Daily Reminder # 58

Well, I was trying to take the lazy way out and just post some pictures and a couple of poems but the universe (or at least blogger or maybe Google chrome) seems bent on making it very complicated. Things are coming out blue and/or underlined and I keep trying to take out the coding which has appeared for no reason that I understand and it keeps coming back, so it is taking me forever to do it the easy way. The Universe is no piker in how it deals with cheaters. I have no idea why the text (except for the captions) is different colors. Baffled. Totally. Sigh. By the way, if you click on the pictures you can see them larger. I don't know if this improves them, but they will be bigger.

I call this little bird Willie (he's the only one I've named)

He's sort of homely and gawky and makes me think

of a book by Norman Rockwell that was called

WILLIE WAS DIFFERENT about a thrush who

sang his own song much to the consternation of

his fellow thrushes... Sorry this is such a long caption.

My friend Dan came by today and did me two great kindnesses. He found a bunch of Angel's lost toys (happy kitty) and he washed my front window and back door, so it no longer looks like my photos have been shot through fog. Ah... and the back yard was in an exceptionally generous mood. I almost posted 20 pictures but controlled myself and saved some for later. So anyway, no great or small words of wisdom or ponderous efforts at deep thinking.... just poetry, photos and gratitude.

Not a great photo, but isn't that wing awesome?

Who knew the flicker was hiding that beautiful yellow?

The answer is believing

Being

There is no power

But the joy of

Evolving

Of lighting the world

Not with answers

But with questions

Moving in the circle of eternity

Flowing in the trinity of time

Which does not exist

Past-present-future

One in the same

Linked

Like the droplets of a wave

Separable and inseparable

Inexplicable

Unfathomable

Mystical and magical

Calling to the eye of the heart

- Katherine E. Rabenau

Willie again..

.

It is not the knowing which matters

But the seeking after

The need to see the dark side of the moon

To touch the bottom of the sea

The answer always seems a little pale

A little disappointing

Beside the miracle of curiosity

But the riddle teases on and on

And we forget

That only the questions are real.

- Katherine E. Rabenau

Some things I'm grateful for today:

my camera
clean windows and back door
my kind friend Dan

cooler air

rain

Angel and Tara Grace

yogurt

my back yard

critters

This bunny was so sweet and came close enough

for some good pictures. He sat for quite a while -

even in the pouring rain at one point before

hopping off. The hopping off photos aren't

very good, but I liked the "action" in it.

May your day be rich in beauty

and large and small miracles.

Daily Reminder # 57

Sometimes the fog just doesn't want to lift. I ran into a Soul lesson I'm still struggling to learn a couple of days ago. I get daily mailings from Neale Donald Walsh - the guy who wrote Conversations with God, a collection of books that I highly recommend.

Yesterday's included the old "love means never having to say you're sorry" quote from Love Story and then went on to say this:

Erich Segal said that and he was right.

God loves you, and that is why you never have to say

you're "sorry" to God. If you love someone, relieve

them of the need to apologize to you for anything.

The need for an apology is the signal of a person

who is mistaken about him-or-herself.

You cannot be damaged by another, you only imagine

that you can. It is all in your head. It is all in your

thought about it. Go back to love and give up

your need to forgive others for anything.

Well, this is a tough one for me. I like to think I'm good at forgiveness by and large, but I have lost a couple of really important friendships because the other person wouldn't acknowledge that they had hurt me. I didn't need them to be wrong. But I did - I really did - need/want them to be sorry. I don't know if I'm evolved enough yet to not still want that.I always thought that one of the most mis-understood, mis-used New Age teachings is the idea that we are all "responsible" for our own feelings. While I agree with that in principle, I found that too many people turned that into "never having to say they were sorry." Since I was responsible for my feelings, they had no responsibility for having hurt them. I wound up in situations where I could probably have forgiven the original hurt, but I couldn't get past the fact that the other person wasn't willing to acknowledge having hurt me. I think I'm still not.

