What We Can Do

Aside

What can we do?????

guys sitting on curb by grungy street If you feel uncertain about politics, violence, economics, the environment, or any other current issues, global and personal, you may also feel a tad helpless about “things.” Perhaps as a reader or follower of Spirit Moxie, you’ve forgotten that there really are little things we can do to change the world. Or maybe you’ve never really thought that little things might work to affect big issues.

But little things do make a difference. First consider energy. Yup. Consider how you’re feeling right now. Energy spreads. Think of anger and how it can morph into a riot. Well, it works the same way with peace and calm. Think of a meditative space such as a cathedral or even those quiet spaces in airports. You walk in and can feel your whole body relax because of the energy of others who are there or have been there. At a recent Corner of Calm, a half hour virtual event where we simply share calm, I talked about this. You can hear this reflection on YouTube. Perhaps monitoring or changing your emotions doesn’t come easily, but meditation, exercise, and multiple basic exercises can help. What energies do you want in your world? List them.

Moxie Moves on coffee table Then go back to those little things we talk about in Spirit Moxie. If you have a copy of Moxie Moves: 10 easy ways to make a powerful difference, go look at that list. It really is a start! Below I reiterate the 10 easy ways—but in an order different from that in the book. (The number after a Move shows its order in the book. If there is a highlighted link, it goes to a Conversation post on the same topic.)

Smiling (1.) at people and things is a way to positively change energy as we go about our day. Being grateful (2.) is another way to make it easier to have positive emotions.

“You can’t change the world unless you are willing to engage with yourself as well as whatever is around you.”* Remember this engagement is all catching and a stronger you gives you more power. So, love your body (7.), whatever it looks like or feels like. We are bodies and yours is worth love and care. With this, remember the importance of sleep (3.) which actually affects those around you as well as yourself. There are other Spirit Moxie Conversations not in the book that relate, such as brushing your teeth and washing your hands, which we are constantly reminded are things that affect more than ourselves. There are two other chapters in the book that are more cerebral. Learn (5.) and play (10.). These two activities keep our minds active and curious, informing both our being and our doing.

Hand inserting ballot in ballot box Then there are the concrete actions that make a difference as we can we clearly see. An area without litter (4.) is healthier and safer as well as more attractive (back to emotions!). Keeping your word (8.) presents a world that’s trustworthy. Plus lying has a negative effect on your body so it, too, circles back. Listening (6.) and really, really hearing what others are saying rather than plotting our witty responses, whether we agree with them or not, lays a needed foundation for a better world. Plus, it circles back to learning and, for me, being grateful. Finally, there is the one thing that I’m assuming is completely obvious. Vote (9.) In the chapter on this action there is one more suggestion. Vote for yourself. Everyday. As someone who matters. Let’s start the Make a Difference party.

What you do matters.

_________________________

* Moxie Moves: 10 easy ways to make a powerful difference, p. 56

Images from the top:
Despondency Jessica Watkins DeWinter
Moxie Moves on table Mary Barr Rhodes
Voting Spirit Moxie

You

Posted on June 27, 2024 by B

Playful giraffe statue

When I really know something is true, whether about the world or even more about myself, I both assume it’s obvious and that it’s, well, true.

But as I think about sharing with you, I realize that’s not good enough. The heck with all snowflakes being different. People are too. Even those with the same DNA such as identical twins. This brings me back to our Conversation about being willing to be wrong. Being willing to be wrong about others.

So, who are you? What do you love? What do you know is true?

The question here is “Who are you?” The challenge of being unique is to understand your bits, and to not expect them to be true of anyone else. Beyond likes and dislikes, although they certainly count, how do you process information? How do you learn? What feeds you emotionally?

