BODY AND SOUL

 

If you have been trying to grocery shop the last few months, you know how different things are now from two years ago.

Many people used to be able to plan out their meals for the week, go to the store and get what they needed, which helped them to stick to a budget.

That is not possible now. You never know from one week to the next if prices will go up. You never know from what day to the next, what will actually be in stock. Gas prices in Vancouver have been the most expensive in North America, so trips to the store are necessarily limited.

Shopping now requires a new way of thinking. You have to go, see what is in stock and make purchases accordingly. If I spot something I know I use on a regular basis, I will get it right away, especially dry goods. I have to work with what is currently available. I may have to consider alternatives to get the nourishment my body requires, or find something new and different.

This can be applied in other areas, where we face similar challenges.

We can look to the past to see what was applicable at that time. What were the goals and methods used to reach those goals? Were they successful? What lessons did we learn? How best do we move forward?

In these fast changing and unsettling times, we cannot necessarily rely on the past for the answers to the problems of today. We are challenged to move forward, not backward, and hopefully, not just stand still. We are in the midst of the breaking in of a brave, new world.

We have to find new ways of thinking and doing that will move us into the future; a future, hopefully, of kindness and compassion. We have to plan for a living legacy. When we can consider a situation objectively, and look at things from different points of view, new possibilities can present themselves.

I believe this holds true, economically, socially, politically, and in our religious life.

In studying the works of Rudolf Steiner, we can deepen our understanding of the how, what, where, when and why of current events, and of how to begin to address these questions.

I currently read an astounding statement by Dr. Steiner:

Our ancestors were our own souls in other bodies.

We know through the incredible work of Dr. Steiner that our souls have gone through many incarnations, and will continue to do so, in order that we may continue to evolve. The Christ Event, as he explains, does not preclude this fact. Rather, the Christ points the way as to how we can continually strive onwards and upwards.

Sparky