kids - Spiritual Blogs - Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community2024-03-28T23:51:23Zhttps://www.ashtarcommandcrew.net/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/kidsLet It Be...!!!!https://www.ashtarcommandcrew.net/profiles/blogs/let-it-be2012-09-14T19:19:43.000Z2012-09-14T19:19:43.000ZAnupriya Srivastavahttps://www.ashtarcommandcrew.net/members/AnupriyaSrivastava<div><p><strong>Q. What is happiness? And How do I achieve it?</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p></p><p><strong>A. Happiness is a state of mind.</strong></p><p><strong>and you achieve it by trying not to achieve anything. ;)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>When I first read this somewhere. I was puzzled. Then one day, I was traveling in metro, in the ladies compartment, where you see little kids with their mothers all the time.</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><span><span><strong>One little girl was jumping up and down, holding the pole, revolving around it, simultaneously and spontaneously inventing games, which no grown up understood, so everyone laughed, including me.</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p>I watched her with amazement and I wondered - Isn't this happiness?</p><p><span><span><strong>Her state of mind is in complete harmony !</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span><span><strong>But Why?</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span><span><strong>I realized, she is not trying to do anything. things are just happening in her and she is not stopping it. She is just "Letting It BE".</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p>In fact when her mother tries to stop her, she becomes sad for a while. She stops but is restless and is waiting carefully for a window of opportunity. And soon when her mother is not looking, she frees herself and giggles, and starts repeating the ceremonious jumping, revolving, laughing etc.</p><p><span><span><strong>I saw that her mother is happy too, seeing the mischief, she is smiling now.</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span><span><strong>We are also like this, we were all happy when we were just letting things happen within us, when we were not stopping ourselves from doing anything that our hearts wanted us to. The intentions behind her actions were so pure, so godly and so humanly.</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span><span><strong>When our heart wants something which has such pure and harmless intentions, yet we try to stop ourselves from doing it, we are sad and restless like her. We wait restlessly for the next window of opportunity. Sometimes, we wait for a whole lifetime and regret in the end, that we dint do what our heart wanted us to do.</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span><span><strong>Awareness of this in itself has freed me somehow... I know I can be happy now. I don't try to be happy, that will be useless and frustrating.</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span><span><strong>A simple mantra is "Let It BE".</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span><span><strong>So, will I be happy all the time, if I just Let it Be?</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span><span><strong>No, that is not possible, my mind would become bored and dumb. Suffering is a teacher, without which I will never graduate from this life.</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span><span><strong>But I freed myself of an Idea that WE should TRY to be Happy.</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span><strong>Trying is useless...</strong></span> <strong>Just let it BE!!!!</strong></p></div>THE BLACKBERRY KIDS GO TREASURE HUNTING - Glimpse At The Writing Of A Family Musicalhttps://www.ashtarcommandcrew.net/profiles/blogs/the-blackberry-kids-go-treasure-hunting-glimpse-at-the-writing-of2012-06-20T23:00:00.000Z2012-06-20T23:00:00.000ZGiovanihttps://www.ashtarcommandcrew.net/members/Giovani<div><p>Hi-i!