Remember…again

June 21, 2024 by

I started to look for my phone and passed my printer. It said I needed to replace a cartridge. I started to do that and remembered I was on my way to the basement to get toilet paper. Went down to get it and saw the Kitty litter needed cleaning. Did that and got the Toilet paper. I passed the kitchen counter and realized I hadn’t finished the letter to my sister yet. Oh yes, the phone, let me use the old flip phone to call myself. Oh, there it is on the porch. I got distracted when I saw the cat throw-up and decided I’d better clean it up before the heat cemented it into the rug. And then I remembered to put up the toilet paper. Oh, and I need to send that email to my neighbor before I forget. And, I need a new phone. I need to check them out but am I ready to take on more technology?…

Why do I feel distracted, unsettled? Life seemed simpler when I had one big project or thing to focus on. I get caught up in the minutia of life.

Breath! Settle back into my body. Remember what matters.
Do what needs to be done but stay present. So I exhale. Practice, practice, practice.

Filed Under: Life, Presence, We are creators Tagged With: , ,

What is heaven?

May 27, 2024 by

I’m addicted to billboards these days. I saw this one and I thought, “Does this mean people should live in fear of not getting it right, of eternal damnation after they die?”

I believe the Divine works through us, guides us when we are open to listening. What if we chose to co-create Heaven on earth now? What would Heaven on earth look like?

What do you envision as Heaven on earth? What do you want to experience?

Filed Under: Choice, Love, We are creators Tagged With: , ,

Acceptance

May 14, 2024 by

What is acceptance? I’m defining it as acknowledging what is, the current reality, without judgement.

Without accepting what is, I believe we spend our time fighting, analyzing or repressing it. The alternative is to be aware of it, and then ask ourselves “If this is current reality, is this what I want? And if not, what do I want in my life.”

“When I say “welcome to reality,” I am saying, “Welcome, self, to reality, both what I know and what I don’t know.” And I am also saying, “Welcome, reality, whatever you are, both known and unknown, into my awareness.”   Brian McLaren, from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations, May 13, 2024

Eckart Tolle says “To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease and lightness. This state is then no longer dependent on things being in a certain way, good or bad.”

Acceptance of what is, the first step in creating the life we want.

Filed Under: Life, We are creators Tagged With: ,

Self Image

April 30, 2024 by

Spring has sprung
the vision of beaches
and vacations loom
And, the billboards show up:
Breast Augmentations $6900.00
Tummy Tucks $1000.00 off
White, slim, voluptuous women
Are you in?

NO, I’M NOT IN! But after ranting, I decided to stop being manipulated by other’s money making definitions of beauty.

So I return to nature where each flower, plant and so-called weed shows up, whether someone likes it or not. Each divinely created life is authentic to its own unique self regardless of someone’s judgement. The sun shines on every flower, plant, and weed alike.

So too, we are meant to show up and be authentic to our own nature. We are not meant to be controlled by externally determined rules for how we should be or look to please someone else. I seek to please myself, to love myself. And that is enough.

Filed Under: Love, Nature, We are creators Tagged With: ,

Lessons in Chemistry

February 29, 2024 by

Lessons in Chemistry is a story of white patriarchy and the constricting, demoralizing stereotypes of women in science and in life. But it is also the story of women’s strength, love, and the general complexity of people, men and women. The story keeps evolving and I stayed engaged for 390 pages. It’s a good read.

I can feel the weight of being on the receiving end of how others defined what was acceptable for me to express, to be and to do in my life. I can still feel the anger in my body at times. But it’s being replaced by my ongoing commitment to being me and to discovering who and what I am. I’m letting my experience of me evolve and change, looking inward rather than “out there.”

Books like these bring awareness to how things are and have been in the U.S. They help many see they are not alone. Hopefully, they also challenge men and women to look at how they’ve supported and/or have bought into these stereotypes . After all patriarchy couldn’t continue without support. Although this book focuses on gender bias, the same holds true for race, class and other controlling boxes we put folks in. But there is hope.

Here’s to our growing awareness and freedom!

Filed Under: We are creators Tagged With: , , , ,

Beyond Non-violence

February 12, 2024 by

Most people I know are against violence: physical attacks, murder, rape, emotional abuse, the “isms”…. Some are against war, the death penalty, cruelty to animals, destroying the earth….

But the absence of violence leaves a void. So this past month I’ve been sitting with the question, “What am I for (not against)?

