In an Instant

January 21, 2025 Sharon Jacobson

In an Instant

In an instant,
your world can change.
I know this from my own life.
In an instant,
I felt a pain shoot down my leg
and the next instant was numbness.
Each day reminds me that
in an instant,
I can find the power to love my adversaries.
I can be given the power to accept my failures.
I can grieve loss.
I can endure torture.
I can avail myself
in any instant
of the power and grace
that flows to and through me
from the Ultimate.
In an instant,
I can find peace in the moment,
I can look for the goodness.
I can live like an overcomer.
I can transform my perspective.
In an instant,
I can make a difference
even if I cannot change the world,
I can start with me
and the person I see in the mirror.
In an instant,
I can make a difference
and make this world a better place
one instant at a time.

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Learn to Love

January 22, 2024 Sharon Jacobson

Learn to Love

I remember the year
we had voles in our yard.
The rodent specialist gave us a few options:
He could use traps that would kill them,
or traps so he could move them
or we could come to love them.
So we learned to love them
and then they disappeared
as mysteriously as they had appeared.
we all have things we have to
learn to love.
When you can’t fix it,
or change it
or get rid of it
just learn to love it.
When you do
things change.
It is not the situation,
it is you.
when we learn to love
we open our hearts and minds
to experience everything a new.
Just for today,
learn to love

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Welcome

December 19, 2022 Sharon Jacobson

Welcome

There are so many things that we welcome
like good times,
friends,
good news,
and things which bring us joy.
However, one thing my Bubby taught me
was to welcome everything,
especially that which I want to avoid.
So I welcome all the gifts
the Universe is sending me
those I can’t wait to unwrap
and those I would rather not.
I was taught there is a gift in each and
I cannot receive the gifts
if I do not welcome them.
I may not like their arrival,
but when I welcome and accept them,
then I welcome the gift and blessing in them
and I learn to see blessings
in all I am given,
whether I want to welcome them or not.

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I Wish You Well

July 29, 2021 Sharon Jacobson

I Wish You Well

Each day I choose how
I treat others, regardless of
how I feel about them personally.
I do not have to like you
but because I am called to love you,
I wish others well,
even if it is from a distance.
I was asked how I can do that.
The answer is simple,
the golden rule,
which reminds me to do unto others,
as I would have them do unto me.
Or as I once heard a nun say,
Go with God, but go.
I am called to love humanity,
it does not mean I have to like them.
So whether I like others or not,
I wish you well,
and pray that you do the same for me.

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Pain in the A**

June 23, 2021 Sharon Jacobson

Pain in the A**

We all know someone
we consider to be a
pain in the A**.
I have met quite a few people like that
in my life.
They are the ones who get on your last nerve,
who are like heat sinking missiles
They do not stay in your life long,
but they are there for a reason.
They have been some of the greatest teachers
in my life.
They have saved me thousands of dollars
in therapy.
pressing every button
I have to be pressed.
They have taught me invaluable lessons,
helped me develop some of my gifts
showed me what I need to work on next and
then left when they were done.
They have reminded me of how much I appreciate
some of the most challenging teachers I had in college.
Grateful for them, but
glad to see them go at the same time.
They are the ones who make me say
Thank you for being a
pain in my a**.

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Make It Work

May 11, 2021 Sharon Jacobson

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Make It Work

I am not sure who taught me to just
make it work.
Life does not always happen the way we envisioned.
Sometimes we are challenged,
disappointed,
and left wondering
how are we going to make it through.
That is when I remember my Bubby
teaching me to give thanks
in all circumstances,
not just the ones I want to give thanks for,
but all of them.
Life has taught me to make it work
and find the blessings in all situations,
the ones I love and the ones I don’t.
Life has taught me to
make it work.
it’s not about what life brings me,
but about how I go through it.
and make it work for me,
and for others.
We all find ourselves in situations
that can seem like a bind,
but even then we can
adopt an attitude that is about
making it work.
Our attitude is the difference
between it working
and it not.
So make it work.

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I’m Liking It

July 28, 2020 Sharon Jacobson

I always giggle
when I see a McDonald’s ad
that says
I’m loving it.
it reminds me of how powerful
my words and attitude are.
I am not where I can say
I’m loving it
about everything,
but I can say
I’m liking it.
Whatever the weather
I’m liking it.
Whatever the diagnosis
I’m liking it.
Whether I have a job or not
I’m liking it.
Whether others are loving me or not
I’m liking it.
what I have come to know is that
it is not about others attitudes
it is about mine
and I’m liking it.
I like that I am positive.
I like it that I look for the light in others.
I like that I never give up.
I like that I am a believer.
I like that I am an achiever.
I like that when I look at myself
in the mirror, I can say
I’m liking it.
I hope you can as well.