</p><p>Let's start, right away, with the story - no titles, no list of characters. I like that! :D<br /></p><p>(Prologue. Full company sings opening song:)</p><p></p><p>COMPANY<br /> <em>No one knows what's at the bottom<br /> Of GREENCOOL POND<br /> It's the kind of adventure<br /> You can simply dive in on</em></p><p><em>No one knows what's at the bottom<br /> Whether you're young<br /> Or old, big or small<br /> No one's gonna stop you<br /> If you've heard the treasure's call<br /></em></p><p><em>Is it dark or mysterious<br /> Or shiny and fun or maybe serious?<br /> No one knows what's at<br /> The bottom of it all</em></p><p>(Scene 1. TATIANA and BRIAN in raft.)</p><p>BRIAN<br /> Okay, explain it Ms Hurwit.</p><p>TATIANA<br /> There's a rope and a weight here, Brian.</p><p>BRIAN<br /> Looks like a shoe.</p><p>TATIANA<br /> Yes, a shoe, but a heavy shoe.</p><p>BRIAN<br /> And I see the rope's knotted.</p><p>TATIANA<br /> Every three feet.</p><p>BRIAN<br /> Plus the shoe, that's four feet?</p><p>TATIANA<br /> No, I start at two feet and a shoe.</p><p>BRIAN<br /> Every three feet. I see, Ms Hurwit.</p><p>TATIANA<br /> "Ms Hurwit." That's so silly, Brian. And, of course, in the meantime...</p><p>BRIAN<br /> My favorite part.</p><p>TATIANA<br /> ...I'm making us a pot - </p><p>BRIAN<br /> Of black -</p><p>TATIANA<br /> Blackberry sorbet.</p><p>BRIAN<br /> <em>When the sun's hot<br /></em> <em>And the wind's forgotten<br /></em> <em>How to blow</em></p><p>TATIANA<br /> <em>Sun's hot<br /></em> <em>So what kinda kid won't sell<br /></em> <em>Her soul for a bowl<br /> Of freshly crushed ice-cold</em><br /> <em>Blackberry sorbet</em></p><p>BRIAN<br /> Ms Hurwit, will you have time to mind the bowl?</p><p>TATIANA<br /> Why wouldn't I, Brian?</p><p>BRIAN<br /> Seems like I should do it, Ms Hurwit. After all, you'll be at the bottom of the pond.</p><p>TATIANA<br /> I'm not jumping in today, Brian. Today is what we treasure hunters call exploratory work.</p><p></p><p>Thus begins the story of fiesty Tatiana Hurwit and her loyal sidekick, Brian, in a world of wetlands treasure-hunting, dealing with a rich brat competitor, making peace with a goofy forest spirit, learning about science and statistics, and living it all out in song, song, song!<br /><br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8108796871,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}8108796871,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" class="align-full" alt="8108796871?profile=original" /></a>(cc) Fort Meade on Flickr<br /><br />The fun began, for me, when I felt driven to write something educational and 100% fun for kids, in the form of a one act play. The story took me over and spit me (and a script) out in a mere seven days. "Wow!" I thought. "That was fun!" And, as soon as I finished reading the one act, all I could think was how amazing this would be as a musical.</p><p>That's when the opening line came to me.</p><p>"No one knows what's a the bottom of Greencool Pond...."</p><p>And, I was off!</p><p>Another week passed, and I came down from the mountain with two stone tablets - Oh, wait! Wrong story. ;O)</p><p>But that's what it was like. </p><p>I knew, as soon as I picked up the pen (The first draft was long-hand), that I wanted there to be almost too many songs. I was tired of musicals that only had an occasional song and were mostly talk, talk, talk. And, I knew that I wanted the songs to drive the story. I was tired of songs that seemed to interrupt the action, slow down the story, or that seemed to want to live outside the story more than in it.</p><p>And, I wanted spectacle and dance!</p><p>And, everything I wanted I got! YAY! Writing THE BLACKBERRY KIDS GO TREASURE HUNTING was a job from Heaven! And, best of all, I love the whole world of Pondside. I loved the heroic characters: Tatiana, Brian, and Rachel (a.k.a. Rocky) - the Food Co-op Refrigerator Door Weekly's reporter. And I also love the villain, believe it or not: Perky, the rich brat, along with that seeming forest spirit of ambiguous morality (and the villain's biggest fan) Mickel!</p><p>To me, they're ALL the Blackberry Kids.</p><p>I thoroughly appreciate having had the chance to field all those energies, and capture them on paper. Seeing the magic on stage - the very thought makes my heart swell!</p><p>Ahhhhh!</p><p>I love being a writer! :D</p><p>Sunshine & Blessings,<br /> Giovani</p></div>