Sunday, January 31, 2016

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if we thought about being inhospitable as a cut in pay? How hospitable would we work on being?

Friday, January 29, 2016

WELCOMING MYSELF



So all this month I have been reflecting on hospitality, reading about it, writing, about it, starting conversations about it, and practicing it to the best of my ability. Others have told me I am very hospitable and that they feel the welcome and the love the minute they walk in our door. I am so grateful they feel that way. Zoe and I are so intentional about trying to create that space. We both know what it is like to not feel welcomed, to not be wanted, to be excluded, and to be told there is no room at the inn. As a result, we have been intentional about doing all we can to create an environment of love and welcoming.
Yet for whatever reason when I have sat down to journal about hospitality as it applies to my own life, what I remembered were those moments when people did something to make me feel welcomed and those times when I was not. 
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

May we be intentional about reaching out and connecting with others, not just those who are like us

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Song of the Week

Sometimes we need to remember to open our hearts, minds, and souls to a deeper connection with our Higher Power, however we define that. https://youtu.be/5nvod5D2se4

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When friends come to eat, are they part of the preparation, or just part of the feast? This gives a new meaning to hospitality

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

IS THE UNIVERSE A FRIENDLY PLACE OR NOT?



The universe has a sense of humor. Recently I had read that Albert Einstein, when asked to identify the most important question in life, said, "Is the universe a friendly place or not?" Shortly, after reading the question on which I was going to reflect, my computer began dinging, the equivalent of you’ve got mail. It is the beginning of the semester where I teach part time and as with every semester, students are stressed because something has not come in yet. This normally means that either their financial aid has not come in or the books they ordered online have not come in yet.
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Have you found the center of your life in your own heart?

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Monday, January 25, 2016

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Friday, January 22, 2016

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Practicing hospitality means we welcome all - those who are healed and those in need of healing.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

SONG OF THE WEEK

Sometimes it is the simplest of words and expressions that draw us in and make us know we are welcomed. Maybe that is why this song by Phil Collins is this week's song of the week https://youtu.be/g18PTnlvP0M

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Hospitality has nothing to do with how much material wealth you own, but how much love and kindness you shower on others

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

It is not just about inviting people over, it is about being able to be present so you can enjoy being with them and they can enjoy being with you.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

LESSONS FROM THE DESERT DWELLER



One of my favorite places to go for nourishment and inspiration is the Spiritual Literacy library on YouTube. This week I was pulled in by a one-minute story about the hospitality of a person known as nothing more than the Desert Dweller. According to the story, this person has lived in the desert most, if not all, of his life. At the end of each day, the Desert Dweller leaves a lit lantern by the side of the road and a now worn out note in a plastic sheet protector letting people know how to find his cottage should they be in need. This story comes from a book by Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart.
For me this story is about the attitude we have about our willingness to open our hearts and homes to others. It is not about whether or not people accept our invitation. Rather, it is about our willingness to extend the invitation in the first place.
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Do you invite people into your heart or have you shut the door on people?

Monday, January 18, 2016

Sunday, January 17, 2016

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Hospitality begins in your own mind. It should be a place you feel welcome and intimate with yourself.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if we remembered that we are all the same? Underneath all the material things, we are all human beings

Friday, January 15, 2016

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

May we be intentional about allowing things to happen for us and for others

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Song of the Week

This week's song of the week is in a language most will not understand. However, what we will understand is the experience of feeling welcomed in by the performance https://youtu.be/cLfN3Kx2Pvc

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

May your desire to practice hospitality come from your heart

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Monday, January 11, 2016

HOSPITALITY AND HOSTILITY



It is interesting how hospitality and hostility sound so much alike but are practiced so differently. Other than the first three letters, these practices have nothing in common. Hospitality is about building bridges and welcoming all of humanity. Hostility is about building divides that separate us from one another. Hospitality thrives on peace and healing and hostility thrives on conflicts and confusion.  Practicing hospitality helps us to increase our tolerance of those whose lives are different from ours. Practicing hostility helps us to become more distrustful and suspicious of others.
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How do you celebrate diversity?

It’s Sharing Time! How do you celebrate diversity?  http://inspiritual.biz/spiritual-discussion/2016/1/11/c55quvilisn4lcr3fb1pvaem37aayo

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

May we work on removing the lines and walls in our lives that divide us from one another and prohibit change and transformation

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Song of the Week

This week's song of the week is different. That is all I am going to say. So I invite you to come and just be in the moment that this week's song creates. http://inspiritual.biz/inspiritual-song-of-the-week1/

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Are you willing to experience the transformative power of hospitality?

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

THE TIE THAT BINDS



One of the things I so appreciate about our love and inspiration group is that I always leave with some sort of inspiration. This weekend we spoke about being mindful about what makes us feel welcomed. What is it that hosts do that makes us feel welcomed? What do we do to make our guests feel welcomed? 
A while back I heard a story about a pastor who would stand outside her church and greet the migrant workers as they came in from the fields. She spoke to them in Spanish and they responded. And soon a bridge was forged. This rural community embraced the migrant farm workers and welcomed them. They offered them radical hospitality and in doing do they discovered that it is the recognition of our common humanity which binds us together
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Are you open to God?

Monday, January 4, 2016

What makes you feel welcome?



This weeks question is inspired by this morning's conversation at Love & Inspiration. So what makes you feel welcomed? What do others do that has made you feel welcomed, regardless of where you are?


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Do you welcome whatever comes your way? Do we see the beauty in all created things?

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Thought for the day

May we all be intentional about creating these spaces in our homes and our hearts that open us to developing and experiencing new friendships

Friday, January 1, 2016

WHEN I WAS NOT ENOUGH



So I have had to laugh at this whole notion of hospitality. I have been intentional about creating a space here at Inspiritual and in our home where all feel welcome. We have done this in part because we have all know what it felt like when we were not enough of something or too much of something to feel welcome and accepted by a movement, community, or other group. Years ago, I wrote a poem called I am enough where I spoke out about all the areas of my life I had allowed myself to feel marginalized and excluded by others words and behaviors.
I knew I was never excluded by the one who created me and has loved me my entire existence, however, there have been times when other humans have reminded me that I am on earth and not in heaven. Sometimes the rejection, the inhospitality has come in the most unexpected of places.
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One Spirit Many Voices

Are you ready for the first One Spirit Many Voices newsletter of 2016?  Here it is. This month's theme is HOSPITALITY -- https://static1.squarespace.com/static/50d7f482e4b0c2f4975b2d96/t/5686daff4bf118b4ed4dc29e/1451678463240/January+2016+-+One+Spirit+Many+Voices+Newsletter.pdf

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

May we begin this new year by showing hospitality to all of the world.