Sounding the Trumpets of Thanksgiving, then Seeking Attunement

Posted on May 9, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

looking out one of the doors of the Boston Public Library at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Good MORNING God!

HOME! Ta Da! Sound the TRUMPETS! I am PRAISING YOU, GOD, with cymbals and trumpets and hosannahs — albeit, silently, as the neighbors are asleep.

Kit is running the Bill Beauchamp 10k this morning while I will do laundry and perhaps jog? One thing I know, God, is how good it is to BE OUTDOORS.

There is nothing like being on planes for hours and hours to make one aware of how good it is to be outdoors — breathing fresh air — seeing green growing things. We have lost our primal connection with nature, haven’t we, God.

In Ireland 40 percent of the population is engaged in farming. In the EU the farmers are protected. It is not, of course, an easy life — but it strikes me as a deeply connected life. It is a life in which the Body takes an essential / needed role in the production of the food it requires.

This photo, looking out of the Library and at the Church brings together two foundation pillars of civilization — both of whom have failed to give our bodies their due. Is that a little harsh, God? I don’t mean it as harsh. In fact, I didn’t even mean to say it. It came as a surprise to me.

Perhaps it would be more helpful to say that the BALANCING of mind, body and heart is CHALLENGING! Sigh. Impossible without Your help? Impossible without our attunement to Your Holy Spirit?

Attunement is defined as a harmonious or responsive relationship. Ahaa, God! I WANT THAT WITH YOU!

I want that FIRST and FOREMOST — and then let all the rest flow out of that — flow out into this Beloved World.

Posted in Abundant Life, appreciation, asking for help for myself, attunement, Balancing and adjustments, Choosing to respond, clapping our hands in joy, Praise, Thanksgiving!

Spring, Swan Boats and Stepping out of Social Norms

Posted on May 8, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Swan Boat and swan on the Boston Garden pond

Good Day, God!

And it was a very good day! We had a day’s rest here in Boston to break up the long flight back from Ireland. The sun was shining brightly. The temperature was in the low 70’s and we meandered through downtown Boston with me taking lots of photos.

We even took a trip on one of the Swan Boats that are peddled around the pond in the Boston Garden. How good it was to listen to the parents narrating the trip to their little children! Oh! How good it would be if all children had parents to take them on outings and lovingly describe the event.

a very little girl on McCloskey's mother duck

Actually, just being able to be outside in the sunlight noticing the trees and tulips and even rhododendrons was a JOY! Hearing and seeing the doting parents was an extra.
Of course, the children were another delight.

Seeing this little girl on the statue of the mother duck reminded me of reading McCloskey’s story Make Way for Ducklings to our girls. Such happy memories, God.

Thank You! Thank You for such a good life! I have been so blessed! And I remember C.S. Lewis’s comments about how much is a matter of good digestion — as opposed to spiritual gifting.

So, God, a prayer for the young man begging in the park. There was such pain in his eyes. I felt as if I ought to have gone back and asked if I could pray for him. Well, yes. I should have. He could have said no if he didn’t want that. It is just that is SO OUTSIDE of normal behavior!

Again, a case of our being constrained by “politeness” or social norms! Gosh, God. I am not sure if I want to ask You to set me free from those. Hmmm. Well, how about we lessen them a bit? Or is it more a matter of putting YOU FIRST? Politeness as a god before You? OUCH!

Yes, I need Your Help! Please!

Posted in a hand up, a series of molts and upgrades, acknowledging another's existence, asking for help for myself, courage, developing helpful definitions of love, fears, gratitude, thankfulness

Iron Bars at Work and Play

Posted on May 7, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

a locked gate to a private park in Dublin

Good Day, God!

And it IS a good day that saw the airspace open over Ireland so we could fly back to Boston. I had no idea that I was taking the idea of being able to fly so for granted. Who would have imagined it could be so off again, on again!

So THANK YOU! Perhaps I picked this photo of a locked gate because I felt so locked in, yesterday. My travel meter had expired. I wanted to go home. I surely didn’t want to hear that the airspace (a term I’d never heard until April) had been closed.

Dublin has so many lovely public parks that it was sort of a shock to find this private part that belonged to the people owning the house on the square around it. FitzWilliam Square?

But, come to think of it, even the public parks are locked up for the night. Kit went to go running in St. Stephen’s Square and it was closed up tight until 9 a.m. Perhaps that is to keep the homeless from setting up bowers in the parks? Sigh. We didn’t see many homeless in Ireland — but we did see some.

