One Blockage Opened!

Posted on January 16, 2014 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The Plumber’s Truck leaving after fixing the blockage

Good Evening, God!

What could be more satisfying than to see the back of a plumber’s truck — leaving after fixing the blockage in our pipes!

Two days ago — before we had water all over the laundry room floor — I would have laughed at that sentence! Ah, perspective!

So, Thank You, God, for all the things we take for granted! Washing machines that drain . . . Actually, water itself is something to be thankful for — especially here in the desert. We have so many, many things to be thankful for God!

And, yes, God, once again I am thinking of how Brene Brown says that when we are caught up by Fears — by Catastrophizing — we can Stop and Replace that Fear with Thoughts of What we have to be Thankful For. We can exercise that ability. We can act as Plumbers to our own Emotional Blockages!

But back to Gratitude. I am most thankful for the beloved people in my life! My wonderful husband, our marvelous daughters, our super grandsons, our super smart son (in-law), and our extended families! And then our life-giving friends.

When I was very young my father would say prayers with me after I was in bed and after the Lord’s Prayer I would ask You, God, to bless everyone in our family by name . . . one by one. It was lovely thing to do . . . a liturgical moment in my young life. Oh, I could do that NOW before I Center. Only now I want to add all our friends, too.

Ah, that idea is an Open Door — A Small Change I can make — A Change that opens me up to more Changes.

Yes,indeed, God, it isn’t just pipes that have Blockages!

Tagged with: being our own plumber, blockages, Brene Brown, Changes, gratitude, thankfulness
Posted in Changing, choices, Families, family visits, friends, gratitude, health

Hidden Doorways — Waiting . . .

Posted on January 14, 2014 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

hidden doorways

Good Evening, God!

Son (in-law) Dave has driven off to a meeting in Palm Springs and so dinner was simpler — left over veggies and pre-cooked meat from Whole Foods. Such a good life!

This gate caught my eye this morning on my jog. I’m sure I’ve run by it before but never noticed it. I stopped for a photo, but I didn’t go and peek inside. And, of course, didn’t even think about trying the handle.

I’m afraid that is pretty much the way I behave with all sorts of “doorways and opportunities” that surround me. And, God, now that I think about it — there are so many doorways and opportunities in our lives. Books, movies, classes, new friends . . . and old friends that we assume we “know.”

Routines do become ruts — and ruts just let us roll along with minimal effort. Ah, Effort! It does take energy and focus to SEE doors — and even more to find out what’s behind them. And as for Opening Doors? That’s even harder.

In a way, God, we all live in “Gated Communities” where we live lives voluntarily constrained and limited. If we were contained by the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule that might be one thing. But, as for me, I seem to be constrained mostly by low expectations — I like to call it sloth — but, it’s more that I lack vision as to what LIFE can be.

Thankfully, our children and grandchildren have Higher Expectations for me. I promised daughter Suzanne I would take an Art Class and so today I signed up for Beginning Watercolors! And grandson Mark is teaching me to upload photos to Instagram. Meanwhile, daughter, Sandy, has nudged me on to the Commit App.

Small doors, perhaps, but they are helping me open to a more Expanded Self. Thank You, God. And thank you, family!

Tagged with: expanding, growing, Learning, opening doors, stretching
Posted in Abundant Life, Art, Becoming FRESH from God's Hand, connecting, Growth Opportunities

Saguaros and Stories — at the Golden Hour

Posted on January 13, 2014 by a moment with god — 2 Comments

moon & saguaro

Good Morning from Tucson, God!

I’m “on assignment” here with beloved daughter, Sandy, and her dear family. Older grandson Ian and I shall hold down the fort while Sandy, her husband Dave and son Mark travel to Disneyland for Sandy to run a half marathon.

It is lovely to be asked to help the ones we love! Lovely to be wanted — even as I miss my wonderful husband!

Yesterday, Dave asked if I would like to go for a walk in Sabino Canyon with him and Mark — it was just before what photographers call the Golden Hour. It was a lovely walk — full of tales from Mark’s first semester at college back East.

Mark has The Story Teller gene. He rows crew and he made a harrowing tale of regattas mishaps sound somewhat like a sit-com plot. Listening to him reminding me of how Brene Brown says that when we tell our story we can control the outcome.

