Spring...

Yellow forsythia is brightening my sight.

Lilacs are starting to bloom.

Pink, white, and lavender are painting the neighborhood.

No matter that I am aging, in my heart is a delighted child. 
I love the experience of joy, new life, and a fresh spring.

The thoughts I focus on are what creates my life experience.

If the world you see does not bring you joy, it may be time to choose a new thought process. 

Life is full of joy, beauty, and complexity. 

It is also full of opportunity and choice. 

We are here for love, beauty, and to express our divinity.

What do we need to become ready to respond?

"We have learned a bit too late in the day that action springs not from thought but from a readiness for responsibility… Silence in the face of evil is evil itself; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In World War II Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran minister escaped from the Gestapo to New York City. He chose to return to Germany to oppose Hitler. He was arrested, spent 18 months in prison, and was hanged shortly before American forces liberated the prison. 

Like Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, Bonhoeffer made "good trouble."

What is calling us to act? Where is our silence causing more pain? Is it social justice? Is it poverty? Is it mental health for all? Is it economic inequity? Is it climate change? 

What do we need to become ready to respond?

In conversation with a trusted friend, discuss a time in your life when you responded with action; when you stood up and spoke up. Discuss the feelings leading up to your actions, doing, and after you taking action.

We all make choices...

We all make choices.  We can be consumed with stress and fear, or rise above it.  The stress and fear that we focus on, holds us hostage.  We live a reactionary, quick fix, short-term existence.

I find the option is to feel the fear, feel the stress, and be aware of the transformation it brings.  Awareness is the key to living in the moment.  Living in the moment brings us into unity and harmony with life.  

Every day brings us new opportunities and choices.  We can live in respect and caring for others and for ourselves.  We can choose to be thoughtful and kind with our words and actions.

We can choose to renew our commitment to our spiritual growth and wellness.  We can reflect on our intentions and motivations, and be aware of the environments we create.

All life is sacred and I am grateful

"The great lesson from the true mystics...is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one's daily life, in one's neighbors, friends, and family, in one's backyard." 

- Abraham Maslow

What a blessed life I have been living. The sacred is in my wife Sandra; how she genuinely cares for everyone. She listens tirelessly to our sons. She cares for our special needs daughter sun up till bedtime and often beyond.

Our daughter Ashley is an emanation of the Divine. She has no language or conscious movement and yet she beams unconditional love. Our neighbors are kind and friendly. Our extended family is loving. Our friends are family, beautifully supportive, and compassionate.

Our backyard is full of nature; dear, hawks, all kinds of birds, squirrels, and chipmunks, and now, spring is revealing the flowers, blossoms, and bees.

All life is sacred and I am grateful.