Happy NEW Year

We did the family thing for Christmas--Covid testing included. Smaller but sweeter than usual, we lapped up some much thirsted after together-time...laughing, learning, living, loving.  Now everyone is back in their own bed. Almost. As I sip it here in the limbo-ic dawn, my pomegranate-laced green tea tastes pungently bittersweet. Or is it my mood.

I’m vacillating...reminiscing about the days (and year) past while anticipating the challenges of what lies ahead. There is, however, one thing about this limbo-ic feeling that I actually love about these days of transition from the old year to the new, from what was and is to what can and will be. It’s this: Even for those who have to return to work, these days feel different...something sane, almost sacred, about them. Like other limbo-ic days, these represent something welcoming. Something inviting. Something hopeful.

Transitions come in all shapes and sizes. Some are just built into life. Never mind unavoidable, they are absolutely necessary. Some, like our body’s physical development, can be predicted. Others, like this pandemic, can’t. Incidentally, I find it ironic that we live in a state of not one but multiple transitions at any single moment--many of them very positive. Yet, at the same time, we are wanting the opposite--for things to just stay the same--even sometimes or somewhat negative things. (We can make that kind of stasis happen, too. It’s called procrastination.)

This moment (as all moments) isn’t just transitory. It’s also transitional. Better yet, it can be transformational--if we choose to consciously make it so. 

Together, let’s use these in-between days to forge a truly happy NEW year. 

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE

We each have one life to live. It's happening right now.

As always, there is a whole lot of wishing going on during these holidays--and I’m not talking about children! But let’s not project the season’s “Santa Clausal” thinking into our adulthood. If you’re reading this, chances are good you’re all growed up now. So let’s not waste a single moment wishing for anything--including someone else’s life--or any part of it. 

You and I alone have the incredible gift of the life we have--the life we’ve created--with all its unique, if universal, pleasures and pains, past and potential. So, instead of giving into our wishful thinking, let’s surround all such thoughts with conscious thankfulness and genuine appreciation for what is, not what isn’t.

It’ll make these days as wonderful as they are wonder-filled. 

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

THE ONE THING

THE ONE THING

We’ve been together for a number of months now...since shortly after Covid-19 began its rampage across the world. Throughout this time I’ve been sharing my thoughts here with a singular purpose: to encourage us to think about how we think. Why? Because nothing is more important. Nothing! (Case in point: If you are a religious person, it’s the basis of your religion. If you’re not, your thinking is the basis of that, too.) There are no exceptions on this one, no matter what we place on the continuum!

We’re doing it 24/7/365 from birth till death. How we do it is the one (and sometimes only) thing you and I have control over in the course of our day--or at least, it can feel this way. It’s the one thing that influences our emotions and our actions--and their consequences--more than anything else. It’s the one thing that you and I MUST take responsibility for before anything else, in order to live a life that is joyful, compassionate, generative and meaning-filled as opposed to one empowered by fear, greed, lust and ego. 

Oddly, it’s the one thing that we--in the blink of an eye--surrender unconditionally to the thinking, influences, forms and forces in and around us. (If we want proof of all this we need only to consider the devastating political climate we Americans are living in and how we got here--for which no one person’s thinking or actions is entirely responsible.) At the same time, our current world’s/humanity’s well being--or lack thereof--reveals that it’s more important than ever that we think about how we think. Finally, it begs us to remember that our thinking, which got us here in the first place, is the one thing--the only thing--that will get us out of here and onto high ground. 

While we're busy buying or making Christmas gifts for our loved ones these days, let’s give them the one gift that can and will genuinely improve their lives--as well as the life of this exquisitely unique, diverse and beautiful world. While we’re at it, let’s give it to our gnarly neighbors, our politically-possessed politicians, and those most different from us. And let’s not wait for Christmas. Let’s do it today. Beginning right now. It’s not expensive. It’s absolutely free. But its essence is essential, its availability is infinite and its value is priceless. 

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK

A LEAVENING OF LIGHT

Deep in an underground iron ore mine, 

we tourists stood quiet. Stood close.

Turning our helmet lamps off, we waited, 

pitched in a black so bleak

that our inky eyes, though wide, 

saw nothing.

The minutes seemed a forever,

until she, our guide, lit the match.

Just one little match!

It shattered the cavernous blackness,

tiny shards piercing the darkest of the deep.

Gasping in awe at its bitsy brilliance,

we sighed in collective relief, 

our surroundings secure, 

our bearings regained.

Who knew! 

Something so small yet so big,

so petite yet so powerful,

so diminutive yet so demanding,

as one little match.

Though we may wish 

the whole of our darkness dispelled,

it takes but a leavening of light

to see the path before us,

and to find a way through.

FAR SIDE

I’ve always loved the story of Moses' encounter with God in the burning bush (Exodus 3). During a recent reading I clued in on something I’d not noticed before: Moses had this experience on “the far side of the wilderness.” Where, exactly, is that?! And more importantly, why does it matter?

Both these questions matter because of what happened there--Moses encountered the holy in his life.

What if, metaphorically-speaking, ANY AND EVERY place or moment is actually a “far side of the wilderness” place and moment for us? Moses actually traveled to this story’s location. But, haven’t we been traveling all our lives to get to where we are? Doesn’t it feel like we’re in a wilderness? Many think one has to go to a physical location to best experience God...a church, synagogue or mosque...or at least some place special to us. But what if we don’t. What if today you and I are standing in exactly the same “place” as Moses was standing--on the far side of the wilderness?

Metaphorical or not, this story is archetypal of the human experience of the "holy" in our lives. It begs us to stop right where we are, to look around till we perceive the burning bushes that are all around us--and then look again--to see and hear the “holy” in them.  It implores us to “take off our shoes,” and dig our feet deep into the soil of our souls...to recognize that this very place is holy--and that this makes our entire lives holy--because God is present in and through them.

A few more what if’s: What if our creativity is our far side? What if whatever challenges we’re rising to, issues we’re dealing with or relationships we’re struggling with are our far side? What if wherever we encounter mystery, whatever causes us to ask, “Why?” or more, “Why is this happening to me?” is our far side?

And the biggest what-if of all: What if you and I are burning bushes? What if we’re the means through which God--the holy--is choosing to reveal itself in the wilderness of the world today?...inspiring it into life-giving mission and meaning?

Hello? 

TODAY.

LET’S GIFT THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

2020...BEST YEAR EVER?

For many, these are the worst of times,

but some say, “For me, they’re the best!” 

On what does it depend?

Seems to me,

the best of times we can ever have

will always be,

can only be,

these times

--whichever year it is--

because this year 

is the only one 

that is made of

this quarter, 

this month,

this week,

this day,

this hour,

this minute,

this second,

this moment.

And this moment

is the only moment

we ever have.

 

JOY MAKES EVERYTHING EASY

You name it. Joy makes it easy. 

We can call this joy an attitude or emotion, our disposition, an outlook or perspective. Doesn’t matter. Whatever we call it, joy is incredibly powerful! Utilizing its power can make whatever we consider “difficult” in our lives easy. And not just that. Reaching for our wildest dreams and highest aspirations becomes immeasurably easier and more inspiring. It’s amazing!  Such a tiny shift can shape this moment, this day--to say nothing of our lives--so profoundly.