Ah, we all have stories, God. And it is healing for us to tell them — to share them with folks who will laugh with us and not at us. But, Dr. Brene Brown cautions about only sharing our “Shame Stories” with people who have shown themselves worthy (trustworthy) of hearing them.

Of course, Mark’s story was NOT a “shame story” and that in itself is A JOY! Because research says that Shame is totally Toxic. Guilt, on the other hand is Productive. Guilt is about making mistakes — we can then repent and see about making amends. Shame, however, is about Being a Mistake — being BAD. Shame damages everyone near it.

As You have told us, God: All of us have sinned (made mistakes) and fallen short of Your Glory. Please help me to accept Your Help and turn toward You and– maybe even, make amends.

Tagged with: Amends, healing, mistakes, Repentance, Story Tellers, Toxic Shame
Posted in being together in a compassionate presence, connecting, family visits, healing, self care as self compassion and humility, Sharing

Rainbows and Promises and Extreme Weather

Posted on January 9, 2014 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A morning rainbow in our valley

Good Afternoon, God!

My wonderful husband Kit came home from his Rotary meeting this morning yelling “RAINBOW!, RAINBOW!” and sure enough there was a rainbow right inside our valley.

I love rainbows. I love the fact that they don’t last. And that they come unexpectedly and joyfully.

They are the sign of a Promise from You — a promise made after the Great Flood — a promise that You wouldn’t do another flood.

Sigh. It looks as if You won’t have to flood the Earth. We are slowly but surely creating our own Flood.

Every day we are adding to the Greenhouse Effect — CO2, particulate matter, etc. All of it keeping more sunlight from leaving our atmosphere. We have set in motion a positive feedback loop. Each degree warmer means more meltwater from glaciers and the poles flowing into our oceans. It means the melting of the permafrost which then releases methane gases into the air — gases that will speed the warming even faster than carson dioxide does.

And warmer oceans mean Higher Sea Levels and Stronger Storms and more Extremes in our weather patterns. Our world will get much colder as well as much warmer.

How are we to respond? There ARE people thinking and planning. But, most of us really don’t want to think about it. It’s a problem that is both Too Big and (for now) Too Slow. What can I do? What can WE do as a Species?

You have designed us to care about one another — to reach out during disasters. But, not if we are divided into hundreds of USes and THEMs. Not if we are blaming and judging or — and some people still are — denying there are problems.

So, God, please pour out a lot more of Your Holy Spirit on each of us. Help us to work together — one busy and multiplying Species on one small, warming World.

Tagged with: Global Warming, greenhouse effect, Holy Spirit, promises, rainbows, working together
Posted in a new view of Commons, Choosing to respond, climate changes, connecting, Holy Spirit, meaningful work

Looking Back — Looking Forward

Posted on January 1, 2014 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Looking back: A courtyard at the Honolulu Museum of Art

Happy New Year, God!

I am SO THANKFUL to be starting a New Year! The Old Year is GONE! And such a year it was: My Mother’s passing into Your Hands, Kit running Boston with the Bombings, then the Berlin Marathon in late September, and finally Kit’s not finishing the Honolulu Marathon in December. He said when I met him at mile 16 “I only wobbled when I stepped up onto the curb . . .” but wobble he did . . . and he DID stop when I asked him to. Thank You, again, God for THAT!

It is a good thing I had the renovation of the Arcadia library to occupy my mind and keep me busy — busy enough to keep the waves of emotions at bay. Now the renovation is done. Various trips — for Thanksgiving in Tucson and a Conference in Anaheim are done.

And I am done in. My Body has had a Cold for two weeks. I am coughing — instead of crying. My Body has Taken Charge of what my Heart Keeps Turning Away From — GRIEF, LOSS, SORROW and PAIN.

We are a TEAM, my Body is telling me. “Don’t make ME do YOUR work!” And my body is right.

Looking Forward: Another courtyard at the Honolulu Museum of Art

In Your Universe, God, Joy does not preclude Sorrow. Joy is there to undergird and carry us through our Sorrows. Shakespeare said it best: “Give Sorrow Words; the Grief that does not Speak, Whispers to the O’r fraught Heart and Bids it Break.”

