A wise Facebook friend posted this on Sunday and it struck such a resonant chord in me that I needed to expand and expound on it here. Warning…it may get messy (:

 

“The most enlightened, awakened, present, alive, effective, ascended beings are those who can both laugh AND weep. Who’ve known ragewar AND blisspeace. Who advocate and embody our higher natures but do not condemn our learning curve. They are equally comfortable with their humanity and their divinity. They are of service to others from a place of love…not fear or obligation. They are passionate AND compassionate. Polished AND raw. They are? Not exalted or fallen. They are? You and me. WE are not only the ones we’ve been waiting for or the change we want to see. We are the ones who learn, laugh, live, die, shine, kill, heal, pray, prove, give, take and LOVE along the way and within everynow. Don’t seek perfection. Or absolute truth. Seek only everything. And nothing. Because we? Have already been found.~Courtney A. Walsh

 

My comment to Courtney?   “Oh yes! I am learning that within me are both ‘ragewar and blisspeace’ and as long as I am aware of the first and keep a close eye on it, it won’t run roughshod over me or anyone else. When I have denied its existence (who me, angry?) , it has knocked me on my butt, laughing at me): When I ONLY acknowlege the latter, I am not authentic. It is both/and, not either/or.”

 

I fancy myself a peacemaker, (as a bumper sticker I have smiled at in recognition over the years, proudly proclaims), a dedicated ‘treehugging dirtworshipper’ who couldn’t possibly  harbor a mean thought toward anyone… And yet, there are times when a random judgmental thought slips through my carefully constructed filters and shocks the heck out of me! I don’t usually give voice to it, but I see it lurking about. Lately my full-blown ‘ragewar’ thoughts  are about people whose addictive habit of smoking pollute the environment, expose me and others to second and third hand smoke, waste money that could be used to pay their bills, (think of how much could be saved or invested or used for vacation!  I saw a news piece that said a pack of cigs in New York was $11, including tax!)   Un-Holy smokes, indeed! If a pack a day smoker set aside that amount of money, in a year’s time, they could save $4,015!) feed their children, and allow them to afford medications that could help them remain emotionally or physically stable. I think of smoking as slow suicide. I view smoking around children as child abuse, since it exposes them to toxins and hooks them into the same habit. I watch people toss their cigarette butts onto the street as if it is their ashtray.  I witnessed ambulance personnel, having just dropped a patient off at a hospital, lighting up. As I walked past them, I commented “Really, guys? You see over and over the impact of smoking on people’s health AND here you are, transporting people with cardiac and respiratory problems and they will be coming into your rig with you having smoke on your clothes.”  They just shrugged their shoulders.  I also heard that the resale prices for cars of smokers are far below those of non-smokers.

 

Years ago, when my mom had a quintuple bypass, her surgeon had asked her how long she had been smoking, she replied that she had never smoked, but my uncle and grandfather had smoked around her. She eventually died of heart disease despite an otherwise healthy lifestyle. My mother in-law and father in-law both died of smoking related conditions. I am grateful that my son will never smoke since he witnessed the impact in our family.

 

I have seen restaurant servers on a break, smoking. Do I really want someone waiting on me with smoke on their clothes?  I have attended outdoor music and green/healthy living festivals and amazingly, people are lighting up and then tossing the aftermath on the ground, despite ‘no smoking’ signs clearly posted. Although there aren’t many, I do have some people in my life who smoke. I choose to keep my distance while they are engaging in what I know is an addictive habit. I have friends who have been able to kick the habit and am extremely proud of them.

 

I did some research on the benefits of being  a quitter and was delighted to read that within the first twenty minutes of stopping, healing actually begins. BP decreases, circulation improves, pulse rate drops. Between 2 weeks and 3 months, it is easier to walk, pulmonary function improves. Withdrawal symptoms diminsh. After being smoke free for 5 years, the likelihood of stroke has also decreased and within 15 years, incident of cardiac disease has shrunk as well.

 

As I am typing these words, I can feel myself  clenching physically and emotionally, shutting off the flow of love. Those same thoughts are polluting my airspace and spreading out from there. Perhaps as you are reading this, if you are a smoker, you may be feeling some of that…who is she to judge?  Having mentioned earlier, this is my learning curve. The angrier I feel about it, the more I notice people around me smoking. Since there isn’t a whole lot I can do to prevent people from exercising what is a right, all I CAN do is prevent myself from having toxic thoughts about them and their choices, thus refraining from poisoning myself and the planet, since our thoughts are powerful. I can breathe in the healing air of love and compassion, sending it out into the world, fresh and clean and clear….blisspeace indeed <3

 

I Will Never Smoke by The Uncle Brothers, Tommy Gardner & Danny Quinn