The Joy of Bumbling Along

Posted on September 28, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

One of the tool cabinets at jewelry fabrication class

Good Morning, God!

My Jewelry Fabrication class continues. And the Details to be Remembered are now piled up around my ears. I have observed many of the young women in the class taking notes. Smart!

And, I hope, in just a few more classes, to be able to divert enough of my attention from the instructions to be able to write them down.

As with so much of life, the richness of reality far exceeds the capacity of instructions to clarify. It’s a good thing, God, that we are designed to learn by doing — and redoing!

So, every Tuesday morning, I am learning and playing. I still might be a bit too purposeful. But the joy of creating balances my desire to do it “right.”

People who have been doing this for years assure me that every time we do something, it is a “new time.” I saw that when as I was having trouble lighting my blowtorch. The instructor came over and he had trouble, too. He finally went off to get a bigger tip for the torch. It is encouraging to see instructors have difficulties, too.

The good news, God, is that it is all ART! And in Art sometimes our “mistakes” are better than what we intended. Hmm. Now that I think of it, that happens in Science, too! Post-it notes and teflon spring to mind. [Click here for more “accidents”.]

Ah, God, this World of Art is full of surprises and delights — and redeemed accidents. Kind of like us, yes?

Tagged with: back to Beginners Mind, beginning jewelry fabrication, letting go of expectations, remembering the principles, the joy of creating
Posted in appreciation, Art, being a beginner, Creating, delight

The Comfort of Green — and Connections

Posted on September 27, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The Ko'olaus at the top of our valley

Good Morning, God!

The Ko’olau Mountains at the top of our valley are always green. The ridges turn to a brown as summer lengthens but I can always see green as I look up the valley.

Green is a comforting color, God. Green means things are growing — alive. Hmm. I just turned around and saw the two palms that I have in my office. Yes, I like green.

I wonder if there are any studies done on the effects of plants on peoples’ health and mood? Ah, God! One has only to think of the question and Google has answered it!

Yes, plants do positively affect the perceived health and well-being of office workers when foliage plants are present. So says an article in the Journal of the the International Society of the Built Environment. The article reports: “Complaints regarding cough and fatigue were reduced by 37% and 30%, respectively, if the offices contained plants.” Interesting.

I know that interacting with pets also seems to be good for our health, God. Hmm. A supportive web of connections with our fellow humans is especially good for our health. It seems that You have designed us to be connected. I like that, God. I like connections.

Posted in Colors, comfort, connections, web of life

An Unexpected Dash of Hope

Posted on September 26, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The 4-Hour Body

Good Morning, God!

Yesterday was slow and sleepy. A lovely Sabbath Day. After church I prepared brunch for us and then fell into a deep sleep. Kit went over to visit my mom — who beat him in Scrabble — while I steamed beets, watered my plants, made almond butter, and later pesto.

Then we both went to bed early. Oh joyous day!

But, in between all of that I rediscovered The 4-Hour Body and read it, off and on, during the day. I have such a weakness for self-help books, God.

I suppose it is because they offer me hope — offer me an opportunity for more self-control. Hmmm. Anorexics are looking for that sense of self-control, too, aren’t they God? A serious thought. But our need for a sense of self-control is vital to our well-being.

In listening to Dr. Servan Schreiber’s video yesterday, it was the part about rats, stress, and personal control that lodged in my mind. I shared it with Kit and it keeps coming back into my mind. It seems that when researchers injected cancer cells into rats, 56% recovered. But in an identical set of rats given cancer cells plus random electric shocks, only 23% recovered. Demoralized, those rats had given up.

The key part of the experiment came in the third group of rats. They got the injection of cancer cells, they got the random electric shocks. But they had a lever in their cages that when pressed would shorten the shocks. Those rats had a 63% recovery rate.

So, God, I guess, for me, a good self-help book acts as a “lever,” providing an enhanced sense of self-control. Please, God, may I expand both my self-control and my self-care.

Tagged with: control as a buffer against stress, hope, self-control, The 4-Hour Body
Posted in Changing, Cherishing our Bodies, Choosing to respond, hope, self care as self compassion and humility

A Strange Craving

Posted on September 25, 2011 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

a close-up of a piece of seasoned seaweed

Good Morning, God!

I have developed a craving for seasoned seaweed. I had some at a friend’s home on Thursday and loved it. She told me it was on sale at Longs so I went right out and bought the limit of 5 3-packs. I have now eaten my way through all but one 3-pack.