If joy makes everything equally easy then “degree of difficulty” is off the table as a criterion in our decision making. This is as freeing as it is stress-reducing. Approaching our day--and every part of it--with this “joy” simplifies life instantly by focusing our mind, sending our immediate thoughts in much healthier, happier, and creative directions. We and the world both benefit.  

We can easily prove joy’s efficacy. Notice how much effort (time, energy, resources) we happily expend on the play/pleasure factor in our lives. And we hardly bat an eye! Now consider expending the same time, energy, resources, on whatever we consider to be “work.” (If you have trouble identifying these just ask someone who knows--and loves--you what things you usually complain about.) Big difference? BIG difference! Because we naturally approach our play/pleasure factor with positive thoughts and feelings. In short, joy.

 What’s the key to having this joy-makes-everything-easy perspective on life? Consciousness...choosing to be intentionally aware of our outlook at any given moment--putting our primary focus not on the task to be accomplished but on the spirit with which we approach it. 

Is this all just fluffy thinking? You’ll only think so if you don’t actually try it and experience its deep truth. You may think you can’t do this. Try it. If it’s a new idea you may think, “Well, maybe it’ll work some of the time, but nothing works all the time.” Please, try it. Even if it doesn’t always work for you, is 50% worth it? 25%? 10%?  

Make a short don’t-want-to-do list. Then ask yourself, “What if these things are actually easy but I’m just thinking they’re hard?” Then take one item and practice this joy approach on it. 

It’s so fun when we surprise ourselves. 

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

A MOST UNUSUAL THANKSGIVING

For this most unusual opportunity 

to take a rarified glimpse at what and how much

I have to be thankful for,

I give thanks.

For this most unusual moment in my history 

to stop and take stock of all I’ve received in the past, 

and all I’m being given now through the goodness of others,

I give thanks.

For this most unusual holy day in which to thank

all those nearest and dearest to me, 

who so often--without my offer of appreciation

or even notice of their gift--make my life good,

I give thanks.

For this most unusual chance to see and give thanks for things 

that under “usual” circumstances I take for granted,

I give thanks.

For this most unusual time of global struggle

that reveals to me how much we are all alike 

and how much we need each other's love and compassion,

I give thanks.

For this most unusual gift of grace or good fortune,

of not having lost a loved one to the pandemic’s horror

even as I mourn for and with those who have,

I give thanks.

For this most unusual Native American Heritage Day

which reminds me of the sanctity of sea, sky and earth,

and all that is in them,

I give thanks.

For this most unusual occasion to consider

all those around me whom I’ll never even meet, 

who are blessing my life in this moment because, 

on this very day and so many others,

they are choosing to give more than they will receive,

I give thanks.

For this most unusual lesson that is teaching me

to be live thankfully in any and all circumstances,

I give thanks.

I thank you, God, for this most unusual Thanksgiving.

WORTHY

WORTHY

It’s the hardest thing in the world to do! To love ourselves. 

So many reasons not to, right?

So many faults and fissures,

so many shortcomings, so much shame. 

We’ve solicited so many what-were-you-thinkings?

We’ve made so many bad decisions,

We’ve caused so many crash and burns.

We’ve even scorched the earth of our own loved ones.

How ‘bout our addictions that just won’t be addled?

And then there’s our guilt. 

And what would others think if we did?

If we loved ourselves so much that it showed.

They’d say, “You’re just ego with skin on it.” 

“You’re full of yourself! Don’t be so arrogant!”

And, of course, there is mother’s,

“Don’t think too highly of yourself.”

No, it’s so much safer to just stay the way we are, 

the way we’ve always been, will always be,

rather than risk raising our own ratings. 

But wait.

It’s the easiest thing in the world to do! To love ourselves.

No matter where we are, what we’re doing,

or who we’re with, we can love who we are.”

The choice is ours to make. No one else’s.

We can decide, “Yes, I am worthy of love.”

And more, “I’m worthy of loving--even me!”

And who knows our “me” better than we? 

Who knows better what can become of us

once we choose to deeply, audaciously love? Ourselves!

Oddly, it seems we have to give the OK. The permission.

I know. It’s all a bit bizarre, but here’s the good news of it:

We can choose to shut off the fire hose of self-criticism.

We can say, “Thus far and no further!” 

to our obstreperous mental scripts.

We don’t need anyone else’s sayso

to say, “I love you!” to ourselves.

Besides, if it’s the real thing, 

then when I choose to love me,

I’m also choosing to love you. 

In one fell swoop I free both of us.

Our hearts will bubble with passion and compassion, 

every cell in our bodies, our brains-our beings--will celebrate,

and our spirits will reclaim our skies.

“....and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Jesus/Matthew 22:39)

WIRED

We are wired to be wary--which is why we worry. 

This we know. Either external impetus or internal thoughts that trigger our innate survival instincts in the face of real or perceived danger fire off considerably more synaptic reactions in the brain than do non-worrisome thoughts. (One might speculate, then, that more than a few of our would-be ancestors were thinking pleasant thoughts when they should have been more wary about the proverbial sabre-toothed tiger sneaking up behind them.)  What does this ancient ability translate into in real time? Worry, usually...but without the tiger.

No wonder it feels impossible not to worry. It is! But that’s a good thing, right? Well, sort of. While it may at times keep us alive, today we seldom need the same degree of our limbic brain’s “0-60 in a nanosecond” capacity for sensing danger. Nor do we need what subsequent evolution (i.e. consciousness) now permits: the capacity to worry about the fact that we worry!

What can we do to stop worrying so much? We can continue to use our brain’s magnificent capacity to alert us to potential danger but then, instead of letting this awareness transmute into worry, we can let it be a catalyst which triggers a different, more calming and life-affirming response.  

First, we can thank our primordial brain’s quick warriness for alerting us to something we value (or we wouldn’t be worrying about it). Second, at the moment we begin to worry--and before that worry takes on a life of its own--we can determine which of our values is being is threatened. Third, we can then choose to turn that worrisome thought or feeling into a positive, value-affirming vision. Finally, we can undergird that vision with feelings of hope, anticipation and resolve. Back in the day we couldn't do that. Now we can. 

Our brains aren’t going to evolve beyond their proclivity for worry anytime soon. But we can use our antiquated hardware and combine it with our latest and greatest new software called “consciousness”--which includes the capacity to think about how we think--to respond in ways that benefit who and where we are in real time.  

We are wired to be wary, not to worry. These two are not the same thing. When we remember this everybody benefits. Life becomes a whole lot easier to live with. And so do we.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

REFLECTING

The water need share only its glassiest sheen,

Something, when stilled, it can’t help but do.

The wind need only whisper to the waters below,

to spirit Adam’s ale into a million silent shards.

The sun need but beam through the scintillant blue,

its gay presence undaunted by cloud.

Such as it is, they engage the whole day.

And what is the triumph of this triumvirate play?

Hour upon hour setting water's surface aflare,

each brilliance borne on its own liquid yacht,

careening and cavorting till day becomes dusk,

the sun sashaying away in golden aray,

the wind now winded, calling it a day,

and waters glaze over,

leaden lids stilling once more.

