Kahuku Farms and our Nature Deficit Disorder

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

Kahuku Farm with a wind farm behind it

Good Morning, God!

Yesterday I went with my Book Group out to Kahuku Farm. Driving around the island brought back memories. It isn’t a trip I make very often and the drop in population density always catches me by surprise.

So much land. So few people. I forget, God, that almost all of us used to Live on the Land. We used to be farmers. I think it was sometime around 2008 when the balance tipped so that over half the people of our world now live in Cities.

I wonder, God, if we humans don’t become, somehow, a Slightly Different Species when we live in Cities? I’m thinking of the stories of the Country Bumpkins . . . thinking of the Street Smart kids of the inner city who can name countless product logos but not one species of plant. Hmm.

The latest Nature Conservancy Magazine has an article called A Leaf Grows in Brooklyn and in it they talk about “Nature Deficit Disorder.” That’s a term coined by Richard Louv and it resonates in me, God!

Meanwhile, back at Kahuku Farm we were met by a lovely young couple who drove us on a tour of the farm. We saw taro being raised for the leaves. We saw bananas — lots of banana growing in “mats” that can produce for ten years. But they require monthly maintenance. I never knew how much I didn’t know about the food I eat.

Our Tour Guide was Third Generation in this farming family — but she had never lived on the farm. Somehow she seemed to be the best of both the City and the Land people. She gave me HOPE, God!

Posted in helping farmers, so much to learn, web of life

What’s Wrong With This Picture? Part One

Posted on June 23, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Change in employment among major industrial countries 2007-2010Good Morning God!

Good Morning, God!

A dear friend sent me an article entitled “All Work and No Pay: The Great Speedup.” Apparently, American companies aren’t rehiring as much as companies in other countries. Instead the focus is on “getting more work” out of each worker.

What could be wrong, God, with America being the most productive per worker country in the world?

The article points out — “Except [that] what’s good for American business isn’t necessarily good for Americans. We’re not just working smarter, but harder. And harder. And harder, to the point where the driver is no longer American industriousness, but something much more predatory.”

Predatory is a strong word. But, all of a sudden I am seeing this in a Spiritual Dimension. I am Re-evaluating the Sabbath, God!

Societies share common norms — and it is important that the norms enhance and strengthen the people. For many hundreds of years the norm was that No One was to work on the Sabbath Day. That meant one full day of rest — or play — out of every seven.

When that broke down — the church in America making do with only nine commandments — a very strong protective bulwark was lost. It’s interesting, God, that although Europeans are more secular than Americans they seem to be much better at observing a Sabbath Tradition.

Jesus DID say that the Sabbath was made for Man — not Man for the Sabbath. The “compulsory” Day of Rest was designed for our benefit. Actually, I’m certain that ALL TEN Commandments were intended as Protective Bulwarks!

As a person TRYING to retire a second time, God, I know — Work gets all entangled in Identity and Worth. We need protective bulwarks, God!

Posted in sabbath rest, Work

Countless Opportunities, Waiting to be Seen

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

The Patient Pickup Point at Queen Medical Center

Good Morning, God!

I took Kit in early yesterday morning for his out-patient surgery. It required general anesthesia — which opens the door to untoward possibilities. It certainly opened me up to fears — just barely held at bay.

But Kit is recovering nicely — and so am I. THANK YOU, God!

Operations, Illnesses and Losses serve to put things “into perspective” — making it clear just how important our Loved Ones are.

How is it, God, that daily duties and tiny tasks can so easily seize our attention and swallow us up?

How indeed? So, once again, I am resolving to better enjoy and appreciate my fabulous husband, family and family of friends that make my life a joy.

Easy to resolve, God. But what I need to do is change my behaviors. Change my Habits? This morning, God, I shall go for Wednesday Prayer and ask for prayer for me! Ask for Help in SEEING the countless small opportunities for change. Hmm. . . . Yes, God, I will ask for prayers for my rash on my upper chest and neck, too.

And, then, I shall come home.

Posted in a prayer for healing, accepting my ability to REDESIGN, accepting my need for help

Resting, Healing and Sharing

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

Sans Souci Beach as seen from the Hau Tree Lanai

Good Morning, God!

I am SO thankful for the four days sick at home resting and healing! My Body was healing as my Mind drifted. Mind and Body have to share, don’t they, God!

And Thank You for timing my bronchitis for the 30th anniversary of the week Patty died. I think I coughed out a lot of grief. I feel lighter. I feel good.

Funny how our Body remembers past traumas and dates with such precision. Funny, too, how a physical illness can often be used to prompt emotional healing. I feel as if my Body does more than its share.

You have given me ONE nervous system. It can run HOT as I HURRY hither and yon — or it can run COOL as I relax and my Body repairs itself. I can’t run both systems at the same time.

