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Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. ~ Rumi
On a beautiful morning, I sit on the patio at the downtown Whole Foods, enjoying a Cuppa Joe.
Suddenly, I look up . . . really, really, look up in to the eyes of a puppy named Jake.
Without thinking, I rise up from my chair and am drawn to Jake’s side, reaching out to him and touching his soft furry coat.
I naturally discover the next step . . . talking to him . . . sweetly talking to him.
It doesn’t take long for Jake to draw a crowd.
Early morning commuters, runners, and walkers gather around him.
All gatherers are beaming the biggest and brightest of smiles.
People, who prior to Jake’s arrival, sat alone in a self-imposed isolated world, are now living and thriving in Jake’s loving world.
Jake’s doing nothing extraordinary. . . just naturally being himself . . . a cute, loving, adorable puppy wrapped in the arms of his owner of three days and basking in a world over-flowing with love.
Yeah, Jake . . . a mighty powerful pup, demonstrating for we humans, the power in simply being naturally who we are . . . living and being at home on the playground of the heart.
I hear no one asking how to do it . . . how to rise up in human consciousness.
People like me are just naturally responding, following their hearts’ lead, and simply being moved into loving action, and demonstrating the higher human consciousness of love.
Yes, thank you, dear Jake, Uplifter of Human Consciousness, for serving UP such a sweet reminder on how easy living and sharing love can be.
Loving you,
Robert, aka Bob
It is not how much you do,
but how much Love you put into the doing that matters.
~Mother Teresa
I look at the clock. I read the time . . . 3:55 AM.
I must admit to you, believe it or not, I’m eager and ready to get up and begin the day.
I do not wonder what to do first. I simply move into action, following my heart’s lead.
And where does my heart lead me on this Monday morning?
To the Austin Starbucks located at 5th and Lamar.
I’m there . . . even before the store is open.
I find a spot and prepare to create a street painting, directly outside one of the entrances to the store.
I kneel, take a piece of chalk, and begin to outline a drawing.
Ever wonder what a Cuppa Joe really looks like?
Well, take a look at the picture posted above.
To me that’s Cuppa Joe.
For years . . . and I mean years . . . I’ve had this thing with a good, morning cup of coffee.
It’s almost like a love affair.
I’d sit and enjoy, savoring that first cup of joe . . . sip by sip.
Usually as I sipped, I’d have a sheet of paper before me and pen in hand my hand, creating a sketch of my morning coffee buddy.
As I sketched, I’d see my buddy’s face emerging on the paper, always so willing to share a good-morning smile with me.
And so today . . . Cuppa Joe appears on the sidewalk at 5th and Lamar in downtown Austin, sharing a smile and a simple love note, not only for me, but for one and all who happen to pass by him.
Yes, from my heart to your heart, World, via Cuppa Joe . . . Enjoy!
Loving you,
Robert/aka Bob
Attention is the most basic form of love;
through it we bless and are blessed.
– John Tarrant
Austin’s Eilers Park,
Monday morning at 11:11AM, I kneel down . . .
Before me I see a blank canvas of life, awaiting a blessing of joy.
Yeah, it might be if you were here standing beside me,
You’d look at the same spot and say, that’s just a slab of concrete.
Yet, with chalk in my hand and my focused attention, that slab of concrete comes to life,
Revealing to me today . . .
Playto, the Playosopher of Life at Loving U.
The more Playto shows up,
The greater the joy in my heart becomes.
Suddenly, I hear a voice from behind me, asking,
“Excuse me. Is this the only playground around here?”
I turn around and look,
And am greeted by a thirty-something years-old mother and
Her young son, who appears to be around four years old.
I smile at her and respond, “Yes, this is it.”
There is no return response from her.
I turn around and continue shading Playto.
I note over time . . .
The young boy plays by himself on the playground equipment.
And . . .
The thirty-something years-old mother talks on her cell phone.
I draw.
The little boy plays by himself.
The mother talks and talks and talks on her cell phone to someone who’s not present at Eilers Park.
I look at the chalk drawing.
I see Playto, holding two blank signs.
I ponder for a brief moment what to write on them.
I observe where I am, kneeling on the top step.
I hear in my heart the playosopher, Playto, encouraging me to write,
Step Up to Loving.
And what does this mean?
Well, . . . for me, today’s lesson-in-loving scene at Eilers Park,
Directed by the playosopher, Playto,
And with the supporting cast of real-life characters:
The thirty-something years-old mother,
Her young son,
And someone on the other end of a cell phone call . . .
The life lesson was on:
The power of Love
And
How simple it can be . . .
