The incredible VALUE of Family and Friends

Posted on January 4, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Suzanne and Sandy

Good Morning, God!

Our daughters are in their own homes now — Suz leaving on the 31st and Sandy on 1/3. And I MISS THEM! Not only do I miss them but I am more AWARE of their incredible VALUE to me. I guess I am a slow learner, God. At least it has taken a while for me to become FULLY AWARE of HOW MUCH I LOVE THEM.

What I mean is that I am now “consciously aware” of how precious they are to me, whereas before I just felt loving. It was a deep, gut-level love, to be sure — very Mother Tigerish.

This “awareness” feels different, but it feels good. Ah! Perhaps, I am becoming more nuanced emotionally? No? Well, God, at least I understand that Becoming A Nuanced Person is a GOAL!

By nuanced, God, I mean having 10 kinds of possible responses available to me in any situation, instead of 2. Why don’t we PRACTICE THAT, GOD? How useful it would be to Practice Deploying a Variety of Responses to a given situation. Gosh, God, wouldn’t it be wonderful to Role Play various kinds of interactions! And where better to do this than in the FAMILY! I wonder if they have workbooks for that?

Hmm. Workbooks remind me of school. And, as my friend Geri said “They didn’t teach me much that was USEFUL in school.” Yes, God, school and home and church COULD be teaching us: HOW to “speak the Truth in Love.” HOW to respond BEFORE we blowup. HOW DIFFERENTLY WE EXPERIENCE THE SAME THINGS.

I could go on and on, God. But, I hear you encouraging ME to DO MY PART!

Posted in becoming the change I wish to see, being a Slow Learner, Choosing to respond, connections, daughters, family visits

Falling down the stairs — the first step to ASKING?

Posted on January 3, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The stairs in my home

Good Morning, God

I woke up with the old memory of my “Experience with the Burglar” in my mind. More precisely, the memory was of me, lying in the stairwell with the burglar hitting me with my Chinese walking stick, and my crying out JESUS CHRIST, SON OF THE LIVING GOD, HELP ME. I cried out JESUS CHRIST, SON OF THE LIVING GOD, HELP ME, three times. The third time I cried JESUS CHRIST, SON OF THE LIVING GOD, HELP ME, the burglar stopped. I grabbed the stick and the burglar ran off.

I’m smiling ruefully. Those powerful words came out of me AFTER I had fallen backwards down the stairs and hit my head. That knock on my head, allowed YOUR HOLY SPIRIT to TAKE OVER inside of me. Up until then I had only been yelling “HOLY #$%#”

Falling over backwards — down the stairs — hitting my head, HARD — that happened BEFORE I could CRY OUT to YOU for HELP.

I feel as if You have awakened me — to hand me this clue. Is THAT what You meant when You said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” [Matthew 7:7] Is it THAT KIND OF ASKING that You were talking about?

That “kind of asking” that doesn’t come from our conscious mind — in fact, our conscious everyday-mind might have to be temporarily decommissioned — to allow our Deepest Self to CRY OUT TO YOU. ASK! Hmmm. I suspect there are layers and layers of asking.

And, maybe, letting go, falling backwards down “stairs”, and hitting our head, HARD, is an essential part of the process? Sigh.

Posted in a hand up, asking for help for myself, Holy Spirit

iLife, My Life and the Problems with Upgrades

Posted on January 2, 2011 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

iLife '11 The Creativity Suite

Good Morning, God!

I am still a little tired from — but so thankful for — a December filled with family and friends. Actually, I am grateful for a LIFE filled with Family and Friends. My desk is cluttered. My office needs attention. But, my HEART is Alive and Well.

Not to say that my Heart isn’t HURTING as I lift up to You, God, the ones who are ailing or ill. But, hurting is part of loving. Hurting is part of having a Working Heart.

Problems and Pain are Part of Life. I suppose we need “pain” because we are so comfortable in “the usual.” It takes something HARD to prompt a shift into NEW PATTERNS. Dang!

