Joy

May today your heart be light
And in simple things take delight.

May you feel within you shines the sun
And find your tasks are less work and more fun.

May it seem the universe conspires to make you smile
As if to prove all you do is worthwhile.

Holiday Focus

May you set an intention for the season
For all the hustle and bustle have a reason.
If the center is wonder, beauty or delight
Make that the target you keep in your sight.
If closeness to family and friends is at the core
Plan on your schedule to give that them time more.
If connection with God is your holiday key
Make devotion and worship the priority.

May you release the need to make the season perfect
Instead give your physical and mental health respect.

However you choose to spend your days
May love and peace guide your ways.

Black Friday Unobserved

For me this Friday will not be black,
In no shopping cart will I today presents stack,
Instead I’ll sleep a bit more in the sack,
Some neglected projects conscientiously attack,
My pre-Thanksgiving body work to get back.
In my choice of activities, I feel no lack.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Here is a blessing for those of us a bit reluctant about the holiday.

A Grateful Heart A Grateful Heart A Grateful Heart A Grateful Heart A Grateful Heart

If a guest, may your travel safely and with ease.
If a host, may your company be easy to please.

May your table be filled with wonderful food,

And the camaraderie be equally good.

May gratitude be the centerpiece of the day.
And when it’s all over, may everything have turned out okay.

A Grateful Heart A Grateful Heart A Grateful Heart A Grateful Heart A Grateful Heart



A Daisy Chain of Gratitude

Even as I type, my aunt who lives in assisted living should be opening up her Thanksgiving Day card from me: a hug in an envelope. This seems like the perfect subject for a little “daisy chain of gratitude.”

I am grateful that I have an aunt who loves me and is fun to talk with on the phone.

I am grateful for …

• The assisted living staff that helps take care of my aunt and brought the card into her room,
• All the various postal workers who sold me the stamp, processed the card and drove it over a hundred miles, and finally delivered it,
• The clerk who sold me the card and the drugstore that still carries greeting cards despite us living in the age of texting and Facebook,
• The artist and writer who created the greeting card,
• The workers at the paper mill and printing company,
• And other assorted other people who helped me let my aunt know I am thinking of her this holiday.

Vulnerability

In the last few weeks I have seen the vulnerable sides of different people. A friend shared her poetry with me. Another friend confided that she wanted to find a soul mate. A bus driver had a small collage on a clipboard, placed discretely where he could glance at it from time to time when he was stopped at a light. It included pictures of his family, Martin Luther King, Jesus, his dog, his home, and President Obama—one of the weeks that Obama was on very, very few people’s good list. Part of me felt sarcastic, but at the same time I could almost see the strength that the collage gave to the driver as he went about his job that day. I realized that each of these experiences was a soul moment for me.

Teach me, Divine Creator, how to hold a person tenderly in my consciousness. Help me to see that they are surrounded by your protection and infused by your power and strength. Help me to look with curiosity and awe at the unique path they have chosen for this lifetime. Help me to appreciate their talents and abilities, and yet see them as beings who are continuing to grow in the sun of your love. Help me to see that any cynicism I feel is only a misguided attempt to protect myself against my own vulnerability. Help me to see that we are all one, a part of your wonder.

Cynicism

If jealousy is the green-eyed monster, is cynicism the monster that rolls her eyes?

I love myself unconditionally, even the parts of me that have been hurt by disappointment or that don’t believe good things can happen. At the same time, I do not need to allow cynicism to control my thoughts and actions. I can give my attention and my energy to the part of me that believes "With God all things are possible." I can choose to look for little miracles, synchronicities, and coincidences. I can choose to seek out stories of people who have beaten the odds or defied the naysayers, despite poor economic conditions, disabilities, discrimination, poor health or other obstacles. I choose to risk looking the fool in exchange for the possibility of living a better life.

Blessing For the Week 2

 Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you

May you dance with the Spirit of Gratitude this week.

May you challenge yourself to find more and new things for which to be grateful.

