A simple step

  To change the linear economy, the economic system that is based on public or limited liability Companies and growing the bottom line for financial gain must change.  A significant number of people rely on stock markets for their investment gains and retirement, they seek the best gains.  Many will only invest in businesses that demonstrate some form of care to the planet.  However, a lot have a far shorter investment horizon and others are hoodwinked by Companies waxing lyrical about their sustainability initiatives that pay lip service.  The triple bottom line has been around for decades. Unfortunately it hasn’t had an impact. It is time for a new system and the planet needs one fast. A system that puts the planet and others first, self gain and material possessions last. 

As the 21st century continues on it’s merry way, life and how we live it continues to change. The rich are now obscenely so, and we ask ourselves ‘who really needs to be a billionaire’? The corporate juggernaut Goliath barrels its way along the highway, smashing any who look anything like David with his slingshot, worried of the impact on their mission for global domination. The average wage for the average Joe Worker doing a 40 hour week, (packing more in now than ever before thanks to the wonders of the internet) is not a lot. We travel faster, we receive information and send information.. faster, we do more in less time. Is the average Joe Worker better off for living the dream and buying their first car, or saving for their first house with all the furniture and trimmings…(noting the fact that it is likely that a significant proportion of their deposit will come from their parents, who now provide some 40% of the lending to newbie owners).. The issue isn’t just confined to families...

There is one thing that doesn’t change - the passage of time. The earth continues to rotate around the sun, bringing the planet to life. Everything living exists over a period of time. My favourite moments in life are two-fold.  The first are times when I am immersed in something that I love doing - so much so that time becomes flow.  The second are times when I ‘stop the clock’ and stay in the moment, relaxed and at peace - just being.  I think the latter wins out, and over the years I have taught myself how to push the pause button - empty my thoughts, turn off the internal chatter and stop. Of course, the earth keeps on turning - but in my own way, it feels like it has slowly come to a gentle pause, just for a short while anyway. Magic. 

The soul always knows what to do to heal itself.  The challenge is to silence the mind.  I read this recently and *boom how it made sense. We forget soul. We forget our essence as we run through our day to day lives. Watching the pain and suffering in the world now and the imbalance of billionaires v people starving takes my breath away. It takes me to a place that saddens the soul. It isn’t right my soul says every day.. And so what does that mean for the self. We are born, we live, we die, we leave a legacy - surely if we listen to our soul and forget our egocentric self importance, the world has to become a better place.

I am sitting at my desk with an hourglass beside me. The sand through the neck for 30 minutes when set. The history of timekeeping dates back to ancient civilisations watching the stars and planets to make decisions on when to sow and reap, when to hunt and gather. In mathematical terms, time can be defined as the ongoing and continuous sequence of events that occur in succession from the past to the present to the future, measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years.  Our lives are driven by time. We work to get things done on time - what people are paid to work is based on time and the 40 hour working week. We sleep and wake according to the time of day or night. We allocate time for work and play. We share our time with others. We manage our interactions with others based on time. Some say that all we are born with is time. But, isn’t time a human construct? Is there any ‘time’? There are seasons, there are cycles driven by our location in the universe. Our...

Do you ever get that sense that something is coming towards you, that the inevitable is around the next corner. Every part of your body is telling you that the time is right to move. Sometimes, you feel like you are going round in circles, sometimes you feel lost, your energy is depleted and your mind wanders.  It happens.  Then a moment of absolute clarity shows itself before you as though the blinds have been raised and light streams in the window.  And you change direction. Then, shortly afterwards you wonder why you waited so long. 

Throughout our lives we experience countless relationships with others, from our parents, siblings, children and families to those we work with, play sport with and meet as fleeting acquaintances. Every relationship we have has an influence on who we are as a person, from the briefest of encounters to the longest of partnerships. We experience feelings and emotions from all those we meet and engage with.  Relationships are a choice (such as the selection of a partner, lover and spouse), all begin either through a genetic  connection or from a chance encounter.  What draws us to one another? 

