New Tradition for New Year's Eve

I read somewhere that it is a Welsh tradition on New Year's Eve, at the first stroke of midnight, to open the back door to release the old year before opening the front door to greet the new. That little tidbit sparked an idea in me.

Why don't we put aside the tradition of a kiss at midnight on New Year's Eve and begin a tradition of opening our back doors to release the old year? We are people who love ritual and symbolism and this idea has both...and you can get that kiss a little later!

We can release our worries and welcome our blessings. We can release our fears and welcome love. We can release our anger and resentments and welcome new thoughts of peace and harmony. It means letting go...letting go of negative emotions, letting go of destructive attitudes, letting go of stirring up drama and trauma, and, in the infamous words of Nancy Reagan (or Nike!) just do it!!

This coming Thursday evening (12/31/09) open your back door and release all your worries, fears, angers, resentments. Literally see them blown away with the wind. When they are gone from sight, welcome new blessings, love, peace and harmony into your life. 2010 is the year you win!

Squirrels spend their entire lives up a tree, jumping from limb to limb. They are very agile and very comfortable in that precarious place. Most of us are not comfortable being up a tree and we are certainly not comfortable in going out on a limb. But as the old saying goes: “Why not go out on a limb? That’s where all the best fruit is.”

Life is about experience and learning from those experiences...and learning to trust...to have faith. True faith means believing in things that are invisible, but not non-existent.

Learning to trust God seems to require learning to stop relying on your human self so much. It means having a constant conversation with God. It means taking time to listen to God. It means giving up worry, fear, and drama. It means no longer blaming God for our wounds. It means we stop asking, “why?” and begin to think about “why not?”

Romans 8:28, "And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans". (Hmmm, that sounds like Divine Order to me!)

I’m holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

"If I had a hammer..."

Let's talk about consciousness (soul) and how we expand our consciousness.

Consider a hammer. It's designed to hit nails. That's what it was created to do. Now imagine that the hammer never gets used. It just sits in the toolbox. The hammer doesn't care.

But now imagine that same hammer with a soul, a consciousness. Days and days go by with him remaining in the toolbox. He feels funny inside, but he's not sure exactly why. Something is missing, but he doesn't know what it is.

Then one day someone pulls him out of the toolbox and uses him to break some branches for the fireplace. The hammer is exhilarated. Being held, being wielded, hitting the branches--the hammer loves it. At the end of the day, though, he is still unfulfilled. Hitting the branches was fun, but it wasn't enough. Something is still missing.

In the days that follow, he's used often. He reshapes a hubcap, blasts through some sheet rock, knocks a table leg back into place. Still, he's left unfulfilled. So he longs for more action. He wants to be used as much as possible to knock things around, to break things, to blast things, to dent things. He figures that he just hasn't had enough of these events to satisfy him. More of the same, he believes, is the solution to his lack of fulfillment.Then one day someone uses him on a nail. Suddenly, the lights come on in his hammer soul. He now understands what he was truly designed for. He was meant to hit nails. All the other things he hit pale in comparison. Now he knows what his hammer soul was searching for all along.

You and I are created in God's image for relationship with him. Being in that relationship is the only thing that will ultimately satisfy our souls. Until we come to know God, we are just like the hammer...we've had many wonderful experiences, but we haven't hit a nail. We've been used for some noble purposes, but not the one we were ultimately designed for, not the one through which we will find the most fulfillment. A relationship with Spirit is the only thing that will quench our soul's longing. The Bible says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." Until we come to know God, we are hungry and thirsty in life. We try to "eat" and "drink" all kinds of things to satisfy our hunger and thirst, but yet the hunger and thirst remain.

We are like the hammer. We don't realize what will end the emptiness, the lack of fulfillment, in our lives. Usually when we keep God out, we try to find fulfillment in something other than God, but we can never get enough of that thing. We keep "eating" or "drinking" more and more, erroneously thinking that 'more' is the answer to the problem, yet we are never ultimately satisfied.

Our greatest desire is to know God, to have a relationship with God. Why? Because that's how we've been designed. Have you hit a nail yet?

