Cycles, change, coming and going are natural parts of life. All things come and all things go. We cannot live permanently amid a changeless scene. What we can do is find a way to accept changes as they enter our lives and aim to move gracefully with them.
Meditation for Accepting Change:
I am safe and at peace. The world around me changes daily. I change with the world,too. I am open to accepting and learning from the new environments that are inherent in change.
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anaïs Nin
There’s a small bridge that lies across a narrow section of the creek nearby. This ‘bridge’ is a series of planks that is underpinned with a long piece of wood running the length of it and two additional pieces intersecting at each end to help provide stability where it rests. Because there is no attachment into the bank, the bridge washes down stream a bit whenever there’s a heavy rain and it’s left lying crooked. The land on either side is higher a few feet down where she slides and the bridge is rendered useless until someone moves it back into place. Until last week, I’ve either waded through the water in rubber boots knowing what I would find or I would take a different path when the bridge was out. I viewed the displacement as reason to enjoy another way.
An elderly gentlemen was at the bend before the creek when I was passing some days ago. He had wild white hair atop his head and a thick beard at his jaw. He called out to me, “Wanna help me put the bridge back in place?”. I said I would be happy to lend a hand. We went down to the creek together and my dog wagged his tail but barked his uneasiness to the stranger. The man was gentle and set about making the pup comfortable with a low stance and friendly greeting. In a moment, there was another man at the other side of the creek and I shared that we were aiming to set the bridge right. He agreed to help. All of the activity calmed my dog and we were soon in the water helping to move the bridge back. Not long into the motions of lifting and adjusting, I realized that we each had a different idea of where the bridge should be placed. This, however, did not cause much conversation. We worked together, naturally following the direction of the man with white hair, until the bridge was passable again.
At this time, we mused about our different views with the understanding that we’ve each seen that bridge situated in different ways at different times which would contribute to our perception of how it should be. Each person appreciated the perspective of the other and we all called out kind words of departure before we took up our individual directions again.
Light a candle and send good wishes to the people in your life and perhaps even those you encounter but do not know intimately. Sending a blessing to that which is part of your experience and also that which is impacting the world can do good for your heart and possibly beyond.
Drawing attention to the positive aspects of today can be helpful to both you and to those that share in daily experiences with you. Should you find that someone you know is facing difficulties, perhaps you can help guide conversation to things that are going well. It is very easy to fall into a pattern of finding the negatives and it is just as easy to fall into a pattern of finding the positives; everything depends on where you place your focus. Beyond placement of our own focus, helping others to feel better by talking about topics that generate positive energy aids in lifting vibration. You can be a bright spot in someone’s day. You can be a light unto others!
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Decadance is alive and well in simplicity. It takes about 5- 10 minutes to prepare this 8 ingredient dish and after that, the tender magnificence is left to the oven as well as resting time. Please let this simple yet decadent dish of baked pears and yogurt create a little distraction in your life!
Baked Pears with Yogurt
Serves 4
2 Large Pears (any variety ) sliced in half and cored.
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp lime juice (or water)
2 tbsp cinnamon plus more for dusting
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/8 cup of water
8 tbsp plain yogurt
Preheat oven to 375. Place cored pear halves into a 8×8 baking dish. In a small bowl combine honey, lime, cinnamon, and allspice. Heating the honey for a few seconds may make this step easier. Fill each cored center (I call them pear bellies) with 1/2 tbsp of brown sugar. Pour the mixture over the pears. Dust the pears with cinnamon. Place in the oven for half an hour. At this time add a 1/8 cup of water to the bottom of the baking dish. Continue to bake for 15-30 minutes more. Baste the pears with their juice and leave them to cool. Leaving the pears to cool in the sauce will produce a rich, flavorful result. Up to an hour or more of cooling time is recommended if you can withstand the temptation!
Place the pears in a shallow bowl or on a plate with 2 tbsp of yogurt joining the spice and sugar filled ‘belly’. Spoon the remaining liquid over the baked pears and yogurt.
