Stop

Stop all the clocks said the W H Orden poem and its words have the ability to leave its reader sad or mournful, such was the energy with which it was written. And the energy with which we live or participate in our lives can determine the outcomes we experience.

On that thought I just imagined 'stopping' in the context of us all being able to be still for a moment.

Imagine the world just still, all stopped, all calm, for a moment;

Stop all the cars, land all the planes, anchor the ships, stop all the machines.
Turn off the computers and all of the 'doing', lay down the guns and drop all your guards.

Stop all the thinking, stop all the tears, stop all the drinking, stop all the fear.
Look for a moment, look at your peers, look at their beauty, look at your life.

Hear all the silence when people stand still, hear all of nature, eternal and full.
Hear your heart beat, feel the life pulsing through you, through us all.

I have these thoughts in the day, when I'm lucid and sober, when my mind's cup is full of hearing, full from thinking, full from 'trying' and a quite still voice within invites the thought, so quiet its softness pierces the noise, stills the turmoil, quiets the buzz.

And I imagine scenarios replaying in new contexts, times where I've seen the best we are capable of being/doing/having when we're in harmony with a cause or a calling, times when I've wept in company from the simple beauty of a childs words, or a friends gift of giving.

Imagining in the cold light of day is dangerous, it changes everything, old walls come tumbling down, man made defenses seem futile, everything we do against each other no longer fits in the space of aspiration, of faith and trust of what can be.

Love in action is like water against the rocks, it erodes the hardness in us, it wears away the hardened heart and the castle walls of the closed mind, it frees the human consciousness like a bird from its cage, it simply represents life.

So media moguls I call to you from a mountain top ... do your worst now, for it is a lost cause. Advertising gurus, sell me a world for its value is beyond your site just now. Politicians spin me your greatest lies for I am now immune. Men of war send in your greatest arms for soon they will be dust.

Love in action is all powerful, it flows amongst the peoples of the world, it flows amongst the poorest homes and amidst the most excluded communities. Love in action is our highest potential, it sees the unfolding of us, the becoming of us, the transition from cowardice to bravery, from fear to triumph, the evolution of boys to men.

Stop everything and imagine with me, just for a moment.
If this unstoppable river is within you, is it not in us all?
If this desire for peace is within you, is not in us all?
If this hope for our childrens children
If this search for meaning
If this call from your heart
If this knowing you feel
Is this not in us all?

Dare with me, dare to imagine, dare to envision, to believe, to follow your thirst for truth.
And I'll be at your side through the darkest of days, through the worst any man can do, beyond the lowest valleys and highest peaks, I'll be at your side, as we walk in the footsteps of the giants that strode before us, the giants that saw peace as our highest potential through love in action.

:-)

And if you're a scientist, or a realist, or sceptic or just someone who prefers to cut to the chase, here's the 'common sense' from Wayne W Dyer;

There's a positive effect of kindness upon the immune system and on the the increased production of serotonin in the brain has been proven in research studies. Serotonin is a naturally occurring substance in the body that makes us feel more comfortable, peaceful and even blissful. Research has shown that a simple act of kindness directed towards another improves the functioning of the immune system and stimulates the production of serotonin in both the recipient of the kindness and the person extending the kindness. Even more amazing is that persons observing the act of kindness have similar beneficial results.