We Have All Been Called To Serve

We have all been called to serve.  We are answering the call with our hearts. minds, and energy in action.  We are being led by the unconditional loving Presence.  This Divine urge is our inner desire to express life.  A desire to serve the greatest good.  Our work is to help others discover their greatness, find their voice, and share their passion.  Wholeheartedly, we give ourselves to this purpose.

If you want to others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion. - Dalai Lama

"Once The Soul Awakens..."

Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. – John O’Donohue

Throughout my life, and my travels, I have experienced “homesickness.” I now am aware it was not my geographical home that I was missing but my spiritual home - my heart’s longing for deep connection; my soul seeking to connect to its source. In my “aha!” moments, those humbling moments of enlightenment, I recognize the “the still, small voice” calling me home to rest in God.

"Start By Doing What's Necessary..."

Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. – St. Francis of Assisi

As we prepare for our LifeSkills Conference this summer, focus on what is necessary for our participants. It is necessary that we create an atmosphere that ensures social and emotional safety. We must emphasize our Full Value Contract in all of our interactions 24/7. What is possible is that we bring our participants to a belief in their power, their voice, their value and unconditional love. Once they have experienced unconditional love, nothing is impossible.

We All Make Mistakes

We all make mistakes.  We have all done something that hurt someone or given our less-than-best work.  This only makes us human.  Our mistakes are learning opportunities.  They give us a chance to learn, grow, change, improve, transform.  Mistakes do not make us bad, weak, unworthy, stupid, or less than anyone else. 

We have to stop blaming ourselves and others for mistakes.  Blame is judgment.  Blame and judgment create suffering.  How much do we have to suffer?  How much blame is enough?  How long do we need to live with blame, judgment, suffering?  How much self-punishment is enough?

We need to be gentle with ourselves.  Deep reflection shows that we have punished ourselves for being human.  We were naïve, innocent, and lacked information or education.  We all did the best we could with what we knew and who we were in the moment.

We are all, at essence, a whole and perfect emanation of Divinity.  In our humanity, we are on a journey to rediscover spiritual truth.  We are not Jesus or Buddha.  We have not reached enlightenment.  The consequences of our mistakes help us learn and grow to enlightenment.  We become expressions of Divinity.  When we make mistakes, we focus on our oneness with spirit and learn from the mistake.  Take responsibility, apologize, learn, change, grow, and correct the action.  Forgive yourself and others, acknowledge we are all learning.

The Gift of Vulnerability

Some of my greatest gifts have come from my greatest challenges.  As I have witnessed our only daughter’s life and death struggles throughout her 29 years, I have come to learn our strength is found in vulnerability.  Though each of these struggles, through all the fear and grief, I have learned unconditional love, I have touched Divinity.  I have discovered the willingness to be honest and vulnerable has brought me strength wisdom and passion for life.  In her presence I feel God’s unconditional love. 

I would never have asked for this experience.  I never would have believed I had the courage, endurance, or faith.  It has been through adversity that my greatest self has been born.  The God of my understanding has birthed me to a life of empathy, compassion, wisdom, and courage.

Through my vulnerability I am connected to all life.  We all have pain, fear, and we all seek unconditional love.

God’s light shines though our daughter.  Divinity falls me with unconditional love, love that heals, comforts, and teaches me to cherish all life.

Art and Music

Art and music are not luxuries; they are essential to being human.

In this challenging economic time, many schools are seriously considering cutting out art, music, and other extracurriculars due to budget constraints.  We have been fooled into thinking that test scores are essential and only math and literacy lead to success in life.  The arts are not entertainment.  They are not something we can do without.  They are essential to our humanity.  I am much more interested in sharing a world with people who have a soul; who can sing, dance, paint, write poetry and prose, sculpt, imagine, create, and dream than I am in sharing the world with people who only know how to pass a standardized test.

Gratitude

Appreciation and gratitude moves us away from self-absorption and negativity.  It is impossible to be grateful and be sad at the same time.  In gratitude we focus on what is right, rather than what is wrong.  One discipline I have always enjoyed is creating a joy list.  All the people, places, and things for which I am grateful.  All those things that bring me joy.  Here are some items on my current list:

Nature... uplifts me.  I feel a part of the universe.  I feel nurtured.  Nature invites my child-like spirit to play.

Play... humors me.  I suffer with terminal seriousness.  So a daily dose of play and laughter is essential.

Values... guide me.  We all teach values in our daily interactions.  We are all in need of daily values guidance lessons.

Commitments... define me.  They help me remember what is essential.  They help me set priorities.  They help me know where I can make a difference.

Simplicity... focuses me.  Keep it simple. One day at a time.

Memories... touch me.  They are my emotional treasures.  They provide daily touchstones to what is important.

Miracles... inspire me.  The miracle of unconditional love.  The miracle of forgiveness.  Forgiving you and the greatest miracle, forgiving myself.

Friendship and Love... support me:  my marriage to Sandra, my children, my friends.

God, My Higher Power... loves me.  The intimate, personal relationship with unconditional love.

Making Real Change

In order to change our lives, we need to change our thinking.  We need to let go of what we think is the way and allow God’s presence to be the way we think, feel and live.  We need to realize that we (our ego) are no the ones doing the work.

As we allow ourselves to be open to the spirit we find that it is God within who is doing the work.  God within does the work that we are all called to do.  In our selfless service we experience the power of unconditional love.

You are the presence of God.

You are love made manifest in the world.

You are god’s gift to the world.

You have God-given gifts and talents to share with the world that no one but you can share.

You are a unique emanation of God.

There is no one else like you.