I picked iLife for the image this morning, just because I was SO UPSET at having to unlearn the old iPhoto and RELEARN the new iPhoto. Upgrades are PAINFUL. They feel like Downgrades! But, as I look back on 2010, I do feel as if I have had a small upgrade.

Do I have a slightly “larger” heart? I hear You say — not larger, but a bit more active. Hmm. An Active Heart! I like that phrase. I like the concept — even though I know I will not like the pain. But pain will not dissolve me. And, if it is coupled with Trust and Prayer, it will help me be about Your Business of CARING.

This morning, Kit was pondering the vastness of Space and how we are so small and finite. And, God, I FELT You say, “I CARE!” You do CARE, God. And, You want us to CARE, too. Help us to CARE and to PRAY!

Posted in Growth Opportunities, LOVE, pain, Prayer, Trusting God

A variety of Gifts for the New Year

Posted on January 1, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The Fall issue of YES! magazine

Good Morning, God!

I have a GIFT for everyone for the New Year. Yes Magazine — full of positive and inspiring NEWS and articles. I subscribe and receive articles like this one on What is Real Wealth, once a week.

Oh! You have a Gift for ME, God. Your Gift is that I will no longer be depressed by News. I started this morning with a quick look at BBC.com and discovered that Brazil has a woman president; their former president left with an 80% approval rating; and that Queensland is having floods of Biblical proportions. Ah, A Resolution! Scan World News, daily!

I LIKE making New Year’s Resolutions. Fresh Starts are under-rated, God! It is just that we (at least, I) don’t properly appreciate how many small changes are involved — REQUIRED — to implement just ONE resolution.

Implementation! I WANT TO EMBRACE THE ABILITY/SKILL OF IMPLEMENTING CHANGE! It reminds me of the folks — years ago — who wanted us to “just believe” we COULD end World Hunger. BELIEVING IS the FIRST step. But, “believing” is just “opening the door.” Now my mind sees — from a museum in Alaska — all the “supplies” that had to be carried by a gold prospector climbing up the steep and snowy route to the Klondike.

It is true, God, that we don’t SET OUT without believing. But, most of us don’t ask for the list of “supplies” needed for the trip. And without attending to the hundreds of supporting “details” we fail.

So, New Year’s Resolutions get a “bad name” and we miss the Great Gift of beginning again. Please, God, help me to both make and implement New Year’s Resolutions! Let’s TURN this aircraft carrier!

Posted in a New Year, an invitation to abundant life, Changing, gifts and giftings

Rising in the Dark, Circadian Tides and Attention

Posted on December 31, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Sunrise over Honolulu in August

Good Morning, God!

I am up at my regular time but it is still DARK! Several years ago I discovered that the sun rises later up until January 15th. This morning when I checked the chart I discovered that sunrise stays at 7:11 up until January 26 — when it rises at 7:10. Ten days longer? That seems odd, God.

But, then the 11 year sunspot cycle seems to have been a bit over 12 years. Hmmm. My mind is swinging back to Stonehenge and other ancient circles set up — in part — to note solstices and other astronomical cycles and events. And then forward to ponder our own biological cycles and rhythms.

Suz was telling me that Chinese medicine divides the 24 hour cycle up into two hour chunks by bodily system. Actually, even our western medicine has noted differing sensitivities to medicines based on time of day. We really ARE connected to the WIDER WORLD. I can’t remember just how many thousands of data points we receive each second. And what a small percentage we are “aware” of.

We really do seem limited to ONE object of focus at a time. Multitasking is just a rapid rotation of attention. Hmm. Why don’t we USE this, God! We CAN select what we focus on. But, it has to be a positive — our minds don’t do negatives. For example, focusing on BEING PATIENT is really more of a focus on DON’T FUSS — DON’T COMPLAIN. It would be more useful to focus on BE UNDERSTANDING. BE COMPASSIONATE! Please, help me with this, God!

