Source v Resource - Look Around You Carefully and Rethink Things

It's a swimming day, AND I slept until my alarm went off at 3:15 am, so I'm a bit rushed today. It will be short, but I certainly don't want to miss a day after years and years of a good schedule. So ... here we go. My meditation today focused on the difference between thought of "resource" vs "source" and how we approach those two terms differently. It specifically dealt with soil which is the source of all life, but too often just regarded as a resource - not the source at all. 

We all are part of this world. If we exploit our 
resources without thought, without acknowledgement 
of their status as a source of life, we will cause 
that life to die. 

That made me think. What else do we have in our lives that need a shift in our thought processes to get and maintain the respect they deserve? Our parents? That's often one area where they are rarely thought of as the source, just the resource for a convenient babysitter, a resource for a bit of extra cash when needed, sometimes that shoulder to cry upon, or that person with which to celebrate. But they are the source too - the source of your values (good or bad), the source of your beliefs (again, good or bad). The mark that parents, present or absent, leave upon us is indelible and omnipresent. 

I worry about our oceans. We've been "harvesting" them 
and utilizing them for centuries now, but only in 
the past century or two have we been destroying 
them. Are they the source of all life or merely a 
resource to sustain it? 

Are companions a source? Are they a resource? It's certain that Frodo would never have been able to destroy the Ring without Sam (and probably Gollum). Is Sam a resource? Or is he instead a source of strength and courage and a physical reminder of why the Ring must be destroyed? Indeed, as they approach Mount Doom and Frodo can no longer walk, Sam picks him up and carries him to the heart of the mountain, towards their own doom. Companions can be a source of strength. 

Companions can be a source of ideas and 
strength, but are they a resource or are 
they a source? It's a good question. If we 
treasure companions as a source of ideas 
and sometimes entertainment, does their 
value increase over that of a resource of 
new ideas and opinions? 

What in your life is a source that you consider a resource? There are a lot of things around us that we tend to take for granted. If you think something is a resource, try looking at it through new eyes as a source. See if it actually is that grounding - that important and that much of a crux in your life. Maybe it isn't, but doesn't it bear looking at closer? Have an excellent Tuesday, I'm off to the pool. Slava Ukraini and I'll be back tomorrow.