Category: compassion

HOPE

by listeningtomylife7, posted in change, compassion, inspiritation, spirituality

But I know somehow that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.  Martin Luther King, Jr.

There is such a need for sustained hope as 2020 finally comes to an end. Hope rises in our hearts with the reality of a vaccine for Covid-19. A glimmer of hope arises in me at the prospect of beginning to heal the great political divide and racial tensions of our country.  John Lennon says it beautifully in his song Imagine, “You may say that I’m a dreamer but Im not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.”

A year ago I was diagnosed with a very rare, life-threatening autoimmune disease. After eight months of a treatment plan that included very toxic medication, there was no turn-around. There is no cure, but we are finding ways to manage my disease. Hope has sustained me, first through the treatment period, and now as we manage its impact on my body. I am certainly living a new normal, and I am learning how to slow down and be fully present to the beauty that surrounds me.

It is important to not mix hope up with expectations. Expectations can create a sense of anger and resentment by pushing us down the path of disappointment when things don’t go our way.  “Hope is being able to see there is light despite the darkness.” Desmond Tutu Hope is my light.

Ruben A. Alvez states, Hope is hearing the melody of the future.” May you hear the melody of hope in your daily life. This has been a hard year, but, it too shall pass. It is so important that we remain safe and keep our families safe so we can have a joyous gathering next season. This year has been hard, we have been isolated from friends and family—2021 is almost here bringing hope for the future.

Have a safe Christmas, Hanukkah, or however you choose to celebrate this wonderful time of year.

Reside in Gratitude

by listeningtomylife7, posted in compassion, inspiritation, nature, spirituality, Uncategorized

The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and mywhite-crane-bird-635622-2
children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief, 

I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

I return to this poem to remind myself to rest in the grace of the world. We are all living through the fear, anger, and sadness of the coronavirus. Being separated from family, friends, and work has been difficult as we continue to practice social distancing and wearing masks. This past week has been the most tumultuous for me. Such grief and sadness abound as we marked the 100,000 death in our country due to Covid 19.

We also are witnessing the cultural wars that divide our country. First, clashes over something as simple as wearing a mask. Then this past week we are again confronted with the racial divide in our country. Another black man murdered by police in Minneapolis, MN. We are witnessing so many deep divides in our country. How can each of us begin to bridge the gap? It will begin by reaching out to one another with an open heart, compassion, and empathy, plus a deep desire to listen to each other.

I woke this morning and knew I had a choice. I could stay angry and grief-stricken or I could choose to reside in gratitude. Returning to gratitude, I felt my whole body unwind. I have so much to be grateful for.  My friends and family, my clients who entrust me with their stories, my garden filled with spring flowers, and the birds that grace my feeder. These are what bring me joy in life. When I reside in gratitude I am present to all that surrounds me.

I will not bury my head in the sand. I’ll continue to take action when I feel others are being unjustly treated, but I choose not to linger there. I choose to return to gratitude, joy, and hope. May you choose to reside in gratitude for your health and well-being as you move through these difficult times our country is facing.

This is a modified version of an earlier post.
Photo by David Dibert from Pexels

 

Simple Abundance

by listeningtomylife7, posted in compassion, spirituality, Uncategorized

It was 25 years ago that I was introduced to Sarah Ban Breathnach, book Simple Abundance: A DayBook of Comfort and Joy. It was the perfect book for me at that

photography-of-trees-covered-with-snow-773594-2.jpeg

time in my life. After spending a year with her daily meditations, this book found a home on my crowded bookshelf.

This December crept up on me and I began thinking about the busyness, chaos, family and friends the holiday season brings. It also is a time to hunker in as the days grow short. A time to be still and listen to Spirit’s movement in our souls. It is hard to balance these two seemingly opposing views. As I pondered how to honor both in my life, I thought about Simple Abundance,and the six qualities she shares in her book to bring peace and happiness. Below is an excerpt from this lovely book.

“These are the six threads of abundant living which, when woven together, produce a tapestry of contentment that wraps us in inner peace, well-being, happiness, and a sense of security . First there is gratitude. When we do a mental and spiritual inventory of all that we have, we realize that we are very rich indeed. Gratitude gives way to simplicity–the desire to clear out, pare down, and realize the essentials of what we need to live truly well. Simplicity brings with it order, both internally and externally. A sense of order in our life brings us harmony. Harmony provides us with the inner peace we need to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us each day, and beauty opens us joy.”                        

What wonderful words to reflect upon and determine where they are in our lives. My advent will be spent with these words–gratitude, simplicity, order, harmony, beauty, and joy. What powerful qualities to integrate into my life on a daily basis. I am taking each word and asking myself, “How do I live out this word?” “What are the challenges and gifts this quality poses?”

