Smiles

Smiles

There are moments, sometimes days
when we are distracted by life and
more focused on the past, the future and
the people, places and things distracting us.
I try to stay focused, balanced and centered,
but sometimes I lose it.
Then I start over,
pulling out my spiritual art supplies,
I begin by painting myself being securely and loving held
in God’s hands.  
I coat myself in a blanket of
God’s infinite love.
I keep looking and feeling
the presence of the Ultimate,
until I can feel it’s smile
washing over and through me.
The Ultimate’s smile fills me with
happiness and well being.
My body relaxes and pleasure
begins to flow through me.
The smile of the Ultimate
is not something I just see.
I feel it,
sense it,
experience it
and am as mindful of
its presence,
as I am of it’s absence.
Distractions limit my ability
to smile and to see the smile of the Ultimate.
Staying focused,
allows me to smile for myself
and to experience
the smile of the Ultimate.

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The P Word

The P Word

The P word
it is what my son calls it.
P, for him, stands for patience.
We all need this right now
as we wait
to hear who will be our next President.
Patience is hard.
We want to know now,
but we can’t.
we can sit and wait.
P, right now, is about more then patience.
It is about being present.
Being present  means I have to pay attention
to this moment.
I cannot worry about the past or the future,
I have to be present in this moment.
This moment that we are in
is part of our bigger story,
which is part of the bigger story of the universe.
When I am present I am not worrying about what is coming
I am not wasting the value of this moment
worrying about what I have no control over.
I am focusing on what God is doing right now.
I do not want to distract my attention
because I might miss it.
I know that whatever happens,
God will see me through.
Until then, what I do know is this
I can be patient and present and
make the most of my precious energy,
feelings, intellect and time.
I can be present with the knowing that
the God who unfolds it all
is about more then one election.
This is about honoring the mystery,
being present in this moment,
and being patient with myself and others
while it all unfolds.

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Opening Up

Opening Up
If I worked harder
maybe I could love more.
That is what they said to me.
It is what we have been taught to do,
work harder to become better.
What if instead of working harder
on loving more,
we opened our hearts and souls
to being loved by God.
What if we opening ourselves up
to receiving love,
taught us how to love others.
Not because we were working hard
but because it flowed from us,
like God’s love flows into us.
What if we worked harder
at opening ourselves up
to a deeper relationship
with our spiritual guide and mentor?
Opening up is not about working hard
it is about letting God
fill up our cup with love and blessings
and then allowing
what flows over
to flow unto others.
Our cup cannot runneth over,
if it has not first been filled.
open yourself to being filled
then let the overflow flow
naturally unto others.

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Unity

Unity

Have you ever felt like someone is out to get you,
cut you down,
or pollute you?
There are days I feel like one of the worms
that the bird is looking for to eat,
or the prey of the shark.
There are days I feel like the once green land
that has been leveled for more building
or the river that has trash floating in it
or the air that is gray from the smoke.
There are days, preferably moments,
when I feel like this.
Then I remember I am also the shark
and the bird
looking for something to eat.
I am also the developer,
and the pollutant.
I have to remember that it is not either or,
us or them
you or me;
it is we.
It is about me walking in unity
with all of me,
it is about me connecting with you,
but more about me
connecting with me.
it is in this solidarity and connectionsl
in this place of unity,
It is about me building bridges
and not walls.
It is about the unity between us
and the love and respect
that grows from
unity.

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Hold Yourself

Hold Yourself

Do you ever have one of those moments
when you just need to be held.
You just want to be held in your parent’s arms
and rocked and comforted
and know I was loved.
I am too big now to sit on anyone’s lap
and am bigger then some people’s laps.
but sometimes I still have one of those days
when I need to be held,
and rocked and reminded that I am loved.
Sometimes I can ask my wife to hug me
and that helps,
but there is something about being rocked and held,
that is more comforting then must a hug.
Now, when I need that loving care,
I stop where ever I am
I wrap my arms around me,
as tightly as I can.
then I rock myself
until I feel loved,
and I feel the arms of the Ultimate
holding me
rocking me
and reminding me
I am loved,
We all have those moments
when we need to feel loved.
Next time you do,
just hold yourself and rock.

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How Do You Do It?

How Do You Do It?

How do you do it?
A friend of mine says that to me all the time.
She is amazed at how I juggle so much.
She said you manage Inspiritual
teach, grade, and work with students,
do your Pampered Chef parties,
work with all your consultants and hosts,
cook, clean, time with Zoe,
and I am sure there is more.
So how do you do it?
The answer is simple.
and one that many have answered before.
Different person,
but same answer.
Martin Luther King Jr said it this way.
“I give the first hour to God,
God gives me the rest”
My first hour is about my time with the Ultimate.
I give thanks, pray, meditate,
listen to the symphony of silence
which ministers to my soul
and then the rest of the day falls into place.
This is how I do it.
I put the Ultimate source in my life first
then the Ultimate makes room for everything else
which needs to get done in my life.
Honestly, it is all about my priorities.
This is how I do it.