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Attitude

August 6, 2019 Sharon Jacobson

Cleaning,
filing,
weeding,
grading,
the list of things
I want to say

I don’t like
can be ever growing.

Then I realized
it is about my attitude.
I can look at these things
as chores,
as things I dread doing,
or I can get
a new attitude.

I can see them
as an opportunity,
a time of decluttering,
a time of creating holy space,
a time of creating a sacred space

It is all about our attitude
and how we perceive things.
They can be opportunities or not.
May we be intentional about
approaching things with a new attitude
and give thanks instead of complaining.

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Embrace the Moment

June 5, 2019 Sharon Jacobson

That was not what I wanted to hear
It was not what I wanted to happen,
It was one of those moments
that made me want to avoid it,
run away, hide, and pretend it
does not exist.

However, what I have learned is to
embrace the moment.
Good or bad, I have to
embrace the moment.
Whether I want to or not,
it is through embracing the moment
that I grow, evolve, and transform.

Sometimes we think something
is the worst thing that could happen
in our lives, but the worst thing is not
embracing the moment.
There is a blessing in the hardest of moments,
like when I lost the feeling in my leg,
lost part of my vision,
lost my paratransit services
lost ___________________.
However, when I embraced all of that
I found peace, power, strength, and grace.
Whatever you encounter,
embrace the moment,
and give thanks for the blessings
and the lessons.

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Give Thanks

July 2, 2018 Sharon Jacobson

Every morning one of the first things I do is to write down at least five things I have to be grateful for in my life. I have been doing this for years now. So many people I know do this in November in preparation for Thanksgiving, but every day is a day to give thanks, not just one month. So why not give thanks every day. Sarah Ban Breathnach, author of Simple Abundance writes five things every night, but at night I am too brain dead to clearly think about what I am grateful for, so I write mine first thing in the morning as I sip on my morning coffee or tea.

It is not so much about when you give thanks but that you do. It is not so much about how much you have but your recognition of it and ability to give thanks for it. It is so easy to give thanks when life is going well. However, when we are going through a challenging time, sometimes it is hard to give thanks. It is hard to give thanks when you are going through. Yet this is the very time it is most important because doing so helps us to see how blessed we are. Practicing gratitude keeps us mindful that we have everything we need, even when it may not feel like it. For example, for three months of each year, I have little to no income. I can work on saving each month, but then the financial drought season hits. It is a frustrating time as life feels like window shopping. There are so many things I see that I want to do or would like to have, but they are not a necessity, so they stay where they are behind the window. It is in those moments that I have to stop and give thanks and remind myself or be reminded by my wife that we have an abundance. Even when it feels like we are struggling, we are living in a space of abundance.

It’s all about the attitude

February 7, 2017 Sharon Jacobson

Have you ever had one of those days where you struggle to find anything precious or valuable about yourself, never mind anyone else? We all have those days where we lie to ourselves for whatever reason. Someone asked me if I ever wrote when I was not happy. I said no. So maybe today I needed to write during a time when I need to be intentional about practicing reverence. It is one of those days where I need to be intentional about remembering that my value as a human being is greater than any function I perform, or any title bestowed on me, or how much or how little I have in my account. What makes me valuable is my ability to see the Divine in me. As a friend of mine once told me, when people ask you who you are, just say I am. If the Divine is the great I am and the Divine is in me then I am also I am.

It is not what we do that makes us valuable, it is our attitude about life and the way we view the world. It is about seeing the presence of the Divine in everything and remembering that blessings come in ways that surpass our understanding. It is the ability to see the sacred in every human being, every object, and every situation. When we seek out the sacred in every situation and every moment, we are practicing reverence. Reverence then shapes our reality and the way we interpret every aspect of our life. It is what allows us to see the spiritual value in all of life. When we look at all things, great and small, with reverence we see the sacred in everything from turning on the water faucet to flushing the toilet to giving someone a hug.

Emil's Sunset

July 6, 2015 Sharon Jacobson

There is this series of videos on YouTube from the Spiritual Literacy Project which illustrate spiritual practices and capture the sacred in everyday life. In a video about enthusiasm, they share a story about Emil’s Sunset. Emil was a gentleman who each night would gather people at the family cottage just to watch the sunset. He would make people stop what they were doing and come and sit in the fully experience the beauty of the sunset. In the video, they talk about how one day after he had passed away, they were busy doing things and someone mentioned there was an Emil sunset. They all stopped what they were doing and sat and took in the beauty of the sunset.

Trust the process

September 9, 2014 Sharon Jacobson

Long before I was ever exposed to the book of Galatians in the New Testament, I had heard the saying “you reap what you sow.” I have come to understand that there is a truth behind this saying. Recently, someone shared with me that it was important for people to tell their torch song, that woe is me song, that somebody done me wrong song. I told them that the only thing that needed to happen with the torch song is that it needed to be torched. See when we sow our torch song and focus on all that we think is wrong with our lives, what we reap are more things that are wrong with our life.