Enjoy! C’est fantastique!!
To be present with self we have to listen to what we need in our physical and spiritual bodies. Perhaps what you need is to be interjected in every part of the physical experience or it could be that what you need is a quiet space to process, to make sense of these experiences and then in time to participate in ways that align with your own truths. Learn to listen to yourself and follow with actions that nurture and honor your needs. Take care of the inner self as you would your outer. Self care is an important tool to have and to utilize.
Sometimes we plan to reach out to others in volunteer work, in deliberately speaking with the people who help us in everyday interactions, or with friends and family. How about with strangers who happen to be standing next to you in line, on the same shopping aisle, or passing on a trail? I don’t think too much about these interactions when they happen – I just have them.
Yesterday I was in Lowes Home Improvement with my kids and I had firewood and a number of painting materials in the cart as well as a snow shovel and two sleds. Last year my son broke our sled and I have been meaning to replace it as well as pick up a shovel. It doesn’t snow a lot where I live, but we typically get one or two downfalls that keep the kids out of school for a few days and give us enough white fluff to enjoy the hills in our neighborhood.
A woman standing behind us in line looked a little excited and asked if I knew something she didn’t know. I paused for a second thinking about all the things I may know and could share with her. After the fleeting thoughts there and not responding I realized she was referring to the winter weather items in our cart and said, “Oh! No… picking them up for later. You know what, because I’m buying them maybe it won’t snow at all this season. I’m really wishing I had something magical to share with you since you looked excited …let me think – maybe I can make up something.” I don’t think she was expecting that last bit. She laughed and said, “It’s ok. I thought you may have seen something on the news that I missed.” I finished our transaction at the register and said, “Perhaps we’ll see a little snow soon! Have a good day.”
As we walked away my daughter said, “There goes Mom, always making one second friends. You have so many one second friends, Mom.”
This made me smile. I don’t typically think of speaking with someone I don’t yet know as holding much value beyond those few words, and maybe this particular interaction was not that but it did coin a phrase I won’t be forgetting. Yesterday, my daughter helped me to extend my understanding as well as connect to past events…. anyone could be a one second friend and who is to say what impact our few words may have.
I’ve certainly had a ‘one second friend’ say important things to me before…and on multiple occasions. Years ago, there was an older gentleman who told me to ‘be happy with what you have’ and I still count him as delivering a very important message to me that I needed to hear in that precise moment.
Be Open. You could be an important moment for another person as they could be for you!
This being human is a guest house ….. so says Rumi. I first came across the poem, The Guest House , two years ago. It caught me immediately for the understanding of learning through life in every scenario.
Each guest is an emotion or an experience to clean us out or open us for the next. Welcome each guest as a guide from beyond.
Recently I had a brief chat with someone about this poem by Rumi. She thought besides being a teacher for what is to come, the guest house could represent welcoming the different aspects of our own character. Allowing each talent, skill, or thought on self to sit comfortably together until all the pieces of yourself are so much larger than you could ever be in this physical form to contain them. A meditation on harmonious interplay, on growing to accept every part that represents yourself can make you feel as big as this universe. Try it!
I’ve only read one of Tolstoy’s works – Anna Karenina – and that, much like many things in life required wading through some slow sections. However, taking time for the entire novel was worthwhile. Partially in jest, I tie him in for the weekend and an activity that lots of us enjoy: roasting marshmallows! I bet if Tolstoy were waiting for the perfectly browned outside and delightfully gooey center, he would remind us of the virtues necessary in gaining the desired outcome…
“The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.”
-Leo Tolstoy
A handful of positive quotes:
— Willie Nelson
— Dalai Lama
— Zig Ziglar
— Les Brown
— Colin Powell
Sometimes it’s difficult to find the starting place for being positive by ourselves and knowing when to let someone else lend a hand can be the most helpful non-action. Let. Allow. Be receptive. Be grateful for what others have to give.
Presence and Positivity 