Have you done any of the personality tests such as Myers Briggs or the Enneagram? Much of their usefulness is to show how naturally different and unique we are. (I’m not sharing links because I am very suspicious of the online tests.) In Myers Briggs, I’m an INFP, but so close to an E that sometimes it switches. I’m a clear 9 on the Enneagram which explains a lot. In Quantum Human Design, I’m a Time Bender which in traditional Human Design is a Manifesting Generator. Now this might all sound like gibberish to you. I know the basics about Myers Briggs and a fair amount about the Enneagram. I know almost nothing about Human Design.

Perhaps you pay attention to horoscopes which are yet another tool. I’m a Cancer which in traditional descriptions doesn’t fit me at all, although I’ve had some very insightful readings from people who truly use it. But I do know that all of these tools expound ways to show how varied, naturally varied, we all are and, for people who do know and use these tools, helps people accept and celebrate themselves and these differences. Do you use any of these? Others?

What prompted this Conversation post is my personal passion for hearing about your story, differences, and passions. These aspects of who we are are what drives us and the more we are clear, the more it is easy to interact with all the world and so “change it” and make a difference through the day to day seeds of healing we can plant.

For there’s some agreement the world needs healing. And most likely at some level you need healing too. So today’s challenge is simple. Celebrate you. Know that what is obvious and easy for you isn’t true for many others. Embrace that together we can make a difference.

Thank you!

____________________________

Notes:

Photo: Attention getting giraffe — Spirit Moxie
Related reading (includes thoughts on violence): Who are You?

Planting

Posted on May 20, 2024 by B

flowering tree by a sidewalk During COVID, I wrote a Conversation piece around the importance of growing things called “Plant.” Planting – and seeing growing things – changes us and the world. This Spring, the trees and flowers have particularly enthralled me, perhaps because I’ve been walking more, as I’ve watched the world – or so it seems – bud and bloom. Breathtaking.

Plus, during the winter someone gave me cuttings for four houseplants so I’m now, again, a proud plant owner.

But along with the natural world, I’ve recently been reminded of what we plant in each other. This can be negative and positive.

Hinted at in the Conversation “Be Litter Free*” in the book Moxie Moves, is the negative energy we sometimes inflict on those around us. False ideas. Misplaced anger. Helpful suggestions that aren’t terribly helpful. Like the piece of paper that falls out of your pocket, some of this might be inevitable and is certainly unintentional. But recognizing this as, if you will, a way we plant weeds in our world is useful. Weeds, by definition, are what is growing where we don’t want them to be.

However, focusing on the positive things we might plant can mitigate some of this. For it is our positive plantings that do change the world. Kind of like the marigolds you plant with your vegetables to attract bees and, so we’re told, deter many pests. Plus, while they won’t keep the deer away, marigolds are at least one flower the deer won’t eat, so that flower bed can indeed boast flowers! What might you do that is a positive planting?

hand dropping ballot in ballot box Many are on our basic “little things that can change the world” list. Smile.* Listen.* Vote.* Keep your word.* Or are more provocative like “be kind to animals” and “don’t kill.” For today, what are the simple seeds you can plant? A sincere compliment, maybe to the grocery store checker or the person ahead of you in line? Grinning at the little kid who is looking at you when their mom isn’t noticing? Being honest when asked a question. (Lying hurts the person to whom you’re responding, but also hurts you physically as well as mentally. Really.)

You get the idea. What have been your favorite Spirit Moxie Conversation posts? What would you add?

Besides, the little things, there are also the fairly big things we plant in the world. For some it has been a new business that has affected their community, country, and planet. Perhaps it is an idea tentatively shared or a new insight. It’s existing things like libraries. I’m working in one right now which is offering free internet access to multiple patrons or, for me, good wifi in a place free of the distractions of home where I can also find a recommended book to take home to read after dinner. Our highway network. Electricity. The Internet.

4 small pots with plants Part of your job might be the dreaming that creates these — but it is certainly gratitude for them which helps give them power.

So, plant. My new housemate moved in with an almost full bag of potting soil, so now my cuttings have graduated from glass jars to real pots. I’ve been trying to share more of my ideas, most recently around “doing without doing” (or “how to be lazy”) which might not change the world, but might change someone. Plus, I am writing to you.