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La Confidence

La Confidence

Have you ever seen an image
that transfixed you,
drew you in to a space
you could not seem to leave.
A piece of art that
that had such a powerful effect
on your soul
that decades later
you still remember that feeling.
It was the day I walked into the Museum of Art
at the University of Georgia
and stood before this painting
that was as tall as I am short
and literally took my breath away.
As I stared at these two women
whispering secrets to each other
I could see the blood moving through their veins.
I could hear them breathing.
I could feel the bond they shared.
I was not looking at an image.
I was in the garden with them
and had accidentally entered into this moment.
Art, is transformative.
It takes the pain and hurt in the world
and brings it to life in a way
that draws one in
and allows one to experience the Divine
in undescribable ways.
Whether is it paintings, sculptures, film, prose, poetry,
or other art form,
it has the potential to draw you in
and reveal to you
the presence of the Ultimate
in the unexpected.

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Leting Go

Letting Go

Zoe reminded me the other day,
that I used to be better about letting things go.
I still let things go.
I have the same basic rules.
Have I used it in the last year?
Is it still working?
Is there a real reason I am keeping it.
if not, I let it go
The only things I have left are clothes I still wear
books I still read or use
and a few things I inherited from my parents.
The one thing I have an excess of
is the Pampered Chef I have earned.
I have been giving that away to rescues
to help them save others.
I am now putting packages together
to bring to women’s shelters
to help people restart their lives.
I have all I need.
As I release things
I make room for the Ultimate
and I never have too much room
for the Ultimate’s presence.

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Unconditional

Unconditional

The one that I commune with daily,
does all things unconditionally.
My challenge is to also be unconditional.
It is to not put conditions on what I surrender to the Ultimate.
I am to go with my grace and my groaning,
my joy and celebration
and my gripes and grieving.
There are no conditions on what I can bring
nor are there conditions on what I receive.
The challenge is to also love others
as unconditionally as I am loved.
So I look for the Ultimate in all I meet,
in the homeless
the stranger,
the bus driver,
the Instacart shopper,
the people who answer the phone,
the people who respond to my posts,
emails, and other electronic media.
If I honor them as creations of the Ultimate,
perhaps they will the Ultimate in me.
What if we treated each other with
the unconditional love and acceptance
we are offered?
What if we saw the Ultimate in each other?
How much more loving would the world be,
if we saw the Ultimate here on earth?

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Home is in my heart

Home is in my heart

Growing up, I would hear
Home is where the heart is.
for me, home is where the Ultimate is,
which is in my heart.
Home is that space where I gather
with the Ultimate,
those who have shown me kindness,
those I was kind to,
those who I was not able to be kind to
and those who were not able to be kind to me.
It is in the light and grace of the Ultimate
that we give thanks to those who showed us love
and seek forgiveness from those we hurt,
intentionally or not.
Home is that space where people experience the ,
the healing,
the grace,
and the wisdom of the Ultimate.
Home is not always an easy place to go,
but it is where the transformation continues.

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The Hands of God

The Hands of God

A friend of mine once told me that he wished he could see the presence of God in his life, like I do. Honestly, it is not something I work at. It just seems so visible. Like today. Yestrday I put an ad on Facebook Marketplace for 2 pieces of furniture we were just going to give away, but decided I would ask for a small amount of money to donate to Roc the Dogs Rescue, which my spiritual daughter operates. That is when the magic happened.

The two people taking the furniture are connected to me without my even knowing it. The first person has a daughter who was almost a student in my class.  She signed up once and then dropped. The second person was the one that has had me on a journey all day. I gave her the address so she could pick up the entertainment stand this week and she said I know that street, I used to live there. Not only did she live on the street, but she was the one we bought the house from 17 years ago. I mentioned it to my neighbor who mentioned another person, whose name I had seen but I did not know. This person was the sister in law of the person we bought the house from and she had bought it from her.

Now the story should end there, but it doesn’t. In talking with one of my neighbors who has long moved away, she said that before her was a couple she and her husband were very close to and had moved to Arizona. Before that was an elderly woman and her daughter who had moved to Vancouver.  In one day, I came to know everyone who has ever called our home theirs.

However, the journey does not end there. I found the couple in Arizona and am waiting to hear back from them and doubt that I will find the woman in Vancouver. I kept thinking that this is it, I am talking with my students about genealogy and I get to construct my home’s genealogy. Not the end.

Every family who has ever lived here has been of service.  This truly is God’s house. I am living on holy ground. I have to confirm about the elderly woman, but I heard she was a retired nurse. The man who moved to Arizona is a pastor, the two women who lived here before me are both in health care and we too are of service. That we found each other is a miracle in itself, but that we all have hearts of servants is yet another. How can I not see the hands of the Ultimate one in all of this.

WOW!  What an awesome day!