You are beautiful.

“ Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;

The soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar,

Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing coulds of glory do we come

From God, Who is our HOME.”

            From Wordsworth’s Intimations of Immortality

A Spider's Story

There is an ancient story about a holy man and a spider.  The holy man would come every day to the river and sit to pray.  One day, while in prayer, he noticed a spider.  The spider was on the farthest edge of a limb, which stretched out over the roaring river.

The holy man saw that the limb on which the spider was perched was cracked and about to break.  Being aware that the spider would drown if the limb broke into the river, the holy man reached out his hand to the spider.

The spider stung him!  The holy man gently cupped the spider in his hand, and the spider stung him again!  Finally placing the spider softly on the ground.  Spider stung him again and asked, “Why did you save me?  You knew it was my nature to sting.”

The holy man replied, “Just because it is your nature to sting, why should I deny my nature to save?”

We are all both the holy man and the spider.  It is in our human nature to both save and sting.  Do not deny either.  That would be less than honest.  When we sting, seek forgiveness.  Our stinging comes from our need for survival.  When we save, we claim our God given inheritance.  Spiders (ego-driven) sting and human beings (God-centered) save.  Be the savior, no matter the consequence.

Christmas Blessings

Christmas Blessings 2012

            Forgiveness is the key to peace and happiness. Awaken from the dream that you are mortal, fallible, sinful. Know that you are a perfect child of God. Claim your birthright, express forgiveness and gratitude and be one with your spiritual family. There comes a time in our spiritual evolution where we go from seeking through the darkness to being one with the power of the light.

            “It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who we really are.”

E.E. Cummings

In this season of heightened spirituality show your true self through acts of forgiveness and gratitude. Focus on not saying anything unkind, untrue or unnecessary.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Gandhi

The Gift

If you feel like there is work to be done, then be sure you are the one to do it.  An idea comes to you because it finds you a willing and suitable host.  If something comes into your vision then there is something for you to do.  Ask, "What would you have me do?"  The answer will follow.

We are the gift we came here to be the world.

Caring for the Caretaker 6

Passion- Creating a “Joy List”

The following list of people, places and things bring me a feeling of joy and wellbeing. They connect me with the universe and my higher Power’s unconditional love.

Nature uplifts me. I feel a part of the universe. I feel nurtured (natured). Nature exposes my child/animal

Play humors me. I suffer from terminal seriousness so a daily dose of play and laughter is essential. Laughter is the shortest distance between two people

Values guide me. As long as human beings teach, human beings will teach values. As a parent and educator, I never stopped my values-oriented education. My children and I continue to be in need of daily guidance.

Commitments define me. They help me make choices. Set priorities. They let me know what I believe in and what is important to me. They let me know where I can make a difference.

Simplicity focuses me. Daily. No focus-no energy. KISS- Keep It Simple, Sweetheart.

Memories touch me. They are my emotional treasures. They help me on my mini-vacations and give me my daily touchstones.

Miracles inspire me. The miracle of unconditional love. The miracle of physical and emotional healing. The miracle of forgiveness. Forgiving you and the greatest miracle, forgiving myself.

Pain instructs me. I know it is a strange thing to be on a “joy list” but it helps me learn what to let go of. Letting go is the joy.

Death purifies me. Another strange one. The purification process brings joy. The beautiful melting (tears). “The soul afraid of dying, never learns to live.”

Friendship & Love support me. My marriage, my children, friends ,Twelve Step Support Groups. The angels in physical body who have floated in and out of my life.

God, My Higher Power, loves me. The surrender to love and acceptance. The intimate, personal relationship with unconditional love.

Creativity & Art stimulates me. Color, shape, form, texture, light, flexibility and the process of creation. All part of intervening in this life.

Rituals & Tradition anchor me. Without these, I would have no history. I would be adrift. I would not fit. I need to fit. This world needs to make sense.

Quiet centers me. My meditation (listening to God) and my prayer (talking to God) slow me down. This is the time, everyday, when my soul catches up with my body. Or is it the other way around?

I could go on and on. Examine your list and share it with your loved ones and your colleagues.

Lao Tzu once said that the truly successful man is one who can plan to sit by the river bank and dangle his feet in the water.

Misunderstandings

Misunderstanding are less likely to occur when we assume a benevolent intention on everyone else's part and react accordingly.

Much of our stress and suffering comes from defining ourselves as lesser beings in contact with change, conflict or someone else.  Remember, our connections to the infinite is unbroken and undiminished.  We can make mistakes without believing we are a mistake.

Be authentic, be real, be yourself. The energy of being real has more power then persuasion, debate or force of will. Being who we are releases an extraordinary power that affects people who come in contact with this authenticity.

The sun, without thought or plan, just shines thoroughly and constantly. The sun is always itself, authentic, real. It warms, never withholds. The sun emanates all directions, all the time and life grows.

When our souls, like the sun, express the light of who we are, we emanate what Jesus called love and Buddha called compassion. The roots and branches of our community grow.

Simply be authentic, be yourself and your light will cause others to grow. By being who we are we experience life in all its vitality and we help others be more fully themselves. In being real we help each other grow towards the one light.

To Be Loved.

You do not have to do anything to be loved.

You do not have to perform, or achieve, or earn merit badges, make straight A’s or be witnessed doing good.

It has taken me 60 years to learn, know and believe this. It is my life’s work. It is today’s work. We have all received messages to the contrary which are old deep wounds.

In my heart, where God’s spirit and unconditional love is alive and well, it does not matter what I accomplish. It only matters how deeply I tried. Out of my trying comes sincerity, integrity and love.