May you look for opportunities to say a heartfelt thank, whether in person, in a letter, or just in your imagination.

When you buy or use something, may you enjoy making daisy chains of gratitude, feeling love for the clerk who sold you the item, the trucker who shipped the item, all the way to the laborer who harvested the plant or the person in the factory who sewed the garment.

If you are spending Thanksgiving with friends or family, may you allow the Divine to inspire your table prayer or toast.

May you let you body and mind know that you are grateful that they help you to live in this world.

May you feel gratitude for your Creator.

 Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you

Blessing for a Friend

Earlier this year my neighbor-sister almost died after a medical mishap. For a long time she behaved like someone with the after-effects of a moderate stroke. These days she is more or less back to her old self, and I am grateful she is better. Unfortunately some of the old demons have also returned to her life.

May you release your preconceived judgments about appearance and age
And instead truly see the beautiful, vibrant person that you are.

May you open yourself to happy surprises
And allow them to appear in your life
For the universe vibrates with possibilities.

May you know that you are gifted with talents and abilities
Which need to be given to the world.
May you have the courage to share them.

May you know that it is never too late to have what you yearn for
That with God all things are possible.

May you let yourself feel the love of God, family, and friends.
May you truly love yourself.

Thinking

Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking

Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking Thinking

Community

May you find kindred souls
Who share your heartfelt goals
Who in your struggles share
For your well being care.

May you know beyond a doubt you belong
Have a place to sing your unique song.

May you be part of a community of friends
Whose camaraderie and support knows no ends.

Thinking Outside the Box

For a few hours yesterday I tried to clean the leaves out of a seemingly inaccessible rain gutter behind a clump of three 50 year old bushes and above an awning. With my “listen to a different drummer” semi-circular canals, I couldn’t trust my balance enough to climb on the roof. So I trimmed the bushes on three sides of the clump using several different cutting implements, tried different ladders, and used multiple tricks from my martial arts training. After some whimpering and a grilled cheese sandwich, I went back outside and cut a path between two of the shrubs. It doesn’t look pretty and the shrubs will need to be seriously reshaped—long overdue, but it worked. I realized I was focused on overcoming the problems, rather than finding a solution. The whole experience was a metaphor. The shrubs were my box. The solution lied in breaking open the box. We all have our “boxes.”

When the tried and true

No longer work for you

That’s your cue

To do something out of the blue.

A new paradigm you may find

Gives you a renewed peace of mind.

Something unusual to try

So no longer you cry.

You form thoughts outside the box

Challenges you can now out fox.

When people say “no,” “you won’t,” “you can’t”

Make those obstacles look like mounds built by an ant.

Instead of sticking with convention

Make it your intention

To go in a new direction

With success now build a connection.

Knowledge vs. Wisdom

The creative side of my brain seems to be on sabbatical this week. Perhaps the universe is trying to tell me that this is the right and perfect time to share some great quotes that I have found.

Knowledge is of the intellect; wisdom and understanding are of the heart.

Ernest Holmes

The Way of Man

Sometimes I find spiritual inspiration in the oddest of places. This is from Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger In a Strange Land:

The Truth is simple but the Way of Man is hard. First you must learn to control your self. The rest follows. Blessed is he who knows himself and commands himself, for the world is his and love and happiness and peace walk with him wherever he goes.

Against Opposition

This quote from The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin beautifully illustrates the Law of Attraction:

To oppose something is to maintain it....You must go somewhere else; you must have another goal; then you walk a different road.

Pushed Button

Growl, snipe or yell
Or just plain give them hell.

Your button has been found
Your anger will not back down.

Common sense you find
Has just left your mind.

So you take a deep breath and count
So permanent damage will not mount.

You begin to make a new plan
Instead of raw emotion fan.

You may not be ready to smile
But sanity has returned for awhile.

Warmth II

Today, I am thinking about staying warm this winter.

Whether indoors or out
May you have no reason to pout.

May your coat and sweater
Help you feel comfortable in all weather.

