| SEPTEMBER 2010 -- The Grange year is coming to a close and we are about to generate new ideas to fill our programs and stimulate growth for the new year. Imagine the image of a paper cup being filled with new ideas only to be thrown away time after time. We might all try using a pottery cup, saving the ideas and putting them to good use.
The empty cup also serves as a metaphor, reminding me to stay open to new ideas and new possibilities. It is so easy to become an expert in our personal lives that we close ourselves to the possibility of learning new things. I fill my inner cup with what feeds me and discard what does not.
Clearing out old growth, emptying our cup, can offer the same benefits as recycling. Clearing out on the outer level, closets, drawers, or flower beds gives everything more room to breath. Clearing out the old growth from within can be even more rewarding.
Infinite life is ever ready to pour itself into you. In some traditions this is known as the "flow." When we are so full of our own ideas, our own knowing, there is much less room to receive the gift that the moment of "now" offers us.
Emptying and cleaning my teacup at the end of the day is a good reminder to cleanse any problematic thoughts that have occupied my mind and to release the smallest of resentments. If I forget and leave the cup a few days, the cup might get a stain and it is much harder to clean the cup, the same is true for the heart and mind.
It takes conscious intention to use less and recycle more products of our lives. It takes conscious intention to empty our cup and receive something new and unexpected. |