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

Spiritual Maturity

We all admire people we believe are spiritually mature and we want to know how to reach that same spiritual maturity for ourselves. We first must recognize that spiritual maturity is not a destination we reach, but rather a lifelong journey!

There is no guru who can lead us there. There is no list of 5 easy steps to forever transform your life. It is an ongoing process that involves becoming intimate with your fears and enjoying the contradictions and ironies in life. It is about letting go of some things (ouch!) and grabbing hold of some things you never dreamed of!

Authentic spirituality is about exploration, not escape. It is about being open to the many ways the sacred speaks to us. It involves introspection rather than distractions of the world. It involves serving more than being served. It is a journey of discovery, decision, and dedication. And once you start the journey, you can only go forward. Going back just doesn't work.

Let's start that journey together now!

I'll hold the high watch!

Rev. Donna

Joshua Days

In the Old Testament (Joshua 10:13) at the height of a great battle Joshua asks God to stop the sun and the moon to give them more daylight to vanquish their enemies. God "stopped the sun." The battle was won.

I figure we can all use some extra time to slow down, to relax, to simply BE, so I’ve devised a way to “stop the sun” in a manner of speaking. I block off time on my BlackBerry calendar...half days or one hour mini-vacations in the middle of a busy day and sometimes a whole day or two on my days off. These are my Joshua Days...

When someone asks if I’m free on one of those dates, I can honestly say, “no, I have that date taken already.” I do...it’s for me! It is my time to recoup, to write, to read, to take a mini-vacation, or maybe just to sit and stare. My Joshua Days keep me sane and stress-free.

Try it! Deliberately mark time off on your calendar and then do NOT cancel that time for another appointment. Yes, they really can get along without you! Honor yourself. Take care of your own mental health. You’ll be stronger and smarter and more at ease when you get back to whatever it is you do. Go on, try it!

Life's Basic Requirements

Air, water, food, shelter, clothing, company...these are your basic requirements. Air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, shelter from the elements, clothing to keep you decent, and company (can be real or imaginary). When you are feeling that you don't have enough "stuff," go through this checklist. If you can check off every item, you're ok!

Unless you're facing a firing squad (if so, why are you reading this now?!), the only thing keeping you from realizing your "ok-ness" is your attitude. You're in charge of your attitude, so change it!

If you feel you really need a "pity party," give yourself 3 "poor babies" real loud, accompanied by deep sighs...then get over yourself. Get up and get going! The party's over!!

Run, dance, hop, skip, whistle...start something new.

Ram Dass said it in 1971 and Eckhart Tolle repeated it in 2001...be here now. This NOW moment is where life happens.

There was once an old fox. Every day he looked through the holes of a fence. To him the inside of the fence was heaven. All sorts of lush things were growing in the garden. The fox tried to squeeze through the holes in the fence, but he couldn't do it. So the fox decided he would starve himself so he could get through. He went one, two, three, four, five weeks without eating. Pretty soon the fox is the same size as the hole in the fence. He was as skinny as a rail. He breathes in and passes through theboards on the fence. He smiles because he's in heaven. He eats his fill.

He stays there for weeks and has a wonderful time in the garden . . . but he is getting fat. He wants his freedom, but he can't get out of the fence because he's too fat. He decides to starve himself until he can have his freedom. So he goes through the anguish of loosing all of his excess pounds. Pretty soon, when he's half-starved, he slips out to freedom. The only problem is he's so hungry that within a day or so he starts looking in the fence and says, "My, I'd like to be on the other side . . ."

So many times it is like that in our lives. We think if only we could be somewhere else our lives would be good. The truth is, right here is where your life is happening. Right here is the now, present moment time. Right here is the spiritual opportunity. You will never have more opportunity than you have with you right now. Right now "rehearse" what you'd like to see happening in your life. Right now imagine it, feel it, and then take action.

It's not going to happen automatically at retirement—unless it isrehearsed now.

It's not going to automatically happen when you've completed school—unless it is rehearsed now.

It's not going to happen at some future time that only exists hopefullywithin our imagination—unless it is rehearsed now.

The only life you have—happens right now.

“...go where there is no path, and make a trail.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I know that it is in the letting go, the allowing, the focus on the now moment that I can experience real peace, true contentment, joy, and happiness. It’s not about following a path, but about letting go of the path.

