{"id":3126,"date":"2012-05-16T00:09:59","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T04:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/?p=3126"},"modified":"2012-05-16T07:14:24","modified_gmt":"2012-05-16T11:14:24","slug":"while-im-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/05\/while-im-here.html","title":{"rendered":"While I’m Here"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Folk music speaks to me in a language that is universal and it encourages me to walk my talk. One of my favorite songs was penned by Phil Ochs, called When I’m Gone<\/em>.\u00a0 The voice of a generation, his music was the soundscape for a culture that was pro-peace. From what I know of Phil, he led a\u00a0rather tumultuous life, fraught with the wild ride of Bi-Polar Disorder that eventually lured to him\u00a0 into taking his own life. The year before I graduated high school, he departed this world, leaving behind a legacy of kyrics that encouraged people to speak up, stand up and make a difference. Hearing the song today got me to thinking that none of us knows how much time we’ll be given to dance on this earthly plane, so it behooves us to take a look at the ways in which we can reach out beyond our own immediate concerns to (as Gandhi was quoted as saying) \u00a0“Be the change”, you\u00a0wish to see.\u00a0 I learned that I need not wait for someone else to take the first step, although I have been\u00a0 beckoned\u00a0by leaders to join them on their inspired path. And then there are times when I carry the baton on to the next person in line who will bear it for awhile.\u00a0 Each day I look for ways to make a difference, even if it is simply smiling at someone who, in turn pays it forward. I recently saw a woman with the word ‘beautiful’ tattooed on her forearm. I felt myself channeling my parents, who likely would have said the same thing I did…”Yes, you are.” and then she smiled shyly at me. I\u00a0 consciously choose mindfulness and a growing awareness of how I operate in the world, when once upon a time, I did a great sleepwalking act. I would drift through each day, sometimes dreading them, immersed in fear thoughts. Rarely does that happen now, as I KNOW that all works for the Highest Good, despite appearances at times.<\/p>\n

It isn’t about being remembered once I ‘leave the building’, but the example that I set while I still inhabit it. I like the idea of ‘leaving the campground better than\u00a0 I found it.”, which means to me to move forward with the intention of cleaning up any messes I may have inadvertantly made. It means shifting relationships with a sense of solid communication and with an\u00a0 open heart.\u00a0 It invites me to love fully and with abandon. Love is never wasted, I have found.<\/p>\n

When I’m Gone by Phil Ochs<\/p>\n

There’s no place in this world where I’ll belong when I’m gone<\/p>\n

And I won’t know the right from the wrong when I’m gone<\/p>\n

And you won’t find me singin’ on this song when I’m gone<\/p>\n

So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here<\/p>\n

And I won’t feel the flowing of the time when I’m gone<\/p>\n

All the pleasures of love will not be mine when I’m gone<\/p>\n

My pen won’t pour a lyric line when I’m gone<\/p>\n

So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here<\/p>\n

And I won’t breathe the bracing air when I’m gone<\/p>\n

And I can’t even worry ’bout my cares when I’m gone<\/p>\n

Won’t be asked to do my share when I’m gone<\/p>\n

So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here<\/p>\n

And I won’t be running from the rain when I’m gone<\/p>\n

And I can’t even suffer from the pain when I’m gone<\/p>\n

Can’t say who’s to praise and who’s to blame when I’m gone<\/p>\n

So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here<\/p>\n

Won’t see the golden of the sun when I’m gone<\/p>\n

And the evenings and the mornings will be one when I’m gone<\/p>\n

Can’t be singing louder than the guns when I’m gone<\/p>\n

So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here<\/p>\n

All my days won’t be dances of delight when I’m gone<\/p>\n

And the sands will be shifting from my sight when I’m gone<\/p>\n

Can’t add my name into the fight while I’m gone<\/p>\n

So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here<\/p>\n

And I won’t be laughing at the lies when I’m gone<\/p>\n

And I can’t question how or when or why when I’m gone<\/p>\n

Can’t live proud enough to die when I’m gone<\/p>\n

So I guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here<\/p>\n

There’s no place in this world where I’ll belong when I’m gone<\/p>\n

And I won’t know the right from the wrong when I’m gone<\/p>\n

And you won’t find me singin’ on this song when I’m gone<\/p>\n

So I guess I’ll have to do it I guess I’ll have to do it<\/p>\n

Guess I’ll have to do it while I’m here<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

http:\/\/youtu.be\/IYGriOgOjnA<\/a>\u00a0When I’m Gone covered by Kim and Reggie Harris and Magpie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Folk music speaks to me in a language that is universal and it encourages me to walk my talk. One of my favorite songs was penned by Phil Ochs, called When I’m Gone.\u00a0 The voice of a generation, his music was the soundscape for a culture that was pro-peace. 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She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. 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