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Easing out the Ego

Easing out the Ego

I know we all have one,
but I am working on easing mine out.
I am ever mindful about how my ego
gets in the way.
My ego is filled with creativity,
but not in a good way.
it creates stories
which can fill me with fear,
distrust,
and worry about what might happen,
what others might do,
and scenarios based on fallacy.
Ego is about easing God out.
So if I ease out my ego,
I make greater room in my soul
to ease God in.

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Balance

How do you do it?
Everyone seems to think
my life is in balance,
but like everyone else
it is a dance
that I constantly work at
so I can balance my 3 jobs,
time for family and friends,
time for me
and time to spend with the Ultimate.
It is not about one or the other,
rather, how I intentionally work
to stay in balance,
or come back to it
when I allow life
to throw me out of balance.
Thinking about balance reminds
me of being on a seesaw with my best friend.
She always worked with me to ensure
neither of us was the one who was always
up or down.
Although it is not always comfortable,
or easy,
I try to make time for the relationships
which are so important,
even if it means I do not
get all my work done.
At the end of my life,
it is those I love
who will remember
I made time for them
as I strove to balance my life.

How Did You Know

Did you ever just feel
like you are supposed
to reach out an send someone some love,
some light,
some positive and healing energy?
Then you do
and they say how did you know?
How did you know
I needed some love?
How did you know
I needed someone
to reach out?
How did you know
I needed to know
God heard me.
I always say I didn’t,
but God did.
God just tapped me on the shoulder
and whispered
your name in my ear
and so I sent
a basket of love, light and positive energy.
How did I know?
Easy.
The same way you know
when I needed to hear from you
and you reached out
and sent me
the answer to my prayers.

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Invisible

I have always been told
that I cannot see or understand
the way the Divine does.
My vision is not God’s and
God’s understandings are not mine.
So don’t try to think or see
like the Ultimate
because that is not you.

Before I try to think or see
like the Ultimate,
I need to learn to see and understand?
the parts of me which
are invisible to me.
I need to explore that
which I have not wanted to see
or understand
or explore.

I need to deal with the
invisibility within
before I attempt to deal
with the invisible of the Ultimate.
I need to work on removing
all that affects my own being
in this world and blurs,
distorts, or makes
invisible
my understanding of myself or others.

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Paradise

I remember a Rabbi once saying
Sit in Paradise when you read,
when you study Torah,
when you pray, and
anytime you seek to be
with God

Paradise has always been
hard for me to envision, to see,
to experience,
so it has felt as if there is a barrier
to being in the deepest state
with God

Paradise now
for me is not anything special, but
those everyday moments that
bring me to a place of peace,
joy, and
openness.

Paradise
is that feeling of being
wrapped in God’s loving arms
like a warm, cozy blanket.
It is the smell of freshly mowed grass.
It is the tastes,
touches,
sounds,
feelings, and
appearances,
which bring me to a space
of closeness and intimacy
with God

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I Do Not Know

It is okay, I tell my students
to say I do not know.
There is nothing wrong
with saying I do not know.
Saying I do not know
opens us up to learning,
growing,
and receiving knowledge
from the Divine.

There are always things
at work,
at home,
at school
and with our friends
that we do not know.
We all know something
but none of us know everything.
When we say
we do not know,
we allow others to share
what they know with us.

There are also things
we may never know,
because it is not our time
or our season
or our lifetime time to know.
Our ways are not God’s ways
and our understandings are not God’s
So saying
I do not know
simple recognizes
our humanity
and that we are not
the Divine.
Today may we become comfortable
owning we do not know

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Namaste

Namaste
I salute the God in you.
I bow before you
with my hands folded
as if in prayer.
I recognize that meeting you
is meeting the God in you.
I recognize that you meeting me
is meeting the God in me.
So we bow in prayer
and give thanks
for the opportunity
to meet God
in each other.
Namaste.

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In God’s Lap

When I was a little gurl
there was nothing more comforting
then cuddling up
in my parent’s lap.
As I grew bigger,
I became too big for their laps,
 but I was never too big for God’s lap

God’s lap
is my sanctuary.
It has taken various forms.
It has been a field of flowers.
It has been the warmth of the sun.
it has been that safe place in my dreams.
it has been the calming of a warm shower.
it is any space or place where I feel
unconditionally loved and safe.

God’s lap
always has room
no matter how young or old we are.
God’s lap
always offers
the comfort and healing,
the love and the safety
we so often seek in life.
Next time you are in need
curl up in God’s lap
and know you are loved

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Celebrate Yourself

"I celebrate myself,"
The poet Walt Whitman wrote.
Are you celebrating yourself?
What if you celebrated
all of you,
your achievements,
your experiences, and
your existence.

How would you look at yourself
if you were celebrating
all of who you are?

Would you be saying
I am God’s beloved
I know God is pleased with me
Would you know you are good?
Would you stand in front of yourself and say
“I celebrate myself.”

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