Ireland has 300,000 unoccupied houses — they really rode their boom all the way up! And now that it has crashed they have a glut of houses. I think they have a National Assets Management Corporation that is trying to figure out what to do with them. How are we to use our resources, God?

I really think everyone should work — doing something useful or helpful or even just entertaining. It is sad when people can’t work (drugs, mental illness, ?) Being part of a meaningful group is so important. We are social beings, aren’t we. And I do think we have a NEED for MEANiNG.

window grating in the Dublin Castle grounds

Ah, I am on my way back home — back to my really quite delightful life. I have to get back in shape but that doesn’t need to be a heavy thing.

It is true, I am always wanting to get myself better organized and my paperwork under control

But, God, with Your help I don’t need to take a Locked Gate approach.

Instead I can relax and laugh and do it all in a spirit of play — just like these happy circles are getting the job of being a grate done — with elan. RIGHT!

Posted in an invitation to abundant life, authority over my life, Balancing and adjustments, becoming the change I wish to see, JOY, Play

Dublin Castle, Mazes, and Making Choices

Posted on May 5, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

a lawn inside Dublin Castle grounds -- with a pattern to walk?

Here I am again, God

This afternoon, I stood inside the Dublin Castle looking at this lovely green lawn with the brickwork pattern laid out in it. I could see that some “paths” came to a deadend, but I wasn’t quite high enough to see if there was a way to successfully complete the circuit.

It looked inviting — and there weren’t any signs saying STAY OFF THE GRASS — but years of seeing such signs took their toll.

We are such conditioned creatures, God. You tell us that we HAVE BEEN SET FREE, but I am pretty sure that I do not yet understand that statement. I smiled, God, as I put in the word YET. But, audacious as it sounds, I feel as if I will come closer to understanding what FREE means.

a "king's" head to the left of one of the castle doors

I saw this face and was drawn to it. To me this is the face of a man who bears heavy burdens — who carries huge responsibilities. It doesn’t look like it has been easy.

It is tempting to think that given “kingly” power and wealth we would be really free. But the scripture I remember from Sundays in the Episcopal Church is “Those to whom much is given, from them, much is required”.

Then there is the whole question of the freedom to choose. When we have more money and power, or more money and time — we have more freedom to choose. But all choices have consequences. This man has made hard choices — undoubtedly some bad choices.

Ah, God, free doesn’t mean easy and it doesn’t mean being right. I suppose free means we have been given responsibility for ourself and as in the case of this king — sometimes for others.

So “being free” and having the courage to exercise and use that freedom are two different things. Courage and faith?

Sigh, it seems to me, God, that I have faith that You will point out my mistakes. And I have faith that You will help me ask You and others for forgiveness. Ah, but faith that I can exercise my freedom without mistakes and pain and failures? That seems to me more foolish than faithful. But it does bring me to YOU asking for help.

Posted in accepting my need for help, choices, courage, freedom, responsibility

A saint’s cell and solitude and silence

Posted on May 4, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

St. Kevin's cell at Glendalough, Ireland circa 600s

Another lovely day, God!

Thank YOU! This morning we went back in time – back to the 600s in Glendalough. St. Kevin had gone off to be holy and ended up founding a monastery back in the 600s. I felt like I was back there too. Not so much at the site of the monastery but very much so at the site of St. Kevin’s cell. It was so quiet and so green and so peaceful there.

Ah, solitude is one of the Disciplines, isn’t it God.

Solitude and silence do make both Time and Space for You, God.

Thank You for this trip. Thank You for saints of by-gone years. Thank You for wanting a closer, clearer connection with each on of us. The label saint throws us off, God. It makes an ALL or NOTHING dichotomy out of what I feel is a natural Both And. We are both of this World and AND of Your Kingdom of Love and Light and Laughter!

And now, God, being still IN this world — I am taking my dear body off to bed! SLEEP (for me, anyway) could be considered another one of the Disciplines by which we come closer to You. Surely I get out of sorts and full of static when I am tired or just not fully rested. So thank You for this time of travel in which I have rested and I have realized the sleep deficit in which I was living!

How Simple are the keystones of Right Living. Live within (well within) our limits — so that, when need be — we have the ability to give. And now, Good Night!

