MY BRACE

They gasped,
as I took my brace and shoes off
and placed it on the altar.
They wanted me to move them
but all I could ask was
how many braces do you see.
They answered one
and then again requested
I take them off the alter.

For them the table we used
as an altar was holy,
but the brace,
which keeps me from falling,
is not.

When we stop and look at our lives,
we all have ways the Divine
keeps us from falling,
stabilizes us,
holds us,
whether we see it or not.
When they looked at my shoes
all they could see was the visible
they could not see
the presence of the Divine
in the one that
appeared empty.

KINDNESS

Piety used to make me think
of those who were holier than thou.
Then I learned that piety meant pious
which meant
kind

Kindess
is about showing
grace,
compassion,
gentleness,
love,
and concern for other

Kindness
is about the body, mind, and soul.
It is about our words
and our actions
being one

Kindness
is about being
loving,
giving,
caring,
empathetic and
generous

Kindness
is about doing unto others
as you would have them
do unto you.

Kindness
is unconditional.
It is about giving
without expectations.
It is about what we
experience
as much as what others do

Kindness
is about blessing
and being blessed.
It is all about being kind.

THE MIRROR

I look in the mirror
and sometimes I love
what I see and
there are other times
I don’t
However, there has never been
a time when I hated
what I saw so much
that I could slash my wrist
or poison myself
or want to leave this world behind.

When I look in the mirror
what I see is a reflection
of the Divine,
the one who created me,
the one who designed me
the one who tells me
you are beautiful just as you are.

When I look in the mirror
what I see is a reflection
of the Divine
of the one who is love,
is about healing
is about grace
is about wisdom and
is about listening.

When I look in the mirror
I pray for those who
do not see what I see
or feel what I feel.
I pray for those who see
something so painful
that leaving feels better
than staying

When I look in the mirror,
I remember to pray
for those
I know,
those I do not,
those who are whole and
those who are hurting,
those who have asked
for prayer
and those who have not
because we are all
a reflection
of the Divine

TOGETHER

You know who you are.
You are the one who pesters me
and works to get on my last nerve.
You are the one who tries to get my attention
in the least positive of ways.
You are the one who works to
irritate me,
annoy me,
and grate on me.

I want you to know
I know you are hurting.
I know you are in need of
love and compassion.
I know you need me to
show you compassion and grace
because not only are you hurting,
but like me you are a child of the Creator.

So each time you try to get on my nerves,
I am going to wrap you in love.
I am going to be the
balm for your wounds.
I am going to show you
new ways of getting the

attention you need and deserve.

Together we will grow and heal.
Together we develop character.
Together we will make this world
a more loving place
for all in need of healing.

NOTHING

“Nothing lasts,
nothing is finished,
and nothing is perfect.”
These are three simple realities.
Yet there are things in my life
which have lasted
for decades.
There are things in my life
which move me spiritually.
There are things which
appear perfect, even in
their imperfections.

There is a sense of
everything,
in this nothing.
There is an authenticity
in this nothing.
There is a longing and melancholy
in this nothing.
There feels like something
in this nothing,
but that something is the
essence of nothing.

WILLING TO EMBRACE

Forgiveness is a gift,
it is about setting us both free.
it is about reaching across
all the divides,
across all the barriers,
across everything that makes us not
want to be willing to embrace.

Being willing to embrace
is not physical,
its about allowing our love
to be unconditional
and transformative.
it’s about being able to
move through all barriers,
defy all the odds,
embracing in the
unconditional love
which lives within us.

Being willing to embrace
is about being resistant
in a world that teaches us to be
mean,
petty,
vindictive
and cruel.

Being willing to embrace
is about opening our hearts
removing all the scabs
all the hard spots we have
allowed to grow
and embracing others
with the same grace,
goodness,
and unconditional love
given to us.

This is not just about embracing others.
It is also about embracing
ourselves.
It is about loving ourselves
unconditionally.
it is about being
willing to embrace
ourselves as God
embraces us.