If we could but slow life’s shutter speed

from a million down to one, what would an audit unveil?

Like water, wind and sun, we need do very little;

just sit with our souls, letting our words and their ways

shimmer unfettered before our inner scope

till we see what had earlier passed as mere flash.

Such is the role of reflecting upon our day, our days;

freeing each shapeshifting shard of its wisdom,

re-bestowing upon us luxury lost in an earlier moment;

now returned in the gleaning of meaning.

DEEP KNOWING

Create in me a cleansed heart. 

O God, You know how I get.

And renew a right spirit,

your Spirit of Wellbeing, within me.

I live, knowing you’ll never cast me 

away from your life-loving essence.

I love, knowing you’d never think of taking

your holy and healing spirit from me.

I rest, knowing you recreate in me joy, 

the joy borne of your most intimate presence.

I rise up, knowing that you embolden me 

with your free and freeing spirit.

(Based on Psalm 51:10-12)

FALLING IN LOVE

How do you define the word, “God?” We all, it seems, have especially meaningful moments--moments when we feel a closeness to or consciousness of what many call “God,”...feelings of oneness with the universe when we sense a connection with some presence or power beyond ourselves. 

Finding the best words to articulate clearly and adequately what’s happening in these deeply personal yet universal experiences--and where they are coming from--is profoundly challenging.   

This difficulty is the reason why, for some time now, I’ve moved away from calling “God” God. No disrespect intended here--to “God” or anyone who cherishes the term. Actually, my intention is precisely the opposite: To broaden and deepen my understanding, respect and reverence for our individual experiences of the holy, the mystical, spiritual, the non-physical, and the non-sensory experiences we all have--while recognizing that no single term (or belief system) can or will suffice. 

On the one hand, I feel the term “God” is just too restrictive. It vastly limits our definition of these empowering experiences. (Remember J.B. Phillip’s Your God Is Too Small?) Some “Christians” even use their definition of “God” as a litmus test for membership into their particular tribe. Yet in listening to people describe their holy moments, whether they consider themselves “believers” or not (again, I use quotes because “believer” is another word that is not only restrictive, but sometimes used intentionally so. Aargh!), I find that people whom “believers” label as a “non-believers” have identical experiences to their own but use completely different (and frankly, often more freeing) language to describe them. 

On the other hand, we sometimes use the term “God” so loosely that it loses all its distinctive flavor--like adding too much liquid to the gravy. We assume that everyone knows who or what we’re talking about! But, in this day of global networking and cross cultural bridge-building that simply won’t fly. Further, this is a good time to remember theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking’s, “It’s important to keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out.”

My own experience of “God” is best characterized by the emotion of joy--which is why I often use this word in place of “God” when in prayer or meditation. This joy is deeply holy and highly inspiring, yet I, too, have difficulty articulating it...and I’m a pastor!  I’m supposed to know these things! The best analogy or metaphor I can think of is to say it’s like living in a constant state of falling in love--being in a relationship that is so intimate, dynamic and all-transforming that it shapes everything else in my life.

What about you? What is your working definition of the word “God?” What is your experience of this “God?” How are you letting your falling-in-love moments shape your day, your decisions, your thoughts, your feelings, and all your other relationships? In short, your everything?

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

LET THE HEALING BEGIN. HERE.

Let the healing begin. Here.

In my menacing mind, my theatrical thoughts,

in my heat-seeking heart, my all-encompassing attitudes, 

in my fickle feelings and my knee-jerk reactions, 

in my isolating opinions and my jaded judgments,

let the healing begin. Here.

No matter who I am or where I’ve been,

no matter what color my strips or what’s at stake,

no matter how I got here, or where I hope to go,

let the healing begin. Here.

It can’t begin over there,

no matter where “over there” is,

no matter who, besides me, is to blame.

Yes, “they” have their part in all this,

but I have no control over them.

No matter who I think is responsible,

I only have sovereignty over me.

Let the healing begin. Here.

If it doesn’t happen here, 

there’s no guarantee it’ll happen at all.

And even if it does, no proof it’ll last.

If I’m focusing on someone else’s healing

I’m wasting my time and their wellbeing

If I’m waiting for them to take the first step,

I’m fooling myself and failing them.

Let the healing begin. Here.

How, exactly, should I begin? Where?

I think I’ll begin with thankfulness,

I’m going to name all the things 

for which I’m thankful,

even the things in that person 

or those people over there,

the ones that are so different from me

that my ego is telling me 

there is something wrong with them.

The ego. Now there’s another good place to start.

Not theirs. Mine. 

Let the healing begin. Here.

I BANISH YOU

I banish you, all my bad thoughts, 

and the life-depleting feelings you call your friends. 

I banish all you affirmation-sucking painful memories,

all you ruinous ruminations and malevolent intentions. 

I banish all you condescending critiques of myself and others,

all you cynicisms toward life and skepticisms toward love. 

I banish you, all my bad thoughts, from my being.

Whenever you come, 

whether into my head or my heart,

you bring me sadness and despair. 

You stain my spirit and taint my triumphs.

You breed my loathing of self and hatred of others.

You demand my attention and distract my joy’s agenda.

You prostitute my heart’s proposals and destroy its delights. 

You squelch my serenity and spread my jubilations paper thin. 

You wet-blanket my bliss and douse my wilding fires.

I banish you, all my bad thoughts, from my being.

So you have no home here. 

You will find neither shelter within my walls, 

nor sustenance at my table. 

I grant you no access to my basement of baggage 

or my attic of indiscreet antics.

Each time I discover you've crept in, 

be it through cracks in my thinking 

or crevices in my thoughtless solitude. . . .

each time you’ve boiled up to my surface 

from some vile cauldron simmering at my soul’s edge. . . .

each time you seep in beneath the door of my wellbeing,

I banish you, all my bad thoughts, from my being. 

Yes, it’s within my power, my purview, to do this. 

You have no harbor here within the vast sea of my spirit.

You have no planting in the deep lush soil of my dreams. 

You have no privilege to what is precious to me. Within me.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

BIG GEORGE

Never met him, that is,

until the day I bought his truck.

“As is,” the clause said,

the one on the bill of sale.

It meant once I signed,

any problems with the truck

were now my problems. Not his.

Sure enough. Something came up. 

Something big. Very big.

Something neither of us saw coming.

I called him. We talked.

“Let’s split it,” I said.

“No. This is mine to fix.”

Somebody told him,

“It’s that guy's problem!”

“He signed the paper. A deal’s a deal.”

“Isn’t about the money, it's about trust."

He fixed it. Paid the bill. Even laughed.

Never once mentioned the “As is.”

"Big George." That’s what I call him now.

"Big George."

YOU, TREE, INSPIRE ME

By breathing so the world can breath,

you inspire me to live with such symbiotic generosity.

By spreading your branches so birds can sing in your spaces,

you inspire me to expand all of my being for others.

By creating crooks and crannies where little ones can nest,

you inspire me to be a homing place for the children of all.

By holding fast the ground between and beneath your feet,

you inspire me to send roots deep into the soil of community.

By seeding acorns and chestnuts, pinecones and samaras,

you inspire me to give of my lifeblood for future generations.