Posted in an invitation to abundant life, authority over my life, Balancing and adjustments, both / and, breathing in Your Spirit, compassion to care for myself, connecting, sacred space, solitude and silence

Soap bubbles, tulips and facing forward

Posted on May 3, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Child and giant bubble on Grafton St in Dublin

Thank You, God, for a Glorious Day!

Really, a perfect day! The first half spent in bed — doing nothing much — a half day OFF!

Then, when Kit came back from the group walking tour, I bestirred myself and off we went on a long walk to St. Stephen’s Square, then on to the National Gallery followed by a walk through Merrion’s Square. Glorious beds of tulips to bedazzle the eye!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many tulips together like that.

Then we returned through Grafton St. and that is when I got the photo of the child with arms up — enchanted by the giant soap bubble.

Oh, God, Thank You for the splendiferous WONDERMENT of childhood! Children are enchanted by the simplest of things. Soap bubbles. I remember how much fun I had blowing bubbles. Ah! But these GIANT glycerin bubbles — they took me right back to that primal state of delight. How much better to catch and freeze a child expressing what I felt.

Is it the Japanese, God, who say: That which is most fleeting, is most beautiful. Or is it that beauty by its very nature can only be grasped briefly? Probably, both.

Thank You, God, for the the GIFT of the ephemeral — for beauty that explodes in our senses — and then ebbs away. Forgive us for trying to hold on to things — to go back, to attempt to recapture, to repeat.

Help us — help me — to be always ready for Your Oncoming Gifts.

Ah, God, there is the essential mistake of regret. It keeps us facing backwards! How can we be on the lookout for Your Next Gift if we are looking backwards?

Another plea for Help, God. Help me to keep my eyes and heart open and focused on what You want me to see. Hmmm. You might want to EXPAND both my heart and my vision.

Posted in appreciation, beauty, clapping our hands in joy, Expand my Heart, God's gifts, JOY, simple joys of daily life, stopping to see, taking time to focus, thankfulness, the gift of nothing to do

Gardeners, The Book of Kells and InterConnections

Posted on May 2, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Flowers in St. Stephen's Square in Dublin

Good Day, God!

I’m back to admiring the flowers, God. In fact, I think we ought to put the gardeners in charge of things. Now there’s a thought!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we turned our world back into a garden — if our primary concern was caring for the earth — caring for the creatures — caring for the people.

Ah, now THAT would be a paradigm shift! What if we valued a person’s ability to care for his plot of land or her plot of land — and didn’t notice if she was wearing diamonds or Dior.

Now that I have given a minute or two to thinking about this I realize that I should have specified ORGANIC gardening.

Another thought that popped up is — would that mean NO iPods and iPads and laptops? Ouch! Easy for me to dis diamonds and declare them of no importance. But what if these organic gardeners wanted to ban my technological delights? What then? Pouf! there went my latest attempt at a Utopia!

an image from the Book of Kells - image from Regent.edu publication

So, I am smiling, God, at this complex world — free and messy and oh so interconnected. I thought about that this afternoon while I was walking through the Book of Kells exhibit at Trinity College. The way those artists interwove the illustrations was fascinating. They did a really good job of making the universe’s interconnections VISIBLE.

Everything really is connected to everything else. What we think and do matters. I fear it matters FAR MORE than I want to know.

Yes, I know, You have told me this before. I am resisting knowing — I am resisting because KNOWING would mean CHANGING.

Gosh, God. It might mean going jogging tomorrow with Kit. It might mean catching myself when I snivel about it being cold. It might mean turning down food that is put in front of me.

It all sounds a lot like growing up. Which — as You just pointed out to me — it is never too late to do!

Posted in A God given diversity, connections, growing toward up, Venturing out of the shallows?, web of life

Famine Ships and Doing More

Posted on May 1, 2010 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Hearing the story of a woman in the late 1840's leaving Ireland in a famine ship

Good Gracious, God!

How hard it is to “hear” the story of the Irish Famine from a real live human being! We are not designed to do numbers. One million dead — or was it two million dead — they are just numbers. It has no reality. But, put a fellow human being in front of us and have her tell her story — then it becomes REAL.

