Talk is cheap or so the old idiom goes. We are living in a world that is full to the brim with access to information, experiences, methods and improvements yet it is easy to get lost in the maze of chatter and opinion. After all the procrastination there comes a time when a bit of action is called for, even if the action is one of just being.
Life seems to be full and complex recently. Whilst the internet is a wonder, connecting us to untold sources of inspiration, it can also slam us up against trolls, conspiracy, blame, negativity, scorn, derision and misplaced anger. It brings us even more comment and analysis than we have ever had need for. It subjects us (if we choose it) to a torrent of social networking, links, distractions, passive aggression, ideas and yet another way to chop your watermelons (apparently I have been doing it WRONG my whole life!)
There are more ways to discover yourself spiritually, politically, creatively, socially, mentally, emotionally and romantically than there are stars in the sky! At least more than the visible ones you can see from the light polluted vantage point of a suburban terraced house. With so much anger, opinion, truth, religion and conspiracy going on it is hard to know what to believe and what to choose from the infinite styles of cooking, yoga, answers, one-true gods, top-ten lists, and annoyingly long lists of nouns!
In this world of talk and words, there is a danger of getting lost in verbose clouds of nebulous nothingness, forgetting that we need to, at some point, tear ourselves away from the computer screen and get on with a bit of living. French philosopher Voltaire wrapped it up quite neatly in the last line of his 1759 satire Candide:
“Cela est bien dit mais il faut cultiver notre jardin – That is well
said but we need to cultivate our gardens”.
In the usual manner of timeless genius, the sentiment goes a
long way and has a multitude of meanings and depth. The book sees the main character
Candide taken from an optimistic idyll into the harsh realities of life.
Candide is slowly worn down through a series of trials as Voltaire takes a
sarcastic stab at myriad aspects of his contemporary European culture.
Throughout the story, Candide’s tutor remains eternally optimistic leading
Candide to eventually surmise, through all of their adventures and mishaps that
even though the world can be a harsh place, each of us still has to get up in the morning and
live our lives regardless of empty platitudes and rhetoric.
Candide is subjected to a torrent of horrors, ideas and
solutions yet somehow sees through it all to the other side. Perhaps all of
this talk and challenge is really an illusion. Perhaps talk is cheap. What
counts is that we have to live our daily lives, more so, we each have to tend our
own gardens and that takes love, time and commitment. This may not be exactly
what Voltaire was getting at but it suits me.
The whole of humanity is rolling around on the floor at the
moment. Change is in the air (as it always is) but this is something bigger. Some
of us are waking up to our spiritual selves at long last. Some of us are being
shown what seems to be an endless series of atrocities coming to light - from manufactured
terrorism to fracking, starvation and banker’s bonuses, there always seems to be
another thing to get angry at or worried about. Some of us have loud voices. Some
of us are just pootling along, happy in our world. Some of us just can’t get
going. Some are sad, some depressed, homeless or ill.
Yet in all this we are still united by our daily lives. We all have to live
day to day. We are all individuals bound by the unity of existence. Each of us
has something to be, do and see. In a world full of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, we can
only do the best we can in any given moment and there is no sense in beating
ourselves up for doing that, or for doing less. There is even less sense in
beating anyone else up, for what do we know about what anyone else is capable
of in any given moment?
Grand sweeping solutions and truths about life rarely work.
We are too individual and each of us is making it up as we go along. In
Development Theory there are two models of change that are often debated. The
first, ‘trickle-down’ development relies on big business and big investment to
bring social and economic change to a country. Grand plans will create new jobs
and everyone will benefit as the money trickles down from the top. We’ve all
heard that one before. Multi-national corporations as agents of love, compassion
and good conscience…? Perhaps, one day.
The other side of the coin is called grassroots or ‘bottom-up’
development. This is where people let go of the idea of a government or outside
force riding along in shining armour and start up their own initiatives
instead. Groups of people coming together, not to protest or complain, but to
create solutions. Groups of people taking their power back and relying on
themselves as the answer. Groups of global meditators and healers, positive media, local businesses that sell ‘out-of-date’ supermarket produce, small
charities that provide books or bikes to Africa or other much needed areas of
the world, individuals who feed the homeless, volunteers of all shapes and
sizes helping those in need… the list is endless.
Great social change doesn’t come in the form of yet another
reform. It doesn’t come in a suit, a flashy smile and a snazzy plan. It happens
when people get up and tend their gardens. Each of us makes a difference. Each of us matters. YOU
are important. If we can get out of the habit of
arguing, justifying, moaning and blaming then we might just remember that we
need to sort out our own backyards. There may well be some weeds growing there,
the plants may need watering, you may need to fix some pig damage. Do what you
can. Don’t worry about it. Do your best given the moment you have been given,
whatever that is. Your garden may be in your own head, it may be your hopes and
dreams, it may be your neighbourhood or society. It may even be your own garden! Just remember, gardens grow best with love
and tenderness. Lighten up. Take it easy. Let go of judging yourself or your
fruits, they grow in their own time.
What is important is knowing that you have power over
yourself. You are the one in control of you. You are the one choosing your
thoughts, choosing what you read and what you look at. You are the one choosing
what feels right or wrong for you. Your tiny actions make a difference. First
to yourself, then to the people you interact with. By taking small actions in
the field of your own existence and perception, spiritually, mentally and
practically, moment by moment, you can shift how you see life.
Action can be anything. It can be sitting and listening to
the sound of your breath. It could be taking a walk in the woods and connecting
to the life around you. It could be choosing not to read anymore harrowing news
items, it could mean listening to your own body, your hopes, your dreams, it
could mean picking up a pen and writing, it could mean going on that holiday
you promised yourself five years ago, it could mean volunteering for a local charity once a month, it could mean saying hello to your
neighbour, smiling at the checkout guy, letting someone out in the traffic,
choosing a thought that feels better than the last one you just had, finding a
silver lining in that argument, uncomfortable emotion or situation, stretching
your body, taking your spiritual practice into every moment, loving yourself…
Remember this, you are free, deeply free within yourself.
You get to choose what is right for you. Your garden is whatever you choose it
to be and it will grow best with love and appreciation.
With love,
Matt Rivers
18th December