By bending to breezes and dancing through storms,

you inspire me to live in harmony in the midst of adversity.

By glorifying skies with greens and golds, oranges and reds,

you inspire me to delight in sharing my colors with the world.

By blessing with beauty the eyes of creatures great and small,

you inspire me to see and celebrate the bedazzling in all.

By giving shelter and sanctuary to eagle and chickadee alike,

you inspire me to live without prejudice, bias or ism.

By living with dignity be it summer, winter, spring or fall,

you inspire me to trust beyond this moment of my life.

By sharing your leaves with creatures of the soil beneath you,

you inspire me to provide for those I neither see nor know

By blooming where you are, be it mountaintop, plane or valley,

you inspire me to hallow my present station in life.

By offering shade to all that lie beneath your canopy,

you inspire me to rise up and embody compassion for all.

By gifting the world with your presence in life and in death,

you inspire me to do the same.

WHAT MAKES A TOOL A TOOL?

What makes a tool a tool? 

That depends upon how broadly we define “tool,”, right? I think of a tool as anything that is an extension of our bodies that we use to accomplish a desired purpose. A hammer, an Instant Pot, a guitar, a language, a paint brush, a dentist’s chair, a college degree, a laptop, a signature, a skyscraper, a bandwidth, or the Mars rover Sojourner. Tools...all of them. And that’s just a beginning.

Be they simple or sophisticated, tools extend our reach, expand our efficiency, increase our accuracy, broaden our capacities, and even ease the physical demands we place on our bodies. The creation and utilization of them is likely the key promoter of human progress throughout history--and new ones are being invented daily. Why? Because they meet our ever-expanding needs and make things possible that we simply could not accomplish without them. 

 Having said all this, consider your mind (your capacity to think) for a moment. Is it not the most significant tool in our toolbox? By far! Where would we be without it? (Well, let’s not go there.) Fact is, the mind is the tool of all tools. Not only is it the one tool that is absolutely necessary in order to operate (much less invent) all other tools. It’s always readily available, it's extremely user-friendly, and it’s surprisingly programmable. It’s the ideal tool! 

Except for one thing. 

Like all other tools, it needs regular care and maintenance--only more--because of its crucial role vis a vis all other tools and its marvelous potential for our health and wellbeing (think personally and globally). 

Ironically our mind is probably the one tool we least maintain and most neglect--often because it doesn’t occur to us that we can. And must. 

How do we do it? First, let’s acknowledge and appreciate its wonder! Second, let’s set aside time to consciously care for it and keep it sharp. And third, let’s remember that a rusty, dirty, neglected tool isn’t just more difficult or even impossible to use. It can actually be dangerous. 

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK. 

MY MIND

Like a fussing baby,

it wants to feel better but doesn't like to be changed.

Like a toddler on a sugar high,

it much prefers racing around to taking a nap.

Like a testy ten-year old,

it argues with me relentlessly for stay-up-late rights.

Like a freedom-blooded teenager,

its starting-gate position is, "Remember, I'm off leash."

Like an idealistic young adult,

it loves to proclaim, disclaim, exclaim, or just plain claim.

Like a perpetual 39-year old,

it doesn't accept its biological limitations or inevitabilities.

Like a middle-ager exploring a newfound passion,

it puzzles, “But why am I always so tired?”

Like an oft-distracted senior,

it is “in absentia” more often than it admits.

Like a worn and wizened elder,

it is deceptively full of wisdom.

OWN YOUR JOY

Never mind drugs. One of the most mood-altering (and life-enhancing) lessons life has taught me is a deceptively simple yet powerful one: I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY OWN JOY. Sounds intuitive, right? But if so, why are so many people so miserable so much of the time?

I think the biggest reason is because we too often base our joy on external circumstances--which, when traced back to their true source we discover, are often of our own making anyway. (While we seldom want to admit this, at the very least, let’s be honest with ourselves! If we don’t do this, we can’t and won’t be honest with others.)

Some people think that others are responsible for their joy (e.g. their boss, spouse, a family, the check-out clerk, all of the above!). Wrong. Some people think their circumstances (or at least the ones that are “beyond my control”) are responsible. Wrong. Some even think God is responsible! Really wrong! Even Jesus believed otherwise (“I’ve said these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be full.” See John 15) In other words, innate joy is already in us. Waiting. For what? Or more importantly, for whom?

Real life examples? Consider Anne Frank (Holocaust diarist), Viktor Frankl (Austrian neurologist/ Holocaust survivor), Nelson Mandela (South African anti-apartheid leader imprisoned for 27 years), and St. Teresa of Calcutta for starters. . . . or maybe your grandmother or uncle or a favorite teacher, etc. Ask yourself, “What has made these people different? Exemplary? Inspirational? In short, they owned their own joy and it impassioned and empowered them well beyond the life trajectories and influence of most of us.

How do you and I access this internally-present joy? A great place to start is to ask ourselves, “What changes right here, right now if I really believe I am completely responsible for my joy?” Ask it repeatedly throughout the day--no matter what. If we do just this one small thing our brains will quickly catch on. We’ve given them a new kind of assignment! They love it! At first, the changes will be internal--the source and genesis of all authentic transformation. Pay close attention to your thoughts. Watch what happens.

Of all the things we can take responsibility for, few if any, have as much positive impact on our lives--and the lives of all others--than owning our own joy. Once you catch this train, hold on!

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

WHEN SKIES ARE FALLING

Leafy debris, tree limbs, widow-makers. The sky is falling!

Stately red oaks, blood orange maples and whispy white pines

all contort and cavort in the wild of this windy day.

Fleecy clouds galavant across the Cerulean blue skies

like magnificent wild stallions stampeding on the open range.

Gusts wielding woe with invisible force are down-drafting,

slamming this lake's waters with blow after blow after blow.

Their thrusts are twisting, torquing its shimmery surface,

creating eerie shapeshifters that scuttle wickedly away.

But just inches beneath this silvery skin of liquid,

these immutable waters are as calm and peaceful

as the wheat fields I remember swaying softly in the

afternoon breeze of my grandfather’s Minnesota farm.

In tumultuous times like these, when my insides

feel like the skies above my heart are falling

and treacherous winds of every kind

consort to undo my tenuous sense of wellbeing,

my soul reminds me of my true nature:

I am the bold, bendable, and beautiful trees,

I am the deep, still and serene waters,

I am the gently swaying fields of gold.

This world may wreak havoc upon my spirit,

but in ways I can neither comprehend nor imagine,

I know that I am whole and that all will be well.

To this I cling. For this I sing. To you I bring.

Today.

IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING

In all the English language there’s probably not a single idiomatic saying, aphorism, or expression quite as crazy, useless and potentially confusing as “It goes without saying...” Almost invariably, as soon as someone says it, the next thing out of their mouth is whatever could have--and probably would have served us better if in fact, it had--gone without saying.

The problem is once you blurt out, “It goes without saying,” you put yourself in a double-bind. Either you have to say whatever it is that, just nano-seconds earlier, you had said didn’t need to be said. Or, you decide to take your own advice and shut up which, of course, leaves your listener completely befuddled and hanging mid-thought. Have you ever in your life heard someone say, “It goes without saying…” and then say nothing?