So, now God, I am turning around and looking Forward — forward to 2014. A New Year. And, yes, God, it will require of me a True Team Effort. Please, God, help me give my sorrow words . . . help me to weep and not to whine . . . and help me hold tight to the Joy and Hope that comes from You!

Tagged with: Body Heart Teamwork, grief, Joy, New Year, sorrow, Thanksgiving
Posted in a hand up, asking for help for myself, connecting, going THROUGH the sorrow, gratitude, healing, hearing myself

Loving my Inner Child

Posted on December 23, 2013 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Margie Anne at maybe 14 months

Good Morning, God!

I came into my office to pick up stuff and bring some order into it. But, then it came to me that my Mind would like a bit of tidying. Having just come back from a conference on The Evolution of Psychotherapy my mind is fuller than usual.

One of the talks was by Dr. Amen who is a researcher on brain function who uses SPECT images of the blood flow in the brain. His point to the audience was LOOK at what you are working with! An orthopedic surgeon wouldn’t operate with out x-rays. Why prescribe for depressed patients when they can have identical symptoms BUT totally different brain scan images?

I was quite stirred and thought YES! How sensible to LOOK at all the information available. But, the applause was light and clearly the cost of a SPECT image ($1,500?) meant that no one there was likely to refer patients for a brain scan. I shouldn’t have been surprised for he himself said he has been roundly attacked as a quack.

Sigh, I was feeling judgmental — until I realized that I don’t LOOK at myself — hardly at all. Here I am, trying to “grow up” — trying to find and integrate unused parts of myself — without looking.

So finding this early photo of me stirred a Deep Inner Part of myself. How wonderful to actually SEE myself. To see myself before I was swirled out into the Outside Sea of Others — others outside of my safe and loving extended family.

Ah, but as I write, God, I remember one important caveat. It is essential that I look at myself through Your Eyes of Love and Forgiveness! Looking back over my mistakes and missed opportunities I need Your Love and Compassion.

Looking without Your Love invites hopelessness. And HOPE is essential!

Tagged with: Blood flow, Dr. Amen, forgiveness, health, hope, Love, SPECT images
Posted in accepting my need for help, asking for and accepting forgiveness, Forgiven!, healing, hope, LOVE, seeing

A HUGE LOVE GIFT from my wonderful husband

Posted on December 8, 2013 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Kit at mile 16 in the Honolulu Marathon

Thank You, God!

My wonderful husband Kit gave me a HUGE Love Gift this morning when he agreed not to finish the Honolulu Marathon. I met him at mile 16 — right by our home — and gently asked if he wouldn’t come home with me. His pace was below forecast and he seemed a bit wobbly. True, God, to make my case, I DID say that his Women folk (our two daughters and I) were STRESSED. (The daughters, both on the Mainland, were following his progress online.)

We truly were stressed! And Kit’s brain was working well enough to know it might in fact be a good idea to drop out. This ranks as a sort of miracle, God! Sorry, excuse the “sort of” — it is a miracle! Because, Kit was given an unusual helping of GRIT and DETERMINATION. And if he sets out to DO something, he DOES IT!

As for me, God, for the very first time this year, I have heard myself saying, “I AM TOO OLD FOR THIS!” Normally, I like to ignore age and the aging process. But this year, the year I lost my 98-1/2-year-old mother, has brought a clear case of overload.

Have I learned to say No? Hardly! But, I am learning!

Life is all about small steps . . . small growth steps . . . and sometimes it is even about Stopping!

Thank You, God, for my wonderful husband — and for life lessons!

Tagged with: Learning, love gifts, marathons, overload, Slow, stopping
Posted in living within limits, LOVE, Marathons, relationships, so much to learn, Stress, tenacity, The difficulty of changing

A SLOW and LOVELY Day

Posted on December 6, 2013 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

a leaf seen on a walk

Good Evening, God!

A simple ordinary leaf . . . with Your Light shining through it. Ah, God. In Your World there is no “ordinary” is there. Each leaf, each flower, each person is special.

I admit that I have a cultural tendency to value the unusual more than the “ordinary.” It’s good to remember that all of Your Creation has value.

This morning was my walk around Kapiolani Park followed by a swim. Soaking in all that sea salt — seeing an underwater world — chatting with a friend. A good life!

And then once home I joined my wonderful husband, Kit, in listening to tributes to Nelson Mandela — and his role in keeping South Africa from bloodshed. He was able to forgive those who had kept him in prison for 27 year — forgive them and work with them to build a better future.

