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Posts tagged ‘appreciation’

Mar 30

29 Comments

Grace Again

“Grace is not part of consciousness; it is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason.” – Pope Francis

In the Thornton Wilder play, The Skin of Our Teeth, when the main character George Antrobus is asked what he has lost, he says “the desire to begin again,” noting that it’s the most important thing in life. Each day and every day, we have the opportunity to begin again.

Oftentimes, we allow a few “bad” moments to take our entire day or even week hostage. When we honestly reflect on those days, we realize that there was so much more good in them, but we let the bad trump the good.

By the end of Friday, I had a series of encounters with people demanding me to do what they wanted because it was the most important thing ever. And instead of letting it roll off my back, I let it get to me. 24 hours, a seven mile run and the gift of grace put the “world” back into proper order. And despite the critics, I am going to begin again.

A few definitions of grace include “beauty of form” and “unmerited favor of God.” It’s both really – God giving you the ease and strength to maintain your beauty of form when you don’t feel like it at all.

Grace is the ability to be quiet instead of reacting with our first selfish thought. To choose light over dark. To edify rather than criticize. To let others do what they do and not let it sway your resolve. To let go of the need to be right. It’s a real change of heart that allows us to choose compassion, empathy and love when it’s counterintuitive. It’s aligning our thoughts and heart with our actions. And in order to do all of this, we need the gift of grace and the peace that passes all understanding to intervene to make the seemingly impossible, possible.

Grace comes again to save the day.

 

Mar 27

13 Comments

Fullness

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau

"Time is only that we may find God." - St. Bernard

“Time is only that we may find God.” – St. Bernard

We live in parts and pieces, fragments really. As we swiftly move through the day with thoughts racing to what’s next, we miss the depth and breadth, the fullness. We accept defeat and despair without question. We owe the same to joy and hope.

We are not broken, we are whole. Life is not lacking, it’s full and overflowing with wonder, beauty and bounty. Slow down. Step back. Breath it in. Leave the valley, ascend the hill and see the mighty expanse, the big picture.

All of the pieces and fragments weave together to make up a complete life filled with blessings. We need only see what’s right in front of us, longing to be seen, felt and lived out completely. If only we dare to receive it.

Mar 18

6 Comments

Witness

“Observe, record, tabulate, communicate. Use your five senses. Learn to see, learn to hear, learn to feel, learn to smell, and know that by practice alone you can become expert.” – William Osler

Last night, I strolled through photos – birthdays, water skiing, vacations, graduations, every day moments. It seems like yesterday and we look so young. Photos allow us to witness our lives, our journey. Slices of life – moments captured, memories made. As we get swept away with daily “busyness,” we let moments pass unnoticed.

This photo is absolutely one of my favorites of my parents, Molly and Elly. Today marks the day four years ago that I had to say good-bye to Elly after 12 years of friendship and sweet memories. While I still miss her every day, I am grateful for being a witness to and participant in her life and hers in mine. Take notice. See, hear, feel and express your gratitude each day to those who walk the journey with you. It’s a good life, a very good one. Embrace it.

“A happy family is but an earlier heaven.” – George Bernard Shaw

“A happy family is but an earlier heaven.” – George Bernard Shaw

Mar 11

12 Comments

Permission Slip

“As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson

What are you stopping yourself from doing, being, believing, feeling, becoming?

Fear, resentment, assumption, judgment, blame, keeping score, the past, the future, the “shoulds,” the “should nots,” fairness, selfishness are speed bumps, road blocks and stop signs to living a good and full life. Our mindset and attitude determine whether we are frozen in one place or free to become what we are meant to be while we are here for a very short time.

It’s time for a “field trip.” Give yourself a permission slip to remove these barriers. A field trip where you let go of the past and future and be present to each day’s gifts and beauty.

A field trip that gives you permission to let go, to forgive, to be aware, to laugh more, to lighten up, to go easy on yourself and others, to feel compassion, to be kind, to love more and unconditionally, to be happy for others, to give more, to be enthusiastic, to go deeper, to listen, to be quiet, to have faith and hope, to see the best in all, to encourage, to be delighted, to be open to the incredible.

A field trip to live your life to the fullest. Write that permission slip today. You are the only one who can sign off on it.

