Desert Varnish

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When I was growing up, sharing experiences meant talking about what was bad—what someone did wrong—sharing negative judgments about ourselves and others. Someone who shared positive, uplifting experiences, as I have in the book I’m writing, would have been labeled “uppity” or “big headed” or “self-righteous.”

Recently I had to stop writing because I was drowning in the old voice of self-condemnation and limitation.

 A bit later, a friend pointed out one of Sedona’s red rocks with black areas of “desert varnish,” a patina that forms through the years and increases uniqueness. Then I realized that I could think of these old voices as my “desert varnish.” They are part of a pattern that I can notice, appreciate, and walk away from.

The truth is, my state of mind and yours are a choice. And the whole truth is, we attract what we emit. We truly can live the lives we want.

Orchid

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Over the years, I’ve had many orchids. I love them for their beauty and the long life of the flowers. After the last one has dropped, I want the plant to bloom again. I’ve tried fertilizer, cutting them back, putting them in the right light. Nothing worked.

The last orchid I bought was purple, with beautiful blooms on three stalks. Predictably, all the blooms fell off. This time, I decided to leave the orchid alone, just sitting on the corner of my bathtub. Occasionally, when I thought of it, I would water it a bit.

To my amazement, one day buds began to appear. Today the orchid is in full bloom, with many buds awaiting their opening.

Sometimes, when I leave things alone, they take care of themselves.

You write or draw it: Have you had a similar experience? What was it?

In Plain Sight

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My neighbor and I share land at the tip of the cul-de-sac. Weeds have grown, browned, and become unruly to the extent that we have agreed to do something. Clearly, the offending weedy plants are to be removed. 

The question is do we plant something in their place? Something more beautiful? We’ve thrown around several ideas—lavender, wildflowers, native grasses. 

This morning, as I looked over my own back yard, I saw a solution. Gopher weed. It’s a succulent with a beautiful yellow bloom in the spring. It’s blooming right now. Yesterday I walked among the plants and found no weeds, so that tells me it blocks out weeds. It’s easy to grow. We have plenty of excess plants that could be transplanted, watered for a short time until they get established, and then left alone.

It seems a perfect solution that was right in front of me all the time while I stretched to find a solution.

You write or draw it: When have you struggled with a decision when the solution was in front of you all the time?

Redemption

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As my life has grown increasingly peaceful, an old memory popped up, of a time when I pulled a “bait and switch” scheme on a friend. A double-cross.

Scrolling through Facebook one day, this friend’s image came up. I tracked her down, wrote a note of apology, and asked for her forgiveness.

Yesterday I found her response that she has no recollection of any wrong I did to her. The person I most hurt, you see, was me.

My friend’s kindness flooded over me, and I am free.

You write it: What is your experience with redemption?

Do All the Good You Can

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One of Granddaddy’s favorite sayings, especially when someone was leaving the house, was “Do all the good you can.”

Yesterday we met a young man who grew up in Mexico, moved to Arizona, finished high school, and is now working for a landscaping company to make money to go to college. He’s also an accomplished soccer player.

When he played soccer as a child in Mexico, the team didn’t have soccer cleats. They played in tennis shoes. Those children in his home town, playing soccer today, still don’t have cleats. So he has started an effort to get soccer cleats to those kids. Some of his high school teachers and coaches made donations and then someone went to the newspaper. A major story appeared. People from the community started writing checks. Before long, this young man will have enough soccer cleats to fit the entire program in that little Mexican town.

You write it: What’s an example in your life of someone who did all the good they could?

Monday's Intention

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Our compassion energizes us to do what’s right for ourselves and others.

As I meditated on this intention, the image of a still lake came to me. It was Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, a turquoise glacier-fed body of water surrounded by ten peaks. The lake looks still, but actually a lot is going on, with glacier melt and movement, microscopic changes. Then these words came to me: “Let it unfold.”

Is this intention relevant for you? How?

Rejuvenate

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My intention partners this morning were my children. We each talked about what’s going on in our lives. My son lives in East Texas; my daughter, in Portland, OR. I’m in Sedona, AZ. At a glance, our lives seem very different. But after we shared what’s going on, I realized that each of us, in our own way, were “on the same page.” Here is the intention we agreed on: “We repair, discard, rejuvenate, and continuously renew our lives.”

For me, the rejuvenation is planning a new berm full of lavender. For them, it’s about repairing or getting rid of what no longer serves them.

You write it: Is rejuvenation going on for you? What does it look like?

In the Moment

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Recently my husband and I hiked a portion of the beautiful Bell Rock Pathway. On this trail, nature’s beauty is amazing, all the way from the forest growth to the awe-inspiring presence of Courthouse Butte. At several places along the trail, I almost always stop to appreciate the 360-degree view of several famous formations.

But this morning, I found myself, early in the hike, wondering what I would have for breakfast. In other words, I was not “in the moment.” Instead my mind was racing ahead—and it didn’t stop with breakfast. Next I started prioritizing the small tasks that I planned to complete. In the presence of awesome natural surroundings, I was thinking about daily tasks.

From the personality inventories I’ve taken, I know I tend to be task-oriented, just looking for the next thing to do. The good news is that, this morning, I caught myself and made a decision to be in the moment, appreciating all the beauty around me. A friend calls this “mindfulness,” which I think begins with awareness.

You write it: What do you do when you feel your mind straying from what’s right in front of you?

Harmony

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Last week my friends and I set this intention: “We vibrate with the divine and take harmonious action.” Following 10 minutes of focused meditation, one of my friends shared that during her meditation, her dog nuzzled her. Instead of treating it as an interruption, she put her hand out and drew him into the intention. She took, in other words, harmonious action. Maybe “interruptions” aren’t, really.

You write it: What do you do with “interruptions”?

Burst of Energy

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For days I had been in an emotional slump. Maybe it was the after-Christmas letdown. Maybe it was binge-watching “The Crown.” Maybe it was beating myself up for over-spending. Anyway, I was a bit depressed.

On Sunday morning, I tuned in to the online service my church does during Covid. The music—-the prayers—the thoughtful sermon—lifted my spirits. I think it was mostly the prayers. Or maybe it was the spotted towhee who perched in the tree just outside my window, showing off his gorgeous rufous sides.

Straightaway and inexplicably, I took my burst of energy to a family heirloom—an ornately carved wooden box my uncle brought from China during his stint as a “China Marine” just before World War II. Fearlessly, I took a damp toothbrush to that precious, dust-encrusted box. It has come alive again in a rich, golden brown.

You write it: What re-energizes you?