Maybe this is because as a child my emotions (if they weren't happy) were condemned. When I first started therapy, I quite literally had to learn what my feelings were. I couldn't identify them. Maybe that's why, once I was allowed to have feelings, I really felt a need for people to acknowledge them when they hurt me. I didn't want them to feel guilty. Just to say, "I'm sorry I that what I did hurt you. It wasn't my intention." I still don't get why that's so hard to do. If we step on someone's foot, most of us have no trouble apologizing, but step on feelings and we want to blame the person we've hurt. I know it's all about guilt and anger and stuff like that. but I don't get it. It just seems goofy to me. It seems unkind and unloving.

I know that this "what God wants you to know" message is a good one for me to ponder. I don't know that I'll ever learn it. Luckily nobody has hurt my feelings lately, so I haven't been tested, but I suspect I still have a road to walk to learn the kind of acceptance that doesn't want an apology when I get my feelings hurt. Good spiritual food for me to chew on, though.

Some things I'm grateful for today:

• forgiveness
• apologies
• personal growth (or the idea of it)
• rain
• movies
• Neale Donald Walsh

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Daily Reminder # 56

(Please scroll down for the Weekly Wordzzle Challenge.)

I think I'll go with Emmanuel again today. I love Emmanuel. He changed my life.... First quote for the day is a response to the question: "Is working for material things a hindrance to our spiritual purpose."

Not if you see material things

As materialized consciousness.

When one is in the material world

one must have food and clothing.

And one desires a home that is beautiful,

comfortable, a place to be.

These are the accoutrements of self-love.

When self-love is truly acknowledged

you will not deny yourself any of these things.

Self-love will open your hands

to receive as well as to give.

And certainly it is not taking something away

from someone else.

Your universe is boundless.

There is more than enough

of everything for everyone.

How does one take in the bounty that there is?

What does one do to deserve opulence?

You think this is not a difficulty?

Wait and see.

Until such time when you have mastered

the art of receiving,

you must supply yourself

with the material necessities.

If you can release your guilt about money

and accept it as part of the divine universe

and the physical reality of your earth,

you will see that it has no more or less power

than you give it.

It is a necessity.

You all hold the sense of money too tightly.

When I got to the end of this one, I realized that it's a repeat, but I really like it, so I think I'm going to use share it again anyway.

Look to understand your negative feelings

as a loving mother would understand

a confused and frightened child.

When the denial of God within you

is being challenged

it is a most propitious time in your life.

Do not deny the part of you that is in darkness

or it will manifest again.

When you become aware of misjudgement

of ill-timed, ill-conceived thought and action,

when you recognize your desire for vengeance,

your anger or unforgivingess,

that is the time for self-congratulation.

Your new insight now allows you to handle these things

in a more conscious way.

It is an opportunity.

A door has opened.

A light has been turned on.

The question for this one was: What happens to a soul like Hitler or Stalin? (I thought the answer was rather timely, given what's going on here in the US and around the world, really.)

When you say "a soul like Hitler or Stalin,"

I say to you

that you do not know their soul.

You may speak of a man like Hitler or Stalin

but you cannot speak of their total Divine Being.

There is a need in human consciousness

for retribution, for justice.

There are many things

that the human mind cannot understand.

You cannot will yourself

to forgive and love someone

who has seemingly caused such suffering.

From your viewpoint it is unforgivable.

There is a great deal of growth, certainly,

that needs to take place in souls,

not only those two, but anyone who is cruel,

who abuses, who kills, who is selfish,

who is ambitious, who is unfeeling.

It is a matter if degree.

Within each one of you there is a small portion,

some smaller than others,

where there is hate, where there is racism,

where there is a voice that says,

"I am different than you and I am better."

Wherever you can hear that voice,

you are speaking to what you have perceived

in the outer world as Hitler.

Remember, this is a schoolroom

and remember some of the lessions

need to be written across the heavens

in order for them to be heard

and understood.

Some things I'm grateful for today:

• A lovely, cool, gray day
• cheese
• TV
• music
• Emmanuel
• my back yard

HAVE AN INSPIRED DAY!

Weekly Wordzzle Challenge, Week 119

It's week 119 of the Weekly Wordzzle Challenge. I just realized that wordzzles has been going on for more than 2 years. Wow. Our numbers have shrunk, probably in part because I kind of blogged out and haven't really gotten back into the swing of things. I post more than I visit. It's not very nice of me, but it's what I'm capable of right now. Looking forward to reading what our small faithful band of wordzzlers comes up with.