Feb 28

2 Comments

The Outcome

“To have striven, to have made the effort, to have been true to certain ideals – this alone is worth the struggle.” – William Osler

We often get to point B before ever leaving point A. Rushing to the conclusion, we forgo the journey. We play out conversations in our head, assuming we know exactly what will be said, bypassing the chance for a real exchange.

When we put more into the effort and less into predicting the outcome, we let go of what we have no control of to start with. Give your best and the outcome will take care of itself. What others think, popularity and people pleasing are fleeting. Without regard for reward or penalty, our thoughts, actions and words should be grounded in our ideals, our authentic self.

No hesitation, no bias, no assumptions, no predictions. Do, speak, think, feel and be who you are without consideration of the results, knowing the effort will pay off. With forethought based in kindness, let your presence leave behind more than what was there before you passed through.

“Living never wore one out so much as the effort not to live.” – Anais Nin

Feb 17

6 Comments

BINGO

“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A. A. Milne

The sound of a text on the phone – a text from Linda today “Another year cancer-free. Hugs and kisses.” Today marks 15 years to the day I was called on Ash Wednesday, 1999 to be told that I had stage 3 melanoma. I had to be reminded. I forgot. She remembered. That’s what friends and family do – they remember, they celebrate, they hold up a mirror to show us the best of us – our soul, our spirit.

We remember the offenses, we remember the struggles, we remember the day and minute we get the call. We need to remember the laughter, the lessons and the steps that lead us to the many victories, the celebrations. Tonight, I had dinner with family and played a little bingo. Laughing, winning the meat raffle twice and sharing special moments that make up a good life. So as the numbers are being called, remember to yell “bingo” when you win. It’s more often than we count.

“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” – James M. Barrie

“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” – James M. Barrie

Feb 16

2 Comments

With Love

“I think God’s going to come down and pull civilization over for speeding.” – Steven Wright

“Love knows how to form itself. God will do his work if we do ours. Our job is to prepare ourselves for love. When we do, love finds us every time.” – Marianne Williamson

“Love knows how to form itself. God will do his work if we do ours. Our job is to prepare ourselves for love. When we do, love finds us every time.” – Marianne Williamson

As I raced through a hectic last week to get ready for a very busy this week, I realized how much I rush through each day. To get through, to get by, to get to the next place, only to focus on the next. So instead of “preparing” for the worst, I am going to be present in each moment, trusting that I am where I am supposed to be. And instead of doing it with speed and velocity, I will embrace each encounter with enthusiasm and love.

Isn’t it awesome to be around people like that? We can be that for ourselves and others. We get what we give. Do this week with love.

Feb 12

6 Comments

Be Glad

“This happiness consisted of nothing else but the harmony of the few things around me with my own existence, a feeling of contentment and well-being that needed no changes and no intensification.” – Herman Hesse

When we let go of the idea that we’ll be happy when circumstances or people change, we discover true contentment doesn’t shift with the wind and resides within and right next to us in the simplicity of daily moments. We need to trust that deep well within, get into alignment with our core values and let the rest go. So much easier said than done, and often a lesson that needs to be relearned daily.

Being grateful for blessings of family and friends, reflection, rest, laughter, singing the “poochy mama” song to the girls, running with friends all get me back in the groove of living well and in the present. We’ve arrived, we just forget sometimes.

“Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play, and to look up at the stars.” – Henry Van Dyke

“Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play, and to look up at the stars.” – Henry Van Dyke

Feb 8

4 Comments

Imagine

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.” – Dr. Seuss

Combine imagination with a pair of sunglasses and the six foot wave of snow in my front yard transforms into waves rolling in on the beach in Malibu, Kona, Monterey Bay, Cancun (insert your favorite beach here). Surfs up.

When we are not overcome by the trivial, each day becomes “show and tell.”  A simple shift and we’re laying on a beach, warm sun on our face, relaxing to the music of the ocean waves dancing on the beach. Imagine. Delight. Lighten Up.

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Feb 6

4 Comments

Begin Again

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” – Seneca

We often let the circumstances of the day define us. By the end of yesterday, the day “won.” Each day gives us the gift to begin again. To start anew. When I set the tone in the quiet of the morning, I make a conscious decision to “make” my day. A few lines from one of Marianne Williamson’s prayers in Illuminata wacked me in the head this morning – “Thank You for my chance to begin again. Free me from the limitations of yesterday.”

Today need not be a prediction or repetition of yesterday. It is its own. Begin again and win the day.

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