Grief is a funny thing...

This is what I texted a friend this morning.

Today marks a year and a half since my father died... A lifetime ago, or only yesterday - depending on the day... There is no timetable for grief. It takes as long as it takes. It looks different for everybody. No two experiences are the same... And there is no right or wrong...

This morning, I donned my new "Blessed" hat I picked up at Lidl and went for a morning walk. It was cool and overcast. A perfect day and reflection of how I felt.

And then, unexpected and lovely things happened...

I ran into a woman walking a small, scruffy white dog and three cats - none of them on leashes, just slowly ambling about, and I struck up a conversation with their mom.

The cats, she said - think they are dogs. They literally walk with her and respond to her commands. They don't run off. She rescued one of them from a dumpster.

The little dog was old and one eyed, and re-named Pearl. She was all bark and no bite at first, but she warmed up to me, and stood right by me and her mom. She had been taken to a vet to be euthanized because her owners were simply done with her. The woman I was speaking to, works at that vet's place, and decided to adopt her, and she is now living her best life.

It's amazing what an unplanned encounter and a little love will do!

On my way back home, I contemplated these small moments of joyful connections, and then I caught two does, and one of them and I spent quite a bit of time talking and looking at each other...
I saw a majestic great blue heron take flight, and it took my breath away. And a little red cardinal in a tree as I rounded my way back home.

You never know what will make a difference during your day...
​
Finally, I offered blessings to the woman helping me get to the bottom of an issue on an online chat.
Grief is a funny thing... You never know what gifts it will bring.

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​

I am marveling at things I recorded in a journal a year ago. Though I have journals going back to when I was 15 years old, I rarely revisit them. Why? Many reasons, but that's beyond what I want to share today...

This year, I decided to go back and review what I wrote and plan to dive further back into the shelves housing my collection. I am deeply touched by the level of insight and prescience I experienced in the last year and look forward to revisiting other journal entries.

"For last year's words belong to last year's language.
And next year's words await another voice,"
T.S. Eliot

Maybe you already keep a journal. Maybe you think you can't do it. But here's the thing: It can be whatever you want, when you want. 

Over a period of nearly 55 years, my journals have taken shape as poetry volumes, and evolved into various formats. They have been collections of favorite quotes or lists of books read, or pictures, or an assembly of practices I found helpful, or insights given to me by soul companions.  I have recorded them in composition books, or expensive journals - and they have been typed or written by hand. But looking back, I have a sense of who I was and what was important to me at the time.

So you see, there is no right or wrong way to keep a journal.

And, it's never too late for you to start. Just settle on a format that works for you.

On December 31st, I made my last entry into one composition book, and on January 1st, I started another.

For years I typed my journal entry, or kept salient emails back forth from dear souls that enabled me to clearly see where I was at that point, but in the last 8 years or so, I have returned to putting pen to paper - truly a lost art. My penmanship is so much worse and handwriting is a challenge to read at times, but it seems to me, a much more personal endeavor.

I also have a ritual for writing, but I'll save that for another entry.

My invitation to you, is to return to this practice if you've drifted away from it, or perhaps take it up for the first time. It is a wonderful practice to review your life's journey and see how far you've truly come! And let me know how it goes!

As the writer Anne Lamott is often quoted:

"I do not understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us."

And journaling dear ones, is an act of grace.

​And it's gift to you, is hope.

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What will you give birth to in this new year of 2024?

Many people like to begin the new year with a word that exemplifies what they want to focus on, give birth to, and embody in the coming year. This year, the word "Hope" chose me.

Perhaps it did, because it is so needed in our world right now. I certainly need it this year. You can always pick a word for yourself - one that you want to work on or experience more of. Or a word can come to you spontaneously. Mine came in so many ways - it was insistent - demanding my attention. I couldn't avoid it. It showed up in everything I seemed to read.

It does not have to be one word. It can certainly be more than one, but I find that even with a couple of words, one of them tends to be the predominant one.

If this speaks to, it is a simple yet wonderful practice to anchor in the coming year and refer to from time to time. You might want to journal on it periodically to see where you might currently be in your life and decide whether you want to work on it a bit more..

If you meditate, sit and ask for the right word to come to you. If you don't, go for a walk, or sit quietly and ask. See what comes to you. Don't overthink the process and take whatever comes..

Or, you can simply choose something you want to focus on. I have done that many times myself. Sometimes, some words are recurring. Maybe you need to work on it some more. It doesn't really matter. There is no right or wrong way to do this.

