Andy and Opie: Generosity, Charity and Being Selfish

The Andy Griffith Show often dished up some poignant lessons about being a good person in the world. Here's a precious little clip where Andy wrongly accuses Opie of being selfish. A great message overall...(and as gardeners who rely largely on worms to help us create compost for soil fertility, we especially enjoyed Opie's perspective on life as a worm!). 

According to the comments below the video, apparently they edited out the punchline: 

Opie: "What're we havin' for supper?" 
Andy: "Well, you and Aunt Bee's havin' fried chicken! And I'm havin' crow."

Small Acts, Accessible to All: 10% overt resistance; 90% creative action

At this time of world upheaval, environmental destruction and division among people, it is so good to hear coherent, wise voices, guiding us in ways that will help us heal the world. Nipun Mehta is one of those voices. He is the founder of ServiceSpace, a global ecosystem working at the intersection of technology, volunteerism, and a culture of generosity. Here is an introduction to an article he wrote called, Science of Soul Force: How Your Heart Changes the World. Brilliant!

"Gandhi was clear that only 10% of action should be overt resistance. The other 90% must be what he called "constructive program"—the quiet building of alternatives, the patient cultivation of inner and outer coherence. Without that foundation, the 10% simply won't be effective.

Vinoba took this even further:

"If a satyagraha doesn't work, we must be mindful not to head in the direction of greater coercion. Instead, we must make our actions gentler. Subtler. And if the subtler approach doesn't work, we must get even 'gentlier and gentliest.'" — Vinoba Bhave

Why gentler? Because coercion costs you your coherence. The moment you move toward force—whether through money, manipulation, or militancy—you exit the coherent state. You lose access to the field's regenerative support. You're now operating on your own resources, which are finite, which breed anxiety, which further degrades coherence. It's a downward spiral.

But when you stay gentle, you stay coherent. Like yeast that rises again after being pushed down, you can sustain the work across decades, even generations, because you're not depleting yourself. You're being replenished by the field you're helping to build."

Image by Llyn Peabody

To read the full article by Nipun Mehta: Science of Soul Force: How Your Heart Changes the World 

Nipun Mehta is the founder of ServiceSpace, a global ecosystem working at the intersection of technology, volunteerism, and a culture of generosity. This article was inspired by his Awakin Call with Rollin McCraty. Rollin is the Director of Research at the HeartMath Institute, where he has spent over three decades studying the physiology of emotion, heart-brain interactions, and the science of coherence. 

 

the only way to live an abundant life

Here is a fantastic, short video by Alecia Renece about the connection between generosity and abundance. We couldn't say it better ourselves!

🌹 Living in sync with Earth, and how it will actually look

The future isn’t humans ascending beyond Earth.

It’s humans finally learning how to live with her.

Something shifted.
Not as a revelation. Not as a prophecy.
But as a quiet recognition that landed fully in the body.

This isn’t about ascension, awakening, or becoming “more.”
It’s about returning to something very basic we forgot how to do:

Living in sync with Earth.

What follows isn’t a vision of a distant future.
It’s a description of a state that is already forming —
where humans stop fighting life
and start moving at the pace of the planet that carries them.

How syncing with Earth will actually look

Not dramatic.
Not mystical.
Not abstract.

Quiet. Coherent. Embodied.

1. The nervous system becomes Earth-paced

People are no longer regulated by:

clocks
deadlines
artificial urgency
constant stimulation

They are regulated by:

light
breath
seasons
gravity
relational rhythm

You’ll see fewer extremes:
less frenzy, less collapse, less dissociation.

Not because life is “easier,”
but because bodies are no longer fighting the planet they live on.

2. Leadership shifts from dominance to coherence

No one is above through power.
No one is below through submission.

The central figure isn’t ruling.
She’s holding resonance.

Leadership looks like:

people who stay regulated under pressure
people whose presence settles others
people who listen to land, not just data

Authority comes from alignment, not control.

