Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
I used to think that the relentless ache between my shoulder blades was from missing wings. We are meant to be angels on earth, I believed. And then, I forgot, so caught up in the details of life, consumed with ambition, and then facing the daily struggle of chronic illness. Until I saw this image. […]
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Choose the type of foundation to build. I want a foundation strong enough to carry me through hard times, yet flexible and able to adapt in the moment. Something sustaining, and solid, but not rigid. Set your footings 2 feet across. Two feet on the ground, firmly planted, well balanced, not alone, but interdependent, both partaking […]
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Oh, to jump without fear – a skill long passed, although leaps of faith, I still take – never too aged for those. I remember when speed equated with freedom – a constant race – now I walk with careful measure, fresh air still accompanying pace. Never could accomplish a cartwheel – coordination not amongst […]
Read More“What about my marriage?” a naive, much younger me once asked a psychic. “The foundation is firm,” the woman responded hesitantly, “but not without cracks.” Cracks? It was more like gaping holes. Easy to see now, in retrospect, but at the time, I was convinced we were rock solid. The suggestion of anything less insulted […]
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Inquiry is a trait teachers hope to instil in students – the ability to not just take for granted that which they have been taught, but the curiosity to question evidence, and to research beyond what is given. Questions form the basis of a reflective life. This week’s challenge was to think about the questions […]
Read MoreWhat will come from all this suffering? Why do I keep repeating old patterns? Where is this journey taking me? How can I be a better person? When do things get better? A Question by Robert Frost A voice said, Look me in the stars And tell me truly, men of earth, If all the soul-and-body […]
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Delicate is the spider’s web, at least to the naked eye – appearances deceive, though, just ask an unfortunate fly. The sighting of a butterfly, splashing colour with flight – opening and closing wings spreading childlike delight. In the midst of swampy mire, this delicate flower dares bloom; a snow white pop of hope to […]
Read MoreI confess, I frequently personify objects, apologizing to walls that I bump into, asking my iPhone where it got to, and apologizing to the milk I left on the counter, as if they have the capability of feeling bumped, slighted or abandoned. Personification is the practice of imbuing inanimate objects with humane characteristics. It is […]
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I’ll be waiting for you in Heaven, daughter, although the roles we played in life have no bearing here – only souls congregating in spiritual reflection. Still the ties that bound us will be vivid, your mind, no doubt reeling in transition, the turmoil of earthly incarnation still buzzing in emotional swirls. I’ve had the […]
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This sweet bushtit landed on my path while I was visiting Redding, California this past spring. After playing with the image, what emerged was a forlorn little fellow for whom I wrote this haiku. My heart goes out to all those in Redding, and elsewhere in the world where forest fires are ravaging lives. (Submitted […]
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One Woman's Quest II 