the forests and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake
(–Rocky Mountain High, John Denver)

What do you think of when you hear the word “grace”? Grace is a word that can mean many things to many people, and a myriad of images and emotions runs through my mind when I hear it. There is physical grace:

The grace of a galloping horse, or a running Saluki
The grace of a raptor in flight
The grace of a dancer, or a gymnast
The grace of a predator in full hunt mode
The grace of the sparrow as she escapes that predator’s pounce

There is emotional grace:

The grace of being forgiven for an unkindness
The grace of being grateful for our blessings
The grace of putting others ahead of oneself
The grace of being open to and aware of the magic and wonder that surrounds us

There is spiritual grace:

The grace which allows us to be a part of this amazing Creative Universe
The grace of the Creator’s Love
The grace by which we get away with all kinds of human failings and still manage to receive that perfect love

There are also things that fit more than one category above, such as the grace of the artist as she lays down wonders of color and creates something magnificent. Is that the physical grace as she controls the brush, the emotional grace as she is totally absorbed in the act of creation, or is it spiritual grace, as something deep inside is stirred and manages to find its way to her canvas?

Thoughts such as these have seasoned my days this past month, as I have wondered about the many meanings of Grace. I believe that no two people will hear the word, and perceive it in quite the same way. Grace is something that is as individual in essence as we are, something that will touch a different part of us each time it is considered.

And as I now type this post, thinking back on the past month of Grace, my mind is drawn back even farther, to the distant past, and to a memory that is probably held by many of the children of my age. The child inside that, when she hears the word “Grace”, she recalls:

God is Great, God is Good
Let us thank Him for our food
Amen

May the Grace of Childhood bless you to the end of your days, and may your days dance on in Grace for all eternity.

===========

The RAOKA mission seeks to remind us that Random Acts of Kick Arse happen all around us. The concept was begun by Sami, of Life, Laughs and Lemmings, picked up by Lori of Jane Be Nimble, and is now being headed by Zeenat of Positive Provocations. If you would like to be involved on a regular basis or have a suggestion for a theme, please visit Zeenat’s website and contact her.

On the first Wednesday of the month (or Thursday for you folks living on the other half of this world) we all post about what we’ve observed.

Please visit the other RAOKA Crusaders and enjoy their thoughts on the theme of the month:

[logo designed by Melissa at Operation Nice]

If you’ve written a RAOKA post, you may also fill out the form below, and a link to your post will be automatically created. Thanks for joining in on the fun!

RAOKA for July: Trust

Gayze — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 05:00:11 +0000

Trust

Yes, that is a Starling on my head

I believe I’ve learned more about Trust in the last couple of years than in all my many years prior put together. I’ve learned who I can trust, and have learned who I can’t. I’ve learned that you can’t always trust the people who are supposed to be there to help you through hard times. I’ve learned that, sometimes, the ones you didn’t think you’d be able to trust turn out to be the most reliable.

However, more than anything else, the ones who’ve taught me the most about Trust have been animals. I often find that to be the case, and more than once, people have heard me say that in order to learn about the best parts of humanity one must observe one’s own dog. Since early 2008, however, I’ve had the honor to work with animals that most of my fellow humans only get to observe from afar (or on the Discovery Channel): wildlife. That was the year I received my wildlife rehabilitators license, and began to help wild things in need.

When a wild animal in need looks you in the eye, relaxes, and allows you to help it…Trust. That is a Trust that is completely on faith, perhaps a Trust born of desperation. It’s a trust that is wholly un-earned, for most wild animals have no experience with humans other than to know they are to be avoided. When a wild thing gives itself over to your hands, and to your care, you are hit with the impact of a Trust that will shake you right to the core. Not only that, it will enflame within you a desire to be worthy of that trust. You will do your best. You will tend, you will care, you will nurture, you will heal, and then….

You will let go. Just as that animal put its total Trust into your hands, you will then reach the point that you must release it back into the wild. Then, after all your hard work, all the love you have poured into raising that being, into healing its wounds, into bring it back to freedom, your only recourse is to Trust the universe to help it survive.

