Pruning

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Yesterday I pruned the rose bushes. This morning, as I look out the window, I see streams of light flowing through them and realize, “Now they can breathe!” They seem happier, leaves less crowded.

In these times, so many are cleaning, clearing, pruning, and setting themselves free from overcrowded schedules, clutter, and obligations. Is it possible that we might be preparing for healthier, happier lives?

At the same time, I’m told that these times are very difficult for people with addictions, and deaths are increasing.

So this morning my friends and I set this intention: “Prune the addictions that keep us trapped. Set all souls free.”

Grace

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The invitation was for socially distanced appetizers on their patio in the late afternoon. I expected some cheese and crackers with maybe a few grapes.

Instead, my husband and I experienced small plate after plate of elegant, fresh hors d’oeuvres from a recipe collection our hostess had been saving for years.

By the end of the evening, I felt that I had been showered with generosity.

You write it: Have you ever experienced treatment that went far beyond in grace?

Light Touch for Heavy Lifting

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Last week I decided to go through the filing cabinet in the garage, mostly an accumulation of 20+ years of bank statements, income tax forms, and business information. Some, but not all, of it needed to be shredded. Because the task seemed tedious and monumental, I decided it didn’t matter when I finished. I would just do a bit when I wanted.

Here’s what astonished me—within a week, it was done. Not only were the files sorted, but also the filing cabinet itself was sold—on Facebook Marketplace. Unbelievably easy.

If I had told myself, “This has to be done within the week,” it would have seemed impossible. I would have resisted, made it hard. As it was, I did heavy lifting with a light touch.

You write it: Have you experienced what seems a contradiction? What was it?

Blessing of These Times

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On one of our walks this week, we came upon a woman in a hat and sunglasses, waiting for her dog (Miss Kitty) to relieve herself, so my husband struck up a conversation.

Before long, we discovered we knew several of the same people from my days in Texas education. Then, as I listened more carefully, I realized I had this same conversation with a woman I met at a neighborhood party a couple of years ago—a gathering of about 75 people, all talking loudly, eating, and drinking.

Having the same conversation with the same person in nature’s quiet, was actually a different conversation. I could take in her words and reminisce about those people we knew in common. And I felt I knew my fellow walker in a new way.

Parties—crowds—noise—visual stimuli—are distractions that keep me from fully appreciating what someone is saying. This is a blessing of these times.

What is a blessing of these times for you?

Timeless

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Last week I learned of the death of a friend from Covid-19. The first death of someone I know. The numbers are now real, and I’m drawn towards despair. Alan Isaacson was only 62 years old. One of the good guys. The husband of my friend. Someone who helped the mentally ill and the desperate. Someone with a lot more love to give.

So what can I do? First, send my love to the family, who are experiencing unimaginable, unexpected grief.

Then what?

Ironically, the answer comes from Martin Luther in a 1527 letter to a friend, who had asked what a Christian should do during the plague. Luther wrote, "I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order to not become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others."  493 years later, a reminder of another way to express love—keeping ourselves and others as safe as possible. Thanks to Pastor David Brandfass for calling this quotation to my attention.

You write it: How do you express love for yourself and others during this time?

One Day at a Time

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Twenty years ago my husband and I embarked on programs of recovery based on the Twelve Steps. One of the first slogans we learned was “One day at a time.” Most of the time we truly live in the day, not worrying about what lies ahead or what is outside of our control. It’s been so helpful for both of us to be on the same page because when one of us slips, the other is there to remind to stay in the moment.

You write it: What do you do to stay out of worry?

Thanks

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This morning for breakfast I ate a toasted cheese, bacon, and tomato sandwich.

We drive for about 30 minutes, one way, to buy these tomatoes from a Hispanic family with a vegetable stand by the side of the road. Without doubt, they are the best tomatoes I have ever eaten. Once we bought their zucchini that came with advice for how to cook it on the grill. It was the first time my husband ever liked zucchini.

So this morning, with breakfast, I gave thanks for the Hispanic family with a vegetable stand by the side of the road.

What do you give thanks for today?

Patience

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With my increased leisure time, I am working wooden puzzles. Amazing, artistic puzzles with unique pieces that go together in delightful ways. A puzzle takes hours to work as I sit, look, and allow a silent, relaxed part of my brain to work.