I invite each of you to spend time in quiet stillness and ponder the power of these essential principles in your own life. May your holidays be filled with an abundance of gratitude, simplicity, order, harmony, beauty, and joy.

Plant Communication

by listeningtomylife7, posted in communication, compassion, nature, spirituality, Uncategorized

IMG_1004I have always been fascinated with the thought of plants communicating with each other and us. Thanks to quantum physics we have moved from a reductionist look at life to the reality of our interconnectedness with all living beings human and non human. There are three stories that have always touched me that demonstrate the communication of plants.

The first is one that happened back in the late 1990’s. It is about a young woman named Julia Butterfly Hill, who took up residence in a 1,500 year-old redwood tree for 738 days to protect it from Pacific Lumber Company. Pacific Lumber had been hired to down this entire grove of redwoods. Julia was supported by a group of activists who set up a pully system to send her food, etc., as she was able to send down waste. She affectionately named the tree Luna. Pacific Lumber Company tried all kinds of legal maneuvers to get her out of the tree. Finally out of frustration they decided to take all the trees around her and leave her and the tree. As soon as the chainsaws started, Julia said that Luna began emitting sap, not just a little, but amazing quantities pouring over her and her platform. Luna had not emitted any sap in the days of living in her shelter. Julia was convinced that Luna was crying for her partners in the grove. Was Luna crying? No one can know for sure. I choose to believe she was, as she began to witness the destruction of her family.

The second story comes out of the University of Arizona. Its science department was doing research on plant life in the desert. Again, this was the late 1990’s. What they found truly surprised them and started them on a completely new path of research. The Arizona desert is filled with wild pigs called Javalenas, or commonly known as Collard Peccary. They observed that as a Javalena was eating the berries from one shurb, the shrubs surrounding this one were being left alone by the other pigs. As they researched this phenomenon they discovered that the shrub being attacked sent out distress messages to the plants through its root system warning them of disaster. Receiving the message, the plants developed thorns preventing the pigs from eating their berries.

The last study study is the findings that trees talk to each other. Scientists have found they communicate via pheromones, hormone like compounds that are wafted on the breeze. When one tree is being attacked by insects, gypsy months, or beetles it sends out distress signals. The downward trees catch the drift, sensing those few molecules of alarm. This gives them time to manufacture defensive chemicals benefitting the entire grove.

Plant life survives through unity and communication, protecting each other from harm.  We humans do the same thing. It seems hard to believe at this time of deep divide. I

IMG_1012know that if I were stranded on the freeway a majority of those passing would stop and help. They wouldn’t ask my political allegiance. I write this post as a reminder to me, as well as others, that we do stick together in times of crisis. Our country seems so divided, flamed by hate-filled rhetoric, that it sometimes feels there is no hope. I return to the simple belief in kindness. I see it every day when I pay attention.

May we pay attention to acts of kindness we receive and give each day. This is our way of caring for each other, maintaining hope in a world that seems to have gone array. We need it more than ever at this time in history.

Miracles

by listeningtomylife7, posted in change, compassion, nature, spirituality, Uncategorized

70404619_2413056612106815_8560608121511215104_n.jpgThere are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is to see everything as a miracle.     Albert Einstein

I have lived in both worlds. I now choose to see everything as a miracle. Living as though nothing is a miracle creates a darker world. I lived in a world of cynicism, distrust, anger that shaded my interactions and experiences. A wonderful definiIMG_1084tion of a cynic is “One who is a disenchanted idealist.” That was certainly me. Coming of age in the sixties I believed anything was possible. For a decade I thought we could change the world. Becoming a cynic protected me from the reality that change is slow and one step at a time.

Today I believe that everything is a miracle. I still have my moments of anger as I live in a world that is deeply divided and hate-filled. Instead of raging I feel deep sadness and know that this too shall pass. I know that my presence can make a difference through kindness, a smile, a word of encouragement. Bringing a smile to another’s face is a miracle. One step at a time is all we can do.

When I notice myself getting down, I walk outside and let nature renew me. How can I not see the miracles of a rose unfolding, or a flicker bathing itself in my bird bath? These are small everyday events and true miracles. Taking a hot shower each morning is a miracle. There are so many hands that help bring the hot water to my home. I know how blessed I am, as so many people in our world don’t have this luxury. Miracles are in front of us every day.

These are two of my favorite quotes that speak so simply to life as a miracle.  “If you are bored, you are not paying attention.” Fritz Perls, and “Stay close to anything that makes IMG_1122you feel alive.” Hafiz.

May you feel the aliveness of miracles throughout your day.