Words for this week's 10-word challenge are:

super duper, think first and act later, jump rope, soap opera, delivery, barbeque, jewelery, on sale, justification, figure of speech

And for the mini: plastic, forgotten, make-shift, happy days, infant

My mega:

Think first and act later. My mother tried to drum that into my head from the time I was an infant. I've never forgotten her advice, I just am not very good at following it, which has, unfortunately, turned my life into a soap opera on more occasions than I like to admit. One of the areas where I have the most trouble thinking first is spending money. I see the words "on sale," and I'm like Pavlov's dogs at bell ringing time. There's no justification for it, I just lose all control. So anyway, the reason I mention this is because the local Super Duper Store had a "super duper" sale this week and I kind of just lost my mind (not a figure of speech... I really did) and bought about $500 worth of merchandise that we can't afford. There are no happy days ahead for me and I've already set up a make-shift bedroom for myself in the den because I think I'm going to be persona non-grata for some time to come. When the delivery comes (that part was free, at least), I'm hoping that the new barbeque I got him will offset the jewelery, the plastic wading pool (we don't have kids), and the six cases of raman noodles (they were $1/case!).... to mention just some of my purchases. Probably, if I had listened to my mother and taken some time to think, I'd have spent the money on therapy and not "bargains." Now, of course, I can't afford therapy... or a marriage counselor.

The mini:

Happy days! Happy Days! All sorrow is forgotten. The agency called and we're getting the baby! I've set up a make-shift nursery because she'll be here in a couple of days. We didn't think the adoption was going to go through but it did somehow and now I have to race to buy all the things an infant needs... diapers, plastic bottles, booties, a crib... and plan for a more permanent room for her. And of course I have to call John! He doesn't know yet. I can't believe it. We had lost all hope and now our Jennifer is coming home. Life is good.

The 10-word:

All this great stuff was on sale at everythingcheap.com. I mean, I couldn't believe it! Super Duper sale, they called it and they were right. I probably spent a little bit more than I should have, but the bargains were just too good. And what a range of items! Here's what I got. A set of jump ropes for my niece for $.50, a gorgeous set of barbeque utensils for my brother's birthday ($5.00 for the whole set!), a set of reference books (a Thesaurus, a collection of figures of speech and their roots, and a dictionary), and subscription to Soap Opera Digest for $8 for a year! Besides that I got a whole bunch of gorgeous earrings for almost no money at all. My justification for that purchase is that the deals were so good and the stuff so beautiful and I really needed some new jewelery, plus I can give a couple of pairs to my sister-in-law. I mean Christmas is taken care of and it's only July! My favorite thing was a beautifully calligraphed (is that a word?) poster that says THINK FIRST AND ACT LATER, which I really, really need because I'm prone to jump in without thinking. But anyway, almost nothing makes me as happy as a bargain. I can't wait until it's all delivered! Oh yeah... I spent enough for free delivery! Yippee!

***********

Words for next week's 10-word challenge are: sharp, dump truck, charcoal, traffic light, digestive system, argumentative, fireflies, chocolate, volume, options

And for the mini: parameters, shoplifting, adoption, threats, lemonade

Thank you for playing! Newcomers can check here for some guidelines (and they are only guidelines, not rules) to make the process more fun.

Enjoy! See you next week!

Don't forget to add

your name to Mr. Linky!

Daily Reminder # 56

Today was a beautiful day. A bit of a break from the horrible high heat and humidity that has been making life miserable. I don't have much thought going on in my head that's my own, though, so I think I'll just share some quotes from others.

my door is SOOO dirty that this picture is awful,

but I just think he's so cute...

The first is this small item from Emmanuel's book

At any moment the heart can open
At any moment the karmic structure
can be completely overcome
by the willingness of the soul

Also from Emmanuel's Book....

You will know

your next step

from this step.

You will never find it

any other way.

Your intellect

does not know it.

You cannot think

God's reality

You can only

Experience it.

And finally from Emmanuel's Book (some of them passages, like this one, are responses to questions).

How do I open my heart so I can hear God?

By relaxing all of the devices

that you have used through the centuries

to keep it closed.

The natural state of the heart is open.

