BEING MINDFUL OF A PENCIL

THE VALUE OF BEING MINDFUL

I have been reading, listening to lectures, and thinking about the concepts of spiritual science. In a sentence, it is the science showing there are ways to be more connected to and grateful for the people and things in our life.

There are ways to improve how we listen to other people.

There are also ways in which we can expand our connection to nature.

Some of the text and videos talk about holding an object and being mindful of it for five minutes.

The purpose of this is to get a sense of gratitude for the processes and aspects of things we use or have used that would typically be impossible for us to reproduce.

Performing this excercise over the last couple months has led to realize there are hundreds of things I use that are impossible for me to create, yet I walk on them (Earth), use them as tools (phone), and with cryptocoins or fiat, allow a vast inventory of items to arrive at my doorstep (Amazon package).

The impossible happens to us many times every day.

The impossible could be seen as a miracle. This may seem ridiculous, but if you were to tell someone 100 years ago what your typical day is like, they would be surprised at how casually you describe the technology of our time.

If we are truly honest, we all have some spark in us, inspiring us to create. We create out of some mysterious place inaccessible to anyone but ourselves. We incarnate ideas, objects, and art in a way no one else can.

Many times the things we materialize would be considered impossible by other people, but yet we are here, journaling the impossible on Steemit. Some have made impossible art, others travel to far countries, some folks pen insights shifting our perspective. With the Internet, I sometimes get discouraged when I, for example, see someone make a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. out of hundreds of rubiks cubes. This should not, however, dull my creativity, but rekindle it.

We must take the impossible from within and manifest it for others.

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THE PENCIL

I will share my mindful thoughts from today focusing on a broken pencil I found in my car.

The pencil is a small tool, that fuses together graphite, wood, paint, metal, and rubber to give us a way to capture invisible ideas, images, and even helps us doodle to aid in thwarting boredom.

The pencil I found was initially broken, but I sharpened it, and it was made new. I could use it to make anything from a shaded 3d sphere or even something as simple as a grocery list.

The pencil is interesting because it was an idea and can help with the retention of future ideas it has know knowledge of and couldn't create on its own.

Part of me struggles with the fact that pencils are made of wood. If a business were careless, they could wipe out species of trees in effort to keep up with the demand of pencil making.

I found out there is an organization called the PEFC that https://www.pefc.org/ helps companies harvest trees for wood in a sustainable way. Additionally they do the following:

• Maintaining or enhancing biodiversity
• Protecting ecologically important forest area
• Prohibition of forest conversions; exclusion of certification of plantations established by conversions
• Prohibition of the most hazardous chemicals and GMOs
• Protecting workers’ rights and welfare, and encouraging local employment
• Recognizing the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), the UN Declaration on - ----- - - - Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, and ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
• Respect for property and land tenure rights as well as customary and traditional rights
• Provisions for consultation with local people and stakeholders
• Abiding by applicable laws
• Safeguarding the basic rights of workers

I was really trying to find pencils made of bamboo, since that is a sustainable wood. If someone knows of a company that uses 100% bamboo in their pencils, please let me know.

Moving up to the eraser side of the pencil, I realize that the eraser and graphite composite are a beautiful pair. It mimics the reality that our actions sometimes intentionally or inadvertently hurt others, but there is no benefit in etching our mistakes permanently to our biography. The eraser is there reminding me of the infinite wells of grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

The wood creates a barrier so our hands aren't covered in graphite, so our grip doesn't crush the graphite, and so we have many chances to restore an accurate point to the pencil. This reminds me of how humans, no matter how dull a day makes us, have a time to sharpen our minds when we sleep. We can start the next day ready to make our mark.

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STAY SHARP

So many times, we are forced to fit into a mold of someone else's making. The other person or group has power and to retain their power, they design frames for us to fit in.

In being mindful, I've realized that this is a temporary construct, and the truth is that every human has power and no human has a monopoly on power. Humans should be asking, not how they can restrain their power to appease someone else, but how they can concentrate their power to do good for themselves and for others.

Eventually, this power I refer to becomes immaterial, and the wisdom and love used to focus our power becomes the important tool that lets us leave a legacy behind.

That pencil sharp focus is what allows us to have our creativity stand out from other works.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS

I hope you are encouraged to funnel a moment of your day to be mindful of the many impossibilities at our fingertips. I have done this exercise with seeds, rocks, leaves, and even my iPhone.

Taking the time to be mindful (make sure to share it on Steemit!), will help the rest of us remember the resources we have on our journey.

love connects all