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Posts from the ‘Family’ Category

May 10

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Seeds

“The seed never sees the flowers.” – Zen Proverb

Today we celebrate not only Mothers but all that they foster, grow and model for the world. Unconditional love, endurance, faith, peace, resilience, joy, laughter, forgiveness, compassion, hope, grace, friendship and family – all the traits and ties that bind and remind us that we are not alone on this journey. They show us that the impossible is possible.

My family ran the Race for the Cure this morning in honor of my cousin Julie who has been recently diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. We ran for her but also for ourselves. When you can’t do anything to change the situation, you doing anything that shows support and love that words can’t come close to describing.

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.” – Dalai Lama

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” – Dalai Lama

As you enter each day, remember that you don’t know what others are going through and they don’t know what burdens weigh on you. Always act on the assumption that you can and should scatter and plant seeds of light, laughter and love. If you forget and need to be reminded how to do this, ask a Mom.

May 5

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Cutting Grass

“Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.” – Rabindranath Tagore

After a day of bouncing from one thing to the next, I rushed out of work to get home to cut my own grass and then my parents grass before the rain comes in tonight. Beat the clock before dark sets in, although I’ve been known to finish the grass in the dark. Some creative cut lines show up when morning comes.

Lawn mower starts on second pull, headset on, ready to roll. When I went from the front to the backyard, Molly and Lily were wrestling and having a grand time. I started to laugh as they each positioned to take the other down. Their delight was contagious. It always is. I get into the groove and lighten up a bit.

While it was a good day, my thoughts zoned in on the few difficult moments rather than the majority of good ones. Work thoughts quickly shifted to worries about a slew of family health issues ranging from hips to stage 4 breast cancer.

Amidst the weight of wanting to “fix” all of the health issues and difficult people in one fell swoop, the Beatles song, Let It Be got my attention, drowning out the drowning sound of the lawn mower. “When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be.”

It was just what I needed to hear, really hear. It’s funny, but never accidental, how God softly breaks through at just the right time. Never early, never late. And the message I needed most in a day filled with doing, digging faster and wanting to fix what’s not in my control was to “let it be.”

I got much more than the grass cut tonight for sure. There will be an answer, let it be.

Apr 28

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The Little Things

“Life is not made up of crises; life is made up of little things we love to ignore in order to get on to the exciting things in life. But God is in the details. God is in what it takes in us to be faithful to them. God is in the routines that make us what we are. The way we do the little things in life is the mark of the bigness of our souls.” – Joan Chittister, Essential Writings

Your smile, your attention, your time to patiently listen can break up the mundane of the day for all paths you cross. Go do little things big today. Cast light now.

Apr 27

To the Side

“Your destiny is to fulfill those things upon which you focus most intently. So choose to keep your focus on that which is truly magnificent, beautiful, uplifting and joyful. Your life is always moving toward something.” – Ralph Marston

Our narrow perspective limits our view of what’s possible, but not what’s actually possible when we go beyond a glance. Look to the right, to the left to take in the whole picture. Go wider and deeper. Slow down and peel back the layers of each day and of those searching souls next to you. When speeding down the track with our eyes only on the horizon, on tomorrow, we miss people who need us and who we need to complete our actual journey.

Look to the side, up, down and all around. Staying on the track to a full and meaningful life demands that we remain steeped in the details of now. Seeming detours and delays lead us to the horizon that calls us. The illusion is scarcity in the present, abundance in the future. We are in deep abundance right now, waiting on the side to be found.

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” – Dale Carnegie

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” – Dale Carnegie

Mar 25

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Signs and Wonders

“A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.” – William Hazlitt

I walked into the living room this morning and Lily was sitting in the recliner with a “what’s up” look. She lightened the moment and I just started laughing. The only way to start the day. Every day Lily and Molly bring a new attitude with a focus on fun, present and living right in the moment of joy.

“Stop a minute, right where you are. Relax your shoulders, shake your head and spine like a dog shaking off cold water. Tell that imperious voice in your head to be still.” – Barbara Kingsolver

“Stop a minute, right where you are. Relax your shoulders, shake your head and spine like a dog shaking off cold water. Tell that imperious voice in your head to be still.” – Barbara Kingsolver

There are signs and wonders all around us if we tune in and listen. A jolt back into what’s real and true, well beyond  all of the dissent and distractions.

