On December 31st, 2012, From the Natural News Blog World …

 

 

May 2013 bring you …

 

Wonder and awe, health and happiness, fulfillment and Zen quiet love.

 

May your cup spill over and may you share your wealth.

May your mornings be as great as your evenings, your winter as your summer.

 

May your knowledge grow with leaps and bounds, into eternity.

May you learn what food feeds your soul and keeps you young.

 

Be silent and feel the truth of the world.

 

Levitate your spirit and share the love with everyone around you.

 

Have a wonderful New Year!

 

 

The following are a collection of poems, natural, organic thoughts,

New Year’s resolutions and natural health “mission” statements for 2013:

 

“The Giving Tree” 

      by Shel Silverstein

 

Once there was a tree....
and she loved a little boy.
And everyday the boy would come
and he would gather her leaves
and make them into crowns
and play king of the forest.
He would climb up her trunk
and swing from her branches
and eat apples.
And they would play hide-and-go-seek.
And when he was tired,
he would sleep in her shade.
And the boy loved the tree....
very much.
And the tree was happy.
But time went by.
And the boy grew older.
And the tree was often alone.
Then one day the boy came to the tree
and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and
climb up my trunk and swing from my
branches and eat apples and play in my
shade and be happy."
"I am too big to climb and play" said
the boy.
"I want to buy things and have fun.
I want some money?"
"I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I
have no money.
I have only leaves and apples.
Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in
the city. Then you will have money and
you will be happy."
And so the boy climbed up the
tree and gathered her apples
and carried them away.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time....
and the tree was sad.
And then one day the boy came back
and the tree shook with joy
and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my trunk
and swing from my branches and be happy."
"I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy.
"I want a house to keep me warm," he said.
"I want a wife and I want children,
and so I need a house.
Can you give me a house ?"
" I have no house," said the tree.
"The forest is my house,
but you may cut off
my branches and build a
house. Then you will be happy."

And so the boy cut off her branches
and carried them away
to build his house.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time.
And when he came back,
the tree was so happy
she could hardly speak.
"Come, Boy," she whispered,
"come and play."
"I am too old and sad to play,"
said the boy.
"I want a boat that will
take me far away from here.
Can you give me a boat?"
"Cut down my trunk
and make a boat," said the tree.
"Then you can sail away...
and be happy."
And so the boy cut down her trunk
and made a boat and sailed away.
And the tree was happy
... but not really.

And after a long time
the boy came back again.
"I am sorry, Boy,"
said the tree," but I have nothing
left to give you -
My apples are gone."
"My teeth are too weak
for apples," said the boy.
"My branches are gone,"
said the tree. " You
cannot swing on them - "
"I am too old to swing
on branches," said the boy.
"My trunk is gone, " said the tree.
"You cannot climb - "
"I am too tired to climb" said the boy.
"I am sorry," sighed the tree.
"I wish that I could give you something....
but I have nothing left.
I am just an old stump.
I am sorry...."
"I don't need very much now," said the boy.
"just a quiet place to sit and rest.
I am very tired."
"Well," said the tree, straightening
herself up as much as she could,
"well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting
Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest."
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy.

 

   http://allpoetry.com/poem/8538991-The_Giving_Tree-by-Shel_Silverstein  

 

Three of Japan’s greatest Zen monk-poets are a great inspiration:

 

 Ikkyu (1394-1481)

               Basho (1644-1694)

                              Ryokan (1758-1831).

 

    New Year’s first snow -- ah --
            just barely enough to tilt
                                         the daffodil

 

   http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/zenpoetry.html 

 

 

     Nothing in the cry
            of cicadas suggests they
                                   are about to die

 

                                         - Basho

 

http://thegreenleaf.co.uk/hp/Ikkyu/00ikkyu.htm

 

my span of years
today appears
a morning glory's hour

 

                     -  Arakida Moritake

 

only a chirping insect
told me it was night
so bright was the moon

                       - Etsujin

 

“If you can …”

 

  Work for yourself, if you can

Garden for yourself, if you can

  Surround yourself with art and your own passions

if you can

    Trust yourself

Have faith in yourself

Be yourself

    if you can

  if you can

if you can.

 

 

“Riprap”

        By Gary Snyder

 

Lay down these words

   Before your mind like rocks.

placed solid, by hands

   In choice of place, set

Before the body of the mind

   in space and time:

Solidity of bark, leaf, or wall

   riprap of things:

Cobble of milky way,

   straying planets,

These poems, people,

    lost ponies with

Dragging saddles—

    and rocky sure-foot trails.

