Multitude and Solitude

Recently, I have been studying the life of William Blake.  One of his peers is quoted as saying, "He had multitude and solitude."  What would it be like to have the faith that all is provided in abundance and that we could have the solitude to contemplate all of it?  Blake appreciated himself and called himself a genius.  His parents appreciated him and catered to his needs in order to allow him to step into his potential.  

His parents were unusual, in my estimation.  When I see adoration in the eyes of the parents, I am astonished.  Most of us were not raised with love, admiration or adoration.  My parents were more concerned with having to survive and were overwhelmed with providing food, clothing and shelter for all of us.  There was nothing else to give.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I figured out I could have a childhood that was made for my dreams.  I was now able to afford the "toys" I wanted as a child and I got them for myself.  Somehow, during that time of my life, I was able to fill in the "empty" spaces that I felt were within me.  I also figured out that the "love" I needed was going to have to come from me.  

In tracking the areas in my life that I appreciate the most, I started a list of accomplishments and things I was able to do, and with some, mastered.  I tracked qualities as well as achievements, accolades and attainments.  There were many things I had to admire about myself and the more I studied and delved into myself, the more I realized, I was a genius in my own right.  Wow!  That was an accomplishment!

In thinking about the new year and some of my intentions, I want to add multitude and solitude into the mix.  I want to appreciate what I have, all that I have accomplished and be open to the new and different in order to use what I have and aim even higher than before.

I send you all the blessings of the New Year and I know that as we journey forward, life just gets better and better for us.  I look forward to all of it with you.  Wagons, ho!  

Everything Is Covered

 ...we were born to be happy, to be abundantly supplied with every good thing, to have fun living, to consciously unity with the Divine Power that is around us and within us and to grow and expand forever.  Dr. Ernest Holmes

Those who are more highly developed will find in these methods the secret through which their attainments and achievements will constantly verge on the borderline of the marvelous.  Christian Larson

All I require med into place in the most efficient and inclusive way.  I am in the flow of Creation and Life knows what I need right now to fulfill my intentions.  Dr. Carol Carnes

At the end of my life, I want it described by me as marvelous.  Can you imagine a marvelous way of living that is filled with joy, supplied with every good thing and happy?  Since this is our birthright, what is it that most of us do everything in our power to not allow the Life Force to flow through us and to supply us with all we need?

This holiday season, I relax into knowing that all is well with me, that there is nothing that needs to change, and that all is truly well within and around me.  I know that God has my back and that I am in perfection right action and harmony.  

Years ago, I read this quote from Marilyn Austin, which said, "The nicest place to be is in someone's thoughts!  The safest place to be is in someone's prayers!  The best place to be is in God's hands!"  

Join me in placing ourselves in God's hands.  In the process, let's include all of our families, friends, fur babies and this wonderful planet we all live on.  I know you have the best of all the season's blessings.

Holiday Merriment

"Oh, come let us adore me," says Jeffy on Family Circus.

For a lot of years, I was so focused on "getting it all done on time," that I didn't have time to enjoy the process.  I think the reason for the season is for us to slow down, take in the wonderful holiday songs, enjoy the activities of the holiday, take time to enjoy the fireplace, hot chocolate, and eat peppermint candy canes.

In this morning's newspaper cartoon series, the Family Circus, Jeffy (I think that is what the red-headed little boy is called) is sitting on his bed in his pajamas singing, "Oh, come let us adore me."  I love it.  I have been singing since.  

That is the other thing I seem to have lost in my years of "getting it done" - a sense of humor about the season.  Somewhere along the line, I forgot to enjoy the process of what winter time is all about.  Now, I see it as a time to truly slow down, stay cuddled up with fluffy afghans in front of the fireplace, and use the time for deep contemplation and planning.  

In years past, I would use this time to reflect on the year and figure out what needed to be completed so that I could start the new year off on a clean slate.  When you have multiple projects in process, completion may not be feasible.  