Why then, might someone like me actually use this expression? Maybe it's because I deem something significant to the conversation at hand is so obvious to me that you needn’t waste your breath saying it, while at the same time, it appears to me it may not be quite so obvious to you (as it should be) so I’m going to say it just in case you don’t get it. Rather condescending, don’t you think?

The language we use to communicate with each other reveals a great deal about ourselves. This silly saying is just one example. How often we say things that don’t need saying. Or worse, things that are better NOT said. Period.

TODAY.

GIVE THE WORLD & YOURSELF A GIFT.

TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW YOU THINK.

THE SADNESSES WE CARRY

There are sadnesses we carry within us,

each of us,

all of us.

Sadnesses that not even we may know,

or be in touch with,

or be aware of,

or want to acknowledge,

are here in us

at this very moment.

And they are shaping us,

tugging at our emotions,

twisting our thoughts.

They can be a source of strength

if we will let them.

They can and will teach us much

if we will let them.

What lies beneath each sadness?

What is holding it up?

What is keeping it alive?

What is giving it its security?

What is it waiting for us to release?

And why do I feel a deep sadness

as I see these beautiful autumn leaves

scattered on the ground before me?

I AM NOT

I am not just my thoughts.

I am not just my things.

I am not just my experiences.

I am not just my feelings.

I am not just my failures.

I am not just my successes.

I am not just my accomplishments.

I am not just my acquisitions.

I am not just my aspirations.

I am not just my net worth.

I am not just my physical girth.

I am not just my sadness and grief.

I am not just my bad decisions.

I am not just my addictions.

I am not just my shortcomings.

I am not just my setbacks.

I am not just my past.

I am not just my future.

I am not just my relationships.

I am not just my politics.

I am not just this pandemic.

I am not just my opinions.

I am not just my attitudes.

I am not just my prejudices.

I am not just my beliefs.

I am not just my biases.

I am not just my abilities.

I am not just my inabilities.

I am not just what others think of me.

I am not just what I think of me.

Sometimes (for me, daily...at least) we need to stop and press our personal “I AM NOT” reset button. I find this to be especially true in moments like these when we’re dealing with international disasters like Covid-19--as well as intentionally manipulated confusion, fear, doubt, anxiety, angst and egotistical ambitions of others--that blind us to the incredible and inherent beauty of who each of us is, to the magnificence of what it means to be fully human, and to the brave new world of possibilities lying right in front of us even in this very--and evolving--moment.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

LIFE'S PENCHANT FOR LIFE

Yes. All things animate die.

The multi-greens of early spring

are now drifting to the hard dry ground,

-the lucky ones going out in a blaze of color-

but all are listless and lifeless just the same.

Yet that’s not the end of their story.

Even now they re-turn to the earth,

and even that is not their end.

They will decompose until tiny dynamos of life,

then they’ll take another form, at least for now.

But most certainly. Most importantly. They’ll be back.

Life will return to life.

Fortunately, it doesn’t work the other way around.

Death has no penchant for death

or none of us would be here. We couldn’t be.

Yes. Death can be devastating,

but it doesn’t get to be our last word.

Despair and disappointment come. But then they go.

They never stay for good. They won’t because they can’t.

No matter how long it takes, life will be back.

Many sequoia-size questions in all of this.

None of us knows what happens to us after we die.

But apparently such long-sought wisdom isn’t necessary

since life unveils all we need to know--and then some.

There is something very reassuring though,

something very hopeful, something very enlivening

that comes with grasping that,

one way or another, we’ll be back.

Sure. We want details! Now! But we don’t need them

in order for life to beget life to beget life today.

And that’s what really matters, isn’t it?

It seems life penchant for life lies deepest within our nature

even when we’re feeling death and decay up on our surface.

We are happiest and healthiest and yes, even holiest,

when we recognize the cosmic consequences of this gift.

Even now my sleepy heart awakens to its profound joy,

a joy that resides in and resumes each of us

Even now my spirit begins anew its ascent

into the blue true illimitable skies of this new day.

Yes, yesterday may be dead and gone.

But the one who said, “Behold, I make all things new,”

is doing it again.

BEAUTY FOR BEAUTY'S SAKE

Waves from somewhere beyond the glistening horizon,

now in their final moment of glory, 

morph into huge translucent turquoise curls

and pummel ancient rusty Acadian ledges,

their backs splitting shards of the late afternoon sun

an instant before they bury their proud prows 

into the Venus-fly-trap boulders that so welcome their arrival.

If these thunderous waterworks time their antics just right, 

gargantuan towers of froth burst forth, 

splaying the moist salty breezes

before slapping loudly on the rocks beneath 

and scurrying back into the sea to do it again.

 

Overhead a seagull screeches hungry incantations while, 

with the slightest tacking maneuver of its silvery body, 

it artfully flips to the wind. And flips again. 

Within a few fathoms of the craggy granite bulwarks,

a harp seal’s silken head flashes in the roiling waters 

and thick-beaked eider ducks bob for breakfast.

Choosing not to work so hard, kelley green carpets of algae, 

happily suction themselves to the rocky facades

and wait for whatever liquid feast washes over them.

The scene is one of incredible beauty, 

beauty to behold--beauty to be held. Savored. Saved.

But if I, if no one, witnesses such splendors,

then what is this beauty’s purpose?

Why do these skies sail so blue?

For whom does this majestic spray fling itself so gustily?

To what end do these marine thespians perform 

as if for Cirque du Soleil?

This is the rarest of beauty;

neither for entertainment nor consumption,

not for the ego’s gratification nor heart’s inspiration

not to be captured nor even coveted,

but simply to be beauty for beauty’s sake.

Could it possibly be so simple as this:

That we humans, like the seas and seagulls, 

living rocks and waving waters,

are here simply to create beauty for beauty’s sake?

SAMPLER PLATTER

We want it all. All the time. And, we want it right here. Right now.

But what if all we get is a taste--a taste of this, a taste of that--because the taste IS the all? To “taste” something is to experience the “all” of it right here right now--just for this moment--which is all we have, right?

What if there really is nothing to miss out on out there? What if FOMO is just a figment of our own misguided imaginations and emotions? In this particular moment, all we can experience is whatever is part of this particular moment--and even here only the part that we happen to clue in on--like a photographer who can only capture one shot among infinite possibilities. What if living a FOMO existence is like sleeping with the enemy where FOMO itself causes us to miss out on what really does matter--what’s right here right now--the unique profile of beauty, joy and generosity that’s inside each of us.

Maybe the reason we’re tempted to go for the sampler platter in the restaurant isn’t just because we can’t make up our mind. Maybe it’s not because of our FOMO. Maybe it’s because, at a deeper level, that’s what life (and this day) is...a sampler platter.

TODAY.

LET'S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET'S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

BODY TALK

Just the two of us,

and a soft, sanctifying evening

after another day of sprinting.

Sitting still for the first time since breakfast,

we enjoy a simple quiet dinner here at home.

A playlist of old favorites

croons softly in the background.

We toast. We taste. We talk.

Two lovers who haven’t lost it.

I reach my hand across the table.

Her soft musical fingers sense my invitation

and sashay over to mine.

They meet somewhere in the middle,

between the condiments and the candles.

