delight

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. - Khalil Gibran

 

I hope that the earth is enjoying you today!

Land of Plenty

My friend, neighbor and fellow writer shared this with me and agreed to let me share it with you. Let us enjoy everything we can!

Written by Christopher Andrew Maier:

By an accident of birth, we are living in a Land of Plenty. We exist among the top 1 percent of the world who have enough to eat every single day, who have lovely warm surroundings when it is too cold, and cool, serene surroundings when it is too hot.

And political oppression is not even on our radar screen. The rest of our experience pales when faced with the real hunger, cold, debilitating heat and guns in the face that many people can not escape for lack of funds and awareness.

So “serene’ would be the operative word. We have the luxury to experience that, as well as the drugs and counseling to allow us not to suffer too much from anxieties. We [artists] also have the joy of creating with tools and materials that allow others to see into our Appreciation of Life, or our discouragement, for that matter.

The entire history of the human race has not been too sweet a trip. I think we are riding on a froth of whipped cream, far from the maddening crowd and the worst that life could be, what it is for countless billions right now, and stretching into the distant past.

a story

Give people a fact or an idea and you enlighten their minds; tell them a story and you touch their souls.~Hasidic Proverb
Here’s one of mine:

Have you ever been teased? Are you a teaser or a teasee? I am the latter. I moved from Michigan to New Jersey before kindergarten. I was shy then, and my parents had saddled me with a tricky first name. It is rare that someone can read my name and pronounce it correctly. So when my teacher called for Lizel, the kids had a good place to start with the teasing.

At recess on the black-top, a smart little boy, Joe S, dubbed me as 'Lysol' coupled with pretending to pump me like an aerosol can…pat/pssst, pat/pssst. Lining up to return from recess, Joe asked where I lived before NJ. I replied, "Battle Creek." Joe asked, "Did you fight in a ditch?" I remember not knowing what he meant. Battle and ditch had no meaning to me. I was embarrassed but I smiled along.

As an adult I remember Joe fondly, but as five-year-old I grinned and beared it. I tell this story to say that early on I learned to laugh at myself. It felt nicer to be a good sport than to hide or pout.

This idea goes along with this quote: "Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be," by Grandma Moses. We have a choice of reactions we can have when something unpleasant happens. We can find a way to smile or give in to misery. I'll choose smiling over misery every time.

uncontrollable giggles

Every now and then something strikes me so funny that I laugh until I cry and can barely catch my breath. This usually happens when I'm tired. I thought I would share the most recent thing…

Winnie was visiting and Kristin got out the book “Corduroy” which is a favorite story of mine about a bear who needs a home and someone to love.

Anyway, Winnie had on pants of that material, and I said, “Oh! what are your pants made out of? Before Winnie could answer, Mike said, “Are they made of BEARS?”

That made me laugh loudly which made Winnie look at me with surprise and curiosity; I don't think she's ever heard me laugh like that. The expression on her face was what kicked in my hysteria.

What started as a silly joke brought me uncontrollable giggles which made Winnie give an even more quizzical expression. Isn't it fun to laugh?

Philosophy in Haiku

I am always looking for new ways to think about life and spirituality. My friend, neighbor and fellow writer shared this with me and agreed to let me share it with you. Any thoughts?

Henry Francisco

Philosophy in Haiku

Entitled: THE # PATH

Being Your Ideal

The Holy Spirit Within

The Better-er Way

Organize be-ing.

Present a certain structure

As part of your day

Learn productively

What will contribute to life

As you find it now

Produce something new

From the raw material

Provided to you

Respect others' thoughts

Wander among their ideas

Mining benefits

Reason. Think things out

beyond the superficial

Expose subtleties

Conserve the vitals

That make up the life we live

Reproduce essence

Share nature's bounty

Made available to all

Who would use it well

Solve the conundrums

Besetting society

Making life better

Change from within or

Without if necessary

Leaving improvement

"O Spirit within

Help to guide my current life

To constructive ends

Building upon blocks

Already provided me

By mortal bounty

From the present day

To a worthy conclusion

Thence to my reward"

inner light

I have been working on a definition of inner light as I see it. This light is a quality of love for yourself and others coupled with mental or emotional strength; when shared with others it makes yourself and those around you feel optimistic and even happy or inspired.

Your light is not a skill or talent. It is a feeling. Your light can be expanded in different ways. Some challenges that we meet in life call us to use this feeling of love and strength. Though the struggle is not necessary. Doing kind things for others and keeping kindness in all of your daily activities can develop your light. The more you share it the brighter it will be.

Most importantly, feel it and use it in your own life. Nurturing and encouraging yourself is the best place to begin. You have this light. Look for it, feel it, and then share it!

better thoughts

A leader does not say, “Follow me.” A leader says, “I will go 1st.” – Neale Donald Walsch

So here I am. I will go 1st in seeking the positive in every situation, seeking greater spiritual understanding (how many of you have explored Source?), and practicing encouraging others to feel the light within them.

Here is an exercise from Esther and Jerry Hicks: whatever your thought is right now, reach for a better one. For instance, “being cooped up in the cold weather gets me down.” A better thought, “I'm so glad I have a roof over my head.” A next better thought, “My home is so comfortable and nicely decorated, I love it.” And another, “When I am bored at home, I could rearrange the furniture and have some fun.” The idea is to reach for better thoughts repeatedly until you feel good.

When I'm feeling down, the process is hard to get started, but when I put my mind to it, I feel better. Hope you do, too!