Posted in being together in a compassionate presence, cyclical nature of the universe, time, web of life

A Breadfruit Tree and the New Year

Posted on December 30, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Breadfruit tree at Ala Moana

Good Morning, God!

What could better symbolize NEW LIFE and FRUITFULNESS than a Breadfruit Tree! Yet how unexpected to find one at Ala Moana Shopping Center! But, there it was! And I was delighted!

Actually, looking back at it now, I find it encouraging! I feel as if it is a Personal Invitation to me — inviting me to grow and bear fruit — to step out of old confining roles and into the UNKNOWN. Well, WHY NOT?

These are GOOD thoughts to have on the eve of New Year’s Eve. Life is SUCH A RICH GIFT, God! We do not — well, I don’t — OPEN IT UP, to its full extent! Each morning we rise and are surrounded by all the gifts and blessings YOU desire to give us. Only we don’t see them. Or, more likely we see them in unappealing wrappings and pretend that they are not for US!

Ah yes, God, often Your gifts come in horrid wrappings. I can see why Growth Opportunities are given to us as unavoidable problems because the truth is WE LIKE THE FAMILIAR! Animals get used to cages and often do not wish to step outside them. It is like the old Irish proverb, “Better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t know.”

So, here we are with WHAT IS. And we [family and friends and fellow citizens] are invited to OPEN IT. To TRUST YOU in it and with it. To invite YOU to USE IT for our “long term” growth — as in “eternal” growth? TRUSTING YOU, GOD, to stir us up and help us put out New Leaves — and bear Fruit. Aaaah. Thank YOU!

Posted in gifts and giftings, Growth Opportunities, Trusting God

A Trip Back in Time

Posted on December 29, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Between buildings in Chinatown

Good Morning, God!

Yesterday, Suz and I went to Chinatown. We had just parked and were looking for the restaurant The Green Door to have lunch when Suz said, “Take a photo, Mom.” We both LOVED the colors of the brooms. Brooms were never these colors a decade ago. But, aside from that, going to Chinatown is like stepping back in Time. The buildings were old — maybe two stories tops — and the feel is one of small shopkeepers and business owners.

Suz told me Chinatown is like Paris in that regard — lots of local shops — not many signs of global brands and conglomerates. Ah, God, we are WALLMARTING the WORLD. It doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel good. And for WHAT? Cheaper prices? I look around me at the heaps on my desk — think of the piles on my dresser — and conclude that I don’t need cheaper or more.

Of course, I COULD refrain. I could stay out of shops. I could be content with what I have. Sigh. There is something about shopping that brings out the female root-and-berry gathering instincts. Shifting through stuff looking for the wearable (read: edible) is very satisfying. Maybe men get that deep atavistic satisfaction from fishing or hunting? Or is that what sports does? Shopping for the women. Sports for the men. Hmmm.

I think, God, that we need BETTER outlets for our deep instinctive wiring. Better activities, and maybe better jobs? Meanwhile it was fun to poke around and explore another world — a world of very small businesses and hard workers.

I wonder, God, what will our FUTURE look like?

Posted in meaningful work, time

The Greening of the Earth and ME

Posted on December 28, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Koko Head, green from the rains

Good Morning, God!

I am curled up in bed enjoying a SLOW morning. My Mother’s 96th Birthday lunch in her apartment went well. We brought in food, she opened presents and we played scrabble. Oh! Then we found the lovely flowers sent by my brother and Barba and took them back up to her. Beautiful!

My office is still jumbled, God. Well, actually, pretty much the whole house has an unkempt look — the part of me that PUTS STUFF AWAY has been otherwise occupied. I went on a long walk with Suz yesterday and realized that my own interior “house” needs a lot of stuff put away — or tossed out. Friends, daughters, therapists — people who hear us into hearing ourselves — are such a GIFT!

