*

*
*

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

ADORNED WITH GRACE

"We, the compound of Sovereign, Soul, and Sediment!"
~ James Lendall Basford ~

I have come to realize that a clean slate for The New Year is not necessarily a realistic possibility. I must carry my loss and pain with me, not as a weight or a burden, but as a gift. I have been blessed by the experiences of my past, and cannot be free of them as if they had never happened. They did happen. And, while they need not dictate or disable my forward momentum, they do have their place in my heart, and in my soul. They have become a part of me. We have become one, and I go forward larger and more compassionate for all I have been through, and not in any way handicapped by it, or victimized, but grown in depth, and wisdom, and life experience, and the ability to unconditionally love.

The past bejewels my spirit, and gives me sparkle and verve. 

Monday, December 30, 2019

CLEAN AND CLEAR

"Start with a fresh page."
~ Henry Ward Beecher ~

The New Year is as much about letting go as it is welcoming in .
What has passed has passed and it's time to release it.
No need to cling to old identities,
Old stories, or
Old hurts. 
No need to fidget with last week
Or even last year.
It's a New Decade coming.
Let's let it come clean. 

Our attachments pollute the path.

Sunday, December 29, 2019

THE ODD BLESSING

"Life is difficult."
~ Scott Peck ~

When we go through something emotionally and physically challenging, 
We crack open like an egg.  
We see and understand others more deeply. 
We are able to feel their pain because we know it. 
We feel it too.
It seems like a tough way to get there, and yet, that's how it is. 
We strain and struggle,
hopeless, scared, and short on faith,
and then we pass to the other side of the acute difficulty 
only to find 
we have been oddly blessed by what we have been through. 

I stay the course and receive the blessing.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

PARADOX

"The line of life is a snarl of loops and ends."
~ James Lendall Basford ~

Life is unpredictable and strange.
We look out one way and the train comes from another.
We discover sorrow in joy, joy in sorrow,
Fear in accomplishment,
Death where we don't anticipate it,
Comfort in silence,
And faith in despair.

I know what I need to know when I need to know it.

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

MERRY CHRISTMAS

"Christmas is ... about opening our hearts."
~ JLW Brooks ~

It's time to relax and let go. 
What's done is done.
What's undone is undone,
And the greatest present 
We can give is
Our presence.

I breathe and enjoy the day.

Monday, December 23, 2019

BEING AT PEACE

"Faith is the bird that sings to the dawn while it is still dark."
~ Tagore ~

Except in the most extreme circumstances, being afraid is unproductive. 
It creates anxiety and stress within us and doesn't change the situation.
     Faith might, or present moment awareness, or dancing, or listening... 
Fear is just a story that binds us in cuffs.

I choose freedom! 

Sunday, December 22, 2019

THE PATH FORWARD

"There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth."
~ Rumi ~

Give,
Receive.
Live.
Love.
Laugh.
Cry.
Release.

I travel the road. 

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

HEALING

"Time is on my side."
~ The Rolling Stones ~

In spite of all the feelings that would indicate otherwise, 
the days move us gently forward, 
and we do heal. 

Life floats me on its river.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

GUSTS AND LAPPING

"The tides are in our veins.'
~ Robinson Jeffers ~

I am carried by the fluidity of the energies of life. 
They pass through me: 
excitement, 
dread, 
fear, 
joy, 
sadness, 
anger, 
surrender, 
relief... 
They come and go like gusts on a windy day,
or waves lapping the shore. 
And my part is to be a clear channel, 
not to build walls and garrisons, 
but to let whatever comes come, 
and let whatever goes go-

Everything passes. Nothing comes to stay. 
     

Monday, December 16, 2019

SOFT LIGHT

"Christmas is a time when you get homesick- even when you're home."
~ Carol Nelson ~

The energy of Christmas feels both sad and beautiful to me. I can take or leave the jacked up crowds, and holiday fever, and egos around gifts, but the traditional music that has survived the ages mingled with candlelight and the tree, and fires, and movies, and sweets, and people gathering... these, for me, are full of yearning that is not grabby, but soft and sensuous and sorrowful and rich.

The sweet sadness of the season touches my heart. 

Sunday, December 15, 2019

INSPIRATION AT OUR FINGERTIPS

"We are healed by our stories."
~ Terry Tempest Williams ~

I love a good movie.
It's human drama,
Emotions,
Aesthetics,
Story,
and 
Heart.

I am grateful for the art of film making. 


Thursday, December 12, 2019

THE RAT PACK

"It's just human."
~ Jerry Kopke ~

I have had bad feelings that didn't play out, that were total fantasies in my mind; stories created by my fear, and I have had others that were spot on. 