Then. There. I feel it. Two squeezes.

Soft yet strong. Subtle yet sensual.

Unexpected and unmistakably wonderful.

Still the thrill.

We’d agreed so many years ago,

so many squeezes ago:

Two in rapid succession

always means the same thing: “I love you.”

For some reason they feel so good tonight,

especially coming as a mini-surprise like this.

To her beat, I send two back. . . .“I love you, too.”

Sometimes they have an added meaning

like. . . . ”I’m sorry,” or “I forgive you,”

like “This is so much fun!” or “We’ll get through this,”

or like tonight, just. . . . “Life’s been good with you.”

Sometimes it seems as if our bodies

understand each other even when our minds don’t.

Sometimes they want to be together

even when our minds are miles apart.

Sometimes, I think,

because our minds are miles apart.

Their timing is flawless and impeccable,

knowing just when and where and how to touch.

They neither seek nor wait for permission,

just speaking sweet nothings to each other

whenever they feel like it.

One day, a day that will surely come,

there will be a last time, a last two squeezes.

One of us will send them to the other.

But they won’t come back.

We’ll send them again. And again. And again.

That one of us will cry out,

“No! This can’t be happening! Not yet!”

But nothing. Nothing will come back.

In that moment, then, the squeezes sent

will be a final bittersweet “Farewell for now.”

A sacred, if silent, body-to-body benediction.

A blessing of all things physical between us.

One last “Thank you,” for all the joy

our bodies have brought to each other.

But not tonight.

Tonight we’ll toast, taste, talk...and touch.

Then we’ll clean up the kitchen together

just like a thousand and one other nights.

Later, we'll crawl into bed,

and melt into each other's tired but trustworthy mold.

Two lovers who haven’t lost it.

So thankful. Oh, so thankful.

for so many years,

So many squeezes.

So many “I love you’s.”

BEYOND

Everywhere I turn I see it: Blessing. We call it by other names like “lucky” or “fortunate,” but where is this blessing coming from? What or who is its source? People sometimes say, “It’s beyond me!” Certainly the phrase fits here! Wherever this universal experience of blessing is coming from, it's beyond us. Whether it’s so far beyond us we can’t comprehend it or it’s just far enough to be indescribable, either way it’s beyond what we know, beyond what we understand, beyond what we can articulate.

But we try anyway.

Some call this beyond “God,” some their guardian angel, some the divine, some Allah, some a higher power, the Universe--or a million other names (the Bible alone has over 1000 names or references for this “beyond” experience that Christians call “God.”)--none of which matters until and unless we assign attributes and functions to the name or names we choose.

They are all just names, in other words, they are just like the label on the jar of jam--and not the jam itself. Whatever names we choose, we do so for our use and benefit, not for that of whatever this “beyond” is. It has no such need. With the way it gives of itself, the way it blesses everyone and everything--infinitely and therefore equally so--it obviously has no egoic need to be “separate and superior” as Richard Rohr says.

Are we (‘we’ being every living thing on earth) not fashioned in the same way, having infinite opportunity--and therefore infinite capacity--to bless life in every direction around us in just this one day?

And for that matter, are we the labels we use on each other? Or, are we each the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual embodiment of indescribable blessing from beyond?

TODAY.

LET’S DO THE WORLD & OURSELVES A FAVOR.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

A BOY OF LETTERS

I love it. To write. Always have. Always will.

Not just the thinking of thoughts

that call words and worlds into being,

but also the penning of each letter one by one;

the forming “g’s,” the crossing “t’s.”

I read Rilke and say, “That’s me!”

Silly, you say? Perhaps. I can’t know.

It’s all much too close to my heart’s heart.

Too much a part of the who that I am.

As a young boy, my favorite back-to-school activity?

Buying and filling my new plastic pencil case!

But always I did it with mixed feelings---

excited for the fun prophesied by each purchase,

yet shy to admit this joy not meant for a boy.

Then, a few years later, a typing class. Love, on a lark!

Still, I was ashamed to admit my glee.

Now. So many years have played out and passed on.

Still, I remember the sweet spirit of that boy, that young man.

Still, I’m stirred by his ever-present effervescent smile.

Still, his early love of writing calls to me from everywhere.

Still, this exuberant joy in thinking thoughts, tapping keys.

Still, this love that claims to know me so well

invites me into an intimacy with myself, my world, my ways,

the likes of which we preserve for the precious. The few.

And still, I wrestle with giving myself permission

Especially to write what I feel.

To reveal the who that I am.

Maybe to me as much as to you.

Such is the art and act

of my coming into being again today.

Like e.e. cummings wrote,

the hardest part of becoming one’s self

is a world bent on making us into someone else.

Can we do otherwise and still be true to our loves?

This beckoning from beyond

may not be a game that we can win,

but neither is it one we dare forfeit.

To it we must wholly and whole-heartedly give ourselves.

“To be or not to be,” isn’t just the question.

It’s the quest.

SPEAK FREELY

When was the last time you sat down and truly listened to what’s “on” your mind?

If yours is like mine it’s talking to you nonstop--often, about you--telling you what it thinks of you. (And it’s not all good.) But just because it’s talking doesn’t mean we’re listening, right? Further, sometimes we act on what our minds tell us without ever really “thinking” about it--without critiquing or evaluating what we’re hearing. (Hence the saying, “What were you thinking?!”)

Of course, our minds are doing exactly what we’ve instructed them to do: give us real time on-the-ground intel on anything and everything we deem relevant. One of the tasks of consciousness then, is for us to evaluate and act on that “intelligence.”

It’s easy to miss (or dismiss) the opportunity to “stop and think.” But, unless we make a conscious effort to use our brains to help us think about how well they're doing at what they’re doing, we just think the way we’ve always thought--even though life needs us to move on--to continue to evolve and expand along with the rest of the universe around us.

I suggest we give our brains a chance to speak freely. To do this I give myself as little as 15-30 minutes (longer if possible) to sit down and write whatever it tells me. Word for word. No filters. No editing. No spell check. (Frankly, I just try to keep up with it!) It may need to rant for a while but I love seeing where it eventually takes me. Among its many benefits, I find I actually make up the time it takes to do this by better evaluating, prioritizing and executing my day’s activities.

Why is this easy exercise so valuable?

We are accustomed to “fast think.” It’s what life requires of us all day long. But this exercise falls into the category of “slow think” which is equally valuable--and essential. It’s why I don’t consider this exercise a brain dump but rather as one of uncovering vein upon vein of gold.

TODAY.

LET’S DO THE WORLD & OURSELVES A FAVOR.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

MOLTEN

I’m feeling molten this morning,

like molten energy.

At my center, my core, my source,

I'm hot. Ready to go, ready to flow,

forward and into, not out and away,

from this day and its doings.

Yet up on my surface,

at the level of schedules and schemes,

decisions and distractions,

I feel myself slowly cooling--energy leaks!

Cooling by doubts and insecurities,

inadequacies and angst.

Worst of all, by the possibility

of being fast frozen by my fears.

Needling little ones. Gnarly big ones.

All of them, at the surface of my earth,

causing cooling and encrustation,

influidity and immovability,

of my passion and compassion,

of my peace and my power--

draining wealth from the well of my wellbeing.