Share – how and where are you planting?

________________________________

All images by Spirit Moxie. From the top

Spring trees
Voting in Oregon
New houseplants

*In Moxie Moves: 10 ways to make a powerful difference (Amazon link)

Claim

Posted on February 7, 2024 by B

Claim is a verb!

barren hills Redwood Canyon When I began writing this, I got a bit puckish and remembered the “Wild West” definition, with prospectors and land barons. In my imagination I saw dry creeks and hills. There, “claim” was a noun.

However the kind of claim that has an impact in changing the world is a verb. But apparently, it’s a verb many of us don’t trust. Last night, for example, I met a very interesting person, an executive in a wind turbine company based in Denmark that has a presence in Portland, Oregon, where I’m now living. The conversation went something like this:

Me: “So you change the world.”

Him: “Well, kinda. I’d like to think I do. But look at what our kids are inheriting.”

Me: “Claim it. You change the world. Period.”

Him: “Well, maybe, but…”

I think I finally got through. But if you “maybe’ change the world and “would maybe like to” make a difference, you probably don’t. This seems endemic to most of you that follow Spirit Moxie. Yes, you. Oh, the idea of “little things that can change the world” sounds good. You now read similar ideas elsewhere. You find that it’s fun to come up with new “little things.” You enjoy posts such as this one. But do you take any kind of stand that your actions work, that you (yes, you) matter?

Washing hands Intellectually how could your getting enough sleep* or brushing your teeth affect anyone besides yourself? Smiling* might brighten someone’s day, but would it, how could it, change the world?

There are a lot of parts embedded in this question. One analogy is, for example, that you want some exercise so you walk around the track at a local school. Or maybe even run around it. But even though you’re running, it’s not a race unless 1) you decide it is and 2) other people are involved. Note that #1 is you. Others could be racing and you’re not. But if you decide to race, if only to get a better time, others very likely will play along even if it isn’t a formal “race day.” It’s the same thing if you say that it would be great if people claimed that whatever little thing they are doing makes a difference. Smile*. Listen*. Vote*. All these are one person actions. You can’t make anyone else do them. It’s an individual decision.

What’s essential here is the “claiming.” Deciding that today is race day. Figuring that if I get enough sleep. I’ll be healthier and a lot more pleasant to be around and the health care system will have one fewer person to deal with. As a result my friends can relax and I can experience more joy which is actually contagious in a good way. There’s a deliberate action in this. It is by claiming these actions as making a difference that changing the world becomes possible. Even if only you do them. When a lot of us do them, positive, even unpredictable change becomes possible.

Taking a step We read that we’re enough, are fabulous, are good the way we are. But our mind may say, “Who, you? Don’t be silly. You’re not big or strong or important enough to matter.” Thank your mind for sharing. You are all you have to offer. And it is enough. If you claim that and I claim that, we have enough people for that race. And others will join in.

What’s your stand? Race on?

_____________________

* A chapter in Moxie Moves: 10 easy ways to make a powerful difference
1. Smile; 3. Sleep; 6. Listen; 9. Vote

All photos by Spirit Moxie
Red Rock Canyon Park (I think)
Another little thing: Wash Your Hands —David A. Lynch, model
Off to run — Noël Ponthieux, photographer

Be Curious

Posted on August 23, 2023 by B

Question mark on picture of eclipse At the beginning of each new year, I claim a word for the year. For 2023, my word is “curious.”

I chose “curious” because I really had no clue how 2023 would develop both personally and as part of Spirit Moxie. The previous year 2022 had caught me by surprise — a trip to Spain materialized, seeds for which had been planted in 2017 or so and pretty much forgotten. My new book was published that really was a book, not just an online offering, and was incredibly beautiful (Talking to Trees through poetry and pictures). As 2022 continued, the Russian attacks on Ukraine was the impetus for Spirit Moxie to expand Corner of Calm rather than cancel it. If that was 2022, what might happen in 2023? What might go as planned? What might be unexpected? I was (and am) still settling into a new place to live and there was a lot I didn’t know and certainly more people to meet! So being curious felt right and implied “open to possibilities.”