Note how you struggle

against what you are seeking.

It will heop you to answer

these questions.

How do I find my way?

How do I open my heart/

How do I touch the God within?

How do I hear the spirits that are with me?

How do I learn to love?

How do I grow to become who I am?

By ceasing to be who you are not.

There is not a heart that exists

in your human world

that, if it were assured of safety,

would not open instantly.

It is all an issue of fear.

Some things I'm grateful for today:

• Tara Grace and Angel
• cooler weather (slightly)
• popcorn
• Emmanuel's Book
• indoor plumbing
• my teeth
• mail

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

Daily Reminder # 55

Change is often uncomfortable. Painful even. Sometimes change seems like the Universe has just got things wrong or like you are being punished. But change is just change and I have found that the worst trials often bring with them the best gifts. Still, this is the kind of day when I bring out the "Thank You for Everything, I Have No Complaints Whatsoever" mantra and repeat it a lot.

There has been another tree tragedy. This is a much smaller one than the one that lightning took two years ago, but it is still a big old pine tree. Luckily, I think this time the half that remains standing will survive. I sure hope so. It cost a small fortune and a good deal of high drama to take down the 60 foot half that remained standing. More than money, though, I still miss the tree. It was beautiful and made my yard a little haven from the rest of the world.

The loss of my tree brought a gift with it, though. It introduced me to my new neighbors and to then 11-year-old Shannon who became my friend and frequent visitor. At 13 now, I see a good deal less of her, but she still drops in from time to time.

I don't know if today's loss will come with a gift. Maybe it will bring more birds to my yard like it did last time. But I hate seeing trees die. It's such a sad thing.

Some things I'm grateful for today:

• the direction in which my tree fell
• that half of it is still standing and looks like it will survive
• a kind neighbor who will help me clear it away
• cool air that follows rain
• good news for one of my friends
• life
• the thank you mantra
• things that make me laugh

Thank You for Everything.

I Have No Complaints Whatsoever.

Daily Reminder # 54

Inspiration Fairy napping. Will post a reminder in the morning.... hopefully. Lots of things rumbling around in my head but they won't settle down into coherent thoughts at the moment... so hopefully in the morning I'll be able to manifest words for what's on my mind.

Ok... morning has broken and my head is still so full that I'm not sure how to talk about what I want to talk about. Here in the States, racism - and hate in general - seems to be rampant. I know that this is partly because we are in a time of enormous transition. People are frightened on many levels. We lived through 8 years of the Bush administration which oozed fear and subtle hate (it's ok to torture people if you think they are "bad" and it's ok to lavish abundance on the rich while devastating the lives of the poor) out of every pore. And we are living through the kind of economic crisis that most of us haven't experienced before. Add to this that we have our first black president (who I love despite his flaws) and it is a breeding ground for the worst in us to bubble to the surface. So anyway, I understand to some degree what lies underneath this ugliness. What I don't understand - what really troubles me - is why (or this is how I'm experiencing it) the voices of hate and ugliness seem to be given better coverage than those of reason.

Even when the media is trying to do a good job, they are often sloppy. When the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People recently called on the Tea Party organizations to disavow those among their numbers who are crudely racist, it was reported by many - and translated into intentionally in some cases - that they had called the Tea Party a racist organization. They had not. They had very carefully not done so. Then the next day - someone released an edited tape of a black woman named Shirley Sherrod who gave a speech - many years ago - in which she talked about her evolution in terms of her own bigotry. An edited tape was leaked by the same people whose edited, doctored tape sank the Acorn organization... and she was almost instantly fired by the government.

This story - which had me deeply depressed - now has me a bit hopeful, because in her case the truth has come out and has come out with such force that it can't be ignored. The farmer she is accused of not treating fairly has come forward - he's 88 - and said that she's wonderful and that she saved his farm. The full context of the speech is being made known. There's a good chance that she will get her job back. This doesn't happen often enough. That's what troubles me so. We seem to let the liars and the voices of ugliness plow over the rest of us and we weep into our hands and mutter under our breaths and yell at the TV (I'm talking about myself here).... but we don't insist that the truth drown out the lies.

