TODAY OR TOMORROW, ALWAYS HAVE A SMILE IN YOUR HEART

Alessandro Ferullo

I used to watch “Tomorrow’s World” on TV with excitement during my school days, a show some of you may remember (it ran from 1965 to 2003). I always imagined that world. A world filled with so many inventions and technological advances that brought us so far into the future…Yet, with things moving and changing so quickly these days, there no longer seems to be an appetite for such a show. As we see people are having more and more trouble coping with (what is) today’s world…

Creating and living in the Present

It is true that we are creating tomorrow’s world today, in every moment of the present. Knowing this, I believe is the key to understanding and solving many of the challenging issues relating to how we can protect and live on this wonderful planet in a peaceful, collaborative, and sustainable way. Why wait for tomorrow’s world?

Some challenges like the environment, global warming, inequalities in society, pandemics, may at times seem insurmountable and like many people, I often have my doubts too. Fear is perhaps one of the biggest obstacles we face, often created by the media to become one of the reasons so many people (including so many in the younger generations) to feel lost, with little or no hope in the future. Humankind has been through so many crises, yet I believe that with inspired leadership, collaboration, and by keeping hope alive and nurtured, we are creating a better world. Right now many of us are busy doing this and making a difference.

Universal and Natural laws

I’ve been studying Qigong (from which Tai Chi originated), an ancient 4,000-year-old art for many years. The centre of study is of the mysterious energy called Qi (pronounced Chee), an animating, lively natural energy that drives all activity, helps nature thrive, that keeps us alive and healthy, and finding balance. When Qi is out of balance in us as humans, we tend to get ill, stressed and over time, develop more serious or chronic health problems. A very inspiring book is the Tao Te Ching of 81 short and inspiring chapters was written by Lao Tzu over 2,500 years ago explains many ways to live healthy, balanced lives in tune with nature and the Universe. One of my favourites advises us (in subtle ways) to live in harmony with nature or natural laws:

Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu - chapter 29

Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?

I do not believe it can be done.

The universe is sacred. You cannot improve it.

“By connecting with ourselves more deeply and collaborating with others we are building a more sustainable and caring world together .”

If you try to change it, you will ruin it. If you try to hold it, you will lose it.

So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind; Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily; Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness; Sometimes one is up and sometimes down.

Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency.

(translation by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English)

Comment: As humans we will encounter many problems if we try to control our environment or disrespect it. So much in this book seems written for modern times and I turn to it most days for inspiration, hope and understanding.

Connection Community and Collaboration

As we create tomorrow’s world today, connection, community and collaboration are all needed more than ever.

I love this definition of connection…

“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” - Brené Brown

Connection is what helps us thrive as humans and keeps us healthy, joyful and vibrant. It brings us more hope, energy, inspiration, and growth. So many of us have been separated from each other

in the past two years or so which has created many challenges both with physical and mental health among all age groups.

Great connection will naturally lead to more collaboration whether in the community we are surrounded by, or perhaps from networking with other inspiring people. Together, connected, we can and do make a difference. I have loved being part of the Collaboration Global community where there is so much support, inspiration and collaboration between members from such a wide range of different walks of life. Which just shows that despite our propensity in the world to compete with and compare ourselves to others, our most basic urge is always to connect. Human beings, science has proven, are like ants and are born desperate to play as a team.

Connection to Myself and Others

When I started my Qigong energy practice over 30 years ago, the day I met my teacher, I sensed this mysterious, subtle energy between my hands for the first time. This energy/Qi flows through us keeping us alive and well, helps nature thrive and brings balance and harmony into the world. By learning to connect with myself on a deeper energetic level this practice has been invaluable in helping me navigate some of the more difficult times in my life. Especially more recently. Qigong practice has also helped others improve their physical and mental health by connecting themselves to this subtle Universal energy that’s always available to us. Personally, I’m grateful to have been able to connect with people online all over the world during the pandemic. What once seemed such an unlikely technology in Tomorrow’s World is right here today, serving us all beautifully.

Connection to Nature

Spending more time in (local) nature has been increasingly possible (and necessary) for many people during these past two years as travel and mixing with others has been more limited.

Sensing our connection to nature, feeling grounded and nourishing ourselves was something easily overlooked with the fast-paced lives we increasingly became accustomed to.

The Japanese developed the practice of “Forest bathing” which broadly means taking in, in all of one’s senses, the forest atmosphere. Not simply a walk in the woods, it is the conscious and contemplative practice of being immersed in the sights, sounds and smells of the forest during the 1980s as a physiological and psychological exercise called shinrin-yoku or “taking in the forest atmosphere”. The exercise purpose is twofold: to offer an eco-antidote to tech-boom burnout and to inspire residents to reconnect with and protect the country’s forests. This is in tune with the latest evidence from quantum physics offers the possibility that all of life lives in a dynamic relationship of co-operation.

The Japanese quickly embraced this form of ecotherapy and in the 1990s, researchers began studying the physiological benefits of forest bathing, providing the science to support what we innately know: time spent immersed in nature is good for us. The concept at the heart of the practice is not new. Many cultures have long recognized the importance of the natural world to human health. There is a magic to appreciating and creating a better world today. By connecting with ourselves more deeply and collaborating with others we are building a more sustainable and caring world together.

With the world in such a state of upheaval in the past two years or so, there seems to be a sense of urgency for us all to live with greater awareness, social conscience and responsibility for each other and the environment.So I ask myself each day:

How can I contribute to creating a better, healthier kinder world?

Who and/or with which groups can I collaborate with as part of my bigger vision?

How can I show up with clarity, courage, and positive energy so I can play my part in creating tomorrow’s world today?

Now is the time for us to co-create, collaborate more, build a stronger sense of community, and keep hope alive for all generations, particularly the younger ones who will inherit our legacies. And so create Tomorrow’s World today with the active choice of the most powerful and positive things we can do for both ourselves and the world around us. One of which is to “Always keep a smile in your Heart.”

Alessandro Ferullo E-mail alessandro@flowinghealth.co.uk Contact Number 07747113305 Website Address flowinghealth.co.uk