3. Feminine and masculine become currents, not roles

The old war dissolves:

action vs rest
logic vs intuition
strength vs softness

Instead:

masculine becomes directional clarity
feminine becomes relational intelligence

Every human carries both.
No one has to perform them.

That’s why bodies soften.
Hands rest on the heart.
Eyes close — no longer seeking validation.

4. Community forms through resonance, not identity

People don’t gather because they agree.
They gather because their nervous systems can co-regulate.

Community grows around:

shared rhythm
shared care
shared land
shared responsibility

Conflict still exists —
but it doesn’t escalate into destruction,
because the ground holds it.

5. Earth is no longer a resource — she is a regulator

This is the biggest shift.

Earth isn’t worshipped.
She is listened to.

Cities change shape.
Food systems slow down.
Architecture breathes.
Technology becomes quieter.

Not primitive.
Not anti-tech.
Just life-compatible.

What the future does not look like

Not:

constant ceremonies
endless spiritual language
permanent bliss
everyone “awake”

It looks like:

people who stay with discomfort without violence
children not born into overwhelmed nervous systems
grief that moves instead of calcifies
joy that doesn’t need performance

The core truth

Syncing with Earth doesn’t make humans more spiritual.
It makes them more sane.

And that’s why this future is inevitable —
because the current model is neurologically unsustainable.

The future isn’t humans ascending beyond Earth.
It’s humans finally learning how to live with her.

And yes —
this is the future you are already building.

Sirius Olea Solaris
#SpiritualWarriors #ArchitectsOfNewEarth

find us at truth ¤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558431586234

Butterfly Metaphor - Imaginal Cells and the Transformation of Society

Update: March 2020 - ​I'm re-posting this Butterfly video as, with the CoV forcing many of us into "social distancing" practices, the post's message seems more timely than ever.

A friend of mine shared with me that she's begun re-framing social distancing as "cocooning" which gives the practice more positive and regenerative connotations, and aligns with the metaphor of society entering its chrysalis stage offered below.

Ever wonder how we'll ever get out of this crazy mess we're in: rampant consumerism devouring the planet, with no end in sight; ever-widening the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots"?

Enjoy this 4-minute video by Bruce Lipton that describes the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly and how it provides a hopeful metaphor for the current stage of our society. Happy cocooning!

And for several other inspiring videos about butterflies, CLICK HERE

 

Or, if you prefer to receive this butterfly wisdom in the form of poetry:

Cocoon

Do not expect cocooning

To be easy.

It is not a time of rest

But of rebirth.

They used to think

That the Caterpillar

Merely slept there,

Awaiting the wonder of wings.

This is not true.

To cocoon means

The breaking down of self,

Of letting go of all

that may be considered

Caterpillar.

Yielding to the chrysalis call.

Dropping all that is old identity,

All that is desire,

All that is hungry,

All that is eating, eating, eating,

Endlessly.

When the moment comes, called

To go to the cool dark underleaf, underlog place,

To spin the silk of silent self,

The Caterpillar dissolves,

Touches the point of nothingness

Of being;

Become now

Neither Caterpillar

Nor Butterfly

Become simply, potential,

Until new form is found,

Until the selfmade tomb is too tight

And Butterfly is birthed,

bursting blessing, beauty.

A journey through stillness

into freedom,

Into flight,

No one who knew the Caterpillar

Would know it in the Butterfly,

No one who knows the Butterfly

Would see in it

Even the memory

Of Caterpillar,

Yet within there is

A continuity of being

A new recipe out of old ingredients

A life remade, a seed flowered, a potency fulfilled,

There is pain in this

I am sure.

How could there not be?

There is always pain

In surrender,

In transformation,

In new life, new birth

Death before resurrection,

Letting go, before letting be

This is the divine order of things

This is why there hides

Even here, even now,

In all your old Caterpillar desiring,

In the hunger at the core of your being,

The promise of Butterfly

If you would but surrender

To the call

Of the cocoon.

If you would know,

even for a day,

The wonder of wings

The freedom of flight.

 

Brother Richard Hendrick OFM Cap