It's a tricky thing for sure to navigate our gut instincts, our desires, our faith and our fear. 

I do the best I can with what I feel. 

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

MOLTEN GOLD

"There's always a period of curious fear between the first sweet-smelling breeze and the time when the rain comes cracking down."
~ Don DeLillo ~

Kintsukuroi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with molten gold. This practice highlights the cracks, makes them beautiful, and allows the object to continue to be useful. This acknowledgement and celebration of injury is a far different approach from using transparent glue in the hopes that no one will notice the break, or worse yet, throwing the object in the trash.

I honor my broken pieces.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

WINTER VIEWS

"Nature looks dead in winter because her life is gathered into her heart."
~ Hugh Macmillan ~

Things are revealed in the winter landscape. We see houses and views that are otherwise hidden. And maybe it's a little the same with us as well. Much as we celebrate together and create coziness, there is nonetheless a piece of our spirit this time of year which feels barren somehow, and is laid bare.

I am tender with the raw emotions of the season. 

Monday, December 9, 2019

LIFE

 "If life is not an adventure it's a sad venture, and drear at the price."
~ Kenneth Alfred Evelyn Alexander ~

Life is not a passive ride.
It's an active adventure.
We have to step up, and
Keep stepping up,
And involve ourselves with others,
And engage in the ride.

I am awake and engaged. 

Sunday, December 8, 2019

EMOTIONAL STEW

"It is, indeed, the season for kindling, not merely the fire of hospitality in the hall, but the genial flame of charity in the heart. What bosom can remain insensible to the call of happiness?"
~ Washington Irving ~


It's been enough sadness lately. Time to turn our attention elsewhere, and look to the moment for peace and joy and glittering lights of the season and the sound of Christmas coming. The sadness will wait for us to return to it, and we do not betray our grief by enjoying the pleasures of this sensational world. Everything has its part and its place, and we are meant to feel it all!

I can be happy, even when I'm sad. 

Friday, December 6, 2019

GRIEF

"I too, have been a mourner."
~ Mary Ann H. Dodd Shutts ~

Community soothes grief.
Grieving together is a different dynamic from grieving alone. 
It's less desperate somehow, and rich with 
the threads of our collective sadness-
The sadness that comes from the human experience-
From trauma, and sickness, and heartache,
And loss. 

Crying in the company of others who are crying is a good thing.
It heals the spirit and connects us to our fellow man. 

Thursday, December 5, 2019

MAX

"Death is real and comes without warning."
~ Rigpa Glimpse of the Day ~

Another loss to honor, 
A suicide.
A young life halted,
A mother shocked, and bereft...
Trying to make sense of what can't be made sense of...
How to wrap our hearts around
the end.

I show up for those who mourn. 

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

BOSS

"Now cracks a noble heart. 
Good night, sweet prince,
May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
~ William Shakespeare ~

Our beloved German Shepherd, Boss, had to be put down today. 
He is gone to chase soccer balls in the realm of pure light,
And we are left sad, and without him.

My broken heart will mend in time. 

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

WHAT'S HELPFUL

"The only gift is a portion of thyself."
~ RW Emerson ~

I used to think it was helpful to make suggestions when someone shared a problem with me, but I'm not so sure about that anymore. I think it's ok to say that I had a similar experience (if I did) and here's what helped me, but to have the audacity to say, "You should try THIS," well, that's another thing entirely. Maybe they have tried it, and it didn't work for them, or maybe there's a legitimate reason why they haven't tried it, or maybe it's just not their path.
     Most of the time, what people need is not to be told what to do, or what to take, or how to fix something that they may not even think is broken, but to be listened to, acknowledged, and heard.

I stop jumping the gun in communication with others and really listen from the heart. 

Monday, December 2, 2019

THE DECEMBER EXPERIENCE

"May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;
The spirit of Christmas which is peace;
The heart of Christmas which is love."
~ Ada V. Hendricks ~

It's a busy time of year, able to topple us if we let it.
Or support us and fill our hearts.
It's our choice.

I pace myself and enjoy the season. 

Sunday, December 1, 2019

IN THE COMPANY OF OTHERS

"On this shrunken globe, men can no longer live as strangers."
~ Adlai Stevenson ~

When we keep ourselves to ourselves, we miss the opportunity for love and connection with others.
When we share from the heart, other hearts open, and the result is warmth and goodness.
We are not alone.
What we feel others also feel, or have felt.
And together we do better than alone.
Together we rise.
When we have the courage to share, even just a little, we lift each other up
And together we fill with light.

I am not alone.