It occurs to me that in labs throughout the world, scientists are working to find a vaccine and cure for Covid-19. They are putting the puzzle pieces together, slowly.

While we wait, let us together give thanks for our scientists and pray for their success.

What are you giving thanks for?

Truth Sets Us Free

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Recently I read about the Tulsa Massacre in 1921. Although I grew up in Oklahoma, I was unaware of this carnage of African-American citizens and businesses that wiped out an entire thriving community. My first response was horror and revulsion.

This morning I read about the largest slave auction in the U.S., held in Georgia in 1859—an auction in which 429 men, women, and children were sold. Each of their names was listed.

I’m moving through a range of emotions. I’ve passed through shame that kept me trapped in unknowing, and now I’m willing to see the whole truth. This is a necessary part of healing. Our nation simply has to do this.

Truth sets us free.

The Power of Love

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Each of us is a vibrational field, surrounded by other vibrational fields. What we feel affects these fields.We sense when others are uneasy—when they are truthful—when they are loving. Others sense us, as well. Truth and love have more power than falsity.

The challenge is to be true and to love, even in the face of lies and hatred.

You write it: When have you been changed through the power of love coming from someone else?

Accepting the Things I Cannot Change

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This weekend tourists came back to Sedona in droves without masks.

What this means to me is stay home. Wait for them to leave. Take precautions when I do go out again. Be patient. This, too, shall pass.

When things I don’t like happen, I have choices. I can write a letter to the editor or post a rant on Next Door or call someone to complain. But honestly, I’m tired of reactivity.

So I choose to be grateful that, for our merchants, business has picked up. Then I do what is needed to take care of myself.

Many years ago I learned that what I focus on gets stronger. I choose peace.

You write it: What’s your experience with accepting the things you cannot change?

A Parable

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A passage from The Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Jean-Yves Leloup, p. 69:

A woman was looking for her lost jewels in the village square. The other villagers wished her well and were trying to help her find this treasure in the area in and around the square. They had been searching fruitlessly for some time, when someone asked her: “But exactly where did you lose this treasure?”

“I lost it in my home,” the woman answered.

“But are you crazy? If you lost it in your home, why are you having us help you search out here in the square?”

“And you, my friend,” she replied, “is this not what you are always doing, searching for your treasure in the streets, in the square, when it is really in your own home that you lost what you most want? Don’t you go everywhere in vain search of peace and happiness, your greatest treasure, which you have lost in your own home? In your own heart—that is where you must search. It is there that your treasure has always been waiting to be found.”

You write it: During this time of more time at home, what are you finding to be true for you?

Let Life Be Life

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I often sit on our patio in the morning, watching and listening to the birds and enjoying the amazing scenery. This morning I noticed the loud “caw caw caw” of a raven across the golf course, diving at a juniper tree. Obviously, there was a nest in the tree, probably full of eggs because that’s what ravens love to eat.

In a moment, there were three ravens. Then five. Finally I counted ten, all cawing and diving at the top of that tree. After trying unsuccessfully to steal those eggs, finally the ravens started to disperse, one at a time, until there were none. Not one was able to steal an egg.

I chuckled as I thought about the little birds who built such a safe, secure nest. Ravens three times their size and outnumbering them five to one had not been able to dislodge the nest and steal the eggs.

The drama this morning brought to my mind these words I recently read: Let life be life.

I’m not angry with the ravens; they were doing what ravens do. I don’t pity the smaller birds because they were doing very well. I am writing on my heart, “Let life be life.”

What does “Let life be life” mean to you?

What's Right for Me?

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When I was growing up, Mother used to say, “Just because someone else is doing it, doesn’t make it right for you.”

Now I know that peer pressure isn’t just a teenage phenomenon. It never leaves. It just gets more subtle.

In these days of no contact with peers, I’ve been asking, “What’s right for me? When these days are over, what will I pick up again, and what will I let go?”

Recently I’ve had digestive issues, so I did an inventory of what my body needs and what it doesn’t tolerate well. I researched what works to alleviate my distress. I didn’t consider TV commercials or diet/exercise programs or foods that my husband likes. I simply asked, “What is my body telling me? What loving response am I ready to make?”

Yesterday I began making some adjustments, and I have a pathway going forward that’s right for me.

What’s your experience with peer pressure?