The worlds like an endless

    four-dimensional

Game of Go.

    ants and pebbles

In the thin loam, each rock a word

    a creek-washed stone

Granite: ingrained

     with torment of fire and weight

Crystal and sediment linked hot

    all change, in thoughts,

As well as things.

 

    http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176577

 

 

Rise up, gather round, study now, get smart

Up and down the river they go

The kind ones without the karma, they just flow

And to the fringes of eternity

With total unequated generosity

Pause for a moment or wait a lifetime to see

 

Wait in line with the others - you won’t

Individuality the oil of the engine called free

To mimic or act is fine, but be honest with yourself

 

Your life is but a decree,

Of authenticity

 

Your life is but a void,

To be filled with love

 

Oh don’t you “try” too hard now

You’ve come way too far for that …

 

And to the fringes of the sea

The edge of a continent or a desert grain of sand

That’s me

Waiting for you with unequated generosity

 

 

Starting today, not next year, we all have to become climate hawks and democracy activists, breaking corporate control over the marketplace and over our elections, media, and public policy. Starting today we must move together to save our climate, our civilization, and Mother Earth. http://www.naturalnews.com/038493_New_Years_Resolution_revolution_corporations.html#ixzz2GeEEjcfN

 

 

A New Year’s resolution - Start every day with a good breakfast!
http://www.naturalnews.com/034520_New_Years_resolution_breakfast_nutrition.html#ixzz2GeGluBuK

 

Six New Year's resolutions will bring a healthier 2013 and beyond

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/030980_New_Years_resolutions_health.html#ixzz2GeHhzXAm

 

Why are so many resolutions never fulfilled? Perhaps it's because the goal is too difficult to accomplish. If individuals choose goals that are more easily attained on a daily basis, the success rate for New Year's resolutions may improve along with the quality of life.

Include one or more of the following goals in your New Year's resolutions for 2013.

Avoid MSG and artificial sweeteners

Monosodium Glutamate, or MSG, and artificial sweeteners may make foods taste better; but they're neurotoxins that contribute to a wide range of disease conditions. Symptoms of MSG poisoning may include headaches, dizziness, trembling, palpitations, and cognitive or neurological dysfunction. Artificial sweeteners have been associated with various cancers as well as insulin and other pancreatic disorders.

Avoid GMO foods

Foods that are genetically modified are done so at the expense of life-building nutrients and a healthful environment. Genetically modified crops destroy the ground in which they're grown, damage natural environmental life cycles and cause a variety of nutritional deficiencies and digestive disorders. The most common GMO crops are corn, soy and canola.

Eat organic

Eating organic foods provides natural nutrients to sustain life and build healthy immune systems. Organic food is real food, without additional chemicals or foreign genes added to alter its makeup. Integrate organic foods into your diet throughout the year until it becomes a primary eating style.

Buy local

Supporting local growers and artisans supports the community in which you live. Snubbing large corporations and mega-box stores creates jobs at home where people create products with more care and quality to detail. Locally grown food can be produced on smaller farms, providing positive support for sustainability.

Use natural medicine

Avoiding pharmaceutical drugs can shed more light on real health. In 2013 venture out of comfort zones and seek one or more alternative approaches to health care. Many health problems can be treated with natural medicine with outstanding results and lower cost to the consumer.
 http://www.naturalnews.com/034548_New_Year_resolutions_health.html#ixzz2GeHM4bbz

 

 

Paramahansa Yogananda

Author of Autobiography of a Yogi, wrote that you must exercise your will without permanently giving in until the day you die. He meant it within the context of evolving spiritually.

(1) First realize it's your bad habit without shaming and blaming yourself. It's your habit, and it's there because you've been practicing it consciously or subconsciously for some time. This is taking responsibility. It may be wise to isolate, analyze, and write down what keeps you from moving on.

(2) Once you've taken responsibility, don't fear failing or getting worse. But realize deeply that there is a need to change and nourish that need with some level of optimistic possibility.

(3) Next, you need to demand improvement from yourself. This is more powerful than others' demands if you intend to improve your will power. Don't get too harsh with yourself. Some temporary disappointment with your bad habit is normal. But get over it and change from the conceptual level to a heartfelt resolution.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/038413_bad_habits_New_Year_tips.html#ixzz2GeIFCxHV

 

 

 

Walk like a champion

Talk like a champion

Put down your lies and pick up the truth

 

You can do whatever you want to

With your nights

And with your days

 

Be whole and never fake

Steer your ship and feel the wake

 

Live out every day in the now

In the present is how

Every moment is precious

Embrace change

 

You can do what you want to

So walk like a champion

Talk like a champion

Be your own hero, and … most of all … be a giving tree!

 

             Happy New Year Every One!!