Now I’m a big believer in the concept there is a web of ideas and discoveries that flows through the world. Several ideas that are integral to Spirit Moxie that seemed innovative and even a bit weird to the world at large at one time, are now seen as commonplace. Yes, the now familiar idea that little things can change the world raised eyebrows when we began. It was a concept that sounded intriguing to some, but was discounted in presentations by others who I’m pretty sure had never heard of Spirit Moxie and probably still haven’t. Now you encounter this idea as a matter of fact part of world change. On a more recent note, at least two well known people I follow are suddenly offering courses on being calm. Spirit Moxie’s Corner of Calm started on August 3, 2021. So, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that curiosity is being promoted more and more every place I’ve looked recently.

What is useful about those promotions is that they have given me some perspectives that I originally wouldn’t have considered. For me, curiosity seemed a matter of fact way to approach my life and world. But those who explore such things have discovered, for example, that when people are under stress, curiosity about how the situation will evolve calms and relaxes their minds. It takes us away from fear because we now have a problem to chew on instead. As we look farther, we can see curiosity as a driving force in multiple inventions and the pull that encourages exploration.

Building taller – or perhaps digging deeper – I suggest that you be curious about things that you find annoying or even hurtful. Is age really the reason x, y, and z are happening? Is time always linear? Is there another possible explanation for what happened? Or my favorite question that helps me dance with time, “What should I be doing right now?” (This might be the only acceptable use of the word “should”!)

So I think more than anything else this post is an invitation. Be curious! How does curiosity serve you? What have you noticed as a result?

For, as I have learned, it is through daring to be curious that adventures, insights, and possibilities appear.

__________________
Question graphic created by Spirit Moxie on Canva

Be Kind to Animals

Image

I’ve had puppies. But what I remember is huge yards or being in places where one could, with integrity, since it was the accepted norm, chain them outside. Plus our newest, as yet unhousebroken, household member is really not mine, a fact he embraces when his owner is home.

Dog on lap with copy of book When I looked at Spirit Moxie’s “How to Change the World” working list to pick our next Conversation, “Be Kind to Animals” stopped me. It seemed so obvious. Plus 2022 appeared as a year for animals latching onto me when their owners weren’t there. And sometimes when they were. It was a new super power or perhaps one I just hadn’t named or noticed. After all, during the COVID lockdown, the household I was part of joked about my career as a dog bed. And it was a dog-watching gig that kept me in Portland long enough to find my current living space.

Dachshund So how does this relate to changing the world? I’m guessing those who are cruel to animals aren’t reading this. But I think talking about being kind to animals is important because, as with most things, I’m guessing even the best of us sometimes gets it wrong. In fact, I doubt if we could even agree on what wrong is. Yes, it seems obvious when domesticated animals aren’t treated properly. We hear of animals rescued from conditions of squalor. We read about them having terrible health conditions.

And there are multiple other situations that seem clear to many. Some of you reading this are vegan or vegetarian. While health is probably one reason for eating this way, many name a concern for animals and worry about the resources that deplete the earth as we raise them. I’m deliberately not going there. While our inter-relationship with the natural world in general is inclusive, and certainly involves depleting resources, I’m focusing here on our relationship to other creatures because for many of us, these interactions feel more personal.

When is the last time you interacted with an animal that doesn’t live in your house or the neighbor’s or a friend’s? It could be domesticated, but what about a squirrel? Yesterday I watched one deliberately tease the dog to make the dog chase it! Or what about that goose that has no business in a car-centric world acting like it owns the parking lot? Do you watch it? Say, “Hi!”? Notice. Have you ever seen that particular stray cat before? Is that coyote watching you aggressive or just curious? Have you ever even seen an elk or a moose? Noticed the sun on a dragonfly’s wings? What kind of bee is that in that flower? And yes, you can talk to those too!

