June 20, 2016—Day 171 (WD 452)

Peace, Dear Universe –

It’s another gorgeous morning, and the start of another sultry day.  Temperatures are expected to rise into the 90’s, and then a cold front will pass through overnight.  We’ll see if weather impacts the Full Moon Kayak Tour I’m co-leading tonight.

Dear One, it’s this kind of question mark about tonight’s weather that gets me thinking – is there really ever a right way?  The way something is supposed to be?  Do you know what I mean?

I could hold this image of a calm, clear night on still water, under the bright full moon.  What if tonight brings some wind and clouds, even a thunderstorm?  Does that make it wrong?  Is the night ruined?

I think about my adventure on the water a couple weekends ago – gusty winds, and a student capsizing, prompting an in-water rescue.  It certainly was not the plan, but it is something that neither of us will forget.

It’s simply what happened.  I don’t think there’s a right or wrong to it – it simply is.

I find myself expanding that philosophy to All Things.  Which isn’t always easy.

There’s hate, injustice, and death in Reality.  There are ugly things – cruelty and intolerance.

I do not condone such ugliness, and I don’t wish to simply accept it or turn a blind eye to it.

Yet, I truly strive to not respond to intolerance with intolerance.  That, to me, seems as narrow-minded and ineffective as battling hate with more hate.

I’m thinking again of my conversations with Andy and Steph, the Leave No Trace trainers I met last week, and the idea that Outdoor Ethical Practice for an individual falls somewhere on a spectrum.  We can share information and model behavior, but perhaps it is not ours to judge others’ ethics or behaviors.  As the proverb states, “…Lest ye be judged.”

 

Here’s a Prompt to consider:

I offer you this Philosophy.  I ask you to at least consider it, even if you do not agree – what it might mean, and how it might affect how you act, and how you view the people and world around you.

There are 3 types of business – Your Business, Others’ Business, and The Divine’s Business.

Identifying what is truly Your Business, and tending only to that, leaves everything else to be worked out between others and The Divine.

 

Dear Guides – Thank You, for helping me focus on, and tend to, My Business!