What word speaks to you? And what will you give birth to in 2024?

Simple gifts to sustain your practice await you here:
https://mailchi.mp/53d1cf65ef3f/meditation-simple-gifts-for-you

It is a difficult time to witness what is happening on our planet...

The sorrow, the suffering, the violence the pain...

This morning I woke up with this short, lovingkindness practice on my lips:

"May our hearts overflow with compassion."

The only solution possible to all that is happening is greater Love. Greater compassion. I believe it is the foundation for everything else: greater insight, understanding, and practical solutions.

This is all I am going to leave you with today. Let us all practice it and embody it, to shift the energy on this planet.

"May our hearts overflow with compassion."

For more practices to support you on your journey, visit: www.meditationsimple.com

I took this picture in Dachau last year. It was such a haunting experience and I have thought of my time there over and over again. It was profoundly moving. And while the focus of that trip was something totally different - this is what I think of the most and it is what haunts me.

A friend of mine told me her father had been held there. I cannot imagine what that must have been like. Since then, I have read many books on the need for ancestral healing and how the wounds of one generation are passed on to the next and the next...

I felt compelled to thank the guide I had for teaching countless others about what happened in that camp, so that we would never forget.

I asked myself then, how could this have happened? But the truth is, I knew. And we all know. And yet it continues to happen.

Like many, I am profoundly affected by what is going on in Israel and Gaza. I am also very concerned about all of this escalating into something much bigger.

I have many friends who are Jewish. And I have many Muslim friends as well. All are wonderful people. All would have my back in an instant. And I would have theirs. 

I stand with those who are suffering in Israel. And with those who have missing and detained family and those grieving the deaths of loved ones. I cannot begin to imagine what it would be to be in such a situation. I am at a loss for words but I find myself thinking of Dachau - and Israel, where I have also been, and the people who are being targeted or used by terrorists.

I can only pray…

And I long and hope for a better day and future for all.

I long for a day where there are no divisions such as we see here, in the US. 

I pray for a day when our diversity is celebrated - not feared or despised.

I envision a day where violence is no more - or is so rare that it would be shocking - and not so mainstream that it dulls our senses.

I do believe we can ALL make a difference: One person, one experience, one moment a time.

We can open our hearts and listen - listen deeply - and express kindness - and reach out wherever it is necessary.

I heard it said once, that a mother's prayers are so very strong and that if we could see the energy of those prayers - we would see the whole planet surrounded in the Light and Love of those prayers.

Let us all do what we can to make it so.

There was a time I came to this river, about a mile from my home,  almost daily, but it has been a while.

This morning, the river itself was very still. Quiet. At rest. Even if people walking around or sitting by it were not. The leaves have not quite taken on their autumn mantel of brilliant colors, and it was a warm morning and definitely not very fall like.

Despite all the details and concerns that might be floating around in my head, or taking up real estate in my mind, there was something about the calmness and stillness of the river that spoke to me. It invited me to slow down and be present. It reminded me that there are times in our lives when we are called to be more active, but there are also periods where we are invited to slow down, and just simply be. And the thing is, neither one is better than the other. There are times for motion and activity and there are times for rest and stillness.

What is your life calling you to right now? Greater activity? Or rest?

We are beginning to head into a time of shorter days and longer nights, of cooler weather - at least in some parts of the world, like the one I live in. The harvest may be done, and in another era, people slowed down and turned more inward.

Listen. Listen deeply. What is your life calling you to do right now? And follow that. Do that. Whatever it is, it will be the right thing for you. And eventually, it will be time to do the exact opposite. The seasons, and this river remind me that every day I step into the river and circle of life anew, with a different invitation., until the next day or the next season.

For free resources for your journey, visit this link:
​mailchi.mp/53d1cf65ef3f/meditation-simple-gifts-for-you

This quote, from the poet May Sarton's writings, is one that is often repeated and illustrated. It is a favorite of many, and certainly of mine as well:

"Help us to be always hopeful gardeners of spirit,
who know that without darkness
nothing comes to birth,
as without light,
nothing flowers."

You and I, might not be actual gardeners in the traditional sense, but we are all called to be gardeners of spirit - tending our own inner, delicate, souls. 

Another famous writer and spiritual figure, John Henry Newman, wrote:

"Growth is the only evidence of life."

And still another, Francis de Sales, noted in the 17th century, that true growth is often a slow and hidden process.

What is to be learned from all this wisdom?