Oh, the dangers of doing the day lukewarm!

Ah, but now I remember

at my core resounds my essence.

And what is my core mentoring me

about staying hot while in the cool?

“Approach everything as does a child at play,

engage in each action with joy and thanksgiving,

see all as invitation to cultivate your creativity,

say to life, “I’m all in!” against all odds and oddities,

take that one risk that’s only a risk for you,

remember that at some level, it’s all easy,

and at another, it’s all good.”

FEELING OUR WAY

It’s appealing to feel our way through life...to just “go for the feeling,” that is, spend our time, energy and resources attempting to create the external circumstances that will generate the internal feelings we desire. Frankly, most of us do just that--just about all the time! In fact, we’ve gotten so adept at it that we’re no longer even aware we’re doing it. It’s been our modus operandi for so long that now it’s become our default (unconscious) mode.

Heeding our feelings is important. Extremely so! It may actually keep us alive. (Think saber-toothed tiger.) But at any given moment, what’s informing our feelings? Our thoughts.

Try it. Think a scary thought. You’ll FEEL fear. Think a pleasant thought. You’ll FEEL happy. Get good news? FEEL good! Bad news? FEEL bad. Surprisingly, it just takes a nymph’s worth of news to do this. Also surprising, our feelings can shift 180 degrees with the ease of a summer breeze. Not surprisingly, we do this to ourselves. We’re at the controls.

There’s more. Some say feelings are fickle. Not so. They are as loyal as the day is long--to the thought that conceived them. Some say feelings are frail. Not so. Thought-inspired, they can be incredibly strong. (Ever fallen in love?!) But when we let our feelings lead, we’re basically at their beck and call. This is the emotional equivalent of playing Russian Roulette. Yikes.

But there’s another way.

We can LEAD OUR FEELINGS. That is, we can consciously choose what we want to feel--then build our day and our life around that feeling. Joy. Happiness. Courage. Contentment. Peacefulness. Empathy. Compassion. We can choose (consciously focus on) the feeling we desire and then build our day--and our life--around that feeling.

You already know all this. I’m just raising it up in your consciousness in case you’ve forgotten...because it’s hard to remember you came to drain the swamp when you’re up to your you know what in alligators.

Once again, please...please...please don’t take my word for it. Actually try it. Practice it. Retrain your brain. Start now--no matter which swamp you’re in or anticipating.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD AND OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

ENGAGED

Opportunities.

They aren’t just easily missed, they’re easily overlooked.

In the moment they may seem so small...“Eh. No big deal!’

Later, they boomerang back, revealing what they really are.

Or were.

Missed opportunities to say, “Yes, I’m in. Let’s go for it!”

Missed opportunities to say, “No, I don’t believe that’s right.”

Missed opportunities to say, “Thank you. You’re very kind.”

Missed opportunities to say, “You were right. I apologize.”

Missed opportunities to say, “I love you. You’re wonderful.”

Missed opportunities to say, “I take responsibility for this.”

Missed opportunities to say, “Wow! You’re so good at that!”

Missed opportunities to say, “Me, I choose happy regardless.”

Missed opportunities to say, “It’s okay. I’m okay. I forgive you.”

Missed opportunities to say, “Yes, I really do care.”

Missed opportunities to say, “I am so blessed!”

Missed opportunities to say, “I choose integrity over ego.”

Missed opportunities to say, “I know better. I will do better!”

Missed opportunities to say, “Hooray for you!”

Missed opportunities to say, “I’m going to make things right.”

Missed opportunities to say, “Say that again. I’ll listen better.”

Missed opportunities to say, “How can I help right now?”

All by themselves, opportunities often seem so small.

Add them together and sometimes two plus two equals five,

each one accomplishing the improbable. The impossible!

And with a smidgen of initiative they can have a huge impact.

They can make all the difference...the drop that turns the tide,

inch that goes the mile, pinch turning delicious into decadent.

The “Oh, it was nothing!” that changes someone’s everything.

We can just wait right here and opportunities will come to us,

or we can go looking for them which, it seems, they like best.

When we do, we always find them...and their many friends.

Fortunately for us, they aren’t very good

at playing hard to get or tag or hide and seek.

It seems, like a little child, their goal is actually

to be “gotten,” to be “tagged,” to be “discovered.”

They're always waiting in our wings to be engaged.

TURNING OVER OUR STONES

Each of our paths is unique. For some, the path through life is astonishingly uneventful and easy. For others, the path is endlessly steep and winding and marked by danger, sacrifice and setback. While most of us fall somewhere in between, of one thing we can all be sure; the path we take through life is unique to us and us alone.

Yes, there are similarities. We all go through certain physiological rites of passage. We all draw from a common pool of emotions, predictably laughing or crying at the same moments in a movie. We all go through a plethora of experiences that can be sorted into a relatively small number of universal categories.

But once we move beyond these generalities, each of our paths is far more individual, complex, and variable than our fingerprint, voice pattern, physical features or personality makeup.

What makes each of our paths so distinctive? The stones. More accurately, it’s the particular mosaic of stones that comprise our path. Physically speaking, a stone is a unique amalgamation of shape, size, color, texture, density, and composition. Figuratively, our stones represent the same amalgamation of what has shaped us and how we came to be who we are--and who we are becoming.

One of the most valuable ongoing tasks of life is to turn these stones over--to examine them closely and carefully--no matter what our age or stage. Why? Because, if we let them, they will teach us. They will counsel us, giving us insight into why we sometimes stumble over them, into our deeper selves, and into the beautiful and the beastly within each of us--and in each other.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE OURSELVES AND THE WORLD A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

STANDING INVITATION

Meet Hefner, our green-eyed Russian Blue foster cat.

He was always playing a game with me. I just didn’t know it.

Nor did I know exactly which game it was,

when it was my turn, what the rules were or how to win.

Like when I’d stop to pick up yet another of his toys

“Hefner!” I’d grouse as I reached down to pick up after him

Suddenly he’d race by, snatch it up,

drop it ten feet away and disappear. For a couple hours.

Or, like when we placed that pair of fluffy red lobster magnets on the fridge,

he’d come by when we weren’t looking,

grab ‘em and take them back to his lair.

How did he even reach them? Again.

Or, while I was lounging in the rocker, deep into a best seller, and suddenly

--from the nether land of fur balls and dust bunnies--

I’d feel a claw swipe at my heel. Hmm. Hefner.

I wonder, sometimes, if life isn’t playing the same game,

Keeping me guessing, keeping me gaming, keeping me going, 

reminding me that, right here and right now,

this moment has a whole lot more play in it than I realize.

It’s a kind of standing invitation.

WHAT IF IT'S NOT?

My goal in writing these posts and poems is to encourage us all to take a conscious look at how we think. While maintaining that same goal I pose a question which I hope you’ll ask yourself repeatedly throughout the day--regardless of who or what you are dealing with. (Sometimes I’ll actually take a pad and pencil or open a new file on my computer and force myself to list 5...10...or more different answers to the question.)

