UNHURIED

HAPPY BIRTHDAY  JASMINE.  How wonderful to be three and have such a nice pony to snuggle with and a real back pack.  Lots of love and have fun, hopefully at the waterslides!

Hope your card arrives soon.  love grama and grandpa 

 

 

 

'The pace you set for yourself in the morning is likely to stay with you through the day. If you get up early and set a calm pace, it is much easier to resist the getting speeded up later as the pressures of the day close in on you." --Eknath Easwaran

Yesterday was a drizzly morning which turned into a down pour by afternoon.  Another reason I was thankful I had gone out early but a little later than my 7 o'clock.  People hurry by me all the time.  If I feel like a faster pace then I do so but that is not the goal of my walk.  It is to enjoy all I am seeing and enjoy being able to move and of course the fresh air.

 

I have always loved to read and so that is am important part of my day.  In the morning I read slowly to absorb and reflect on what I am reading.  I cannot read all the books or articles that I would like to, but I do not worry about trying to achieve this goal.  My goal has become to not crowd my day with too many things, which is partly by choice and partly because my energy is limited.

 

Prayer is a habit I have had since I was a child that just seemed to be natural thing to do.  In our family growing up this was a private thing you did yourself and other than grace I do not remember praying with my parents.  I wish I had prayed with my children.  It is an act of love.  I was coping with all the symptoms of celiac and the abuse of the doctors so was exhausted but they were fed and clothed and loved!   My chronic illness was hard on dad too.

 

" . . . to live through love in his presence."  Eph 1:3-4

 

I am aware that I can be fearful at times and the act of prayer is calming. 

 

"One reason why our meditation never really gets started is that perhaps we do not make the effort to (return to God) or to the center of our own nothingness and enter into the deepest reality of our relationship with him."  -Thomas Merton who I admire and appreciate.

 

"Authentic prayer calls us to deep honesty, to come out of hiding, (admit that I fall short of who I want to be, not to conform to the expectations of what a Christian "must be" but just to live up to my own hopes and desires) to quit trying to seem impressive, to acknowledge my dependence upon God and the reality of our sinfulness."  -Brennan Manning from a Glimpse of Jesus.

Jesus says that blessed is the one who admits their own poverty and their deepest needs.  Sometimes for me it is the grace of forgiveness.  Most often it is sharing the burdens I feel for others.  I am free to pray any time during the day but do try to begin the day with prayer.

I look over at my calender and pray for my favorite people my family.  I am so thankful we can keep in touch.  I pray for the healing love of Jesus to surround them and to fill them with his spirit.  I am so thankful for each one of our lives.

"If one looks into the gospels especially John's gospel "one can find the "shape of God's heart" and it is huge."--unknown author

When I return from my walk I enjoy coffee with dad and check to see if I have any comments.  I may or may not look at face book.  The rest of the day falls into place.  I check my blog again at night but do not use the computer much during the day.

It will be too bad if Jasmine cannot go to the water-slides but the weather will decide I guess.  Plans do not always work out and it can be a big disappointment.  I enjoyed my luncheon.
 

PAUSE

Without solitude, it is virtually impossible to live the spiritual life.

Yet we cannot live our spiritual lives alone.

I think that is one of the reasons Jesus told his friends that when he died his spirit would be available to those who loved him.

 

 A quiet place just to pause and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Yesterday afternoon dad went for his walk and met one dog on his way out of the park. The deep cut on his leg is finally starting to heal and stop bleeding.  It has slowly slowed down so very gradually.  Meanwhile I was doing a bit of shopping and mailed a card to Jasmine, which will be late I am thinking.  I came home and a card arrived from Melina and Ken and the children with some pictures.  More happy faces for me to enjoy looking at.  I remember years, many years ago, I found a bunch of letters in dad's pocket he had completely forgot to mail.

Sorry you are not feeling well Sandra.  It sure was a miserable chilly, rainy day.  Dad is not so good, a lot of little things and his face is very sore and he needs the growth on his nose cut off.  It is growing but thankfully he has an appointment coming up with the skin doctor.

So I had to go 10% shopping on my own.  I started unloading at the quick check-out because I usually go there.  The cashier kindly whispered that I was at the wrong place but she let me go through, we are good friends.

I have been thinking a lot about Chuck so gave him a call.  He and dad are getting to-gather for coffee Wed.  I am going over to a friends place for our Jet Lag lunch start up.  We ended with a lunch and now start with another one.  We are very serious about our studies.

I do not know anything about Leah.  Maybe Craig or Rick will tell us.  Missing Comments from Rick.

I was surprised at the Post Office when someone invited me to go ahead of me, which was good as waiting in line can be so tiring,  I was standing very calm and relaxed even.  So I took his place gratefully.  I think there is something about calmness and cheerfulness that affects the people you are around sometimes.
 

