Month: November 2020

This past Thursday, we stopped, and, along with family, some friends, turkey, and football, we spent a day in conscious gratitude.

There are so many things to be grateful for..  Simple things, like the sky, the sun, air. There are the things that everyone can agree on: friends, & family in all it’s various forms, running water, sleeping inside.

We can also be grateful for the ability to do and enjoy things like art, music, movies, walks in the woods, on the beach, around the hood.  And there’s always our inner abstract ideas, grateful for hope, faith, love, peace.

It’s good to take time to be grateful because, by paying attention, we -at least I- realize how much we take for granted in the focused busyness of our day-to-day.

Sheryl Crow says “It’s not having what you want  — It’s wanting what you’ve got”. We’ve got so much!

I’m grateful to be able to share these musings with you, the connections and the reconnections it has opened up and reinforced with people, the memories it brings up, the aha’s we get to experience.

Grateful to be able to work. Grateful for freedom and many freedoms. Grateful to serve. Grateful for health, grateful for a body that supports the promises my mind continues to make.  Grateful for an exciting vision of the future. Grateful for a good hamburger.

From Meister Eckhart: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

From me to you:  “Thank you!”

Just Sayin’

First, let’s touch on value. We hear about adding value.  “I get a lot of value from that”.  How do you determine that? We try to attach a dollar amount to it. But It’s felt, rather than measured. Nebulous, intangible.

But values, as in personal values are very tangible. These are your important beliefs or ideals. In other words, your principles.

Do you know what your values are?  Can you name your top 3-4 values off the top of your head? Have you taken the time to define them and understand them? Note that they do change over time, as our lives morph and we grow.

For instance, one of my values has been privacy. By nature, I’m a fairly private person. Not that I have anything to hide. And I don’t mean anything by it. That is the model I had growing up. My brother and I joke that we share on a ‘need to know basis’. ‘;-)

Another of my values is connection. I love connecting deeply with people. How can I expect others to share with me, to open up if I’m not sharing with them? if I’m being private? See the conflict? I wouldn’t have been aware of it if I hadn’t looked into it. There’s a learning opportunity in here for me.

Freedom is one of my highest values. One of my friends suggested I don’t really follow rules. I’m don’t see myself as a rule-breaker, just not specifically a rule follower. I don’t do it on purpose like I’m trying to be a rebel, It’s more the ‘spirit of the law’ kind of thing.  And my version of freedom has absolutely nothing to do with stepping on anyone else’s freedom. Everyone’s freedom is personal & something to be honored and respected.

Values act as guides. When we are clear about our values, decisions are easy. When we are clear about our values, our path is a little straighter. When we are clear about our values, we know ourselves more intimately. There is a closeness, a warmth, a comfort of knowing. There’s an ease of being authentically who we truly are, and letting that be our experience.

How can we identify our values? One way is to Google core values. It’s an interesting exercise to attach names to these concepts. Another way is to -and I’ve said this before- notice what you’re noticing. If you’re in a situation that ‘just doesn’t feel right’, what values are being compromised? And you’re in the flow, what values are being supported?

By knowing what your values are, and paying attention to how you show up in the world, your life takes on an ease, a beauty, a flow. a flow that is natural, expansive, authentic, and, well, valuable.

Just sayin’

Change. The only constant.

What goes on around us changes. Our reaction to it is what we can control.

I’m playing a concert for a fundraiser next week. There are rumors that our county is looking into a more restrictive posture, limiting our ability to attend social engagements. I guess indoor seating at restaurants will be closed, church services only online, and the lines at stores will get long again. Kind of a ‘here we go again’ deja vu thing going on. We will still play music, there just won’t be anyone in the room. I can’t control that.  What I can control is my reaction to it.  And am I’m going to let it change me?

Seasons change. Constantly. As nature goes through her seasons, we watch trees get bigger, untended gardens get fuller.  Sometimes fires create a clearing that facilitates new growth.

But year over year seasons are consistent. You can pretty much count on what each new season will look like. Look back at your life. Now, look around at your life.  What’s different?  What’s the same? Are you pleased with how your ‘garden’ has grown?  Does it look anything like you imagined it might? Hopefully, it’s better.  How are you changing? Are you doing so on purpose? Or are you just going through the motions?

You know what? The journey isn’t over. The cycle of seasons continues. Pay attention. And you get to play this game your way.

Just sayin’

We are now on the other side of the most talked about, fought about, passionate, divisive, ‘one for the books’ election in our history. We, as a people, as a country, in theory, a united country have become extremely fractured. We are angry, we blame, we can’t believe that our family, friend, neighbor, co-worker that we like could possibly think like that! We’re seriously considering how we can be friends with that person anymore? It’s like what’s going on in the world is now your fault because you believe this guy instead of that guy, so you might as well have caused it. Families are fractured. Friendships are fractured. Work relationships are fractured. Used to be some sort of a national emergency would pull us together. Will that even work anymore?  And how long would the togetherness last before we crawl back into our personal bubbles?

Step back and remember this. The people in our lives are whole and complete people. They’ve lived, cried, celebrated, have learned, grown, experienced, excelled, failed, worried, just like all of us. This one thing. THIS ONE THING. Is a small part of the whole. It’s an opinion. Are you going to separate from your family because they enjoy a nice steak and you are vegan?  That’s one thing!  Football or baseball, movies or picnics, the beach or the mountains. Republican or Democrat. ONE THING out of the whole.

We live on a rock hurtling through space – together. The astronauts have shared with us the feeling they get from looking at our planet from afar. They see, actually, the way they tell it, they feel, that we are as one organism, as one part of a magnificent larger organism. It’s awe-inspiring and breathtaking.

And here we are, engaging in all this agita over an opinion. And even that opinion is based on someone else’s opinion.  Is it truly worth losing friends and family over?

Look at the people in your life.  That republican neighbor of yours, that you’ve had heated arguments with over the last 6 months, remember, the one you’ve thought of as a friend? You know, if something happened to you and your family wasn’t around. they would be the first one to take you to the emergency room!  That’s who they are…. Not what they think.  What about that democratic son-in-law? Doesn’t he do an amazing job of caring for your daughter and your grandkids? Don’t you just love him as your son?  His thoughts may be different than yours, but he is a perfect example of someone,  just like you,  doing his best. But at his core….

What about you? At your core. I believe that what really matters is who you are, not what you do. Who you are. Not what you think.

What about your family, your friends, your neighbors. All good people, all want the same thing. Peace, Prosperity, Connection, Love, Think about it, what do you want? Peace, Prosperity, Connection, Love. What does your family want? WE ALL WANT THE SAME THINGS!  This is the Truth from across the room, across the town, across the borders, across the world. And I bet when the day comes that we meet someone from another planet, another galaxy, they will want the same thing.

We can have this Peace, Love and Understanding, right here and right now. We can do this. Just by deciding. It can be that simple. Do you know the truth for you? Can you find that truth in you? That’s potentially a very deep question. Think about that. And then, how can you live your truth?

I’ve just deleted all my news feeds. I bet my life won’t change much, and I’ve already noticed that due to the lack of an unnecessary stressor, I’m happier and more peaceful. I’m not being bombarded with all the sniping, name-calling, and negative attitudes that I can’t do anything about anyway.  I know where my peace is and I’m going to live there.

Let the healing begin! I’m ready.  Are you?

Just sayin’