Small fluffy dog looking up All these matter because even if, or perhaps particularly if, you live in a city, our relationship to animals reminds us of an integral part of our own humanity. We, too, are animals. And claiming that is true can inspire us to do other accountable things that help the world. Little things like not using plastic straws, or maybe any straws, and being concerned about the rings used to connect packs of cans because both are known to kill sea life. An action such as that leads to other little things that change the world such as general recycling and basic composting — two ways to dispose of waste that both help the environment and support all the creatures with whom we share the world. It’s realizing the effects of unintentional and blatant instances of pollution, such as the oil spill that might have been prevented or simply checking the emissions on your car. The list goes on. But what that greeting to a goose or the reassurance to a certain small dog that his mistress really will come home tells us is that we’re in the world together. We aren’t human in isolation.

So be kind to animals. Recognize all these related actions as key to making a difference. And know that animals give us integral ways to getting support in your own difference making.

_____________________________

Photos from the top:

Original career as dog bed – Spirit Moxie
(We liked this photo of the dog, but here’s the book link too)
Pet sitting in Portland – Spirit Moxie
A certain small dog – Suzanne Kustusch

Foundations

Posted on January 4, 2023 by B

Welcome to 2023!

Those who have read my previous posts for a new year have been invited to dream, choose a word or phrase to guide us, and otherwise embrace the year we’re entering (even 2021 with all its uncertainty). I still believe that all these activities are useful, empowering, and, often, engaging. But now that this new year has begun, let’s pause once more and claim the best for it slightly differently.

This year, I sense that there is more power in beginning with a three-part template. First, truly claim the power of gratitude. Second, dare to stand firmly as who you are rather than in some idealistic version you’ll magically become by next December. Finally, yes, restate and re-envision your dreams — and connect them to gratitude.

Picture of puzzle OK, but how does this really work in practice? Begin with, “What am I grateful for that occurred in 2022?.” What brought delight? Did you catch glimpses of joy? Then share those experiences! If you’re stuck, just naming that you made it to a new year is a great beginning. I’ve met new friends. I am actually cooking again fairly regularly. A health scare was easily resolved thanks to my community and great doctors. And I could go on: the demand that Corner of Calm continue; finishing a puzzle before I left from my Christmas visit to family.

You may have had some terrible, terrible things happen during the past year. Acknowledge that. Then look for tiny things to give thanks for if you can’t find big ones. This isn’t a Pollyanna-ish exercise. Set a timer for five minutes, get as still as you can, and write down whatever gratitude you see. Share one or two in the comments (sharing gives gratitude power). Post on Facebook. Send me an email. Knowing there was good in 2022, however hard or easy it is to find it, lays a base. It’s the difference between, “Prove yourself stupid time marker!” vs “I can see glimpses of what can be good in a year! Interesting.”

The second piece of our New Year’s claiming is you. Yes, You! One of the phrases I heard a lot last year was the deceptively simple statement, “You are enough.” If you really want to mess with what we believe, we can add in my claim that you’re perfect. What? I know both of those statements anger our critical minds, but reread what I wrote about “perfect” before you get all defensive. Neither of these statements means we can’t and won’t change. What happens is that we become even more who we are. I really do know you are awesome and it is crucial to a wonderful new year that you see it, too.

Dog on lap Here are a couple of exercises that can help. For me they involve writing, but a conversation with a really good friend or an activity that involves some other means of expression (drawing? making up a song? going on a thoughtful walk?) works, too. Name 5 to 10 of your gifts. I would guess that a couple of them even got stronger last year. I, for example, have bonded more with animals. None of these gifts have to be huge (although I would bet some are). “Calm during COVID” is still one of mine. If you really can’t think of anything, it might be useful to start keeping a list of compliments. I’m not sure from whom I got that exercise, but I have a place to write down “chill” when that was applied to me. Just the word. Some of you may have more physical things to name as gifts, although I would hope most of those (“my business took off”) were in your gratitude list.