One of the people interviewed said that we need to take his example to heart — especially in the Middle East — and I would add, in our own Country. Forgiving isn’t excusing the wrongs done. It isn’t about denying reality. It is more about Holding Your Hand, God, and stepping into a higher reality with the focus on building a better future.

Nelson Mandela

“I am not an optimist, but I am great believer of hope.” — Nelson Mandela

I think I read that Mandela was walking out of prison — a bitter man — when he heard a voice saying that bitterness is the worst kind of prison . . . a self made one. And he LISTENED! Would that we ALL would listen.

Then later in the day I read more of the book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain. It’s a wonderful book for an extrovert to read — though I’m becoming an ambivert — but, we NEED introverts with their sometimes slower but more complex thinking.

We NEED all of us!

Tagged with: forgiveness, hope, Nelson Mandela, Quiet by Susan Cain, Reconciliation
Posted in appreciation, Forgiving, hope, listening, respect

Perspective, Saguaros and Thanksgiving

Posted on December 2, 2013 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A saguaro and me

God Day, God!

I’m so thankful! And I’m more aware of being thankful today than I was on Thanksgiving Day. Although, hearing from one of our guests, Jean-Marie, about his childhood in Burundi — where he was orphaned at six — did make me realize how blessed are we who have never endured genocide!

Ah, God. That’s the trouble with perspective! Most of us have so little of it! Perhaps, I should post a copy of this photo of the saguaro cactus and me as a reminder.

It’s wonderful that our daughter, Sandy, and her family live within three miles of Sabino Canyon. Going for a walk in that glorious park truly does open one up to the existence of nature and our finiteness.

looking north in Sabino Canyon

It brings to mind the Hasidic saying: everyone should have in one pocket a note saying, “From dust you have come and from dust you shall return.” And have in the other pocket a note saying, “For you the universe was made.”

I have no trouble believing the first note, God.

But, to believe that the universe was made for me? Oh, my.

I want to fall back into a sense of Communal Responsibility — You mean humankind, right, God? But, in truth, it begins with each and every one of us responding.

Here I am in this amazing Universe. Here, now, on Planet Earth. How, now, shall I respond?

I shall begin with my Heart.

I shall let it Sing with the Morning Stars — songs of Joy and Awe and Wonder.

I shall let it Weep with all the Creatures of the Deep. The Deep Sea Creatures, the Deep Space Creatures and those Creatures deep inside of me — Creatures that rage at limits, Creatures that project dark shadows onto others.

You have said it, God. I cannot change them — until I weep with them.

Posted in Communion, connecting, Hearts, Responding, thankfulness, web of life

Lessons learned — and relearned

Posted on November 29, 2013 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A logo or image that says it all

Good Day, God!

We are now half-way into our Thanksgiving trip and I am just now realizing HOW tired I am.

I, like almost all “caregivers”, gave more than I had. Caregivers have to “borrow” against their Body’s Bank to do what needs to be done. And then, only slowly, they realize that they have to pay back their debt. Yes, God, probably with “interest”.

Drat! This is hard. And I am humbled to realize that it has not been nearly as hard for me as for many many others. Still, hard is hard. And debts — even to oneself — are hard to repay. Debts are so easy to ignore. With monetary debts there is at least a numerical amount outstanding. Money coming in and going out are both identifiable. Not so with Energy.

A Minute of Margin by Richard Swenson, MD

Not only that — but as with all debts — I don’t WANT to know what I owe! I want to continue on as usual. DOING!

DANG! The concept of “borrowing against our Body’s energy bank” is not a new one for me. I saw women doing this years ago. But, I forgot. And I also never even thought to apply it to myself.

Ah, God, I am such a slow learner! I wish I had a visual reminder like this logo for biscotti. It is so clear! Coffee loves biscotti!

What would I have, God? A photo of me with a pillow under my arm? I love sleep? Hm. Well, it isn’t just about Time OFF. It is also about PACE. I need to go slower and allow WIDER MARGINS. Ah, MARGINS! I bought that book years ago — I even read it.

This time I’ll buy the semi-daily devotional book, A Minute Margin, and work on remembering that lesson. I am a slow learner, God. But, then slow is good!