I don't know what my point is exactly. Shirley Sherrod's story is uplifting and she seems to have managed to rise above the lies. I hope maybe she will start a trend. That truth will start to matter more than political expediency. That we'll stop firing good people from public positions because someone starts and ugly rumor, that we'll start to have the courage to push back against the ugliness.

We are bleeding talent to bigotry and slander. Our military has lost skilled people because we're so afraid of homosexuality. Some (Fox News among them) are trying to create racial tension by inventing stories and professing that the Obama administration is secretly anti-white.

I'm sure this is part of the healing process. The pus of the psychic body as it tries to heal itself. It's probably a good sign in some ways, but it's just so ugly. It makes me sad.

Shirley Sherrod is an example of how good people can be. When her father was murdered by white supremacists she chose - after initially wanting to get even - to instead devote her life to helping people. Initially, she said - she thought she would be helping black people, but the experience of helping this white farmer - who at first she did not want to help - made her see that it wasn't about black and white, but about rich and poor. In each case, she ran up against her own darkness and transformed it. She's an inspiration.

So this story started out depressing me but it also gives me hope that maybe her story will be a turning point and we won't continue to let the forces of darkness win. I hope so.

For now....

Some things I'm grateful for tonight...

• that tomorrow is another day
• my home
• mail delivered to my door
• laughter
• truth
• beauty
• people who strive for the highest good

MAY YOU HAVE AN INSPIRED DAY!

(Me too!)

Daily Reminder # 53

Hope is a powerful force, especially when combined with faith (not necessarily religious) and prayer and positive thinking.

I'm very excited. Last week I saw the first bumble bee I've seen all year (they are missing and I have felt their absence deeply). This morning there were two - and they seemed bumblier than the first one I saw, which although I was thrilled to see it, didn't look quite right to me in some way. This morning's bees looked bumbly. They buzzed from flower to flower like in the old days. They gave me joy. They give me hope.

For my birthday, my friend E. sent me a truly beautiful ecard from Care-2 (wish I could share it with you...I'm hoping the care2 link will take you there but I'm not sure it's possible.) that contained the Emily Dickinson's poem, "Hope is the Thing With Feathers." Thought I'd share that poem tonight.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson

Some things I'm grateful for today:

• hope
• compassion
• two bees
• my camera
• my friends
• my house
• watermelon
• Angel and Tara Grace
• naps
• birds and bunnies

May Your Day - Your Life -

Be Rich in Joy and Hope!

Daily Reminder # 52

When you are sick, be kind to yourself. Go to bed early and get plenty of rest.

Not feeling well at all this evening, so I'm going to just post a couple of old photos and some gratitude and head for bed early.

Some things I'm grateful for today:

• Bed
• showers (rain and bath)
• fans
• my friends
• water
• my house
• resilience

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

Daily Reminder # 51

Life is incredible.

What an awesome universe we live in. Butterflies - which seem so fragile and ephemeral actually migrate thousands of miles each year. They start out as fuzzy worms and quietly transform into these amazing fluttery beings. It's pretty incredible. Life is pretty darned awesome. I think I'll leave it at that tonight and add a poem.

Cry against the dark night of shining tears

Whose source you do not know

Joy and sorrow

Blending in rivers of no source, no end

The restless stillness of life's passing

Cry against the dark night of dreamless sleep

And sleepless dreams

All levels blending into something else

Can rainbow colors see themselves or

know their hues?

Where is the light I seek (too bright to bear)

The light whose music sings a soul to joy

Unlocks some caged and cowering power within

The light that is my soul and more

The light toward which I am perpetually turning,

Turning,

And turning too away

My blindness frightened at the prospect of

such vision

Cry against the dark pain of all this loneliness

Our frail forms groping forth and falling back

Almost, but not quite, touching on the hand of God

Almost, but not quite, hearing the voice within

Cry for the unanswered prayers

The ones we do not know we make

Which the Universe, therefore, cannot answer

Cry for what we think we seek

Mistaking our own shadows for the face of God

Cry for the dark night of shining tears

For that imperfect strife which is mortality

Cry for the vision that remains unseen and out of reach

Within us.

Katherine E. Rabenau

Some things I'm grateful for today:

• water
• my mattress
• naps
• popcorn
• netflix
• butterflies and bunnies

Have a Wonderful Day!