Rueful laugh. Aaah, but it takes me so LONG to hear what is going on inside of me. Or maybe it is just that the tides of change move along, but I only notice from time to time? And, YOU just pointed out, that even after I “notice” it takes time for me to integrate changes into my daily living patterns.

Old patterns of speaking and thinking are HARD to CHANGE. They are hard to DUMP — which is mostly what I would like to do with many of mine. The detritus of hundreds of years of “family” cultures — contaminating my words and actions. YUCK!

And so, God, BECOMING a NEW CREATURE in CHRIST is a difficult on-going challenge. Please, send Your Spirit of Compassion to wash through me — removing old “don’ts” and “do’s” from my behavior patterns. Help me in Extending to Myself the interest and attention I love to give to others!

It is scary for an extrovert to venture INSIDE and I need YOUR HELP!

Posted in a series of molts and upgrades, being together in a compassionate presence, changing who I want to become, choosing HARD, Expand my Heart, hearing myself

The HUNT for Mom’s Around-the-World Travel Diary

Posted on December 27, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

My office AFTER the hunt

Good Morning, God!

For some time — years — my Mom has thought that I had her travel diary. I had looked. And LOOKED. But, I couldn’t find it. However, on Christmas, our daughter, Suzanne, became aware of Mom’s distress at not having her diary of her 1983-4 Trip Around the World. So, yesterday, the HUNT began.

I looked where I had looked before. Then I looked behind boxes and bookcases. I emptied out my literature sorters — slots to randomly stuff stuff into. Suz pulled back another bookcase and crawled behind my rolling file cabinets and looked through folder after folder of photos. NO TRAVEL DIARY! I would have given up but Suz has TENACITY enough for two!

The day wore on and it was past time to visit Mom. I was taking back some laundry I had decide to wash for her. When we got to Mom’s I hung up her blouses and I gave Suz a pile of underwear to put in the lingerie drawer. I heard a cry — an excited SHOUT — THERE WAS THE DIARY! As Suz said, “Of course, women put important items in their lingerie drawer!” What a relief! Truly, God, it is a load off of my shoulders. My Mom LOVES to reread her travel diaries. And I am so happy for her!

I told Mom I was going to take photos of my devastated office — to show her how HARD we had looked. But, now that I think about it — YOU get the credit. I hardly ever wash my Mom’s clothes — certainly not when Suz is here to put them away and be primed to SEE the diary! THANK YOU!!!!

Posted in family visits, gifts and giftings, tenacity

A Silent Morning — A Thankful Morning

Posted on December 26, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The two of us on Christmas Day

Good Morning, God!

Thank YOU for a lovely DAY, yesterday — a day which was mostly about preparing to welcome into our home our “Family of Friends.” I had such a good time preparing that I am sure it must have been YOU — helping me. And it all seemed so analogous to cleaning up my Heart to Welcome You in. Indeed, God, YOU came in with our friends!

I don’t know why I should be so surprised by that. I John 4:20 asks us: How can you say you love God, whom you have NOT seen, when you do not love your brother whom you HAVE seen. Loving You and loving our family and friends are all of a piece.

Oh dear! YOU remind me that we are commanded to love our enemies, too, perhaps, even MORE! Blessing — instead of judging. Praying for — instead of against. So, God, bless all of us who believe in bombs and violence — even the violence of a raised voice. And, yes, God, that is sometimes me. Argh!

But, back to this morning, I was the first one awake. I made the coffee and took it into Kit. Then I brought in my laptop and we reviewed the photos of 2010 — and agreed on some for our year-end letter. It was a FULL year. A marvelous year. And my HEART is SO THANKFUL. And Gratitude seems to WANT to share. So then, Dear God, thank you for 2010 and help me continue to make ROOM for You in 2011.

Posted in being together in a compassionate presence, connections, Expand my Heart, gratitude, LOVE, thankfulness