I pause to think of all the good and kind people in the world of which there are many.  I think of the regulars I meet on my morning walk most so very ready to give me a smile.  I think that somehow the spaciousness of God's heart is made new to me each day with kind smiles..

I read in my book this morning "a job is a privilege" no matter what it may be but hopefully with the potential to lead to better things.  This I have learned from reading the book "Tattoos on the Heart".  Every child is a child of God and worthy to be loved.  I think of the miracle of pregnancy and the great joy that fills your life with each child.  They are all so different because human nature is so complex.

Theresa called and she has been very busy making the program and preparing a slide show for the "celebration of life"  for Robbie on the 12 of January.  It is still so hard to believe she is not here any more.   She had a big heart and delighted so in her children and especially the grand children

 

I keep thinking of things I need to do and wish I could put my thoughts on pause for awhile. 

MY MORNING WORKOUT

I wake up early usually 5 or 6. The time flies by as I want to be out walking by 7.

I am still half asleep as I turn on the computer and quickly glance at my blog and then press publish.
I glance at face book enjoying pictures and comments; it is good to keep in touch with family.  I have been missing comments by Rick.    Then I go downstairs for my much needed wake- up cup of coffee and breakfast.  I put out dad's vitamins for the day.

Then I have a quiet time which is a combination of meditation and prayer.  I know that there are no guarantees that my prayer will affect the outcome but I still believe that prayer is a way of sending loving thoughts and renewed hope to others.

I take a quick look at the paper and see the Canucks will be back playing hockey again.  Their image has been tarnished by all the squabbles.  I then look at a book and do some reading hoping to get an idea for my title for the next day.  I write my thoughts first down in my notebook.  I look at the calender and see that Jasmine's birthday is coming up.  O dear I am late mailing her card away.

It is soon time to gather up my clothes for my morning walk.  I check to see if it is raining, then I will need to put on rain pants too.  I search for my walking shoes which seem to go walking about on their own.

It begins to get light as I walk.
Monday morning it is busier on the roads.

 

 I do not often quote scripture when I write because it can mean so many different things and should not be taken out of context.  But I like this:  In this place of which you say is waste. . . . .
there will again be heard the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness. . . . .
the voices of those who sing.  Jeremiah the prophet.

I like to think that this will come true for many who are feeling sick and fearful.  I think that not only are we called to serve one another but also to be one with each other.

Mother Theresa writes:  The world's ills are that we have forgotten we belong to each other."

It is tragic if I start thinking that I am better than some one else or than anyone else matters less.  I and you are made to be just who we are, created with enough goodness, enough talent, enough gifts to be a blessing just where we are.

 

 And as I real I am reminded that I am influenced again and again by all the different reading material I look at. The greatest concern is that the truth is not suppressed but available to all.

 

 And some how "The soul finds it's worth"  from O Holy Night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIDENT

Sunday Meanderings

On my early morning walk two ducks were swimming very close to where the water is pouring over the rocks.  They looked very confident and happy. 

 

This is the fast tumbling water fall they are swimming away from. 

 

 

Confidence is important .

 

I lose confidence in myself when I compare myself to others.

 

I know several people who are anxious about what the New Year may hold for them,

 not knowing what they may be facing.  Waiting to hear news can be difficult.

 

 I am not confident about learning new things but I know I should keep trying. 

 I need to learn more about my camera.

 

I am not confident about remembering birthdays, either I am early or late.  I look at my family calender and frown because I am late seeing Jasmines;s birthday.  O dear me.

 

I am confident about my morning walks with my new florescent vest.

 

I am confident that I will learn something as dad and I go to church.

 

I agree with Nelson Mandela who says:  We need religious institutions to continue to be the conscience of society, a moral custodian and a fearless champion of the interests of the weak and downtrodden.  They have a call to work for justice and for peace.

 

The church has sometimes failed to live up to what it should do and be, but it still has an important role to play in my life.  Learning to work together is a valuable lesson in life.    We, who go to church are neither saints or sinners.  It is important to have a religion that is built upon grace. 

 

Too bad dad and I had a miserable time sitting on the hard pews because both of us felt more pain in our necks.  Daniel gave a good message as he found deeper meanings in the gospel of Matthew than he had ever seen before.  I think this is partly do to the changes in ourselves, that enable us to see the new in the old,  but I am confident there are new aspects waiting to be discovered in scripture for all.

 

There is also the mystical sense that the ordinary becomes extraordinary.  We are encouraged to move from belief to trust. Trust that we have been called to live in the light!