I have found this particular exercise extremely fruitful, especially when my emotions have slammed me into a knee-jerk reaction regarding something someone said or did to me. It helps me to unhook from a reactive and dangerous mode (good) . It helps me to understand the thinking of those around me (better). And it helps me to think in highly creative, outside-of-MY-box ways (best). Here’s the question:

WHAT IF IT’S NOT WHAT I THINK? (“IT” being whatever)

TODAY.

GIVE YOURSELF & THE WORLD A GIFT.

TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW YOU THINK.

THE SPIRIT'S ANOINTING

 Greetings to all! May you know that the anointings of the Spirit are with you always...

THE SPIRIT’S ANOINTINGS

This day is anointed with love.

This moment is anointed with joy.

This thought is anointed with peace.

This situation is anointed with patience.

This relationship is anointed with kindness.

This crisis is anointed with goodness.

This opportunity is anointed with faithfulness.

This service is anointed with generosity.

This mistake is anointed with self-control.

This turn of events is anointed with love.

This feeling is anointed with joy.

This failure is anointed with peace.

This celebration is anointed with patience.

This memory is anointed with kindness.

This experience is anointed with goodness.

This loss is anointed with faithfulness.

This grief is anointed with generosity.

This good news is anointed with self-control.

This bad news is anointed with love.

This illness is anointed with joy.

This sadness is anointed with peace.

This pain is anointed with patience.

This struggle is anointed with kindness.

This disappointment is anointed with goodness.

This chasm of despair is anointed with faithfulness.

This glimmer of hope is anointed with generosity.

This life is anointed with self-control.

(Based on Galatians 5:22-23)

TRAJECTORY

First, the world's shortest story on golf: “I hate this game. I hate the game. I hate this game.”...“Nice shot!”...”I love this game!”

What can elicit a “Nice shot!”? Pure physics. It happens when the precise angle of contact between the club and the ball at the moment of impact is just right, i.e. the sweet spot. The slightest shift in this angle at contact will significantly alter the ball’s trajectory and determine where it lands.

Today, the last of a 4-Monday series on the nine “senses” of the Spirit (Gal 5: 22-23), I focus on faithfulness, generosity and self-control. These last three serve as examples of the significance of trajectory in our lives--meaning simply--if we begin our approach to everything we think, say or do from an “angle” of faithfulness or generosity or self-control--doing so will positively and profoundly shape where this day lands for each of us. Or better, where we land at the end of this day.

TAKE FAITHFULNESS: When we ask, “To what or to whom am I being faithful with this response to the situation at hand?” then our trajectory is heading in the direction of being faithful in the Shakespearean way: “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any [sic] man.” (Or God, for that matter.)

TAKE GENEROSITY: Asking, “In general, how generous am I feeling right now?” gives us a sense of the state of our spiritual well-being. Inversely, when I’m feeling good about my life and life in general, that’s when I’m most generous. The two go hand in hand. Fortunately, the Spirit is very generous!

TAKE SELF-CONTROL: Let’s exchange “self-control” with “ego-control.”--a fair translation of Paul’s definition of “self,” which opens up a new understanding of this particular sense. By asking, “What role is my ego playing in this situation, decision or relationship?” we can free our selves from the unhelpful hold our egos may have on our thinking which, I’m pretty sure, is considerably more than we realize.

Just like with the five physical ones, we can learn to trust our spiritual senses. One way to keep them in the forefront of our minds? Alongside today’s “To Do List,” let’s add another column--our “To Be List,” then jot down one of the nine. Love? Patience? Generosity? See where its trajectory takes you.

TODAY.

GIVE YOURSELF & THE WORLD A GIFT.

TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT YOU YOU THINK.

GRANDBOY BAGS

Grandboy bags. Our grandsons each have one...the Silas Bag, the Isaac Bag, and the Jonah Bag. Each time we visit we bring a small gift in them...a puzzle, a tyrannosaurus rex, a book, a hot car (Matchbox-size), a brain game. They’ve come to expect these bags so, within nanoseconds of sharing hugs, they begin hinting...hunting. We, MiMi and Baboo (long story, no time) of course, make a game of it with, “What bags?” or “Maybe we drove off with the trunk open. They fell out!” Or worse, “Oh no, I left them on the porch next to the stuff the thrift store was picking up!”

But they know.

Today, (#3 in my 4-Monday series) I’m focusing our thoughts on the middle three of what I like to call our “spiritual senses”...love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, faithfulness, generosity and self-control. (See Galatians 5:22-23.) These nine function in ways similar to our five physical senses but in a beautifully complementary manner. How? Think of it this way: Our five physical senses gather in the information from our immediate and continuous interface with the world. Our nine spiritual senses help us determine what to do with it.

Speaking of grand bags, each of us has one. Got it at birth. If we dig down in our bag we’ll find all nine of these spiritual senses--ready and waiting--for us to draw them out and “play” with them, that is, to focus our rapt attention on them and then use them to bring joy to life--for ourselves and those around us (think globally, please). How do we do this?

TAKE PATIENCE: Ask yourself, “Where would I be if it weren’t for the patience that has been shown to me?“ Now stop. Sincerely answer that question. Think of instances, little or big, when you were the recipient of someone’s else’s--often undeserved--patience. Go ahead. We’ve got time. Just doing this will inspire you to go and do likewise.

TAKE KINDNESS: Who comes to mind when you ask yourself, “Who’s the kindest person I know...and why?” Commit to emulating that person today. ALL day. Watch what happens. I think you’ll surprise yourself (and maybe a few others!)

TAKE GOODNESS: This one gets personal. Ask yourself, “What qualities do I have that I feel really good about?” Here speak the truth in love--about yourself--to yourself--for yourself. This is not for Facebook. It may take a few tears but you’ll know you’ve answered this one well when you’re feeling a warming glow and softening compassion in your heart--toward yourself! The Skin Horse in the Velveteen Rabbit story would say you just became real.

Two things about our grand boy bag ritual make me chuckle. One, they always check the bag to make sure it’s completely empty. Upside-down-shake-it empty. And two, they hand their bag back to us. For next time. What if we approach our senses of the Spirit in the same way? Gifts freely given, always there, ready and waiting to bring joy. All around joy. Why can we expect such wondrous things of the Spirit?

Because we know.

TODAY.
GIVE YOURSELF & THE WORLD A GIFT.
TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW YOU THINK.

SWEEPING THE FLOOR

Here's one I'm pretty sure you can relate to... 


Sometimes when I meditate
something happens.

Some sweet or savory morsel is offered.
A mariners’ bell clanks in the fog,
a solitary candle bursts into flame,
a distant drum is struck,
an apparition of insight appears,
a wisdom from within wiggles free.

Sometimes it comes quickly,
a parade, no two--at the same time!
Coming from opposite ends of Main Street.

Sometimes it comes slow but steady
A stream of leadings
one upon another's shoulders,
building, building, building,
like bricks laid up and up and up
until a grand edifice is finished.

Sometimes it’s an occasional “Aha!”
like the salt that makes the steak,
that carries me through for another day or two.

Sometimes the wait-for-it is long,
like waiting for bread to rise,
paint to dry,
a child to give up diapers.

Sometimes I don’t know how long I’ve sat
after the show was over and the curtain closed,
waiting for more, for yet another encore.

And sometimes nothing comes at all.
I guess I just came to sweep the floor.