It is from this place of naming who you are, even if others don’t always see it, that we bring strength to the third part. Dream and vision. Plan if you must (as someone not linear, I truly forget that often you are), but don’t set those plans in stone. What we want are destinations and some eagerness to take steps towards them. But it isn’t the steps we are naming here. It isn’t “I’m losing weight.” Or even a particular weight number. But to be able to say, “I’m truly happy with my body.” Not, “I’ll be debt free,” but “I live in true abundance.” Not even, “I want better experiences,’ but “I know delight.” Name the end, not the means. As Mike Dooley says, you set your GPS and then move. If we head the wrong way with a GPS, we are redirected.

Finally, as part of this visioning, give thanks for your dreams right now. I give thanks for my body. I delight in what I have and do. I know joy. Fuel. A stillness and foundation full of momentum. Paradox.

Gruet champagne bottle I’m not sure what images work for you as you enter this new year, but I know that you can only embrace them as yourself. And yourself is fabulous. Right now. I see that. Plus, remember that the groundwork from last year supports the vision for this one.

I toasted my new year with champagne bubbles and, today, I might do it again with herb tea. You?

Welcome to 2023!

___________________________
All photos by Spirit Moxie. From the top:

Puzzle finished over Christmas
Dog on my lap
New Year’s bubbles

Questioning Thoughts

Posted on August 30, 2022 by B

Or “It Ain’t True, Darlin’ ”

It shouldn’t have bothered me. My excuse is that I was tired and stressed and helping with that particular project was one of the things I’d enjoyed the most about this volunteer gig. So when, for maybe the third time, I was told I wasn’t needed to help anymore, I decided I was being dismissed because I was too slow, not as accurate as I thought, and so forth.

A bit later I laughed at myself. This was a classic example of letting other’s words get me down. In retrospect, I didn’t even know if their words were about me. Perhaps the whole project was already under control (it certainly worked in the end). Perhaps the organizers were feeling stressed and saying “no” made them feel more in control. Shoot – maybe I threatened them (that has happened, not sure why).

One of the hardest things to understand is that what we think about things isn’t actually real. It is just what our mind is saying about whatever the “fact” or event is. Our minds process what’s happening so we can make sense of it and to keep us safe. My default response to what I hear as negative comments is an explanation of why I’m inadequate. Inadequacy is my default safe place. While that sounds negative, think about it. For me, even though I think I’d like to be seen as fabulous, I’ve never been physically harmed when I’ve felt inadequate.

Perhaps your default is to be right or self-righteous. Whatever your default response, it is a feeling that helps you feel comfortable. It feels safe and familiar, even if part of you wishes you reacted differently. For me feeling inadequate may not be pleasant, but it is a familiar place that has kept me out of trouble and helped me fit in for as long as I can remember.

Another default response for some people can seem like the opposite of this. Perhaps you push boundaries beyond any reasonable expectation. Danger reminds you that you’re alive. For you, it’s safer to place yourself in situations where life seems disposable—on your own terms.

Maybe anything new is simply seen as “dangerous.” And so welcomed. Or, as a classic defense, something to be rejected.

None of these responses are bad or wrong or unusual. But learning to see thoughts as thoughts, with no intrinsic reality, can be very freeing. When I can notice the “inadequate” conversation, I’m free to question it and change it to showing me as competent, interesting, and curious. To hear alternative versions of things we are sure we absolutely know are true helps us see that, just maybe, we can look at that truth a bit differently.

There are several tools and reflections available to explore this. Perhaps one of the best known is The Work from Byron Katie. What she does is so simple that some find it threatening, feel manipulated, and dismiss her. Basically, what she says is that if thoughts are causing you pain, question them. Whatever truth there is in what happened, in this minute you have choices on how you look at those thoughts and, by extension, the events you’re thinking about. Here is the link to what she calls The Work, which is based on four questions:
Is it true?
Can you absolutely know it’s true?
How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?
Who would you be without that thought?