We are told that true growth - within and without - is often slow, and perhaps not noticeable to many outside of us. There are difficult and challenging experiences to be dealt with along the way. There are days of both light and darkness, as well as days of aridity and rain.  And we also know that this slow growth is truly evidence of an effervescent life, waiting for its moment to burst forth and shine through.

So, do not be discouraged. Turn these lessons into some positive affirmations that you can repeat to yourself along the way, as reminders of your slow, hidden, but beautiful inner growth:

I am growing deeply, day by day.
My deep roots ground me firmly.
I grow slowly but continously, my branches reaching towards the sky.
Day by day, the sun and soil nourish me.
I am a unique blossom,
and I am a thing of beauty.

Be a spirit gardener and seed the earth with your beauty and uniqueness!

For free resources to support you in your growth and practice, visit:
​Gifts 4 U!
​

If you are anything like me, you are probably easily triggered. By the silliest of things.

Some of mine are: The noise my hard of hearing husband makes in the morning as I am trying to meditate. Or, towels that are not folded "correctly." Or, the overflowing neighborhood cars parked in front of my house. I'll fret over a hypothetical situation like - what if a workman is coming.to repair something that happened overnight? Where will he park?

We all have thoughts and concerns that fill our minds - many of which we can't control - and others which we simply want to control all of the time. Sometimes I remind myself, that NO ONE appointed me Master of the Universe! A hard reality to swallow!

But the reality is, that the things that upset us most about others are things we harbor within ourselves that need our attention and that we need to change. In other words, others hold up a mirror to where we need to do our own work to further our growth.

A couple of days ago, as I was exasperated at all these things I found annoying and irritating - all of them rather silly, I exclaimed to a Higher Power - the Universe: "When will all this stop bothering me?"

And then the answer came so quickly it surprised me: "When it stops bothering you!"

Ah! So, only I can stop this pointless exercise in futility.

And so I told myself, "This has to stop! NONE OF THIS is in any way important!" Really. In the grand scheme of things, this needless worry was taking up oxygen and precious inner resources. And then, I felt an almost immediate sigh of relief.

For a simple practice today, examine the things that are most triggering you. Pick one, and decide you are done with letting it take up free rent in your brain.

Then, start to chip away at the stack systematically. Revisit periodically as needed and you start to let go of all the thoughts that do not serve you.

Practice, and enjoy!

For more simple practices and free resources, visit:
​GIFTS 4 U!

You have probably heard the old adage, "Be yourself. Everyone else is taken."

This is so true, but so hard to wrap our brains around because we often do not believe that we are enough - not good enough, not smart enough - well, just not enough...

But we are. Why? Because each one of us is an irrepeatable spark of Divine Light. No one like us has ever been, or will be again. 

Read that again.

So I say to you:
Be bold. Be brave. Be you!

This morning, I read this wonderful quote:

"The way you treat yourself is one of the few things you control in life. There’s no reason to be anything but kind to yourself, in both your speech and your actions."
Toni Bernhard, “Self-Care in an Uncertain World”

So yes, you are you - unique in every way. Notice your self talk. Treating others well begins with us treating ourselves well.

Go out today - and every day, and simply,
Be Bold! Be Brave. Be Beautiful. Be who you are and BE that well! Be YOU!

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On this day of August 8th, often called the Lion's Gate, because the numbers of the day are 8:8, there is supposed to be a special energy that permeates the day and allows for creativity and change.

I don't think it matters whether you believe in this or not. I think you can choose to see this day as one of change or transformation. But then, I sincerely believe that all days can be that, if we invite that change and transformation into our lives.

One of the easiest ways to do this is by formulating an affirmation that is relevant to our circumstance, and then repeating it over and over again, until it becomes our reality.

Mostly, the affirmations should benefit us on a personal level, but they can also have an impact on a global level as well. When we change. The world changes too. You have have heard the adage, "Change your mind, and change your life." I would also add this: "Change your life and you change the world."

Here is a wonderful affirmation for all of to embody:

"I am Pure Love."

Close your eyes and think of what your life would be like, and the impact you would have if you truly believed that you are pure love. Then imagine the world this would be if everyone believed it as well. There would be peace, and harmony, acceptance, cooperation, and creative solutions would  flow from all those things.

Repeat this affirmation over and over again in your meditation or quiet moments. Repetition will make it your mantra.

You ARE Pure Love!

Yes! I believe it. YOU are pure Love. And so am I. It's just that many of us have just not recognized it.

Go out and shine that Love and Light that you are at your essence!

And if you would like FREE helpful resources to enable you to engage in more mindful living, visit:

GIFTS 4 U!