Today we were on a replica of a famine ship. It was a sailing ship used to transport cargo that was outfitted for transporting people. Steerage was what it was called. That meant four people to a bunk 6 feet by 6 feet and the bunks were upper and lower. There were rules about how many people were allowed based on the ships tonage. But young people were counted as a half and children weren’t counted at all. There were maybe 150 to 300 people in a small area. The food was biscuits — hard tack — and raw oatmeal which they could try to cook on deck.

a replica of a real famine ship, the Dunbrody

These were the lucky ones. They left. Some had the passage paid for by their landlords. Some had family in America.

Well, I tell You, God. I feel convicted.

Because, it isn’t just the Irish — way back then. People needing help are all around us. “Needing Help” — that is a bit of a euphemism isn’t it, God. There are people starving. People dying of preventable diseases. People without hope turning to drink or drugs. Sigh.

I remember the end of Schindler’s List — with Oscar Schindler crying out: I could have done MORE! I could have done so much MORE!

Well, yes, God. I CAN DO MORE!

Oh, GOD! Please turn our hearts TOWARD YOU! Let doing Your Will be a JOY to us — light a flame in our hearts!

Posted in being a Slow Learner, being together in a compassionate presence, connecting, decision making, Haves and Have Nots, Having the Heart of a Have Not?, Heal Us Now

Pansies and People and Time

Posted on April 30, 2010 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

pansies in Kilkenney

Good Night, God,

Another day of sight SEEING! And thank You for a lovely day. We saw a castle in Cahir — a castle belonging to the Butler family for over 800 years. That’s a long time.Then we stopped in Kilkenney and we could have seen another castle. But as Kit said, we were “castled out.”

Can it be, God, that I am losing my taste for castles? I think so. They are fortified because people WANT to attack them. Castles were built by invaders and I was going to say that the conquered people had no love lost for the invading family living in the castle. But then I thought, hmmm, JOBS? Did the local folks see castles as the stimulus package of that time and place? But, enough of castles!

I started with the pansies, God, because they are fleeting — they last for a season — then are gone. They are at the other end from the castles which were built to LAST. The idea is coming to me that maybe we have it upside down, God. Maybe the best things we do are the most fleeting? Can it be that a smile, a kind work, an attentive ear are more important than building a castle?

Our tour director was telling us of all the years of talking together — of working out compromises — that it has taken to build peace in Northern Ireland. War is so simple compared to creating peace.

And that brings me, God, to my last thought for the evening. People are what I will remember from this trip — even more than the flowers — and far more than the castles.

This woman, Geradine Martin, hosted our home visit. She was a very good camogie player (that is what they call hurling when it’s played by women. Hurling – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . It is wonderful how interesting a thing can be when described with enthusiasm and joy! So, now I know about Camogie — but what I really know, is how essential our fellow humans are to our well being — better even than flowers! Thank You, God for flowers and people and even for the fact that You have put us in TIME.

Posted in people as gifts, the joy of sharing, time

The Lusitania and Sinking My Old Mental Maps

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

A memorial to the Lusitania in Cobh, County Cork, Ireland

Good Day, God!

Oh sigh, O DRAT! It is alway discomfiting, God, to have to rewrite history as I learned it. The Lusitania was sort of a sailing Pearl Harbor, circa 1915.

Great Britain was in what was know as the Great War and doing badly. Their best hope was to have America join in. But, America was not interested. What to do?

How about lure the Germans (under Kaiser Wilhelm) in to sinking a commercial ship with Americans on board — the Lusitania? Now, that deed would serve as a rallying point to drum up American public opinion on the side of England! Sure enough, the Germans sank the Lusitania and American lives were lost. Propaganda mills turned and America entered the war in 1917

It turns out that the ship had a lot of ammunition in it. Enough ammunition that just ONE torpedo caused a big explosion. And the ship sank in 18 minutes. I suppose you could call it a Sacrificial Lamb — staked out for the U Boat wolves by Churchill. People in charge seem to do that, God. And I don’t want to know that.

Indeed, what really bothered me was the memory of having “learned” about this in college — and having “forgotten” it — so I wouldn’t have had to change my mental map of who were the “good guys” and who were the “bad guys”. Oh, how we RESIST changing those good / bad maps of childhood.

Please, help me God to seek Your Help in seeing clearly — seeing with compassion — myself, those around me, and out into the larger world — seeing and then remapping my inner world.

Posted in accepting my need for help, asking for help for myself, becoming the change I wish to see, being together in a compassionate presence, choosing HARD, courage to see myself, growing toward up, perspectives, processing on deeper levels, systematic rebuilding required