COMPLETING OUR WORK

"Clear clutter. Make space for you."

~ Magdalena Vandenberg ~

Whatever tools we take out during the day to work, whether they be pens and paper, or computer programs, or saws and hammers, or paints, let's put them away when the day is done. It's important to our well-being to keep things put away and tidy and it gives us a sense of closure and completion, even if the job's not completely done. Spreading our unfinished business across the borders of the week is like never making our bed. Why start either our night or our morning dealing with a mess?

I keep my life orderly in day-tight compartments.

THE BEND AND SWAY

"Peace like a river flows through me."

~ Anne Warriner ~

Life is a dance if we allow it to be. It's fluid and changing, flowing and spinning. It's percussion and flutes and guitars and pianos. It's a saxophone. And we have to learn to move to the music as it presents itself, to go with the rhythm, whatever the rhythm may be.
     Some days, it may be heavenly choirs of voices raising us up, and other days rap, or jazz, or a symphony by Debussy.

I dance with life. 

THIS DAY

"Try another way of looking."

~ Rumi ~

Appreciating each moment of our lives is so obvious that we blow it off, fully expecting to live another day. And we have regrets and plan to correct them down the line. And save our dreams for someday. And spend time blaming and criticizing the people we love the most.
     But what if we took it seriously?
     What if we sincerely lived as if we might not see another day?
     I bet our moments would become more precious, and I bet we'd slow down, and I bet we'd stop doing some of the things we do, and start doing others.
     So I challenge us all. Why don't we start now?

I take nothing for granted. 

OUT OF THE FOG

"To live is so startling, it leaves little time for anything else."

~ Emily Dickenson ~

The path is revealed step by step.

We make a choice, 

and that choice shuts down some options, 

and opens others.

And then we choose again.

And a picture emerges, 

And a life. 

Like a Polaroid picture, my daily experience materializes from the mysterious unknown.

CHANGING WEATHER

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky."

~ Rabindranath Tagore ~

Rain makes the sunshine sweeter,

and coldness, heat;

and heat, cold.

Life is balanced by opposites.

and made delicious by variety and spice.

I welcome changing weather and temperatures that rise and fall. 

THE BEST TEACHER

"Sometimes Mother Nature has the answers when you do not even know the questions."

~ Keith Wynn ~

If we go out into it, the natural world will teach us everything we need to know.

I trust the lessons of Nature.

GRATEFUL DAY

"Forever on Thanksgiving day

the heart will find the pathway home."

~ Wilbur D. Nesbit ~

I am grateful to wake up each morning and stretch my body, to bathe, to walk, to eat; to see and hear and feel and speak. I am grateful for hugs and insight, for moments of clarity and the glorious grace of God. I am grateful to be who I am, to have learned all that I've learned, and to be conscious of the sacredness of every detail of my life.
     In light of all that, the most appropriate refrain on this day and every day may well be nothing more than, "Hallelujah!" and, "Amen!"

I am grateful for the beautiful and sacred experience of life.

BARE TREES

"You feel the bone structure of the landscape... Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show."

~ Andrew Wyeth ~

The landscape devoid of leaves has its own kind of stark beauty. The trees and sky are different- softer, grayer, paler, but not without their own kind of charm.

I appreciate the changing seasonal landscape.

BOILING POT

"Ideas are like wandering sons. They show up when you least expect them."

~ Bern Williams ~

Ideas rise to the surface of my mind like bubbles rising in a boiling pot, 

and they percolate there, 

and cook 

until God 

or time 

takes them off the stove.

Creative ideas have a life of their own.

SPACE

"Let yourself become living poetry."

~ Rumi ~

There is space within us. We are infinite beings. We can invite everyone we've ever loved into our energy field, every place we've ever been or hope to be, all of our memories and dreams, and all the people of the world. We can carry all of these in our hearts and minds and still have room to spare.

I am infinitely vast.

PERSONAL INVESTMENT

"You've got to know when to hold them, and know when to fold them."

~ Kenny Rodgers ~

We invest ourselves in things- in projects, in relationships, in jobs, in ideas- such that even when there are clearly serious limitations, problems, and issues, it becomes difficult, even impossible feeling, to walk away. It's as if we think that the time we have put in guarantees us a happy ending... ultimately... so if we just wait it out, if we just push on, then surely, the tides will turn.
     And then, in many cases, things get worse and worse until we are forced to walk away or risk our lives or our sanity. Let's learn to surrender before it has to go that far.
   

