Another perspective on Autumn

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Recently a friend shared that Autumn in the Midwest where the trees are radiant with color saddens her. Why? She is a gardener and, for her, Autumn is a time of death to all her creativity.

I can see that.

Yet, today, as I look outside and see the trees once again barren and the foliage in my perennial garden limp and brown, I am choosing to really get the lesson that nature is giving us:

Rest and turn within
Release the outer expression and nurture the inner strength
Trust and know that we will *bloom* again

Today I invite you to pause and wonder:

What outer expression needs to stop for awhile?
What would nurture your inner being?

Self-Judgment

Today I sang one of my favorite songs from Stowe Dailey Shockey, May My Heart Break Open, and heard a new message for me in its refrain:

This is my prayer.
This is my plea.
Could you blind me to all separation I might see.
Bring down the walls. Let judgment fall away.
May my heart break open today.

While I had always interpreted these lyrics as an invitation to release my judgment of others, today I heard a call to bring down the wall of judgment “in me – towards me”.

How do you block yourself from YOU with self-judgment?
In what ways is your heart unable to love YOU?

Sacred Time

I sat outside with my first cup of coffee today and listened to the birds, observed the clouds changing as the sun rose. I felt my heart beating in my chest. The space held peace, gentleness, slowing, timelessness. There was no urge to move, to get busy, to do.

This was sacred time.

And I notice how often we miss the stillness, the sacredness of Life itself, in our pursuit of doing. We run through life, moving faster and faster, doing as much as we can. I wonder:

What are we running from?
What are we running to?
What energy is driving us: fear? desire? love?
What energy do we wish to expend on the journey?

A word from your body …

Today is day #5 of feeling “under the weather”. My physical body is experiencing cold symptoms and exhaustion and unable to participate fully in life as I have come to desire. Singing has turned to silence; activity has turned to added (attempts to) sleep. What’s more, my thoughts and emotions express judgment and disdain, frustration and impatience for the physical body.

How sad is that?

In today’s pause, I notice that I depend on my body to be well and to deliver — like I would a machine! I take for granted that when I put the key in the ignition each morning it will start and keep going until I choose to shut it down.

Yikes! Does this sound familiar? What is another way?

If we were talking about my best friend or a child’s body, that other way would include:

  • a large dose of compassion and gentleness
  • an invitation to rest, restore, let go of obligation, ask for help with to-do’s that truly must be done
  • a reminder that the spirit is whole and well and today is a day to be embraced by and receive pure Love

Today, I will be with myself as I would be with that friend or child. I will find gratitude for this amazing body that I move around in. I will listen to her needs and fill them.

How about you? Even if you are not noticeably ill today, I invite you to press pause and take a moment to listen to your body.

What warning signs do you see?
What are you taking for granted?
What would compassion and gentleness look like today?

Bowling Alley Wisdom Part II

In case you missed part I, you’ll find it here:

Bowling Alley Wisdom Part I: The Second Chance

Lesson #2: The Spare

What’s really amazing about the second chance in bowling is this: you get rewarded for succeeding the second time! Yes, even after a total miss with ball #1 (a gutter ball), if your second chance results in all ten pins going down, not only do you score ten points, but you get bonus points from the next frame. I’m not kidding!

If you trusted that giving yourself a second chance or offering that gift to another would result in bonus points, or healing, or forgiveness, or possibility, I ask again:

Where will you give yourself or another a second chance?

Add to that:

What will be possible then?
What vision makes the second chance SO worth it?