As I look out my office window to the tree outside, it's beautiful yellow and red leaves are being blown off by the tremendous wind.  What else I notice about the wind, is that it is clearing the leaves by blowing them down the street.  

One part of nature is changing and getting ready to rest, the other is already in hibernation for the winter.  It is all part of the process.  My lesson in all of this is to flow with the order of things.  It is time to rest, enjoy the lights, the music, the slower pace, developing patience in standing in lines at the stores, keeping a cheerful attitude and being kind all the while singing under my breath, "Oh, come let us adore me!"  Sing with me?

Sending lots of season blessing to you.

Gifts, Talents and Skills

We are here to do a great work because the Mind that created us knew what It wanted us to do when It created us.  Raymond Charles Barker

I have often wondered if I did what God intended me to do in my lifetime.

Granted, my life is not over, but wonder... I have.  Since it is not over, what is left for me to do? 

A relative was expecting a baby and she related a conversation she had with her Pediatric doctor.  She mentioned to him how apprehensive she was about having the baby because she didn't know what to do when she got to the delivery process.  Her doctor chuckled and replied, "Your body already knows what to do because it is hard wired and was at the beginning to know how to handle having a baby."

When we question what our purpose of life is, I think we are hard wired for that also.  When I made my decision for ministry, it was the most natural thing for me at the time and it seemed "right" once I came to that conclusion.  Everything in my prior life lead me to that.  

For example, to supplement my early income, I sold Avon products for years, then sold Princess House Products.  All the while, I was doing accounting and bookkeeping work.  I took classes in business, but it seemed boring to me at the time.  Later I managed an office building and interacted with many different firms and businesses.  I was pulled to learning how to speak in front of groups as I joined Toastmasters.

Little did I realize that something bigger than me was prodding me forward.  I needed the business experience to do ministry.  I was still "selling" only this time it was an intangible - God.  I used bookkeeping and accounting to keep tract of what was happening weekly in the business of the church.  

As my former husband told me once, "You would have had to be deaf, dumb and blind not to do what you are so good at." 

We all have gifts, talents and skills and I think they are not only interchange but that they expand as we use them and lead us into different areas of being and doing.  Who knew that when I was working a group of attorneys as a bookkeeper that that experience would land me in the ministry?

What is left for me to do?  Maybe write, and through writing teach.  While teaching and sharing my wisdom, maybe assisting others to have the confidence to move forward in their lives.  While moving forward, maybe realizing that giving value, being an inspiration and a good example is what is next for me.  I invite you to be bold and live your life out loud in whatever it is that you were destined to do.  

Perplexities

Several things have me perplexed.  When checking in with the weather channel, it gives the temperature of whatever area you want.  For example, this morning my city in Oklahoma, it is 37 degrees and "feels like 30 degrees."  Who determines the "feels like?"  It may be a mathematical compilation, but someone has to determine it.  How do they do that?

Einstein talked about "the refinement of everyday thinking."  What does that mean?  Refinement is defined as the act or process of removing unwanted substances from something: the act or process of making something pure: the act or process of improving something: an improved version of something.  How do you know when your thinking is up-leveled or improved?  It has got to be how our lives improve.  That means, paying close attention to everything that is going on at all times.  That, to me, is very difficult at times.

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people.  Forget yourself.  Henry Miller.

Hard to forget yourself when you are focused on growth - be it mental, spiritual or otherwise.  The watchword here has to be "balance."  Life is a balance of all good things.  

Something deeply hidden had to be behind things.  Albert Einstein

I have spent most of my life focused on the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - food, clothing and shelter.  Hard to focus on developing an interesting life when work takes up most of your time and family uses up the balance. 

Now that I have the time, I am finding that I could have used a lot of the information I am finding much earlier in life.  I didn't know how to find balance early on.  I am determined to find that something that is deeply hidden in me whether it be talent, skill or otherwise.

Where is my "hidden splendor" and how do I define it for me?  And once I find that hidden splendor, is affordable?  

See what I mean about perplexities?  The invitation is open, but think twice about joining the journey.  Right now it is bumpy, overgrown and hard to navigate.