When paying attention to the details of life . . .
Noting the beauty in
Who and what shows up
And simply being present with it;
And in doing so,
Being so richly blessed
By Loving.
Loving you,
Robert/aka Bob
Here I am in Austin, Texas . . .
ATX.
Standing near 5th and Lamar, looking up, up, up;
Offering an early-morning Cuppa Joe toast to the new day.
The building you see above is named Spring Condominiums.
I honor the architect for his/her vision.
I honor those who helped construct the building.
I’m so grateful they kept their focus on building up . . .
And,
If challenges were met along the way, rather than choosing to find fault
Place blame on others,
And tear apart what had been done . . .
They’d make a course correction and keep their focus on building up, up, up, and up.
Yeah, you can refer to me if you like as a hippie elder.
I admit that back in the early ’70s . . .
I let my curly locks grow and grow and grow.
I uttered the cry, Make love, not war.
And after all these years filled full of life-lessons learned,
I believe even more strongly in the power of Love.
Love I’ve discovered
Is
Uplifting . . .
In other words, Love builds up the human spirit,
Lifting you and me into a higher perspective on life.
In the year 2011,
If I listen to the news media
Or tune in to reality TV,
I repeatedly discover
That . . .
A higher perspective on Love is not the story being told.
And so here today, August 17, 2011,
I stand here in ATX,
Saluting with Cuppa Joe a building-up perspective on living life.
I look at Cuppa Joe
And note his five-letter message to me . . .
BRAVE.
This message percolates deeply within my heart.
And so, my friends,
I’m building myself UP,
Speaking UP
And acknowledging
How my experiences of Life are encouraging me to respond to this question:
What’s it all about?
LOVE.
Loving you,
Robert/aka Bob
How blessed I am to begin my day sitting outdoors on a gorgeous May morning, sipping on my Cuppa Joe.
I lift up Cuppa Joe, as if toasting the new day, and suddenly become aware of a nearby cactus plant.
I feel drawn to the plant, so I get up from the table and take a closer look at the cactus.
The cactus plant is showing lots and lots of buds.
One bud has burst already into full bloom.
Another is edging ever more closely to bursting open and revealing its radiant colors.
A third is a step or two behind.
I stand in awe at nature’s work.
Intermittent sips taken on Cuppa Joe are percolating some aha! moments for me.
I’m grateful, oh so grateful, for taking some time to just stand and observe these neighborly three buds on one cactus plant, and listen to the story they are sharing with me, revealing some of life’s most basic, simple truths.
Oh, my goodness! I say to myself, realizing how I’ve been pushing myself to bloom a business, thinking the way to make it happen was to push, push, push.
Oh, my goodness! I say to myself a second time, recognizing how I’ve been looking at others and noting their business successes, ruthlessly comparing my budding business with their outwardly blooming radiant successes.
And, as I take into my heart nature’s cactus story, I realize the bottom-line message from my morning Cuppa Joe with three buds is to trust and believe and have the faith, naturally allowing the budding business of the Cuppa Joe Studio to become a radiantly-blooming success story!
Loving you,
Robert, aka Bob
There is only one sacred manuscript,
the sacred manuscript of Nature, which alone can enlighten the reader.
~Hazrat Inayat Khan
With a Barton Springs Pool early morning swim completed, Cuppa Joe and I begin our hike through some urban territory.
We walk familiar terrain at a vigorous pace; eyes clearly focused on the sidewalk that lies before us.
Suddenly, I feel an inner nudge to slow down and pause.
I hear words of advice from what you might call my urban-hike tour guide, Fritz Perls:
Take yourself off automatic pilot and you enter a whole new world of wonders.
I take a look around me, noting Nature’s road signs, pointing me to springtime growth.
Well . . . you can see in the photo above what it is I see.
Yes, new growth on a cactus plant plus the smiling face of an old-timer in the plant community!
I can relate to the role of the old-timer . . . and especially to its smiling face that somehow has magically appeared, presenting to me a present.
Yes, the gift, as I open it, has a subtle reminder for me . . . to smile with the changes of life and to embrace life’s abundance of opportunities for new growth.
Ah, once upon time, when growing opportunities presented themselves, my immediate response was not to smile; but to take the learning very seriously, wearing a frown throughout the growing process.
Yeah, I’d take learning rather seriously, retreating into myself, and painfully struggle through the process.
So today Cuppa Joe and I toast Nature and its masterful ways of enlightening its readers, people like you and me, willing to pause and take ourselves off of automatic pilot and enter the world of wonder!
Loving you,
Robert, aka Bob