There are ten sheets to a pack and they weight a total of 5 grams. So, this isn’t really a lot of seaweed. On the other hand it is a total surprise. Seaweed? Seaweed is not part of my culture so it is odd that I stumbled on it.

I’m wondering if this craving is because I’m deficient in iodine? I just looked on the web for possible health benefits of seaweed. And, sure enough, seaweed does contain iodine which is important for good thyroid functioning. Hmmm. Yes, I guess my thyroid could work better.

All of this is making me think, God. When we get our nutrients from food, our bodies can let us know that we want more! But, that doesn’t happen when we get nutrients from supplements. I can’t imagine “craving” a vitamin pill.

Still, I take supplements. A doctor friend of my dad’s used to scoff and say: All that will do is give you expensive urine. He wasn’t alone in that view. That was the prevailing “medical” opinion. So SAD, God!

Now, there are doctors like David Servan-Schreiber who are explaining that food really can be our medicine — just like Hippocrates said back in 400 BC. (The food part of this video comes at minutes 35-45.) Thank You, God, for having made our food — real food — both enjoyable and healthful. And, please, God, help us resist processed food with its sugar and slow fats!

Tagged with: a craving for seasoned seaweed, a moment with God, Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, healthful food, processed food
Posted in choices, food questions, health

In the Valley Where I Live — And a Humble Question

Posted on September 24, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The corner of Hawaii Kai Drive and Kalanianaole

Good Morning, God!

My computer is now almost completely reassembled. A Senior Advisor at Apple spent over two hours on the phone “holding my hand” as I found and restored files from my Time Machine. I love that help!

Hmmm. I wish I were as good at asking for help for myself as I am for my computer. How long ago was it, God, that I felt You were telling me to write down ten areas in which I needed help and then find ten people in each area that are willing to help?

The Tree of Life at Pearl Harbor

Sigh, maybe ten years ago? The point is, I like most of my generation see “Needing Help” as failing — and “Asking for Help” as cheating. That is so dumb, God! But, at some deep inner level that is what I am dealing with. Or, as You just pointed out — NOT dealing with,

This morning, God, I had thought I wanted to talk about the newly opened Pearl Harbor Historic Sites with this new symbol of the Tree of Life. I wanted to ponder peace and reconciliation. Not think about my own Inner Peace.

But, God, You have told us to Love our Neighbor as we Love Ourselves. Somehow they ARE intertwined. I have always felt that I do love myself — maybe even too much.

But, the thought is tiptoeing into my mind that maybe I could be finding, acknowledging and loving the Needy parts of myself? That MAYBE I would be more fully me if I was willing to see where I need help? Yes, God. That feels like a very useful question. A profoundly and unsettlingly humble question.

Tagged with: a moment with God, being able to ask for help for myself, being willing to see where I need help, The Pearl Harbor Historic Sites, The Tree of Life, what parts of me need help?
Posted in a prayer for healing, A Spiritual Spring Cleaning, Abundant Life, accepting gifts sight unseen, accepting my ability to REDESIGN, an invitation to abundant life, asking for help for myself, Changing, humility, Humility or Needing Help!

A Day at the Genius Bar

Posted on September 23, 2011 by a moment with god — 2 Comments

The Genius Bar sign at Kahala Mall's Apple store

Good Morning, God!

Ah, my, what a day. I had a computer malfunction and spent time on the phone with a dear Apple troubleshooter.

Then I made four trips to the Apple Store in Kahala — which resulted in my old (dead) hard drive being replaced — for free. That is mostly good news, God. But, my grandson, Mark, had upgraded the original 250 GB hard drive to 640 GB. Not at all surprisingly, Apple only replaces what I bought from them.

Not surprising — if I had remembered that I had bought a 250 GB hard drive! But, of course, I didn’t remember. And that meant that my 374 GB of data in my backup hard drive wouldn’t fit in my free replacement 250 GB hard drive.

Worse yet, somehow, the problem of my having independently upgraded didn’t emerge until I had gone home to get my backup hard drive and then back again for the power cord needed to run it. Sigh. This was not my finest communication hour — or two or three. Still, the young man helping me at the Genius Bar did more than I was entitled to. He put on all the Apple applications that I had on my old hard drive. Even one that I had as a “family plan” with Mark. And the whole time he was pleasant, kind and caring.

