FANTASY

We all fantasize,
but how many of us
fantasize
about being of greater service
to the one we call our Higher Power

What do you fantasize about?
Is it about fighting for equality
amongst all of humanity?
Or is it about working to bring about
world peace?
Perhaps it is about practicing patience
or compassion with all of humanity.
Perhaps it is about promoting
healing and wholeness

May we open
our heart, mind, and soul to
fantasizing about
making it on earth
as it is in Heaven
or at least
as we fantasize
it to be.

DISCERNING

Kenny Rogers would sing
You got to know when to hold 'em,
Know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away,
And know when to run.

Life is filled with moments
when we must discern when
to hold on and make things work
and when to release them
because it is not our battle
or we know it is not right for us.

This is not about gambling, like the song.
it is about discerning.
it is about listening for
guidance from within us about
whether we can make this work
or we need to release it and let it go.

It is about developing
a deeper relationship with God
knowing what are our battles
and what are not.

May we know when to hold on
tightly to that which is ours
and release with gentle tenderness
that which is not.
Amen.

OUT OF EXILE

I remember the process
Of sending the parts of me
Away.
I sent them into exile
because I had internalized
the lies,
others had told me were truths.
It wasn’t all at once.
It was a process of
not seeing my beauty
not owning my intelligence
not appreciating all of
who God created me to be.

Then I recognized the lies.
I remembered the truth that
God loves me
just as I am.
I opened my arms
welcomed the pieces home
sought forgiveness
and embraced all of
who I am and who
I was created to be.

IN TUNE

I am always amazed at how you give me clarity of vision. There are days that I can see the pieces, but not the whole picture and then you led me to a story about putting things together again by Suzy Holbeche

"I am reminded of the story of the teacher who tears to shreds a map of the world and, thinking it an impossible task, gives it to a recalcitrant student to put together. Within ten minutes the boy is back, the task completed. Astonished, the teacher asks him how he did it. The boy replies: When I turned the pieces over, I found a torn-up man. I put him together, and when I looked at the other side the world was whole again."

This wonderful story reminds me that the answer to the world's problems is people like me. Once I make myself whole, my world falls into place as it should be. When I fall apart, my world falls apart. When I am in tune with you then I am also in tune with myself. This story inspired me to write a poem about my relationship with you

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TOPSY TURVY CAKEOLOGY

Hard to believe it has been almost a year since I have blogged here. For the last year, I have been praying about whether or not to continue with this blog. I had been praying for guidance about whether or not to restart. This past week, I was contacted out of the blue by a food site called Chew the World. They wrote a blog called The Definite Guide to Spaghetti Squash. While doing research on the topic they had run across a blog on Spaghetti Squash Spirituality I wrote over a year ago. We chose to help make each other’s work visible. Even though I was not included in their guide on how to cook it, to have my work recognized and shared by another food blogger inspired me to think about writing about the spiritual lessons from food again.

It was this connection with Chew the World that inspired my writing again this week. Their most recent blog was about How To Make A Topsy Turvy Cake The Easy Way. I am not sure if you have ever seen one of these cakes but they look amazing and like they are so difficult to make as if layer tilts at a different angle. The secret they point out is having the right equipment,

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LIVE IN THE LAYERS

Recently, a colleague shared with me a poem by Stanely Kunitz called “The Layers.” There is one line in it that stuck out to me, it says, “Live in the layers, not on the litter.”  As I have been thinking about this line over the last few days I found myself having visions of mountains that have been blasted apart to create highways and the layers of rock which are visible in the walls surrounding me as I drive. The layers are a legacy of the history of that rock.

I remember a friend telling me about having a similar experience while in the grand canyon. Each layer tells a story about a different point in time in the development of this piece of nature. I have thought about trees and how there are layers that become visible when looking at a felled tree. Each layer is an important part in the life and history of the tree. Each layer tells a story about what happened during that time, what happened to that part of nature and what was done to it. The same is true for us.

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ENTERING THE MIRACLE

So here we are at the end of August and it is amazing to me how much I have thought about meaning lately. It is interesting how I have been thinking about why I have been led to sources of wisdom and revelation at certain times. For example, I was looking for a book a few months ago and was drawn to a book by Mark Nepo, which I thought would be awesome for our book club, called Inside the Miracle. It is a gathering of his writings which draw on his experience and transformation because of his battle with cancer.  Most of the people in our book club have had cancer and so I thought this was a book that would really speak to them.

Little did I know that I was drawn to this book for another reason. One of my dearest friends was diagnosed with brain cancer.  Reading this book while journeying with her helped me to enter into the miracle that was to happen in her life. It gave me new understandings of my own health challenges and the journey to wholeness which was coming as a result of this opportunity. 

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