For some of us, reaching that point of ultimate Trust in nature is hard. It’s not that we don’t know that Nature can and will provide. It’s just that we have devoted so much, and loved so deeply, that it’s difficult to turn the care of our little friends over. Once they fly free, we have lost control of their fate. Trust, at that point, is removed from the realm of conscious decision.

Trust becomes our only option.

I, for the most part, have been specializing in songbirds. They usually come to me as babies. I hold them in my hands, I feed them every twenty minutes, I worry over teaching them to eat on their own. I move them outdoors when the time comes, and teach them what it’s like to live as “real birds” do. I currently have twelve wild birds that I’m caring for. Ten of those twelve are, as I type, being conditioned for release. I’ve seen them from naked nestlings to full grown juveniles, and soon I know I must open the release cage and let them go.

Will they stay around? I’ll be providing food and water and shelter should they choose to do so. Will they connect with others of their species and join the natural life of migration and propagation? Will I ever see them again?

I don’t know. All I can do … is Trust.

(And maybe cry a little….)

===========

The RAOKA mission seeks to remind us that Random Acts of Kick Arse happen all around us. The concept was begun by Sami, of Life, Laughs and Lemmings. Each month, a member of Sami’s RAOKA groupies picks a new theme to focus our attention on something positive and good in this world.

On the first Wednesday of the month (or Thursday for you folks living on the other half of this world) we all post about what we’ve observed.

May’s theme for RAOKA will be “Serenity”, chosen by Zeenat of Positive Provocations!

Please visit the other RAOKA members and enjoy their thoughts on the theme of the month:
Lance at Jungle of Life
Lori at Jane Be Nimble
Zeenat at Positive Provocations

[logo designed by Melissa at Operation Nice]

RAOKA for May — Serenity

Gayze — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:34:10 +0000

Serenity

Silence
A peace within
Without
Soft sighs that stir the air

Breeze
Gentle wind ruffles my hair
Scents of dew on the grass
A rustle, a movement
Tiny bird in the branches
Of a twisted cedar

Sunshine
Warms my back
Soaks into my skin
My face I raise
In praise

Song
Lilting robin whistles
Grackle chucks
A trill of thrush
Mockingbird mimics
In time with the breeze

Ripples
Stream’s music
Down the hillside
It dances, races
The stones it caresses
Build a song
That echoes through me

Green
Of emerald of lime
Of chartreuse and pine
Leaves, grass
The subtle shade of the horizon
As dusk grows near

Circle
A shield of peace
Surrounds, enfolds
Outside chaos
Inside control
Where no pain may touch
My heart. Safe.

In serenity.

===========

On the first Wednesday of the month (or Thursday for you folks living on the other half of this world) we all post about what we’ve observed.

May’s theme for RAOKA will be “Serenity”, chosen by Zeenat of Positive Provocations!

Please visit the other RAOKA members and enjoy their thoughts on the theme of the month:
Lance at Jungle of Life
Lori at Jane Be Nimble
Zeenat at Positive Provocations

[logo designed by Melissa at Operation Nice]

RAOKA for April: Family

Gayze — Wed, 05 May 2010 05:00:31 +0000

Family.

When Lori and Sami asked me if I’d like to select a topic for RAOKA, and I chose “Family”, it was right after my Dad passed away. I really expected, at that time, that my post would be about him, about my Mom, about the way our childhoods and the people who surround us mold the human beings we become.

It’s really interesting how things change. Life brings us events that alter our thought processes, so that in a few weeks time, there can evolve an entirely different focus.

Today, as I sit down to actually write my “Family” thoughts out for RAOKA readers to view, though of course Mom and Dad and my biological loved ones are very much on my mind, the entire idea of “Family” has expanded and changed.

What event made me shift my concentration for this month’s RAOKA post? It was a day of fence-building here at Nastasi West (or “Wit’s End”, as I’ve begun to call our home).