This morning at our Monday Breakfast we were laughing at politicians who keep thinking they can “get away” with things. But, my Mind keeps thinking it can get away with not sharing fairly with my Body. Honestly, God! It is painfully humbling to catch myself like that. Ah well.

Yesterday, I was well enough to venture out with Kit. We took flowers to Patty at the Oahu Cemetery and then we went to the Hau Tree Lanai for an early Anniversary lunch — then home for a nap.

Today I drive Kit in at 5:30 a.m.for his hydrocelectomy. So I shall be off in just a few minutes. Off — but doing my best to run COOL . . . trusting YOU with my precious husband.

Posted in healing, health, rest

Stumbling on an Historic Spot

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

The Haystack Monument in Williamstown, Massachusetts

Good Morning, God!

Chance can led us in strange and unexpected ways, God. I recognized the name of the minister as we walked by her church in Williamstown. We met with her and she gave us a map to this monument!

Having been a “Congregationalist” since I married Kit I had heard the story of 5 young men back in 1806, praying together in a field when a thunderstorm came up. They took shelter under a haystack and during the storm they all committed to go “into all the World” to serve in the name of Jesus.

Hearing the story, I had smiled, God, thinking that it is easier to make such commitments to You when lightening is striking all around us. But, they kept that commitment and it lead to the establishing of The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission in 1810. Some of them went to India in 1812 and by 1820 missionaries came to Hawaii. All due to these young men — and Your Thunderstorm.

These missionaries came bringing the Good News of Your Love — and Literacy. They converted an oral language into a written one so that Literacy was almost universal in Hawaii by the 1850’s. It was quite remarkable!

Sigh, so many of us look back and judge them by our 21st Century standards. But, they were moved by Your Love and by Love of You.

And today? I vividly remember hearing the older women of Pohnpei sharing how hard it was BEFORE the missionaries came in the 1950s. The Good News brought by the missionaries changed the way men treated women — and each other. Those women were so thankful. Thank You, God, for reminding me to be thankful, too.

Posted in Changing, gratitude, Help me to see

Clouds: Coughing, Grieving and Trusting

Posted on June 19, 2011 by a moment with god — 2 Comments

the tail end of a passing weather front

Good Morning, God!

Cough, COUGH! Still, it is a good morning — perhaps because I am feeling my grief? Tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of the morning Patty died. Kit and I were lying in bed this morning and remembering.

Patty wrote:

Someday I’ll sleep below the grass / And dance above the sky / But now I lie between the two / And let the wind blow by.

For some reason I always substitute the word Clouds — for Sky. Picturing Patty Dancing above the Clouds, is a lovely image, God.

Yesterday, talking to You about being full of sticky feelings and thoughts, I wasn’t consciously thinking of Patty’s death. But today it seems so clear. Even my wretched cold seems perfect. In Chinese medicine the Lungs are associated with Grief. So, God, it seems that My Body, as usual, has been doing a lot of my “Feeling Work” for me.

I don’t “do” Grieving, God. It feels OVERWHELMING. And, of course, it is. [More coughing] Hmm. I guess, I have believed that Grieving would take away the Energy needed to do Useful Things. But, I have had it Backwards! I have wasted LOTS of energy — repressing my grief.

Letting it flow out — flow into the World — is part of the Healing Process. Oh, God! Oh, that the World might WEEP TOGETHER! All of us have failed and fallen short of Your Glory! There are no faultless parents — and I confess, God, I still find fault with YOU that this isn’t a perfect world.

Yes, God, I am Missing the POINT, once again. It isn’t about “Perfect” — it is about TRUSTING. Trusting that grieving is an essential part of living. Trusting that You will help us bring Good out of Darkness!

Posted in Grief, growing toward up, Trusting God

On Being Sick and Respecting my Body

Posted on June 18, 2011 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

The Shower Tree in Kokua Market's parking lot

Good Morning, God!

I took this photo on Wednesday when I felt fabulous — just tip top! But then the symptoms began — slowly sneaking into my consciousness. At first, I thought I was just tired from jet lag.

But, I did cancel Thursday’s activities and stayed home — taking it easy. Then, on Friday it was clear that I was SICK, not just tired. So, I called and canceled our attendance at a Special Birthday Event this weekend.

And, now, God, I am flat on my back in bed — except when a paroxysm of coughing expels me. I am lying here — full of feelings and thoughts — but they feel thick and congested — like my lungs. Please, God, help me sort through them.

I remember — going into work sick, as if I were too important to “stay home” and take care of myself. The other — darker — side of Duty. Keeping on until I got better or collapsed and needed antibiotics. Looking back, I see this as the Imperialistic Mindset at work.

My Mind as the Raj and my Body as unnamed servants or workers were toiling on and on. Hmm. Didn’t King George the VI have to wear iron leg braces to make his Body conform to “standards.” I suppose, God, that if we “oppress” our own bodies, then oppressing women, children, and anyone not one of “us” comes easily.

