Forgiveness, again.

My reading for today talked about forgiveness and the need to release more of our pent up emotions and feelings about people, places and things.  Again?  I have done all of the forgiveness I need to in my life.  

But I got to thinking about it.  I have more forgiveness I need to do.  For example, I need to forgive my genes that didn't keep me lean and slim, or allowed some of my teeth to fall out or decay.  I was reminded to forgive myself for being stupid about my body when I was young because I am sure that some of that abuse is now showing up.  I forgive me for so desperately wanting to be loved that I made some wrong decisions in the process of learning about life.  I have to forgive myself for getting myself into some dangerous places while young and thinking I knew it all, that it was difficult to get back into feeling safe and secure.  

While rethinking about some of the situations, I found it difficult to breathe as I relived some of the memories - a sure sign that more work needs to be done.  Even while typing this, I am having to remind myself to breathe, release and let go - it is only a memory and no longer a reality of my life.

I forgive myself for all of the wrong twists and turns I took thinking I knew what was right in my life.  I forgive myself for not remembering that the Spirit of God was my source for life, substance, supply and intelligence.  

I forgive myself for not remembering.

Knowing that I have more work to do, I stay open for more memories that I need to forgive and release.  Do you need an invitation to do the same in your life?  I already feel lighter - it is worth the time and the energy to do the inner work.  Remember, that no matter what is going on in your life, you are always God blessed. 

Nurture New LIfe

Several days ago, I had the pleasure of snuggling with a seven week old puppy.  Gizmo is a Shih Tzu and came complete with needle teeth and puppy breath.  He is so small that he fit into the palm of my hand.  

There is nothing like encountering new life to give me a sense of what is new and different around me.  Spending time with Gizmo gave me a sense of the Spirit of the Presence in all of us.  But it seems particularly present with Gizmo.  You can see the light in his eyes that he is interested in all that is present around him.  He is fascinated with what can he get into his mouth and chew up.  

When he collapses with fatigue, he is out like switching off a light.  Amazing to watch.  This little creature gave me several lessons I needed to remember for my life.

1. Get really interested and focus only what is in front of me.
2. No past; no future; only present.
3. What can I have fun with right now?
4. When hungry, cry for food.  When tired, collapse and sleep.  When needing to take care of body elimination, do so immediately.  Why wait?
5. Play with me.  Life is all about fun.

Filled with energy that amazed me, he doesn't run; he does a hop skip to get to where he wants to go.  Walk?  Who wants to walk, when skipping works best?  One minute he was exploring with his nose buried in the grass, and the next he was flopped over sleeping.  

What a delight it was to spend time with him and have him remind me to relax, have more fun and stay in the present.  I invite you to join me in this quest for it leads to a more exciting life.

Plan for what's new and what's next.

"Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it."  David Starr Jordan

We are in a constant state of learning, accumulating experiences and acquiring knowledge that makes us wiser so that it makes our lives easier.  But how often do we reflect on our life lessons, and in what ways do they influence the actions we take?  If you could live life over again, would you do anything differently?  Maybe there are some things you can start now to make life more interesting or easier.

There is no time like the present to write down five things that you would like to accomplish in your lifetime.  Pick one of the five and make it a priority.  Create a plan for seeing it through.  If you feel you don't know enough about it, take a trip to the library on a hot afternoon and spend some time in air conditioned comfort and research what you need to know.  

Ignore any negative thoughts that may be causing you to second-guess yourself.  Too tired, too old, too young, too busy...?  No.  No.  No.  Life is too short for excuses.  Get proactive and get going on your plans.

Write down what you discover and pass it on to some else quickly.  We learn and retain 90% of what we attempt to teach others.  Plus, it will make you so interesting that your friends will flock to be with you to see what else you have been learning.  

Now recognize your growth as you are able to assimilate more insight at higher levels.  All of this is designed to expand your consciousness so that your life becomes more interesting to you as well as the people around you.  Unusual thinking thinks about what and how you are thinking.  In the process of doing this, look for simple truths that can make a profound difference in your life.  

Join me in leveraging our combined intelligence to a higher level in order to create a more spectacular life.  I am ready and anxious to experience more good.  Are you?

Language Insecurities

I recently ran across an article on hunger and how over 17,000 million children live with "food insecurity."  Before it was okay to say that these same children went to bed hungry.  

My mother had polio as a child and because of it, she had one leg shorter than the other - she limped when she walked.  What I find interesting is that we never thought of her as impaired, handicapped, or disabled.  She did everything she wanted and then some.  I remember her working beside my father in the fields.  My job was to keep track of both of them so that I wouldn't get lost.  

In thinking about our language usage, most people on the "outside" don't know how to call or say what they mean when they see something that makes them uncomfortable.  Most of the time,what they do use, makes the people they are talking about uncomfortable.  I remember once in a store, some woman asked my mother how she was able to get along being handicapped.  I thought my mother was going to come unglued because she had very little patience when something as directed at her.  I remember her saying something to the effect that she was no more handicapped than the woman and could probably run circles around her.  