 

After a nap I returned to find the ducks that  so knew they must be around somewhere.had swan under the road to the other side of the creek.  I wanted to take pictures and I was pleased when I knew I heard a quack.  It turns into a big lake on the other side.  It started to rain but I found the  walk refreshing.

 

After returning home dad and I drove over to have supper on the new round table at Sandra and Randy's house.  A feast prepared by both of them.  I took several pictures but they did not turn out.  The supper was excellent and we even took left-overs home!  Thanks you two!

 

This is the lake on the other side of Coyote Creek. 

 

The light of Christ shines upon us all.

 

"We are earth people on a spiritual journey to the stars.  Our quest, our earth walk, is to look within, to know who we are, to see that we are connected to all things, that there is no separation, only in the mind."   _Lakota Seeker.

SUCCESS

       "Change may not happen overnight, but profound results can be achieved over time. "

The Vancouver Sun

Success is a hard thing to judge, when it comes down to our own. Some days I think that I am successful if I have followed my plans and got the things done I wanted to do.  Sometimes I feel good about my blog while other times I feel unhappy withit but I publish it anyway.  If something speaks to me maybe it will speak to some one else.  Saturday dad and I had a quiet day, both of us have stiff necks.  Could it be the new mattress?

The Jewish custom is, I believe to enjoy a good debate.  When the essence of the debate is openl and both can listen as well as talk then success comes when both realize they are searching for truth.  I can say that right now I hold certain beliefs but hopefully I will continue to grow and learn.

In the story I have been reading there comes a time when a young Native girls meets a wonderful Jewish man and falls in love.  He feels very strongly about his beliefs and rituals that he sees as beautiful and draw him closer to a God of wisdom and goodness.  He loves to celebrate the Sabbath and going to the synagogue.

 

She feels very close to the Great spirit and gradually they came to see they were both talking about the same Spiritual Creator.  To allow yourself to become absorbed and feel what the other is saying from their hearts cultural differences and backgrounds can be overcome.  She had felt the Jewish religion to be cold and angry full of a vengeful God but he was able to show her the softness and fullness of this ancient God who had captured the heart of these wanderers.  There is also another aspect of the Torah called Kabbalah, which seemed to be connect to her spirituality and revealed the timelessness of the wisdom of the sages.

 

It was during a time of deep silence when neither could speak and she saw he was being true to his heart and he actually had a spiritual experience of an amazing light that he could see.

 

The question is for me what do I want for my life for it to be considered well lived?  Serving and caring for others has been important.  I think that if Jesus were to come into the room where we are gather his heart would be full of love for all and the dove of peace that rested on him is the gift he would give.    In his life he had lived with the outcasts and those who were aware of their poverty.  Jesus offended the religious and uptight who were blind to these needs and always aware of their own need to be righteous. 

 

He walked with those he taught and he walked with those who were hungry for the truth about God.

Was he successful when his life ended on a cross?  He would leave this world with many still struggling and searching for answers.  I think some a lot of times in life we are called to carry on where others have stopped.  Success is being faithful.

 

I am so glad we went to the Vineyard Church where many wounded and abused people were drawn, many because they had felt abused by religion as well as their life experiences.  One could see the cavernous vibrations that shook their hands lifted in prayer revealing the shaking within.  The Holy Spirit was touching the deep woundedness of their souls.  We all can experience the spiritual in different ways.  Nature is a beauty vibrant source.  Music touches our emotions that no words can express. 

The scripture may not say it but I believe I am to love the unlovable with compassion but not be drawn into their dysfunction.  This can at times call for tough love.  Everything good has a dark side and we can concentrate on the good if we choose.

"Take it upon yourself where you live to make people around you joyful and full of hope."
Nelson Mandela-at the openning of the Zola Clinic -March 7, 2002

"But it is the spirit of a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding."  JOB 32:8

WISDOM OF NELSON MANDELA

A good pen can also remind us of the happiest moments in our lives, bring noble ideas into our dens, our blood, and our souls.  It can turn tragedy into hope and victory.  (/feb. 10, 1970)

In prison Mandela learned the power of words, and it was only through his poignant notes, cherished letters, or smuggled statements that he was able to free his mind from his imprisonment.  My hope is that some of my words will be a blessing to my family and my friends.  I know that I enjoy their comments and words of wisdom.

 

Some of these words have been put into a book called "Notes to the Future."  I am now quoting.

 

It is never my custom to use words lightly.  In twenty-seven years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is,  in its impact on the way people live and die.  (July 14, 2000)

 

STRUGGLE

You can see that "there is no easy walk to freedom anywhere and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountain tops of our desires.  (Sept. 21, 1953)

 

We should never forget those whose on whose shoulders we stand and those who paid a price for freedom.  (Dec. 12, 1996)

 

We come from a people who, because they would not accept to be treated as subhuman,  redeemed the dignity of all humanity everywhere. (from an address to the Parliament of Canada, June 18, 1990.)