The answers to these questions are followed by simple, non-judgmental curiosity about “turnarounds” where you consider what may be true when you reverse the thought.

More recently, I finally read Brené Brown’s book Rising Strong: how the ability to reset transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. This book was a gift I received from someone over seven years ago that initially I resisted reading. (My mind had these thoughts that for me the book wasn’t useful.). This book also helps us look at how we relate to our thoughts – plus how we form thoughts and can change them. Brown looks at this challenge from a more experiential direction than Katie. Brown’s discussion includes exploring our default responses.

On a lighter, or at least different, note, I’ve always wanted to have people (originally I was thinking of teenagers, but now think anyone) play with just retelling their truth by creating an alternative, if imagined, story. Preferably I imagine the absurd such as picturing my colleagues in my initial “they don’t want me” scenario actually answering a completely different question, seeing me as an alien, or being given a pro forma script where they were forced to say no. Elves and fairies or more serious notes describing some of the personal things they might be experiencing, such as illness, could also be in the mix.

A few years ago, I was part of a writing workshop led by Martha Beck. I don’t remember what the assignment and prompt was, but this poem was the product and worth sharing for the last three lines.

It Ain’t True, Darlin’

They’re only words within our head
Our thoughts are just opinion bred
Yours only tell me more of you
Or mine shows that my sight’s askew.

For scorn is just an itch that’s grown
So we won’t see the hurt we’ve sown
Or a belief we think will save
Us from a fault we really crave.

So if you truly seek to be
The one that in your heart you see
Let loose and sing with me this song
And laugh at life and dance along

Remember this is always true:

Your thoughts aren’t me
And mine aren’t you!

Have you questioned your thoughts? If you’re willing to share, I would love to hear from you.

_______________________-

Notes from the top. All images by Spirit Moxie:

Photo from the part of the volunteer gig that did work. “Dinosaur Wrangler”
Tree on the grounds of where I learned about The Work (Ojia, CA)
Screenshot of Rising Strong cover on our Kindle – an Amazon Spirit Moxie link

A friend has actually set “It’ Ain’t True Darlin'” to music as “Word Dance.” When there’s a working recorded version, we’ll share!

Believe in Magic

Posted on May 4, 2022 by B

“Magic?” We had just finished one of Spirit Moxie’s Corner of Calm* sessions and, when someone asked how it had gone, I replied that it was “magical.” During the session, I’d experienced deep connection while watching others embrace calm. It even contributed to healing for someone thousands of miles away. Through a technology that sometimes seems like it could happen only in science fiction, a real a sense of connection is possible.

But at least one person who had been at the session and heard the comment said, “Magical? How?” The idea of magic made no sense to her at all.

What is magic? And why in the world should believing in it make a difference?
When I looked at the idea of magic, I wondered how it differed from manifestation and miracles. Clearly, they are all intertwined because in all three concrete things happen outside of our usual experience. When I posted the question on Facebook, one person flippantly responded, “Well, they all begin with M.”

But generally most agreed that the three were not the same, although there was no consensus on definition. Memory also has me exploring the definitions for these words while journaling, but apparently it was just memory and not something I did. So, in a new attempt, I’m offering this:

Manifestation is a response to a concrete wish or desire. Sometimes it is a deliberate long term longing coming true — like my moving to the West Coast. Sometimes it is something incidental — like my winding up in a Zoom room with someone I had been hoping to meet or your finding that unlikely perfect parking spot.

A miracle is a desired result that’s “impossible.” Healings — and there are many documented — are the classic examples. The cancer that’s completely gone before any treatment or the person who should never have been able to walk again strolling through the door. When catastrophe strikes, it’s a miracle when a child is found unharmed in the burned or otherwise destroyed building.

But magic? I think magic is when something happens that is unsought, unlikely, and unexpected (although welcome). Plus “good” magic always has a hint of wonder or delight to it. (In stories, magic can also be evil. But not the magic we’re considering in this Conversation.) Magic could be the sleight of hand in a magic show or my surprised feelings when connecting for Corner of Calm. But it is even more evident when you find something you didn’t know you were looking for until it appeared. Often, it’s hard to pin down.

