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Posts from the ‘Golden Retriever’ Category

Feb 2

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Wander into Wonder

“What ever our wandering our happiness will always be found within a narrow compass, and in the middle of the objects more immediately within our reach.” – Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

“From wonder into wonder existence opens.” – Lao Tzu

“From wonder into wonder existence opens.” – Lao Tzu

It’s as simple as a walk in the woods, a good book, taking a nap. Trade mulit-tasking for single-tasking and linger in the depth and breadth of the moment, the now.  Nothing before, nothing after, just now. Remove your watch and forget time. No measuring, counting, comparing, analyzing. Wander for the sake of wandering and you’ll find wonder just outside your door.

Jan 30

6 Comments

Leap and Dive

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart

As we bounce all around, moving rapidly from one thing to the next, we forget to pause and be grateful. Yesterday, I was waiting for tests on two lumps on Molly. A few hours later, I got the call and they are benign. Spike the football!

“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” – Aesop

“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” – Aesop

We are quick to be frazzled and distraught, bouncing and skimming. We need to be even quicker to let gratitude breakthrough and interrupt our busy life. And invite it to stay. The good news reminded me that I need to do more leaping for joy and diving deep into thankfulness every day, letting the busyness fade to the background to take its proper place.

Leap for joy and dive deep into gratitude today. A good prayer indeed. Amen.

Jan 19

4 Comments

Get Out

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir

There’s no better medicine than a run with the girls on a beautiful Sunday morning. The crisp clean air, snow crunching beneath each step and the warmth of the sun. A prayer in motion. Get out and see the world just outside your door. When we get out of our heads, we find our heart, our purpose and peace.

“We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“When you look at the sun during your walking meditation, the mindfulness of the body helps you to see that the sun is in you; without the sun there is no life at all and suddenly you get in touch with the sun in a different way.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“When you look at the sun during your walking meditation, the mindfulness of the body helps you to see that the sun is in you; without the sun there is no life at all and suddenly you get in touch with the sun in a different way.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Jan 6

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Hibernate

“A change in the weather is sufficient to recreate the world and ourselves.” – Marcel Proust

We are having plenty of time to recreate ourselves as we hibernate from the weather, like many in the U.S. In Minnesota today, 23 below zero, with wind chill, 36 below zero.

We had an hour reprieve on Saturday and the girls and I got out for a 3 mile run before the cold front settled in. You really appreciate what you have when you can’t have it. Looking forward to the thaw and outdoor running’s return on Thursday when we take a 50+ degree swing to the 30s. Until then, we hunker down, read a little more, snuggle up and follow Lily’s lead…

“When the going gets tough, the tough take a nap.” – Tom Hodgkinson

“When the going gets tough, the tough take a nap.” – Tom Hodgkinson

Dec 11

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Passing

“Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.” – Marcus Aurelius

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus

Amidst the cold days that have arrived early in the season, I am vividly reminded that all things pass quickly. Seasons come and go. People move in and out of our sight. We wake up feeling like we’re 24 and we’re 49.

So as we dread the “15 degrees below days” that come all year round, there is beauty to be found even in these days. If we base our happiness on the weather, a compliment or a list of “rules” that we put on ourselves and others, we are passing by instead of passing through our lives. Each day has its gifts often disguised as inconveniences and interruptions. Get interrupted, wake up and let not this day pass without notice and deep appreciation of the fullness of each moment. Find summer in each day.

Nov 14

13 Comments

Uncomplicated

“In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.” – Lao Tzu

It’s really pretty simple. Each day we choose. To see wonder or despair, light or dark. A new toy, wrestling, going for a run hunting up squirrels, time together. Lily and Molly have it figured out.

Stop overcomplicating it all with drama, assumptions and comparison. It’s your life – do something with it and enjoy the journey. Our regrets will be made up of what we didn’t do, the chances and opportunities we missed while we were distracted by noise, insignificance. Make some music and dance. A polka is pretty uncomplicated. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3.

“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” – Mother Teresa

“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” – Mother Teresa

Nov 9

4 Comments

Everyday Stuff

Everyday stuff – that’s what Cast Light is all about. I’ve discovered when I notice the ordinary of each day and put myself in its midst I find meaning and joy. And I am grateful for the grace and faith to see the bigness in the small.

I bought four new books with my Amazon birthday gift cards – thanks Anna, Chris, Lynn – and just finished Anne Lamott’s new book Stitches, A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair. My kind of book and I love her writing style and insights, here’s one that sticks:

“The search for meaning will fill you with a sense of meaning. Otherwise life passes by in about seven weeks, and if you are not paying attention and savoring it as it unfurls, you will wake up one day in deep regret. It’s much better to wake up now in deep regret, desperate not to waste more of your life obsessing and striving for meaningless crap. Because you will have finally awakened.” Pretty good advice.

The three Fs – Faith, Family, Friends. Here’s to some of my everyday stuff – Lily and Molly. Mom and Dad. Running group on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Sole Sisters hanging out. The extraordinary in the ordinary.

everydaystuff

Oct 30

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Unexpected

“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.” – Ashley Montagu

On our usual run tonight, the girls and I were turning for home and suddenly out of the fog, a beautiful deer launched out of the woods and gallantly ran across our path. We stood there frozen in awe and then my little hunter Lily’s instinct was to chase him, but he was gone in a flash.

Molly and Lily are always on the look out for the unexpected. They wake up ready to dive deep into the day and when I come home it’s like I’ve been gone for days.

“Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me.” – Carl Sandburg

“Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me.” – Carl Sandburg

Too often, we’ve come to accept and expect the worst, disappointment. And we give up too easily on our capacity and yearning to be surprised and delighted by the unexpected. Expect more and be open to the unexpected. It’s all around us.

Oct 23

2 Comments

Lighten Up

“Oh the wild joys of living! The leaping from rock to rock … the cool silver shock of the plunge in a pool’s living waters.” – Robert Browning

“Not what we have But what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.” – Epicurus

“Not what we have But what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.” – Epicurus

Ever since she was a puppy, Lily takes hold of Molly’s collar three houses from home on our daily outings. She starts up and invites participation in frolic. Stare in her eyes long enough and send the signal, “let’s mix it up” and she’s starts dancing in circles, grinning ear to ear. Everyday, she lovingly pulls Molly and I out of serious into delight, into the moment.

The accumulation of the past or consternation about the future steals the present. We take life way too seriously. Turn off the television, turn up the music and dance. Laugh, skip, leap, take the plunge in the pool of abundance. Lighten up. The world is longing for it, and it does a world of good in return.

Sep 12

7 Comments

The Stance

“Grief can take care if itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” – Mark Twain

Every morning, Lily wakes up with enthusiasm and delight, forgetting yesterday and not fretting tomorrow. She jumps on the bed, puts her head down, butt in the air and flops on me and begins rolling around.

Lately, there aren’t many people who model delight and excitement. We tend to become that which we are surrounded by. So the struggle is to stay positive and avoid catching “the cold” of the “busy and downtrodden.” Lack of civility and empathy never improves our circumstances. Abundance trumps scarcity.

So once again, Lily and Molly reteach me the lesson of enjoying the day and bringing that joy to others. I don’t hit that mark every moment or day, but it’s what I aspire to and will focus on. Love life and it will love you back. Dread life and suddenly dread appears. Take the stance of joy and remember to drop, flop and roll around in it.

“A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind.” – Morihei Ueshiba

“A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind.” – Morihei Ueshiba

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