First, do no harm...

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Although commonly thought to be part of the Hippocratic Oath is actually not a precise part of it ~ although it is implied. The closest approximation for the source of the sentence is the Hippocratic Corpus. Yet one thing is clear, part of the ethics that people in the medical field have been learning for the last 2000 years or so is to first, do no harm.
To just do those things that are good, or beneficial to the patient.

This little tidbit came to mind when I discovered that one of my favorite series on TV has disappeared from the TV-guide and in its place a double whammy of “House” is now being shown. The main character in that series is Dr. House, a genius when it comes to getting to a diagnosis ~ but that ‘first, do no harm’ idea doesn’t seem to be anchored in his mode of operation all that solidly.

Perhaps that is just a ‘sign of the times’. Something that is changing in this point of time...
And not just in the series on TV, but also in real life.

Because somehow that little statement seems to hold a lot of common sense.
When you are going to town with friends ~ first, do no harm. Don’t damage other people’s property.
When in school ~ first, do no harm. Don’t bully other kids.
When communicating ~ first, do no harm. Don’t gossip. Don’t spread the word on anything you know is not true, or anything you not sure if it is true. Don’t judge.

First, do no harm.

Wouldn’t life look so much better if that was the creed we all lived by?
It would imply that things like stealing, cheating, etc. would not occur anymore. And neither would vandalism. Graffiti might still exist, yet only in dedicated areas ~ it would become an art form rather than vandalism. I would think that communication would gain in clarity and be a lot more productive. Probably a lot more positive as well.
And politics... It would be quite interesting how that would look when politicians adopted the creed.

From whichever side you look at it; whether it is part of the Hippocratic Oath or just something that is somewhat sideways implied ~ the ancient Greek physician had it right: first, do no harm.
And now, well over 2000 years later ~ it is still sound advice, not only in medicine, Hippocrates’ field of expertise; but in life in general.

It’s a good creed to start the New Year with! First, do no harm.
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Welcoming the New...

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Where I live the last ten days of the year turn out to be a curious mixture of celebrations.

It starts with the Winter Solstice. The shortest day; the longest night ~ and as such the point of the return of the light. From that point on the days will be a little longer each day, even though it will usually take another two to three weeks before you can really see that difference...

The next celebration is Christmas. The celebration of the return of the Light; a totally different Light, more a Light that has the ability to bring clarity and inner guidance. A Light that in and of itself has nothing to do with the lengthening of the days, although some may say that it returned to lengthen our days on earth...

And then, a few days later it is New Year’s Eve. The time when we let go of the old and welcome in the new. And this is customarily done with a huge amount of fireworks. On one hand I truly don’t care for all the noise that goes with the fireworks; and yet I can appreciate the more shamanic perspective of making a lot of noise when something as important as leaving all that is old behind and welcoming in the new occurs.
The noise is said to scare away all that is bad, and call in all that is good ~ beneficial ~ into this space at this specific time: Midnight.

Then, six days later there is a little ‘after the facts’ celebration of the time when the three sages ~ guided by that star ~ came to visit and honor the newborn Christ-child. It is an acknowledgement that the new is here to stay. It is also the time that each next day is noticeably longer than the last.
It is at that time that our New Year’s resolutions solidify ~ so it becomes clear whether we are going to make them come true or whether they just sounded good, yet were made without true conviction.

So, from different era’s, from different perspectives, even different belief-systems there is an accumulation of celebrations that ~ when put together ~ only have one purpose: to welcome the New. The New Year. But also a new clarity, a new cycle, a new energy, new plans and resolutions. It puts us in a position to choose a new direction, a new way, while at the same time it provides us with a point in time in which we can leave the old behind.
It gives us the opportunity to start over, with new perspectives, new clarity, and new Light.

Happy New Year!
Happy New You!!
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Opinions

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Most of us have opinions about what is happening in our lives and in the world around us. And let’s face it, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It gives us a way to see where we stand concerning an issue ~ and as such it helps us discern what we want in our lives; what we want to be part of and what ‘is not for us’.

That being said it is also true that opinions tend to be polarizing. Especially in this time in which pretty much everything that is happening has its polarities ~ leaving hardly any middle ground to navigate. And when opinions start to polarize an issue, it is really easy for the balance to be lost.
After all, we know our opinion is the right one, and therefore the other person must be wrong. And if they fail to come around to our perspective, our point of view on the matter, then it doesn’t take long before either party draws a line in the sand...

And funnily enough it is not just the negative, or ‘against something’ opinions that can have this effect.  I have found that even positive, or ‘in favor of something’ opinions can pit the parties against one another. Although I have to admit that the issue or topic at hand does make a difference.
Let’s face it, very few people are against world peace ~ we pretty much all can agree on that achieving  world peace is a good thing.

