Peace Begins With Me
   Ideas and Inspiration
August 2009
Issue #20
Greetings!

Welcome to the August edition of Peace Begins With Me. This month I write about a powerful experience I had with a watermelon as a nine year old. This experience has been a  source of wisdom and inspiration over the years. I hope you enjoy reading it.

The plans for my cross Canada Peace Tour are taking shape. I plan to be on the road during the month of October. I'll be traveling from Vancouver to Toronto with lots of stops in between. A schedule of my Peace Tour is posted on my web site under the 'Events' link.
If you would like to discuss my presenting in your community, please email me at [email protected].

May you have a wonderful summer filled with peace and joy.
 
Ted
A Nine Year Old and His Watermelon
The Role of Surrender in Creation
Ted & watermelon
Last week my family and I enjoyed a beautiful summer's evening by indulging in a ripe red watermelon. In addition to the joy of being refreshed by this beautiful food I was reminded of a powerful memory from childhood.

When I was about nine years old my mother cut up some watermelon for my siblings and I to enjoy. At that time watermelon had seeds that needed to be separated from the fruit of the melon. After consuming a number of slices I had a nice little pile of dark watermelon seeds.

Looking at the seeds my nine-year-old mind was inspired with the idea of planting the seeds and growing my own watermelon. This would allow me to enjoy watermelon whenever I chose. I rushed outside and buried the seeds in the middle of my mother's rose garden. Day after day I tended to those seeds, watering them carefully, and delighting when green shoots began to emerge.

Over the course of a few weeks the tender shoots grew into large broad leaves that easily engulfed the adjacent roses. While I took immense pride in my creation my mother lamented at how her roses were being buried under a jungle of watermelon leaves.

Then one Saturday morning my mother woke me bright and early. With great excitement she announced that my watermelon plant had produced its first melon. Hurriedly I pulled on some shorts and ran barefoot and bare-chested down the stairs to witness this miracle first hand. There, nestled in amongst the leaves of the watermelon plant, lay a huge green melon. I hoisted the melon into my arms and proudly marched around the yard.

The joy of the day was captured on film. The image showed a proud nine year old positioned next to his melon, with a grin as large as the melon. This was a proud moment in the life of a nine year old. It was an image that sat on the top of my dresser for years as a reminder of my power to create.

Fast-forward thirty years. At a gathering of family and friends I reminisced about my beautiful watermelon. I shared with the others my pride at my accomplishment. My mother, overhearing my telling of the story remarked, "You know you didn't grow that watermelon." "Of course I did. Don't you remember?" I exclaimed. "Oh, I remember." she said. "I remember how that watermelon plant of yours had taken over my rose garden. I figured the only way to end this experiment was to buy a watermelon and place it next to your plant. Don't you recall that the watermelon wasn't attached to the plant?"

The words of my mother filled me with shock and confusion. I began to feel my anger and resentment rise. Anger that my long held story of having grown a beautiful watermelon was a fiction. Resentment at being deceived by my own mother. For years I carried the story of the watermelon as a symbolic gesture of my ability to create in the world. To be informed that I had not created the watermelon was hard to accept. My watermelon story was now tainted with disappointment and hurt. I stuck the photo of the nine year old with his watermelon in the bottom of my drawer.

Recently I was reminded of my watermelon story. I reflected more upon this experience. To my surprise I discovered an even deeper message in this event. I concluded that I had created the watermelon after all. While the melon didn't manifest as I anticipated, it did manifest.

I once again use the watermelon story to remind myself that I am a powerful and creative being. And, that the manifestation of my intentions may not always emerge as expected. Sometimes life provides its gifts in ways other than I anticipate. This doesn't mean that I didn't create the experience; rather, it means that I need to let go of thinking I know best how it should show up.

I've since learned that the creative process involves declaring my intentions and then surrendering and allowing life to support my intentions in anyway that is good for all concerned. I did create a watermelon. It was through the generousity of my loving mother! And she got her rose garden back.

That picture of the nine year old grinning from ear to ear is back on my dresser.


Cheers,
Ted
Words of Wisdom
"A crisis is not destructive, but instructive"

Marilyn Ferguson
Aquarian Conspiracy
Thank you for sharing these few moments with me. I hope they offer you inspiration, heart, and hope for the future. Together, we can make our world more peaceful.

If you have questions or comments, I would be delighted to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected]

 Sincerely,
 
Ted Kuntz
Author, Peace Begins With Me
In This Issue
A Nine Year Old and HIs Watermelon
Words of Wisdom

Give the gift of peace.

Peace Begins With Me



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