For the 20-plus years that we’ve lived in our current home, our forever home, the plans always were that, when my Mom and Dad died, my hubby and I would take over their house while the house we lived in, and in which we raised our children, would be offered to the next generation. So, once emotions began to sort out, we did just that. My daughter and her “significant other”, a great guy named Chris, took occupation of “Nastasi East”, and here on the western half of the property, Joe, Devon (our son) and I have been settling in. With us came my silly birds and our dog Kai, to invade Dad’s poor cat’s personal space and make this our home.

Down the hill, Kai had a back yard, fenced in, that he used for exercise and his daily necessities. Up here, there is a much larger space that we planned to fence, which stretches between the house and the pole barn and probably covers between half and three quarters of an acre. With all that is going on, though the dog yard fencing was obviously a priority, it was one that our family was far too distracted by things like legal and financial matters to give our full attention to.

And that is when the concept of Family expanded and came to the rescue.

I’ve a dear friend, his name is Wes. He and his wife and kids have become more like extended family for us than “just friends”. My readers know Wes through NY Wildlife Rescue Center, I’m sure. Last week, Wes showed up with a horse trailer full of cattle panels, and on Saturday he returned, with two great helpers (Rose from SUNY Cobleskill and her boyfriend Dave), a load of t-posts, tools, and the determination to get the job done.

We worked all morning driving posts and starting the construction of the fence. Half the yard was done by the time Wes had to return to the Center for an appointment. My son Devon and I put up the rest of the panels, attaching them to the already-driven posts, in the afternoon. Later in the day Wes, Rose and Dave, along with Wes’s friend TJ, came back, and we finished the area under the carport, and hung a kennel panel across the front as a gate.

In one day, Kai had a yard. After it was done, Family sat in the grass along the west side of the fence, and I let Kai out. He didn’t know quite what to make of things at first, but suddenly the light went on, and he opened up and ran. Kai loves his yard, with more room to really stretch and gallop than he’s ever had at home before. Every time I stand out there and watch him run, I offer gratitude to the Universe for bringing me such wonderful friends.

Such wonderful Family.

“Family” is a word that means different things to different people; a word which has a variety of meanings in many situations. We talk about the nuclear family of parents and children, the extended family that includes grands, aunts, uncles, cousins first, second and third. We talk about our Family of Man, which, to some, is limited to those like them, to others includes all mankind. We speak of, as we reach outward with our hearts even farther, our Earth Family, which embraces all living things who grace the Mother Planet.

For me, Family is a matter of heart. Family are those who care, who help, who comfort, who are part of the circle of life to which we are bonded and bound by love. Ties may be by blood, or not — and it really doesn’t matter. The old saying is that blood makes us brothers, but hearts make us friends. The truest friends are always, in my heart, Family.

I’ve had some challenges in life, these past few years. I believe that the struggle to survive those challenges has been, in many ways, a blessing. It’s made me acutely aware of, and eternally grateful for, the people who have gathered around me in support. I know that I would not have made it to this day without them. Wes and his family are among our closest Family members, for whom I thank the Creator every single day. I don’t think a biological brother could have more of a heart’s bond, or have provided more strength to us as we’ve battled through these recent tough times.

“Family” is not necessarily about blood. It’s about people (both human and otherwise) who are there for you to share the laughter, and still there to soak up the tears. Family give from the heart. Family have your back. Family are the ones you’d gladly lay down your life for, and never doubt for a moment that it’s the right thing to do.

And to close with the words of some wise man or woman, whose identity I’ve never known but whose wisdom I’ve repeated many times over the years: Friends may help you move, but real friends (Family) help you move bodies.

Kai surveys his new domain

On the first Wednesday of the month (or Thursday for you folks living on the other half of this world) we all post about what we’ve observed.

May’s theme for RAOKA will be “Serenity”, chosen by Zeenat of Positive Provocations!

Please visit the other RAOKA members and enjoy their thoughts on the theme of the month:
Lance at Jungle of Life
Lori at Jane Be Nimble
Zeenat at Positive Provocations

[logo designed by Melissa at Operation Nice]