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The Backyard Syndrome
Discovering the Unity in Community
by Michele Blood
Once upon a time, before the Internet, people actually called each other, rather then sending an impersonal e-mail to communicate. Some would even be outrageous enough to actually meet in person. What happened to personal interaction? The backyard syndrome is what happened! The backyard syndrome is most prevalent in our own household, where the ones who profess to love us are not always the ones who can see the greatness in us, nor do we always see it in them. This condition pops up within our own communities as well.
The concept that “the grass is always greener” is a mindset that holds back the greatness within ourselves, and hence, our community. In reality, the grass is greener in places where we water and care for it. Remember that no matter where we go, there will always be grass that requires water. Sometimes it simply takes a trip away for awhile to come back and fully appreciate our own backyard, seeing it with new eyes.
The trouble in today’s technological world is that we have forgotten what is readily available right at home. For some insane reason, we think that great minds and opportunities must be somewhere else. We have become a complacent society oblivious to the magic of who we are and where we live. We can discover the whole cosmos in our own community when we bother to open our doors and go outside. Local seminars, schools, businesses and organizations reveal extraordinary people right where we live. So many of us take our own local resources for granted, such as Toastmasters (www.toastmasters.org), the U.S. Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov), your local Chamber Of Commerce, and various spiritual and meditation centers found in our neighborhoods.
When we come to places of community with an attitude of participation, rather than neediness, we can create miracles right where we are. Sure, it’s great to travel and live in different places. If we can get out there and really meet people face-to-face, then our experience in a new city can be joyful and not so lonely. This advice holds true in our own local areas. Get out there again with a renewed level of consciousness as if it were a new community and get involved.
I was brought up in small towns on the fringe of the outback in Australia. My Mum would always be busy holding meetings and of course, tending to the barbie (slang for barbeque). Where? In the backyard, of course! When I first came to the U.S. in 1997, I knew just one person in San Diego, Wilma McIntyre, and I had met only her once at a seminar at which I was speaking with Bob Proctor. When she found out I was living in her hometown of San Diego, she held out her hand to me. Thus began my community with one loving heart. I was delighted and amazed at the way people opened themselves to me. Together we began to create great projects and forge life-long relationships. I went to bookstores, radio stations, and councils to meet the locals and hence, become one of them. I have found this method to be extraordinary. I believe that no matter where we live, we can find likeminded people who dream the impossible dream with us. This is how we create miracles in our own backyards.
Acts of loyalty, kindness and supporting our local businesses are what brings wealth, joy and power to any community. Each individual benefits when we ask such simple questions as, “what can I do for you?” and “what can we do together?” What fun it is—scary sometimes, but still joyous and powerful. When we reach out to others in our community, the fear dissolves and our world actually broadens. What a feeling of fulfillment it is to go out and meet new people, or to re-meet the ones we might have ignored for years. Sure, not every person will greet us with loving arms, but as long as our arms stay open, there will always be someone there to hold us close. We can meet more real friends and create more lasting relationships this way than any amount of e-mailing or Internet networking would bring. Of course the Internet is a great tool, but let us remember that it is only a tool—a machine we created.
If we expand our consciousness and open our hearts, we can see the huge potential of loving souls who, just like you, are searching for real people to work with. They have been there the whole time, hiding in plain sight!
It was a powerful moment when President-elect Obama declared, “together, we can.” We must work together, not to have a means to an end, but to create a way of life that will continue long after we’ve left. In my view, it is so important to relearn the skills of community. As we welcome newcomers, we heighten our perceptions and we take a more generous perspective of what we have right where we are. The heart of our community can take our breath away.
There is a singular yearning in all of us, from the sentimental to the most skeptical, to be a part of something. This “something” is the mystery and magic of a shared community. I remember when I first moved to San Diego, I was told that for my sort of career, I must live in LA, where all the music and artsy people were. But this was not my truth—I loved San Diego. Ultimately, I found the most amazing recording studios, printing companies, local businesses, musicians, speakers, churches and so much more, literally by going shop to shop and backyard to backyard. When I discovered owners or business managers that I loved, I stuck with them. I chose to stay with them even if their prices where a little higher than those competitors were offering in an outside area. This attitude paid off in friendship, love and help from these people when I needed them.
It is not always about the bottom line—it is about people. We need community and we need each other to grow, whether we care to admit it or not. We can all look in our own backyards and see a true cosmic consciousness of community when we open our hearts and allow ourselves to be vulnerable.
Every town or city has greatness in them. That greatness is in the people—in every individual. We can begin right where we are with what we already have to create greatness. Look for the wonder in each person you meet. Compliment instead of complaining. Look for what is good and you will always find it. Soon the greatness that opens up in your community through small gestures of love, support, and loyalty will expand to other communities.
Every person who has shown greatness on a global scale started out in their own community. It begins right where we are when we hold out our hands to help and to be helped.
So let us remember that our dreams are not better than those of any others in our communities. We are all equal. We need to avoid “holier than thou” thinking about ourselves and others and see the cosmic greatness in our own backyard. You never know who is sitting right next to you or who is living right next door. It may be the next President or the next Enlightened Master who could change the whole world. It could even be you. Never undermine the power of the backyard, because you never know who somebody is, or the meaning behind what they’re doing. There is a lot more to people than meets the eye and a lot more power, business opportunities and yes, even romance in our own backyards when we actually go outside to look.
If any positive development is to come from the economic downturn of these times, it is that people begin to explore their own local businesses and school systems. They may be delighted to discover the best experiences of their lives—right in their own backyards.
This article is dedicated in loving memory and gratitude to Dr. Wilma McIntyre, who brought true friendship and community to all who knew her.
Michele Blood’s new book, Become A Magnet To Money Through The Sea Of Unlimited Consciousness, co-authored by Bob Proctor, is available at www.MusiVation.com. Attend a magical workshop on December 6 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in La Jolla, CA to learn how to attract money, success, and most importantly gain more spiritual awareness. All attendees will receive a copy of Michele Blood’s book. Tickets are $39.95 per person or $25 when two or more tickets are purchased. Visit www.entertheseaofunlimitedconsciousness.com for details and location.