 

It would have been immoral to keep quiet while a racist tyranny sought to reduce an entire people into a status worse than that of the beasts of the forest. (House of Congress June 26, 1990)

 

I detest white supremacy and will fight it with every weapon in my hands. (letter to General Du Preez, Commissioner of Prisons, July 12, 1970)

 

Science and experience have also shown that no race is inherently superior to others, and this myth has been equally exploided whenever blacks and whites are given equal opportunity for development.

(written on Robben Island, 1978)

 

Banning not only confines one physically, it imprisons one's spirit.  It induces a kind of psychological claustrophobia that makes one year for not only freedom of movement but spiritual escape. 

(from a Long Walk to Freedom 1994)

 

I consider myself neither legally nor morally bound to obey laws made by a parliament in which I have no representation.  (October 22, 1962)

 

Death is something inevitable.  When a man has done what he considers his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace.  (1996)

 

Since the dawn of history, mankind has honored and respected brave and honest people.  (letter to Winnie, June 23,1969)

 

If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America.  (Tokyo, Jan. 2003)

 

The United Nations is here to promote peace in the world, and any country that acts outside the United Nations is making a serious mistake. (Sept. 30, 2002)

 

I strongly opposed the unilateral action taken outside of the United Nations with regards to Iraq.  This has not diminished my respect for American leadership in the world or my appreciation for the role its leaders play.  (John Hopkins University, Nov. 12, 2003)

 

Spiritual weapons can be dynamic and often have an impact difficult to appreciate in the light of experience.  In a way they make prisoners free men, turn commoners into monarchs and dirt into pure gold.  (Robben Island, Aug. 1, 1970)

 

Honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, pure generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve others-qualities that are within reach of every soul-are the foundations of one's spiritual life.  (Feb. 1,1975)

 

No single person, no body of opinion, no political doctrine, no religious doctrine can claim a monopoly on truth.  (May 26, 1992)

 

Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.

(First State of the Union Address, Cape Town, May 24, 1994)

 

Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural.  It is man made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.  (Make poverty History, Feb. 3, 2005.

 

WISDOM

 

The anchor of all my dreams is the collective wisdom of mankind as a whole.  (letter from Robben Island. August. 1, 1970)

 

It is what we make out of what we have been given, that separates one person from another.Peace is the greatest weapon for development that any people can have.

 

t is in the character of growth that we should learn from both pleasant and unpleasant experiences.

 

Blaming things on the past does not make them better.

 

We are masters of our own fate.

 

The relationship between a man and his God is a purely personal affair, a question of faith, not of logic.

 

I am interested in all attempts to discover the meaning and purpose of life.  Religion is an important part of this exercise.

BEAUTIFUL

The world looks so different when the fog lifts.  It is a gentle sun not blazing hot like Melbourne.  That is too much sun.  The next  day here it is raining but easier to walk than on the icy path.

I wake up with the song "Everything is beautiful in it's own way in my head.  I am glad that the Christmas music which I love is finally gone.  It has been wonderful reading my Tattoos on the Heart book about the minister who works with the gangs in Los Angelous.  Dsyfunctional families force the kids into gangs involved in murderous gang activity.  He provides job training and helps them to respect their own lives as well as each other.  Hard work that brings tragedy daily as he fails to reach some of the kids and shottings still happen and lives lost,

 

Gregory Boyle quotes Thomas Merton who writes:  "No despair of ours can alter the reality of things, or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there. . . . .We are invited to forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful soleminity to the winds and join in the general dance (singing)" 

 

 Moments of beauty and wonder that become sacred when we realize that the Creator delights in His creation and also just like us delights in His kids.  Dad and I had a delightful visit with Jaz and her 14 month old son.  She told us about how her life  and that of her son had changed by the food they were eating.  She is now on a gluten-free diet. She has an amazing gift of being able to share her faith as a Christian and is equally comfortable with listening to what others believe; but always being confident of the beauty she has found in her faith.  For her it is a story of hope that lives on even when we die!

Sandra dropped in unexpectedly which always adds to our day.  The floor has been fineshed and soon the bedrooms will be back in order and looking beautiful.

What a surprise to meet Jane at the Safeway and have a good visit over coffee.  We will get back into our weekly chats as soon as things become quieter in both our lives.  Yes, we have been through some good times and some difficult times together and her friendship adds beauty to my life.

Hopefully Ken enjoyed his birthday and we all send loving thoughts his way.

Dad had a miserable and painful stiff neck all day.  Could it be from putting the battery in.
 

 I smile as I look over at my new family calender and see happy faces smiling back at me. 

        
              What a beautiful family I have been blessed with!