Who makes up the silly rules about being politically correct or not?  Do the English professors for the upper classes sit around on Saturday mornings over coffee and pastry and decide what is going to be correct from that point on? 

We need to think about our language and our use of it.  Because I know that what is in my mind is what is creating my life, I am very careful of what I am thinking and what I say.  I invite you to do the same with me.

The Richest of Blessings

In my socializing with different groups of people and listening to what the conversations are about, I realized that what I was hearing was what was valuable to them at this time.  Most were mid-thirties, and the conversations were about family, vacations, and work.  Most were already talking about "when..."  When they retire, when the kids are out of school, when they could quit working, etc.  

In thinking about those conversations and the lack of thinking through some of the statements made, I had to come back to my life and I felt very grateful that I can work or not, I  have more than enough money to do what I want to, and I can choose a life experience that enhances all of what is going on with me.  

I realized that the differences in the conversations were the values that have been set up or that they believe they need at this time of life.  I was so focused on a career in my mid-thirties that retirement never came into the equation until much later in life.  Even after retirement, I realized that what I needed was time to rest a bit or to take a sabbatical and then get right back into the game of life.  

The quality of my lifestyle now is because I kept in the game long enough to get what it is that I wanted while I was still able to do the long stretches of work.  Youth really is wasted on the young.  I didn't realize while younger that I had more than enough energy to do so much more than I was doing.  

I realize that the values were different when I was moving up the career ladder than what it is now.  However, I am really grateful and can appreciate the lifestyle I have based on the values I decided I needed at the time.  Thinking about life and what I wanted to accomplish early on has served me well.  I encourage you to keep on while you can and think about a higher quality of life as you move forward into your later life.  

More Life Lessons

Several things have astonished me this week.  1.  I am amazed at what people know but won't practice what they know.  2.  I am amazed at what people don't know and act in obvious ignorance that fact that they don't know.  3.  The arrogance that shows up in some people who think it is smart, clever and think it is virtually fine to be the way they are.

I had the misfortune to deal with someone in business to exhibited all of the above traits during a small amount of time.  When it was over, I was so frustrated with him that I completely lost my composure, got really upset, and told him what I thought about his actions.  Probably not a very good example of what a spiritual leader should be.  

Since our business dealings are not yet complete, I have been asking for guidance, for peace, for composure, for patience.  What I know for sure, is that a jerk is a jerk is a jerk and not very much is going to change unless they really get whacked on the head.  I decided that it was a waste of my time to take that one on.

What I learned from this experience is that even though I am a spiritual leader, there are times when pushed to the limit, my anger shows up.  It felt good blasting this arrogant man to smithereens but I doubt that any of it managed to get through his limited intelligence.  

What I forgot was that it is difficult to reason with a stupid personality.  Only careful observance and good listening skills can burrow though to the truth of the person.  I assumed that because he was in business, he had good business skills.  This man really caught me by surprise.

Some of my anger was about me since I was caught so off-balance.  Assumptions usually do that.  All of this is a good reminder to practice what I know and not relax my stance for any reason.  Good lessons in moving forward on the path of life. 

Think again

Suddenly, my world is filled with people who are upper aging.  That, is at least, better than talking about hanging out with old people.  I am now at the age that I thought was really old when I was in my late teens and early twenties.  

Even talking about aging is uncomfortable for me since I am not "old" in my mind.  Actually, I really haven't decided what age I am in my head but I know it is not "old."  And, of course, when a subject is in mind, all I see are articles on "aging gracefully," ads featuring "quality of life over 65, etc.," and wonderful places to "retire" in the United States.  

Recently, I came across an article about "radiant aging," and I thought, "yup! that's it."  That is what I want to do.  I want to go into upper aging radiant, vibrant and energetic.  This is really necessary for me since my current husband is younger than me by four years.  He keeps me moving, bending, stretching and making me go through endurance stretches (long walks) or what I call, "forced marches."

Since I have formally retired and then got talked into going back to work for Sunday's only, I realize that what I need to do is work occasionally, meditate daily, keep up a reverence practice,  exercise in moderation (in fact, do anything that is disliked in moderation or stretch it out and do it only when necessary or just jump in and get it done and out of the way), do what you really love most of the time, and laugh a lot.  

My Sunday mornings are with a congregation that have not had the training that I have had and so I am always challenged to come up with easy "to do" things for a reverence practice.  In fact, most of them are new to any spiritual practice.  So, like the above paragraph, I am teaching them to pray while showering, loving themselves while brushing their teeth and doing personal grooming, blessing people with good thoughts and smiles while driving and in super market check out lines, etc.  

All of us can do this.  Whatever your "issue" or "challenge" is in life, come up with interesting things to move you "on down the road", so to speak.  I want my "road" by a wonderful journey that is amazing, interesting and filled with fun things to experience.  I believe that life shows up the way we think about it and so, figure out ways to make your thoughts support you and your life.  Allow yourself to be astonished!  It certainly makes life worth living.  Be blessed!