Many of the self development books that I have read, often remind me to look at things through a young child's eyes more often. To our young children everything is interesting - there don't appear to be any 'boring bits' at all, especially when it comes to food and eating. Life should be like that - no boring bits. Yes, occasionally we are doing things we do not relish doing, occasionally we are doing things for others, when we could be doing things for ourselves. It isn't often that I do anything that I really dislike doing, in fact sitting here now, I can't actually think of anything .. (other than maybe going to the dentist to have a filling...). Our lives are full of choices about what we do. For some people, others decide for them - for others they decide for themselves. In the end, does what we do matter provided we do it for ourselves or to benefit others? 

How do we make sure that when we want to be listened to, and heard, those people we are targeting with our messages are picking them up, and perhaps more importantly, either acting on them or remembering them? Influence over another person is something that everyone seeks to achieve. From a child seeking to persuade their parents to head to the biscuit tin, to politicians attempting to swing voters in their direction. Everybody does it. Our behaviour and actions are influenced by other people every day of our lives. Sometimes, we do not even know that we are being targeted or influenced. By and large we all 'hear' other people's views and opinions, and so, arguably are we all always heard? 

I was recently reading an article about life, Darwinism and that sort of thing, which touched on the scientific theories about life, the universe and everything. At the same time (not unusually for me) I have about 4 or 5 books on the go, one of which is a study on 'chaos', and another is about the meta-physical or spiritual aspects of our lives drawing on Jung's theories. There is so much written about who we are, what we are, where we came from and where we are going. All the religious texts in the world focus on similar questions to these. Whole professions exist to help us try to understand questions like the 'ultimate question' as Douglas Adams put it in his fantastic Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe, - 'what is the answer to life, the universe and everything?' In the end we start from nothing, and we go on to being a small pile of minerals which, whilst we are alive, is held together by a lot of water molecules. Another way to look at it is from...

It is Easter and I am sitting in the Old Post Office B & B in Paparoa, a village of a few thousand (max) people in the heart of the Kaipara District of New Zealand. It is quiet, there is a full moon, and Amelie my 3 year old princess has just run into the sitting room and said N Niiiight, kissed me on the cheek, given me a hug and bounced off to her bedroom for a story ... She gets distracted by the pieces on a chess board as she goes, 'this one here, that one there' .... Ammeeeliiee, her mum calls - oh oh she says and toddles off to hear the story. There is a clock ticking close by, the lighting in the sitting room is soft, it is peaceful. How lucky to be here - how lucky to have the simple things in life laid out before me, no hassle, no complexity, no need to think, no need to relax, I can just be. We do make our lives complicated sometimes don't we - more often than not because we desire or want something, or someone to do what we want them to do, or maybe thi...

You know that feeling you get sometimes when you feel that things are just as they should be? It's an unprompted feeling and sense that everything is happening around you in the right order and at the right moment. I liken it to a combination of belief, awareness and intuition. Sometimes in life we push, we push hard to get stuff done, to make things happen and at other times we do nothing and let things happen by themselves. It seems to be a fine balance and one that we can influence and maintain as we wax and wane through life. When we know what we want and where it is we are going, this balance gets easier and simpler to feel and see. If you have ever been involved in marketing or sales you will understand the notion that very often, you will push hard and put energy into certain opportunities to sell your product or service, and then find that those sales that you secure often come from 'out of the blue' as a result of your extended networks or a gesture by somebod...

Words are a human creation. We are probably the only living things to have a word for everything... They frame our lives, our thoughts and our actions.. Live life for a while without words.. it is quite quite liberating

Happy Christmas to those who have arrived here to read this post. The world and the media remind us often that Christmas is a time for giving, for compassion, for family, for celebrating Jesus and for receiving. It is also a time when we reflect on the past year - what has occurred and happened in our lives and where we have come. The New Year beckons and we begin to look forward to the positive changes that we desire, our aspirations and hopes for the future. We want to feel better in ourselves, and have an improved world with less stress, anxiety and suffering. Looking forwards is a powerful thing. It provides us with the ability to consider what may be, as we journey into the unknown. It enables us to work out where we would like things to go. In the animal kingdom, I expect we are one of very very few species that have this ability to look out over long periods of time. Other animals will look forwards I expect season by season, if that. They concentrate on the present. ...