JUST FOR ME

It was one of those days,
when I just wanted to cry,
when everything seemed
harder than it should be.
It was one of those days
when nothing seemed
to fall into place and
things and people were dying.
Then I was reminded that
I was created for a purpose.

So this morning I am working
on remembering that
the world was created just for me.
That all that is happening
is just for me.
The challenges I am going through
are just for me.
Everything God is bringing me through
is just for me.

It is to help me
grow and evolve.
It is to help me
be more patient and understanding.
It is to help me
see the Divine in all of life.
It is to help me remember
it is just for me.

NO MORE MINE

Mine.
It was a word I used
to say this is mine;
to belongs to me.

It was mine because
I bought it,
it was given to me.
I earned it,
or it some other way
came into possession.
It was mine.

I liked mine,
because it made me feel
as if I possessed,
I owned,
I had control, and
I had power.

So what if stopped saying mine
if I started seeing everything
as being borrowed,
as a gift from the Ultimate,
as a blessing which was with me
for a time,
for a season
but not mine.

Legally something may be
mine,
however, if everything I have
is from the Divine,
then it is not mine.
It is a blessing,
a reminder all my needs
are met.

Things may come and go,
they may break,
they may be stolen,
they may be regifted
but they are not mine.
They are things in my life
for a reason and
a season,
but they are not mine.

Removing the word mine
from my vocabulary
changes my perspective.
It recognizes my blessings
changes my connections,
and opens my eyes,
to the presence of God
in my life.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

How are you blooming?

Through the Storm

New Poem! Through the Storm http://inspiritual.biz/stirring-my-spiritual-waters/2018/7/1/through-the-storm

OPEN MY EYES

Years ago, the spiritual director I was working with talked with me about a Japanese form of self-defense called aikido. She talked with me about how when we are surprised and thrown off guard, we want to fight or free. We want to narrow our world and our vision to create this protective force around us. Rather than do so, she suggested I practice what she called “soft eyes.” Practicing soft eyes meant that I challenged myself to expand rather than contract my view of the world.
When we open our eyes, and allow ourselves to see the greatness of the world and the grace which surrounds us, it softens our heart, mind, and soul. Rather than want to resist or run when taken by surprise, practicing wonder allows us to open ourselves up to the great mystery of the world.

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LEARNING ABOUT KINDNESS (PART 2)

So many people in my life have inspired me with their ability to be kind. Tristine Rainer was write when he said that writing about these people help me to internalize and possess the very qualities that intrigued me the most. I have been doing this for a while and realized as I sat down today that I have internalized some of the qualities of someone who showed me intense kindness when I was in graduate school.

Her name is Dr Diane M Samdahl and she is one of those people who has left her name inscribed on my heart. She taught me so much about life, not just recreation and leisure studies. When I look back on my relationship and journey with her, there is one moment in particular that I will remember forever.

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A MEASURE OF GRACE

It is funny how grace seems to pop into our conversations with people this month even when I am not expecting it to. So many of my conversations with people this month have been about our own experiences of grace and the ways it has happened to us. However, the other night at our Living the Five Agreements group, we began to talk about how we need to be a grace in other people’s lives as well. There is a line from the play The Man of La Mancha, where Don Quizote says "I just wanted to add a measure of grace to the world."

As I have thought about this line I was reminded of a song I once heard at a Mormon church, it was all about the call to add a measure of grace to the world. 

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

God's treat for today is Grace!  Open your heart and receive it.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Simple recipe for life: grace and courage

SONG OF THE WEEK

This week's song of the week reminds us to open our hearts to experience grace in our lives http://inspiritual.biz/inspiritual-song-of-the-week1/

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Open your heart and grace will flow in and through it.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When we open our hearts we allow grace to enter, where our hearts are closed, grace flows around

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Grace enables one to be reflection of the Divine in human life

It’s Sharing Time! New Understandings

It’s Sharing Time! New Understandings http://inspiritual.biz/spiritual-discussion/2015/10/26/new-understandings