Whether you sleep, work or play
May in perfect warmth you stay.

May the fire in your heart
Help you remember God’s child you art.

Inspiration

May you today and forever be Divinely inspired
And in stale, outworn ideas no longer be mired.

May you be led to thoughts outside the box
To help you any competition to outfox.

If you are caught in “woe is me,”
May shining possibilities you now see.

If you would like to better connect with clients, customers, or fans
May you find angels guiding your attention and hands.

May making mistakes no longer give you fright.
May you release criticisms that are trite.

May you feel courage to face the unknown
And act upon what you have been Divinely shown.

May your days have sparkle, glitter and shine
And inspiration ever fill your mind.

Warm November Day

“It is a great day to be alive,” I tell myself.

Warm day in the middle of November
Sun friendly and kind.
I take pleasure in my errands
Walking to stores and library
Listening as an old man tells the postman
sad stories about World War II,
The postman healing his spirit with attention.

I do not doubt there is love in the world today.

Watching paired Lhasa Apsos
Pull on their leashes
A cat rolls on her back in the grass a block away
Birds feast on seed left in a yet uncleaned rain gutter.

This is the type of day

I want to fold in an envelope

And send to a distraught friend.

Daylight Savings Time End

May you happily fall back
Enjoying extra sleep in the sack
Or devoting to an endeavor for time you lack.

May your body quickly get used to the change in the light
And to your mind may everything seem quite alright.

Haiti & Indonesia

This is a hybrid prayer, affirmation, and meditation, similar to ones that I have used at our church during open prayer when I have been conducting the service.

Dear God, I so easily get caught up in the drama of my life, my friends’ lives, politics, and even sometimes celebrities. Today, I take seriously the Prayer of Saint Francis and allow myself to be “an instrument of your peace.” As I go about my day, I choose to devote some time experiencing your love and healing surrounding the peoples of Haiti and Indonesia. I may visualize a white light filling the islands, angels holding hands as they surround the countries, or see them resting in the heart of my loving creator. I may choose to say an affirmation of peace, healing or divine order. I may choose to light a candle and say my own special prayer. I may choose to take some other action. Whatever I do, I know I am not alone. My thoughts and prayers join with those being said and felt by people all around the world. I believe there is power when two or more are gathered—even if only in spirit--in your name. I believe that we are your instruments helping to bring good to the peoples of Haiti and Indonesia.

Birthday Blessing

I know more Scorpios than people born under any other sign. Happy Birthday to all those born in late October and the first two thirds of November!

As we pause and remember you today
May you know you are loved and cherished for you special way.

May in this coming year you continue to grow
Some new friends come to know
Additional good start to sow
Interesting places begin to go
Have unexpected joys make you glow.

May the coming year find you healthy, wealthy, and wise
And provide at least one big, happy surprise.

Goal Setting

May you listen intently to your heart and mind
So that those things that you truly need and most want you find.

May you choose those things that make you smile
Not just more projects from your “to do” pile.

May you find goals that help you grow
But are achievable you know.

After your goals you ultimately write
May working toward them bring you delight.

Generic Affirmation

I don’t know where this affirmation comes from, but I have been using it a lot lately. It is great to use when I feel so overwhelmed that I can’t think straight.

All is well; and all is well; and all is very, Very, Very well.

Election November 2010

May you go out to vote today

And any cynicisms keep at bay.

May you choose with mind and heart

And wisely do your patriotic part.

Whether or not your candidates end up in the elected ranks

For being part of this free country may you ever give thanks.

Internal Work

This time of year is when I am the most introverted, going into a deep, private place. Lately I have had a lot of vivid dreams, and long forgotten memories have come bubbling to the surface. While this can turn into depression, it can also help me regroup and become better equipped to interact with people. My thoughts normally start becoming more extroverted the beginning of December.

May you be gentle with yourself.
May you treat yourself with love and acceptance.
If the journey becomes dangerous may you be guided to those well equipped to help.
May you find within that which is good and beautiful, knowing that you are a beloved child of God.