The other day, God, I was wondering if Companies might in time supplant Countries. Frankly, God, there are days I wouldn’t mind if Apple was running the World.

Posted in appreciation, Communication

A Day of Light — Longer Lives

Posted on September 22, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Night Blooming Cereus: Photo by Ann Peters

Good Morning, God!

Yesterday seemed for me a Day Filled with Light! I stopped on my way to the gym to take photos of the white puffy clouds. And this cereus looks like a Cupful of Light. Amazing, God, that all this beauty lasts just for one night. Youtube is FULL of time lapse videos of cereus opening and closing.

I think, God, that “not having any work to do,” since my second retirement, might have something to do with my enhanced appreciation of Sky, Light and Day.

Easing up from “Too Busy” has taken several weeks. And the process of unfurling may be continuing. But today I noticed how good it was not to rush.

Looking back at our Hahaione Valley from the gym

Good Heavens, God! What Madness possessed me? Hmmm. Maybe a need to keep on working is bred into us? Maybe it is some ancestral memory of cultures where there just wasn’t “enough” for people who weren’t “useful and productive?” I have no idea if the Eskimos ever did put their old out on ice floes — but, deep down inside, I worry. Yikes!

It seems that Otto von Bismark, the “Iron Chancellor” of Germany, selected 65 as the age for retirement back in the 1880s. He introduced a social security system to reduce the appeal of the Socialist Party to the workers. Of course, God, Bismark, like our Congress 55 years later, knew that very few people lived to be 65. It was for many years a cheap and easy gift to give.

Our improved life expectancy is good news for those of us who are living longer — but, it is creating some challenging economic and social situations. Please help us, God!

Tagged with: a slower pace, time to enjoy
Posted in Light

Character — Doing the Right Thing

Posted on September 21, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Sara Tucholsky hit her first home run then had a torn ACL

Good Morning, God!

I want to get this blog out early to share this great story. Sara Tucholsky was a senior playing softball for Western Oregon. She’s only 5’2″ and she’d never hit a home run. But she did hit one in an important game between her team and Central Washington. Her team was one game ahead in the standings at season’s close. She hit the home run and then while rounding first she crumpled to the ground, her knee injured.

Her team couldn’t help her. Even touching her would be an out. If the coach put in a runner it would be a two run single, not a three-run homer. Her coach talked to the umpire. But there really weren’t any options.

Liz Wallace (left) and Mallory Holtman carry Sara around the bases for her homerun

Then they heard a voice saying, “Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around and she touched each bag?” It was a player from the other team!

And that’s she and and a teammate did.

It was Mallory Holtman who had the idea. She said she had been playing longer than the others and knew that opposing team’s players could touch her. Sara hit the home run, she said. She deserved it. It was just the right thing to do.

Just the right thing to do, God, just the right thing to do. It cost them the game and maybe a championship. But it was the right thing to do.

I hope folks will watch the video because just telling the story doesn’t do it justice.

Posted in a hand up, relationships, respect, Rethinking, The gift to SEE others

A Young Anthurium and Growing Throughout Life

Posted on September 20, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

a young anthurium growing in a pot in my car port

Good Morning, God!

This is still a very young anthurium — only a bit over 6 inches now — and last week it was so furled up an small I thought it might be a leaf. Funny how anthurium leaves and flowers start out looking pretty much the same.

Usually a hint of color marks the flower, but this one was a khaki color when I first noticed it. I love these flowers, God. I love how quickly they grow — if I give them lots of water. By next week my 6-incher may be over a foot long. We’ll, see.

Water, Love, Attention — we like all Your Creatures, large and small and even green — need them for growth.

I’m beginning to think that growth is the only game in town. I mean personal growth — as in MY growth. I feel like my friend who truly believed he embraced Change but wasn’t changing. I have had growth as a personal goal since college. But, actually growing is hard word, and often painful.

When we are young, God, growth seems effortless. We grow taller. We learn more in school. We are like my young anthurium bloom, unfurling. But, then, God, just as we hit 21 and think we’re done, growing gets harder!

Hmm. I realize now that my earlier growth goals might not have been Your Goals. I didn’t really want to grow more patient, more forgiving or more humble. Sigh, those three: Patience, Forgiveness, and Humility seem a lot more important than anything else I can think of right now. Please help me, God!

Posted in being together in a compassionate presence, Growth Opportunities, humility, Patience