In searching for an example, I remembered the Valentine’s Day night when I was wandering around solo, and I stopped by a local bar. There I was told to go to the performance hall where the end of a concert was going on, and the jazz group performing closed their show with Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man, which was my deceased partner’s and my theme song. I’d never heard anyone play Watermelon Man without it being requested. As a bonus the bar owner, who I thought was busy doing closing stuff, suddenly appeared to dance to it with me. Pure magic all around on Valentine’s Day!

That may be the main point of magic. To believe in magic opens you to another dimension of experience and possibility. And experience and possibility are at the heart of changing the world. In movies and games, magic is often a portal to something unimaginable. In life, believing magic be possible makes it possible to believe in and see the unimaginable.

Even the words “magic” and “magical” are fun and intriguing. They make us smile. Maybe magic is just how you look at things. Maybe believing in magic allows magic to happen.

Often it is the unbelievable and the impossible that lead to innovation, change, possibility, and a true difference to appear. Or so I believe and have seen.

Are you open to magic? Where have you found it?

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From the top:

Great Basin National Park — National Park Service
*Corner of Calm — a half hour sitting in calm and silence – YouTube sample

Return Shopping Carts

Posted on March 27, 2022 by B

A lot of the things we talk about as “little things that can change the world” is head stuff: “Be Willing to Be Wrong;” “Don’t Take Things Personally.” But remember, when we began looking at these Spirit Moxie Conversations about “little things,” we emphasized physical action. Our first “little thing” post was “Use Revolving Doors”! Really. It is what we do, as well as who and how we are, that makes a huge difference.

I’m suspicious that maybe returning shopping carts at the grocery store and, now, at many big chain stores is a particularly United States problem. People rushing out of a store with a week or month’s worth of stuff, packing it into their SUV, and driving off after just pushing their shopping carts toward the end of their parking spaces is a scene from US suburbia.

OK, so you don’t do that. But why is “return shopping carts” such an important little thing to do?

Loose shopping carts cause accidents. Some literally run away and crash into cars. They have hit people. Loose shopping carts create more work for store associates, but note they do not create more jobs. There are still people who come outside and bring these carts into the store when they are safely in their corrals.

Just because you are using a shopping cart is not an excuse to take it home. Over a million shopping carts are stolen every year. You see them on the street, in apartment complexes, and in yards. It costs a store between $100 to $400 to replace one. This averages out to an extra $10,000 a year or so reducing your favorite store’s bottom line. Those costs are passed along to you and everyone else that shops there. (Stats compliments of Google.)

As an example consider Aldi a Germany-based grocery store chain popular as a no-frills alternative in the United States. At these stores, customers pay a quarter (US$.25) to use a cart and then get the quarter back when the cart is returned. This helps the returning part but doesn’t decrease theft. Some people think that the quarter gives them the right to keep a couple hundred dollars’ worth of equipment.

So, part of this post considers how our actions affect the economy vs our convenience. An earlier post asking for examples of such actions was famously sparse. We simply don’t think that way. Writing this Conversation suggests other ideas of positive ways to support the economy and environment to me, but I don’t want to have it all be about my ideas. I want your thoughts. Add a comment to this post. Or post in the Moxie Movers Facebook group. Or write your own post. Send it to me at info@spiritmoxie.com.

There’s a “shopping cart theory” that went viral. That theory says you can determine someone’s moral character by whether they return shopping carts. Yes, there are arguments about whether this is true. But I think it is true that returning shopping carts is “a little thing that can change the world.” Thoughts? What would you add?

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All photos are by Spirit Moxie

From the top:
Shopping carts at a corral at a Fred Meyer grocery store
Target carts left by a bus stop
A quarter or twenty-five cents

Spirit Moxie

Little Things That Can Change the World

Tag Archives: making a difference