I am able to walk away. 

KNOWING

"The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too."

~ Teresa of Avila ~

I'm not sure how I know what I need to know when I know it- only that I do.

I trust the divine intelligence within me. 

DISCOVERING THE PATH

"In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks."

~ John Muir ~

When walking in the woods where there is no clear trail, 

looking ahead, it seems completely impassable. 

And yet, 

once we start moving forward, 

the way to go is revealed.

I trust in the unfolding journey and give my full attention to the next step. 

UNSTOPPABLE TRAIN

"Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights."

~ Pauline R. Kezer ~

One change inspires the next. Think of a room. If we move one piece of furniture, it affects the position of all the others, and often they need to be shifted as well, at least, some of them do.
     An action that creates change is like the tapping of a finger on a line of dominoes. It begins an unstoppable train.

I welcome the shifting energy of everything changing, including myself.

THANK YOU VETERANS

"Semper Fortis."

~ US Navy Motto ~

Both my father, and my father-in-law, served their country in the armed forces, and I'm certain that their service grew them. It is noble and honorable to represent more than just ourselves, and to stand for something worth standing for, and to be of service to others. There may be nothing more noble than that.

I am grateful to my father today, and to my father-in-law, and to all who have stood for our freedom. 

   

SIMPLE AND GOOD

"I will bring the health of simplicity to my burdened soul and days."

~ Muriel Strode ~

We have an expectation and a belief about our lives that they have to be spectacular- that we are meant for great things. And yet, maybe the real treasure is in the ordinariness of daily experience, the sun-up to sun-down regular stuff. Perhaps we needn't be famous or even strike out to change the world, but be present and reflect the natural, simple beauty as it crosses our path.

I am a mirror. 

RIDING THE CURRENTS

"The tides are in our veins."

~ Robinson Jeffers ~

Life is a continuously rising and falling affair: the sun and dark night, our emotions, sounds out of the silence and back into it, and the way we move and are still. It comes and it goes- nothing is static, and nothing remains the same. 

     In light of that, flow seems a better strategy than resistance, and flexibility rather than demand. 

I am one with all that circulates.

TREBLE AND BASS

"Why waste money on psychotherapy when you can listen to the B Minor Mass?"

~ Michael Torke ~

The right kind of music at the right moment can elevate our spirit and carry us from this earthly domain to a place of heavenly grace; or, it can enliven our blood and get us moving. With certain beats, we just have to dance. Or, music can accompany our grief, or inspire our self-reflection.
     My gratitude today is for music. It's a gift to the world and to each of our lives.

I celebrate the glory of music!

BEING FREE

"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away."

~ Raymond Hull ~

Let's refuse to be limited by what others think about the choices we make.

Let's stop with the guilt and shame and second-guessing and fear.

Let's take responsibility for ourselves and own that responsibility.

And accept with grace the consequences of whatever we choose to do.

And be who we are.

And trust in our lessons.

And live our joy.

And be in the moment.

And be free.

I am ok with who I am. 

THE RISK WE CHOOSE

"You look into my eyes to read that oft-told story of defeat, but I tell you that the plot was changed and you will see the flag of conquest waving from the turrets of my soul."

~ Muriel Strode ~

When the choice has been to play it safe or go for it, I have generally chosen go for it, and that has resulted in more challenge than the play it safe route might have, but I have no regret. It's not so much the adventure itself that has made it worth it, or the survival skills, or even the stories. It's the lessons. When we take a big risk, even if it doesn't play out as we hope, and maybe especially then, we grow spiritually. Our souls gain depth and our hearts and minds a certain wisdom. And that's what I crave more than the risk itself: to dance with life at the level that will stretch me most.

I cherish the experience of spiritual evolution. 

BOLDNESS IN ACTION

"He who rejects change is the architect of decay."

~ Harold Wilson ~

We are making a lot of changes to the farm we just bought, and as we trim trees and tear down walls, I find I have this guilt about it all. Even though I believe the changes we are making are ultimately for the good of the place, there's a sense that our actions are too jarring and drastic. Like a short haircut and a bath for someone who hasn't been properly clean in years, there's a case for it, and yet, it's still a bit alarming.
 

I accept the occasional necessity of radical change.