Letting it in.

How often when we hear of someone's suffering, we throw out a one liner that makes us feel better and then move on as quickly as we can. Feeling the pain of others is an uncomfortable experience. It makes us feel vulnerable and unsettled. I sometimes wonder if we hear and see so much horror on the news that our sensory receptors are dulled. The endless footage of accidents, murders, war and tragedies of all kinds. It is too much to take in, so we practice holding it at bay and enjoy our meal while we continue to watch. The call to feel with someone, to hear their story, to embrace their pain, to be thankful for the rich lives we have as individuals and as a community, that is love. So, let it in, feel deeply with those you share this journey with.

moments...

The moments pass us by, we are too distracted to notice the connection, the person, the event. Those moments lead to other moments that we will never see, because we failed to do the simple task of, "paying attention." It is essential for a life well-lived. Look carefully, see with your eyes wide open, listen to the inner voice of prompting, look for connections. When we experience the moment, it leads to other moments and events and people and an ongoing chain of life-changing interactions that echo into our future. So, be alert, life in the present, calm your mind, be where you are, listen carefully and the moments of meaning will become a lifetime of rich encounters. Remember, pay attention.

Tend to your own

There is something to be said about how clearly we can see what needs to be done in the adjacent yard. Why don't they take care of it? There are weeds, the fence is in need of repair, the trees have not been properly trimmed in years, their leaves are mostly in my yard each Fall, and what about those herbs they planted three years ago, that now have taken over the entire side yard, do they even know how to cook with them? Does any of this sound at all familiar? We have such a clear vision of what others should be doing. Its easy, we spend a good amount of time looking over the fence to see how they are progressing. And when it is pointed out to us what a mess we live in, the excuses that flow off our tongues have been rehearsed so many times we have begun to believe them ourselves. In the letter Paul wrote to some Christians living in or near Thessalonica, he shares three things that speak to this issue of monitoring other's yards. First, he says to mind your own business, second he encourages us to live a quiet life and third, he admonishes us to work with our hands. Pretty clear and simple. Look in our own yards, quietly go about the business of taking care of our own messes, using our hands to work. If only more people would spend more time cleaning up the results of their lack of disciplined garden tending and quietly go about the business of doing the work at hand. What a different world it would be.

questions...

There are those things we want answers to, the ones that make no sense. The events and situations that come into our lives that only happen to others. What do we do when realities crash upon us that leave us without understanding, sometimes without hope. Moments stretch out into an unreal experience that we cannot wake up from. Any nightmare would be better than the pain of living in the reality before us. Tears sting like alcohol, words do not come forth, grief compresses the heart, darkness shadows the brightest of noonday suns. To truly feel the loss, to embrace what is unthinkable, to mourn deeply and honestly, to ever enjoy life again, this is a road less traveled.

Evening

Late in the day, as it begins to cool from the intense August heat, a time of transition begins. New sounds from insects chorus in the shrubs, a breeze flows up the river bed and rustles the palm branches, the light softens. Life is like this, the intensity of difficult times begin to ease up, an awareness of new possibilities enter our thoughts, relief comes like the cooling air of early evening. We need to pay attention, there is so much to see, to hear, to touch, to embrace, to mourn.

Weed and feed

Our souls are at their best when we tend them like a garden. A garden is a living thing, in need of regular attention. The dead leaves need to be raked into the compost area, weeds pulled, soil turned, seeds planted, shrubs trimmed, and fertilizer applied. The best soul fertilizer is the s--t that happens in our lives. When it is turned in with the soil, it is transformed into life-giving nutrients. Why let it stink up our lives when it can be used to make things better. It is empowering to use the hurt, the disappointments, the tragedies and the daily difficulties as the richest fertilizer available for a healthy life. So when things go bad, use it for making the garden of your soul more beautiful. Get a shovel and start today!

Fear of goodness

It is one of those strange, irrational human behaviors. The looking into the rearview mirror, expecting to see the front end of a MAC truck ready to ram into your backside, right when the view in front is breathtaking. More than that, it is a vista sought after for years and finally when the chance to view it arrives, fear of a disaster looms, marring the longed for event. Fear is not so much the problem, but rather the cause for doubting the blessing that lies ahead, and opening up the possibility of self sabotage. We are so often our worst enemy. We seek out what is best and when it comes, we suspect it will be taken away, so we undo the gift in the name of fear. To receive the abundance that comes after years of travail is sometimes more difficult than we can predict. Life is best lived open-handed, ready to give and to receive.