It's a long journey to realize there's no path.

Summer Spirituality

Of all the seasons, summer is the most nurturing to my spirit. I love summer because it has a naturalness and a recklessness that invites us to “get barefoot” and to “reduce the barriers” between us and all the other life forms. We open windows and doors, sit and sleep outside, peel off layers of clothing, swim in cool waters, eat corn and watermelon, and feel the sun and rain directly on our faces. Summer welcomes us to re-connect with life in all its holiness and simplicity.

When I think of the warm weather and its effect on my spirituality, I always think of the ocean. I have no obvious connection to the ocean. I am not descended from a family of seafarers. In fact, I’m not even that great of a swimmer. But I always look forward to getting to a beach and staring at the ocean for long periods of time, without talking. I can think deep thoughts or none at all. The warmth of the sun, the sound of the surf and the smell of the saltwater allow me to know that all is well in my world. (You know my saying..."saltwater cures everything...whether it is tears, sweat, or the ocean...saltwater cures everything!)

If spring is metaphorically the time of re-birth, then summer must be the time of re-adolescence...that innocent, pure, and carefree time of life when everything is possible. Summer IS a spiritual experience. Enjoy it!

I’m holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

Easter Thoughts

A little girl is washing dishes with her grandmother. The girl is washing a bowl that has been in the family for many, many years. It slips from her hands and breaks on the floor. The grandmother, without batting an eye, gets the broom and dust pan and sweeps the broken shards into the trash. She smiles to her trembling grandchild and says, “The bowl was already broken.”

Contemplating this Zen coan led me to thoughts of life, death, immortality...even risk-taking and failure...topics that seem appropriate during the Easter season.

When I was a young person the fear of death was not something I gave much thought to. Youth seems to carry with it a sense of immortality and with that, a belief that we can do anything. As we grow older the fears of death and failure become more real and both seem much nearer. The risks we took when we were younger now seem crazy. Would I do some of those things today that held no terror for me in my youth? Beyond the fact that I probably couldn’t do most of them today, the answer is no!

Our attachment to the future causes us to suffer in the present. When we are consumed with the fear of death, whether it is our death, the death of a loved one, or the death of any of our “stuff”, our focus is almost entirely on the future. As a result of all this future attachment, our lives are filled with a great deal of anxiety and a lack of joy. We can’t fully live in the now moment. We need to develop the Zen attitude that the bowl is already broken in order to fully live today and not focus on tomorrow.

Someone once said, “Life is a terminal disease because no one gets out alive!” Actually, we all get out alive. We don’t experience death, only transformation. The soul we are did not begin nor does it end when we give up this spacesuit we slipped into upon entering the human experience. This was always meant to be just a visit--we were never intended to be permanent residents here.

Rather than obsessing about your eventual demise, or the demise of your loved ones or your “stuff”, spend some energy on this holy instant. You don’t have to wait for death to have a spiritual experience -- you are a spiritual experience! Put your attention on the NOW. Let tomorrow take care of itself.

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

Giving and Receiving

A beautiful illustration of giving and receiving can be found in the two Seas which are in Palestine. Both seas are fed by the River Jordan. One is fresh and well stocked with fish. Splashes of green adorn its banks. Trees spread their branches over it, and stretch out their thirsty roots to sip of its healing waters. Homes are built near it, children play and the area prospers.

To the south lays the other sea; it has no fish, no fluttering leaf, no song of birds, no children's laughter. Travelers choose another route, unless on urgent business. The air hangs heavy above its waters, and neither man nor beast nor fowl will drink the water.

What is the difference? The same water from the river Jordan flows into both seas. It is not the soil or the countryside surrounding the area both are in the same region.

The 1st sea - the Sea of Galilee, receives but does not keep the Jordan. For every drop of water that flows into it, another drop flows out. The other sea is shrewder, hoarding its income jealously. It will not be tempted into any generous impulse.

The sea of Galilee gives and lives. This other sea gives nothing. And it is named the Dead Sea.

There are two seas in Palestine. And there are two kinds of people in this world.

Sharing and thriving or hoarding and dying...tough choice!

I'm holding the high watch!

