Sometimes a moment comes
When all my yesterdays
Line up in perfect formation
And I understand.
ou write it; Is anything in your life niggling at you, unresolved and maybe even resented? Write it down and put it in a "God box" until the day it is ready to take its place in the fabric of your life, and you see it clearly for what it is.

Do It Now, or It Doesn’t Matter

In my perfectionistic mind,
Energy sticks, trapped,
When I look out and see imperfection.

To restore my sanity,
I have adopted a new mantra:
Do it now, or it doesn’t matter.

You write it:  How do you notice energy getting stuck in your mind? What new mantra might release it?

Surfing My Calendar

I just forwarded through my calendar to the end of the year, noting the recurring events and the special ones, as well. Travel. Visits. Appointments.

What doesn't appear on my calendar is the most important aspect of my life--the love I have for my husband as he heads for the golf course--the compassion I feel for a young woman who expresses her anguish to me.

May God surf me through these days, whatever events they bring, with love and compassion.

You write it: Thumb forward through your calendar. What energy is surfing you through it?

A Way Out of Difficulty

Years ago my marriage was in difficulty. I was advised to pray "God, be with him" for my husband. I did it over and over, numerous times a day, every time I thought of him. Within a very short time, harmony was restored.

When I encounter difficult people today, I pray that same prayer. Sometimes I say it as "Surround and infuse her with love."

The laws of spirituality, neuroscience, and physics align in the power of this prayer.

You write it:  When you have difficulty with someone, what do you do?

When a Tempest Arises

Eventually we sailed into a quiet harbor, ate a nourishing breakfast, and then jettied into a quaint little town. It was a beautiful, clear Sunday, and people were wading on the beach or having coffee outdoors or, like us, simply walking.

Beyond the harbor, the ocean still chopped and churned its mighty waves. But we were safe, serene, relaxed, and happy.

You write it:  When a tempest arises, what do you do?

Relief from Burden

Every morning begins with journaling for me, followed by meditation. Always, I begin by writing what I'm grateful for. Usually I write about a page, unburdening myself with thoughts and feelings that get in the way of my peace.

This morning, after I wrote what I'm grateful for, I wrote only one sentence:  "Relieve me from the burden of wanting other people to be different."

You write it: What one wish would unburden you?

Hospitality Revised

I just said goodbye to my cousin and her friends, who are now my friends, and I'm a bit sad but mostly grateful. Grateful that she came and grateful that my view of hospitality has changed.

When I was young, I believed hospitality was making everything perfect. I even kept guests waiting at the front door once while I straightened a bed! I was misguided and, by the time my guests left, exhausted. I'm sure they felt my depleted energy. No wonder we didn't have much company!

Today I simply want my guests to relax and have a good time. That means cooking simple recipes in advance, ready to warm. It means getting out and enjoying the area with them. It means being relaxed myself.

Our home is simple, peaceful, and easy. That's how I want guests to feel. If something is imperfect, I don't care.

You write it: When do you feel most welcome? How do you do hospitality?

Rewriting the Script

Someone wrote a script for me.
Go to school.
Marry.
Raise children.
Have a good career.

The script stopped there.
So I had to rewrite the script
To learn to be happy in a new marriage--
To live my life easily and joyfully--
To work for purpose and calling.

Now is a new phase of my life--
The last one? Maybe.
I'm looking for the trail to walk
That enfolds and infuses me
With perfect peace and bursts of joy.

You write it:  What is the script of your life? Where are you now?

My Soul Expands

Our land stops at the rail fence,
Yet I can see beyond.

My eyes follow the slope of the hill down
To the pond and the tops of trees growing
From the valley below.

Then I rise to the rooftops and
Italian cypress in the village,
Lifting to the bluish gray hills beyond.

My soul expands.

You write it:  When do you feel your soul expand?

Native Language

My native language is poetry. As a child, I shut the door to my room and read aloud--even memorized--poems from my mother's high school literature textbook. Many years later, typing my journal entries into the computer, I was shocked to realize that I had written poetry! A friend is encouraging me to write poetry again. Here is the poem I wrote this morning:

On this day the cottonwood seeds
Fly through the air like angels.

A friend will tell her children
That she is divorcing their dad.

Tired travelers go to the airport, inspired after their
First look at the Grand Canyon and Sedona.

Another friend grieves
The death of her dog.

I am happiest and most content when I let my voice speak poetry.

You write it:  What is your native language? When are you happiest and most content?
 

Love Lives On

"It's been 14 years," he said, "since my daughter died. Yet, among those women who loved her so, I felt her presence."

You may remember the book and movie, "Tuesdays with Morrie." The main character, a beloved professor, is dying of ALS, one muscle at a time, and one of his former students, a cynic, meets with him on Tuesdays to show his affection and to learn from him. The professor, very subtly, is teaching him how to love. Finally, when it is clear that his mentor will die soon, the young man cries out, "What good is it to love? You're just going to die!" To which the professor replies, "Yes. And after I am dead, you will still love me."

The simple truth is that love does not die--cannot be destroyed.

Teilhard de Chardin said it this way:  "Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, and gravity, mankind will harness for God the energy of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, we will have discovered fire."

You write it:  When have you felt the power of love?