Just reading posts on for instance Facebook it seems that two things can really get people to express their opinions:
The sense that something is taken away from us.
The sense that another person or group tells us what to do ~ in other words authority.

Obviously these points are related. Something that is taken away from us, usually touches us on a personal ~ even emotional ~ level. An authority that tells us what to do and how to do it may actually push buttons that are buried deep down in our make-up ~ perhaps even in our subconscious levels ~ and sparks a reaction that can border on rebellion. Either way it is very understandable that we have an opinion about what is happening...

From a more spiritual perspective, having strong opinions does have a caveat. If we are not careful our opinions can become judgements rather than the expressed discernment about that particular situation. And as soon as we start judging others because of their beliefs, their ideals, yes even their opinions ~ we can suddenly find ourselves in a negative spiral that some may say even has karmic repercussions.

Opinions can be productive as different opinions can show different sides of an issue ~ to use them constructively, the ultimate goal should be to resolve the issue...
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The joy of giving

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Christmas is the one occasion when the joy of giving is just as much, or perhaps even a greater part of giving gifts than any other occasion during the year ~ like birthdays, weddings, and other celebrations.
Yes there is still that underlying current that says one doesn’t want to give less to a loved one than other family members might ~ in other words, there is a certain status to the gift giving ~ yet still a lot of it is for the joy of giving...

Giving to others makes us feel good. Both for seeing the joy of the other person receiving the gift as well as feeling good about ourselves for having given to the other person.
It’s a win win experience.

And as it is something that makes both the receiver as well as the giver feel good ~ it makes me wonder why we are doing it only a certain time of the year, or at certain occasions.

There is the expectancy of receiving gifts just as you have given gifts ~ a give and take that goes along lines that say: ‘If I give them this gift they owe me one...’ And while that is a very human thought, it does seem to take away from pure joy of giving; the act of giving in and by itself.
And of course there is a price tag. The actual cost of the gifts is something hardly anyone can afford on a whim throughout the year.

Yet if it is all about the joy of giving, there are many gifts we have to give to another person that don’t have that hefty price tag...
Like a smile. Or a phone call, a text message, a card... Taking the time to truly listen to what the other person has to say, or being patient enough to let the other person talk it out... Helping another person with what they feel they need help with rather than with what we ‘know’ they need help with... The tolerance that allows the other person to be different, and to live their life in their own ~ yet different ~ manner.
They are all gifts that are hard to come by in the world today.
They are also gifts that don’t have an actual price tag ~ they are priceless!

All they require is an attitude that there is always joy in giving, and a willingness to truly see the other person at face value.
And when we allow ourselves to live our lives that way ~ the season of giving lasts throughout the year!
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Anti-climax

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When we allow our expectations to live a life of their own, it can spark all kinds of surprising outcomes.

For one, other people hardly ever live up to our expectations ~ especially when they are not aware of them. It would be so much easier if we would let them know that there are certain things we expect of them ~ whether that is in a relationship, in a work environment, or just with friends or acquaintances. Yet as far as expectations go, we may have a tendency to keep quiet about them ~ setting ourselves up for disappointments as the people around us are not living up to our expectations.
There are also events that we have expectations about. For instance that winter starts at the winter solstice; providing us with a beautiful white Christmas. Or that come the spring equinox the weather will turn to this nice, soft, sunny, mild temperature. Either one of those hardly ever happens where I live. And while one can always hope for it ~ it would be silly to expect it.

The big one event that is wrapped in all kinds of expectations ~ good and bad, funny or logical ~ is the ‘end of the world’. It has been predicted to happen any number of times in any number of ways... And every time the date that was set in the prediction goes by I have this anti-climactic feeling. Like something big you sort of are looking forward to experience happens in some unobtrusive way that is hardly noticeable at all. The ‘end of the world’ expectation that has arguably received most attention over the las decade or so stems from the Mayan calendar. Of course the Mayans had an incredible grasp of time, and a sophisticated way in which to measure time ~ so when that yard-stick of time that they set up ran out, the expectation became that something would happen to the world. Something major. Something severe. Something...
As that day arrived it has left me once again with this sense of experiencing an anti-climax. Other than a slight sense of chaos ~ which is not that unusual for me ~ nothing big happened.

Of course it makes sense. Mayans kept track of cycles of time. So it is not that the world would end; it is likely that just this current cycle of time ended to give way to the next cycle of time...

Yet, no matter how we look at it or perceive it, the fact that a point of time, an event goes by so uneventful really is an anti-climax.
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