Rev. Donna

The game of life

Consider the game of hide and seek and how it is like the game of life. Imagine that you are 5 years old playing hide and seek. You're it! Count 1-2-3...10 and open your eyes. And you see all the kids standing there staring at you. Well, that's no fun!

The process of hiding and finding is what makes the game so much fun. It's the same in life. Searching for love, health, joy, and ultimately spiritual awakening is what makes life fulfilling. If all that was simply given to us, with no struggle or no sweat, there would be no joy in life.

Remember, the joy is in the journey. Play hide and seek!





I'm holding the high watch!


Rev. Donna

Hope is the basic ingredient of optimism, a tendency to dwell on the best possibilities. Hope is a positive and potent spiritual practice with the power to pull us through difficult times. It is usually described with light metaphors...a ray, a beam, a glimmer of hope, the break in the clouds, the light at the end of the tunnel. It is often discovered in unexpected places.

Hope can be learned with practice. Certain attitudes support it. One is patience, an ability to tolerate delays, a willingness to let events unfold in their own time. The other is courage, an attitude of confidence even when facing the unknown. A third is persistence, the determination to keep going no matter what happens.

Be a patient, courageous, persistent person. Be hopeful and hope-filled. Your life will be lighter. You will say, "all is well!" and you will really mean it!!

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul.

And sings the tune

Without the words,

and never stops at all.
~Emily Dickinson

US poet (1830 - 1886)

ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU SAY hmmmm...

Suppose someone gave you a pen - a sealed, solid-colored pen. You couldn't see how much ink it had. It might run dry after the first few tentative words or last just long enough to create a masterpiece (or several) that would last forever and make a difference in the scheme of things.

You don't know before you begin.

Under the rules of the game, you really never know. You have to take a chance! Actually, no rule of the game states you must do anything.

Instead of picking up and using the pen, you could leave it on a shelf or in a drawer where it will dry up, unused.

But if you do decide to use it, what would you do with it? How would you play the game?

Would you plan and plan before you ever wrote a word? Would your plans be so extensive that you never even got to the writing? Would you take the pen in hand, plunge right in and just do it, struggling to keep up with the twists and turns of the torrents of words that take you where they take you?

Would you write cautiously and carefully, as if the pen might run dry the

next moment, or would you pretend or believe (or pretend to believe) that the pen will write forever and proceed accordingly?

And of what would you write: Of love? Hate? Fun? Misery? Life? Death? Nothing? Everything?Would you write to please just yourself? Or others? Or yourself by writing for others? Would your strokes be tremblingly timid or brilliantly bold?

Fancy with a flourish or plain? Would you even write? Once you have the pen, no rule says you have to write.

Would you sketch? Scribble? Doodle or draw? Would you stay in or on the lines, or see no lines at all, even if they were there? Or are they?

There's a lot to think about here, isn't there?


Now...
suppose someone gave you a life...

(From 6th Chicken Soup for the Soul)

I've been considering how we live our lives and do our jobs. Are we showing up, fully and consciously, with a positive outlook or is it just a way to earn our daily bread? Do we eat to work or work to eat? Do we consider our work holy...is it so joyful that it doesn't even seem like work?

Jesus advised, "Once you put your hand to the plow, do not look back." If you've ever seen a farmer plowing a field, you know s/he has to keep her eye on the horizon to keep a straight furrow...s/he can't look back.

What have you put your hand to do? Do you love your job...does it create energy and love in you, or do you dread each day? Kahlil Gibran, in The Prophet said, "If you hate what you do, it is better that you leave your work and go and beg alms at the temple from those who love theirs."

This week, take a look at your daily life. If it is not fulfilling and joyous, consider how you might change your outlook and your attitude, which would affect the results...OR perhaps look deeper into your heart's longing...something else may be calling you.

Do you long to make music and settle for collecting cds?
Does your hand itch to paint and you settle for doodles on a pad during telephone conversations?
Do you want to leap and dance and salsa and yet sigh and say, "I'm too old/out of shape/uncoordinated?"

Honor your deepest creative self! This week, put your hand joyously to plow ahead to live the life you desire. You are worth it!

As always, I'll hold the high watch!

Rev. Donna