I was hampered by my ”shoulds”. I should be an activist. I should be heading up projects. I should be “out there” making a difference.. But the longer I sat with the question, this is what came to me.

What I want to focus on and help create:
Efforts to connect people/kids to nature.
Efforts to connect people to themselves.
Self-expression and creativity in the arts and music.
The ability to see and relate to a person as who they are beyond stereotypes, preconceived notions and biases.

I need to accept who I am vs. who & how I think I should be. Mine to do on this planet will not solve all the injustices and serious problems and I’m learning it can’t and doesn’t have to. We are in this together. One more step on the journey.

So, what do you want to create? What are you for?

Filed Under: authenticity, Choice Tagged With: ,

Come Alive

January 27, 2024 by

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ― Howard Thurman
What makes you come alive? What does coming alive even mean?

I’ve been sitting with this question all month. Then this came to me last night.
I think it starts with realizing I _am_ alive. In this moment, experiencing through my body what’s around me, what I taste, smell, hear and feel in my body. Knowing that my body tells me when something is off.
There is a vibrancy to being in this moment. And, I believe it’s from this being place that I find what I am drawn to, my passion. And perhaps, following my passion is my purpose in life. Doing what I want for myself, for others, and for the collective whole.

It’s ok for me to be me, to feel and live big (i.e. don’t be concerned with what others think),
to trust my guidance and follow my heart. And, once you “come alive,” the challenge is to stay there. The journey continues.

Filed Under: Life, Love, We are creators

Letting go of what doesn’t serve you.

December 29, 2023 by

What am I letting go of?

Not being true to myself.
Fear of being vulnerable,
of being hurt.

It’s easy to say this. But I’ve learned over the past year it’s hard to do. For starters, I have to really listen to who I am vs. what I’ve been conditioned to believe or what I perceive to be the expectations of others. But progress has been made, and it is time.

So this I am letting go of, and I’m opening to the new and what’s possible for me. And so it is!

Filed Under: authenticity, Heart's wisdom, Intention, We are creators Tagged With: ,

Not Feeling “Christmassy”

December 16, 2023 by

If you find yourself in this familiar time of year, but are seeing and experiencing it with what feel like unfamiliar eyes, may your vision be sharpened to take in what you missed during all those years you saw what you expected to see and felt what you expected to feel. May you experience the unfamiliar as an unfolding and not as an undoing. And may you not take any of it, or yourself, even a tiny bit more seriously than absolutely necessary.
Nadia Bolz-Weber Dec. 16, 2023

I’m not feeling “Christmassy”. I don’t know why. I find myself trying to come up with a story, even though I know stories are just that. I’ve driven around looking at Christmas lights because that always brings me up…only it doesn’t.

My mind is in overdrive.

How do I let go of everything trying to get my attention? Wars, disasters, pleas for money, friends who are sick, endings… Everything is changing. Is it really unfolding?

I don’t know. So maybe I’ll just exhale and believe what my T-Shirt says:

Filed Under: Life, Perception, We are creators Tagged With: ,

Friends

November 22, 2023 by

friend /frĕnd/. noun
-A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
-A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
-A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
The American Heritage® Dictionary, 5th Edition 

What is a friend? Who is a friend?

Someone I have known but didn’t really hang out with suddenly started having medical issues. She called me and I’ve been helping her with doctor appointments and errands.
She considers me a friend. I’ve been reluctant to call her one.

The people I’ve learned to call friends are the ones I can be totally “me” with. It’s mutual. We have similar interests. I want to explain when someone asks if I’m her friend that I’ve only started being with her since she started needing my help.

Sometimes I think by not considering her a friend, I’m setting some kind of boundary so I won’t feel bad about not responding to all her requests. But you can have a friend and still set boundaries can’t you?

Sunday, Rev. Dee at CSLGC (https://fb.watch/osTmPJ7FZj/) talked about seeing the sacred in everything and everyone. Then, a friend told me that Quakers call all other Quakers “friends” even if they’ve never met them. And, I realized, she is a friend.

I believe there is only One Life. We are interdependent and all connected in that One Life. So, if I’m to embody what I believe, if I want to see the sacred in everyone, then of course they are “a friend.“ And I know when I’m with a friend, there is a softness in my heart and I stop thinking of myself as separate. It is all sacred.

So, thank you my friends for reading this. Happy Thanksgiving!

Filed Under: Heart's wisdom, Life, Love, We are creators
« Previous Page
Next Page »