Last Saturday when I was walking in a daze through the grocery store in my running clothes and my hair pulled back, a deaf woman stopped me. I thought she would ask for help to find something. She looked me in the eyes and mouthed while her hand circled her face, “you are beautiful” and walked away.

To say the least, I was taken back. I certainly didn’t feel beautiful. This blessed encounter has stayed with me deeply since that moment, a reminder to release our inner beauty and draw it out in others.

Sometimes we are the receiver of signs and wonders and sometimes we are called to be the signs and wonders to others. Our higher power (I prefer God), our true self walks right into our day and makes it so very much more than ordinary.

A word, look, smile – change a day, change a life.

Mar 21

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By the Collar

“The smallest gesture can mean so much to those who may need a little lift in their lives.” – Gordon B. Hinckley

On our daily walk or run when we are about four houses away from home, Lily turns to Molly with that look in her eye and grabs onto Molly’s collar and leads almost carries her home. Molly gets a bit irritated but goes along with it.

That’s what friends and family do. They come along our side and pick us up by the collar to carry us home. And that’s what we also need to do at times for ourselves. Get out of the funk, pick ourselves up and move on with new eyes and a grateful heart.

Sometimes it’s the accumulation of the daily grind and others are life changing events like divorce or cancer. Life is a mix of transitions, endings, beginnings and through it all growth and transformation if we are open and allow it.

When we get stuck too long in why me, we need to be grabbed by the collar and moved to what’s next carried gently and confidently by faith, family and friends. And, when we are moved out of our own rut, we can be a blessing to others and do some lifting as well. We are not on this journey alone and it’s not about me but rather we. Grab someone by the collar today.

Feb 15

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Threshold

“Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Each day, a new door to go through, a step into the unknown, an unfamiliar path. Look no longer, hesitant on the edge of the threshold. Cross over and move through. What’s waiting can wait no longer.

For time does not wait, nor must we. Embrace each day and those that are put in our path for it is meant to be. Whether we know the reason or not, enjoy each moment for we will not pass this way again. The journey is meant to change us, ground us, find us, transform us to who we are. Discover the miracle of being alive, and live well.

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” – Joseph Campbell

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” – Joseph Campbell

Feb 11

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Lucidity

“Most days weren't clear when you were in them.” ― Naomi Shihab Nye

“Most days weren’t clear when you were in them.” ― Naomi Shihab Nye

“Older now, you find holiness in anything that continues.” – Naomi Shibab Nye

As the days go faster and we go slower, we may long for days gone by, our youth. But the days slow when we remain squarely within each one, fully aware and awake. Wiser from what was and hope-filled for what is to come. The wide path becomes narrow and we can see and appreciate what is most important.

As the need to prove oneself subsides, moments linger and connections grow deeper. Creating and being replace competing and doing. And if we are fortunate to find clarity in the days when we are in them, we discover what has been there the entire time…love expands, multiples, grows, sustains and is what we are here to do. Our moments become holy.

Jan 15

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Comforters

“God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.” ― John Henry Jowett

When we focus on what we can give rather that what we can get, it is then we receive more than we can ever imagine. The race distracts us from the journey and seeing those who are a long side of us, trying to make their way just as we are. Sometimes weary, sometimes worn. And we have the opportunity, the gift to walk along side, to be kind, to be present, to forget ourselves.

As we go through our own struggles that others may not know, there is comfort in that we are not alone. And when our backdrop shifts from burdens to blossoms, we can understand the meaning of that comfort and to offer it freely and generously to our fellow travelers.

Dec 24

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Green Christmas

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” – Charles Dickens

“Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.” – Pedro Calderon de la Barca

“Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.” – Pedro Calderon de la Barca

With high 30 temperatures and drizzle over the past week, this year we are going to have a very green Christmas in Minnesota and many parts of the country. People were golfing yesterday. I may need to cut the grass if this keeps up. We have had many white and cold Christmases and after the November deep freeze, I am alright with a green Christmas. And I am sure winter has not had its last word.

It’s also a wonderful reminder of what this season is truly about – birth, vitality, life renewed, vibrant color, warmth, redemption, faith, hope and love. This season can be carried in our hearts and actions into the new year and every single day.

Merry Green Christmas.

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