From small beginnings... This is a phrase that I often latch on to. After all everything has to start somewhere. The seed of an idea has to be planted before the seed can develop. Nothing can be generated from nothing.. This week I have been sorting few several problems at work, problems that all stemmed from something small. An assumption about something that turned out to be incorrect was the common denominator. This got me thinking about how catastrophic events can stem from one small act, and how delicate we sometimes have to be when we make a judgement or decision about something. Like snow gathering on an acorn rolled down a slope, things can quickly escalate. The key observation that came out of the problem solving actually relates not to the seed or the person making the assumption, but rather what happens when others who put you in a position of authority rely on your judgement and assumption to take things forward... The snowball moves faster and gets larger and larger. ...

The timeless spirit between us is strong, The inner fire we feel within us, burns brightly, Light shines in your eyes, when they see into mine, A unique vibration, as we hold each other, Our bodies lighten and we fly. Our eyes close, and we come together in dreams, A beach, salty air, sand dunes and sunshine, Positive energy surrounds us, protects us from harm, Nothing and no-one can change these things, These dreams will become reality. It is not emotion, these are not just feelings, They are something more special than life, How can this be? What can be more special than life? They are the corner stones, the foundation, Of pure love, in all its’ forms… …and from love, comes life.. Peter Harris February 2005

So, clarity and confusion. Two simple words. Yet two words that have a profoundness that affects our lives every day. Moments of clarity bring us serenity and peace, as we see the wood for the trees, or we uncover the meaning of the events in our lives. Clarity brings with it trust, that we are on the right path, that we are in tune with the people and events in our lives. Clarity is a very personal thing. Clarity gives us flow and the ability to glide. Confusion slows us down, and is characterized by feelings of uncertainty and chaos. Confusion often conjures up negative energy and feelings. We often struggle through confusion, or we resist or reject it. In reality confusion is an essential part of all of us. Without it, paradoxically there would be no moments of clarity. In recent times, I have noticed again now the influence of other people can profoundly influence feelings of confusion and clarity. A focus on confusion is often created by feelings that relate to people in our liv...

Everybody has a talent. Something that they can do which sets them apart from other people. This talent doesn't have to be anything out of the ordinary or world beating, it doesn't have to be something completely unique. It can be as simple as enjoying grooming an animal, painting landscapes, knitting or even talking to a friend over a cup of coffee and the ability to sit quietly and listen to their life's events. These talents are gifts and they all have one thing in common. That is, every talent possessed by everybody in the world, in some way, shape or form, helps others - be they human, animal or even nature herself. We all have a choice in life. Whether to use the talent (or talents!) we each have, to help others. Most of us recognize this at some point in our lives and enjoy the pleasure we experience when we have made someone's day a little better. For me, enabling people to move in a direction that they choose and desire, that helps them achieve what they ...

We all have dreams and aspirations, and most of us plan in some way to achieve them. The first step is having unfailing belief that our aspirations will happen, and the second is a focus or intention that sees us through to those aspirational goals. Often that is all we need, belief and intention. Deepak Chopra talks of desire and intention in the same way. Aspirations are equivalent to desires, albeit that desire has a different connotation and meaning to aspiration... Then we exert effort and energy in an attempt to steer our lives towards our goals. It is interesting how life assists us along this journey. Life pushes us and pulls us this way and that, often in directions that seem so far from our perception of the direction we should be going in, that we feel tension and frustration... More often that not though, the belief carries us through, provided we aspire to things that are right for us and for the world .. It is then that we enter the flow of life, and the pushing and p...

Yesterday I went for a run for the first time in ages. Apart from having sore legs and feeling fitter as a result, I was struck by the beautiful colours around me. Here in New Zealand it is Autumn, the rains have begun, and the sun, when low, brings out the most incredible greens and browns. The grass was stunning and so green. I stopped in my tracks and looked around at the colour. I looked at nothing else, just colours and how inspiring it was! Rather than registering what I was looking at, I just saw the colours of what I saw. When I got home, I realized how much of our beautiful world we take for granted. Normally we spend our time running around looking at things, people, landscapes, views - we do not look at the colours..they are just there. Colour is always present, and when something is always present, we often overlook it. Have a look around you and spot the colour in your life! Adios