Conversely, when we focus on the positives and the blessings in our lives, then we reap more of those in life. One of the things I have learned is that we really do reap what we sow. If I am going to sing any song, it is going to be my praise song, my what I have overcome, what I have to be grateful for, how blessed I am song. What I have come to realize in my life is that it is this positive energy, attitude, and momentum, which carries me through.

D is for Destiny

December 24, 2012 Sharon Jacobson

I woke up this morning wondering whether to reflect on destiny or devotion as they both resonated with my spirit for different reasons. However, the more I reflected on the word destiny, the more it drew me in and made me realize I was destined to write about destiny on the day I celebrate the 11 year anniversary of the woman I was destined to share my life with. Talking about destiny is not as easy as it seems. One of the challenges I found was in how to define it. The definitions I found in dictionaries often times used destiny interchangeably with fate, as if they are the same thing. Fate is about all that was decided before we are incarnated. Destiny is about our participation in our life and how we respond to what arises in our life. Do we make the best of our lives regardless of what situations we encounter?

A is for the A’s

December 4, 2012 Sharon Jacobson

Lately, others have invited me to participate in some interesting blogging challenges. This week was no different. For the next 26 weeks, I will be blogging my way through the alphabet. When I asked some of our Facebook and Twitter followers for some A words as inspiration for this week’s blog, you offered me appreciation, awareness, agreements, attitude, asparagus, and anchovies, in no specific order. While the last two might seem a stretch in terms of this particular reflection, the more I thought about these letter words, the more I realize that they were, in their own unique way, related. One of our followers suggested the word appreciation because she said she appreciated everything Inspiritual does for our readers, members, and followers. While we too appreciated the feedback, I realized that being able to be grateful and appreciate someone else’s actions, words, or behaviors was in part about awareness and attitude. If one is not have an attitude of gratitude about the blessings in one’s life, then one cannot appreciate the fullness and richness of those blessings.

Staying grateful

July 23, 2012 Sharon Jacobson

Maintaining an attitude of gratitude is one of those things which most people find relatively easy to do when things are going well in their lives. When you have a secure and well paying job, it is easy to give thanks. When your relationship is stable, it is easy to give thanks. When you are doing well health wise, it is easy to give thanks. The problem is that most of us have those days in our life when our job may be at risk, or we may be worried about trying to find one.

Recapturing I can

June 18, 2012 Sharon Jacobson

For some this may be easier then others, but can you remember a time when you were young and free enough to think you could do anything. Take a moment and remember that time when you could imagine yourself as whatever you chose to be, you could travel to far off places and accomplish amazing things in the world. One of my favorite films is the movie UP! In part because it captures the imaginary and liberating creativity experienced by Elie and Carl as they formed a secret club and fantasized about traveling to Paradise Falls, somewhere in South America, as part of their fantasy of finding the once famous explorer Charles Muntz and his blimp The Spirit of Adventure.

Writing Your Own Prescription

January 2, 2012 Sharon Jacobson

The other day I was at the grocery store and this older woman, well older then me, offered to help me reach a package and then proceeded to tell me how awful my life must be and how seeing people like me made her feel so much better about her life. I was not quite sure how to respond, so I thanked her for her assistance and told her that I prayed God would continue to fill her day with opportunities to feel better about her life. Her comment to me got me questioning how we describe our lives. Do you describe your life by talking about how hard it is, or as I heard one person say once, “life sucks and then you die.” Or are you more on the attitude of life is good.

An Attitude of Gratitude

November 21, 2011 Sharon Jacobson

We all go through times in our journey which if given the choice, we might choose to avoid. It is at times like this when I tend to hear my Bubby’s voice reminding me that when you can see the good in a bad situation, then you know you are going to be ok. I have done this with Zoë’s cancer diagnosis, during the times my son has struggled (like last night), during my struggle with Liftline, etc. As I have made a list of the blessings in each situation, the way I see them, what I choose to believe about them shifts from an Eeyore attitude to an attitude of gratitude. The more I focus on what I have to be grateful for, the more I realize how much I have to be grateful for. It is as if gratefulness begets gratefulness begets gratefulness.

Attitude is everything

August 8, 2011 Sharon Jacobson

Quite some time ago, I gained an understanding about the importance of gratitude. It is amazing what happens to our view of the world when we acquire an attitude of gratitude and begin to look at the world through its eyes. It seems as if the more one finds to be grateful for, the more you see things for which to give thanks. It is this ever-growing experience. Being mindful of one thing for which to give thanks seems to give birth to some other thing for which to give thanks, which gives birth to something else and so on and so on.

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