So, here I am, God, SICK but still, mostly grateful! Grateful that I am not sick with something awful. Grateful that my Body will get well. And maybe most of all, God, I am Grateful that my Body and I are “becoming friends!”

Posted in being together in a compassionate presence, Duty, healing, health

The Moon as Seen from Norway — and Swaziland

Posted on June 17, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Lunar eclipse seen from Norway

Good Morning, God!

Heidi and Ellery Lum and their boys, Matthew and Noah, saw this eclipse in Swaziland. They are there for Advocates for Africa’s Children, learning the language and living in a rural village as Villagers. Sunday, Ellery will kill the goat for the welcoming feast.

Hmmm. That gives me pause for thought. Please, God, bless them all — and bless the whole country, struggling with the highest AIDs rate in the world. Sigh.

But, this photo came from Norway — from the website NewsinEnglish.no. This is a website created and run by Nina Bergland, a former colleague of Kit’s at the Advertiser who is married to a Norwegian. It is such a Small World, God!

Yes, God, we live on a small round ball. A volcano in Iceland can shut down air traffic in Europe. Radiation from Japan travels. Plastic detritus from around the Pacific Rim swirls into the North Pacific Gyre. It seems odd to me that we ordinary people still think Small, Flat and Separate. One notices that in New England, where States are often separated only by Rivers — creating Historical and even Cultural Boundaries, God, that give us our sense of Us-ness.

Part of me loves it! I love living in Hawaii. We are different! Happily so! But, it only takes an Earthquake in Japan or Chile to make me realize we are all in this together. I “get it” and then, alas, I “forget it” and go back to my routine.

It is tempting to say — I am just One Person, what can I do? But, I know better, God. I can change my diet, change my spending, change my assumptions. Please help me, God!

Posted in Advocates for Africa's Children, becoming the change I wish to see, complexity, Understanding

Machines, Bodies, Pet Lambs and Respect

Posted on June 16, 2011 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

driving by a BIG machine -- working

Good Morning, God!

I just heard our morning paper come — thumping against our door. I’m Up before the paper, God! But, I have had almost nine hours of sleep — and I shall return to bed for more.

My Body was its usual Stalwart Self yesterday as I zipped along DOING THINGS. Really, a lovely, satisfying day — beginning with my Wednesday Morning Women’s Prayer Group — and proceeding on to meetings, planned and unplanned. And two visits with Mom.

But, last night, my Body reminded me that IT still had a slightly sore throat — and I LISTENED! I canceled my two standing Thursday morning appointments — both of which I love.

Perhaps, God, I am beginning to love myself more? Or is it a New Awareness of Limits? Limits not as Confining me, but as Loving Arms cuddling me? It feels different — it feels as if My Body and I are more in Balance.

Yes, God, the word Cosseting (to cuddle and indulge as a pet lamb) comes to mind. Oops! A Word from my Body: This is not Indulging a Pet — This is Responsible Stewardship of a Fabulous Ally!

Sheesh! I guess viewing my Body as a Pet that I am “indulging” is not showing her Proper Respect! In my defense, in the past I saw my Body as a Machine. So, I thought seeing her as a “pet lamb” was a step forward.

And it was — but ALL CREATURES WANT RESPECT! Thank You, God! Respecting Myself — and Being Respected — feel Very Good. And now, I am taking us Both Back to Bed!

Posted in Balancing and adjustments, respect, self care as self compassion and humility

Awakened by the Moon

Posted on June 15, 2011 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The Almost Full Moon setting behind our valley

Good Morning, God!

Going to bed before 8:00 p.m. and sleeping until 4:30 a.m. surely helps with the process of reassembling.

I was happy, God, to have the moon wake me. Happy to be beginning a new day. Happy with the things I have chosen to do today.

This is a precious time in the Cycle of Life. Hmm. All Times are Precious — to be Valued and Cherished. It feels good, God, to sit and appreciate this Enormous Gift of Life! Sitting here, talking with You, helps me put my Life in Context.

I love the little I know about our moon, our sun, our solar system and our galaxy. They provide Context! But, I confess, while dipping into the beginning of The Hidden Reality : Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene I got seasick! Parallel Universes are too unstable a context for me. Mal de Mer overcame me.

I was thinking the other day about Parallel Universes and Time Travel — about how I would want to use Time Travel to “fix” my mistakes. But, then I thought — I bet trying to fix things would only make them worse! And, mistakes are not always recognizable — or even as bad as they seem to be.

This is a very complex universe, God! Just this ONE. I am very thankful, God, that I only SEE this ONE! And, thankful, too, that I am living HERE and NOW. And, as for my “mistakes?” Please, God, help me see them. Help me acknowledge them. Help me fix them, if I can. And, Please, God, Help me learn from them!

Posted in complexity, Mistakes, Perspective