wednesday, February 22, 2023 Quote of the week

“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.”

Joseph Campbell

More than ever, we have evolved into a society that is on-demand. Technology helps us to stay connected, but it seems to be taking a toll on our thought patterns and our peace. When we send a text or an email, is an immediate response expected? Furthermore, do we feel the immediacy to rapidly reply when we hear the ting-ting sounding from our pockets?

Years ago, I sent my son a text inviting him to dinner. My message read, Come to dinner. He immediately replied, “What’s wrong?” Because I had left out the question mark, he read it as a command, and assumed something serious had happened. I had planted the wrong seed here because I was not clear. Suddenly, I was correcting a problem that could have been easily avoided with a simple phone call.

Electronic conversation fails to provide tone. Even the misuse of a period or a question mark can obviously sway the recipient to misinterpret the message. Fiction writer, Lester del Rey, stated that “misinterpretation is the most deadly of human sins.” Maybe not a deadly sin, but I think we get his point.

During our grieving and healing process, it is important to distinguish a boundary and a healthy space. As we rise from the heaviness of our losses, it is most important to stay connected to positive people and sources. Answer the emails and the texts people offer knowing that you both may misinterpret the message, but allow each other grace. No one knows how one will react, so perhaps a phone call, a hand-written note, or a short visit would be better especially during this delicate time.

Sign off for a bit and reach out; be pulled into physical gatherings rather than hiding behind a screen. Feel the warm embrace and the gentle touch of another. The texts and emails will be there waiting for you, but YOU get to decide when you want to attend to them. Put down your phone. Take a walk without posting your travel, and stroll with a friend without a selfie.

There is solitude in silence, and within that solitude, you’ll find peace. Within yourself, you are creating a sacred space. Discover your divinity when your heart and soul unite.

wednesday, February 15 , 2023 Quote of the week

“Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.”

Rumi

When I read, reread, and pondered Rumi’s quote, I imagined my mind as a garden. Since thoughts determine attitudes and attitudes manifest into actions, what are the seeds am I planting in my own garden?

As motivational speaker and author, Earl Nightingale said, “we become what we think about.” In the quiet times, where do our thoughts take us? We find our thoughts drifting either to places warranting creativity, or perhaps places of contempt. Within the chaotic demands of each day, what seeds are we planting?

The beauty surrounding me are the people who have been planted in my garden and the blessings God has granted me. It is my solitary duty to pull out the weeds entangling my flowers. The weeds are judgment, anger, and pride. Love, grace, and forgiveness are the fertilizer, which will enrich the soil. Let’s be authentic, patient, and honest with ourselves and those in our garden.

Let’s put our phones down and pause our devices for a while. When we do, I think we will be amazed at all the time we have to nurture and attend to others! Call, don’t text a friend, make bread for your neighbor, or write an old-fashioned note to a colleague. As Mary Anne Radmacher advises, “nurturing is not complex. It's simply being tuned into the thing or person before you and offering small gestures toward what it needs at that time."

Tune in by turning off! Take a few moments to nurture the arrangement of flowers in your garden, and admire the beauty you are creating!

wednesday, February 8, 2023 Quote of the week

“It takes a lot of courage to have an attitude of gratitude during the dark times. But once you have it, it empowers you.”

Joshua Tongol

During the night, the sound of sleet pinging against my window pulled me out of my sleep. Throwing back the covers, I looked out to see the streets reflective and shiny. I knew school would be canceled, so I snuggled back under the covers. Appreciation wrapped around me tighter than my blanket.

As a teacher, I was thankful I would not have to venture out in the morning in the snow and ice. The furnace kicked on, so I was thankful for a warm, comfortable home. My coffee pot is on a timer and did not get the memo of no school. The rich aroma wafted down the hall and into my bedroom. I couldn’t wait to fill my cup. No place to go and filled to the brim with everything I need. I was so incredibly thankful.

The early morning promised so many tiny miracles to happen, and if I had allowed grief to steal them from me, I would have suffered. I could turn it into a loss or a memory, and I choose a memory. I vividly remember snuggling on those snow days with Jim. “You suck,” was his usual response for me not having to go to work on those inclement days! I’d talk him into working from home too, and he sometimes did. Being from Ohio, he thought the Midwesterners were wimps in the snow. Again, great memories experienced with gratitude and smiles.

During my darkest time, I felt disillusioned about being grateful. If I chose to be thankful, I felt I was being disloyal to Jim. I even felt guilty if I smiled. Ultimately, there was a choice to be made: grieving or gratitude. Norman Vincent Peale quotes that, “the capacity to be either happy or unhappy is determined by the manner in which you react to whatever happens.” I can still miss him, but I can also be thankful. Gratitude doesn’t change my circumstances, but it offers insight to delve within my spirit and discover my true and authentic capacity. And that has changed me.

Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” came to mind. No one knows when our expiration date will be, but since we’re still here, we have promises to keep, And miles to go before I (we)sleep.

Be courageous enough to live your passionate purpose!

wednesday, February 1, 2023 Quote of the week

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough.”

Melody Beattie

In the late 1990s, Jim and I began a cardiovascular workout designed by health enthusiast and martial arts instructor Billy Blanks called Tae Bo. Although we enjoyed this workout, the philosophy behind it is what truly resonated with us. Blanks believed that working hard to strengthen our mind, body, and spirit, would enable us to be of better service and to provide more substantially for others.

Blanks coached us through the tough workouts, and in one particular segment, he encouraged us by repeatedly saying, “you are more than a conqueror!” Yeah, you darn right we are as we continued punching and kicking at all those imaginary attackers coming at us. Grief is a HUGE attacker and definitely not imaginary! Grief is very real, but we can strengthen and empower ourselves with the capacity that has forever been within us.

We were whole when we came into the world. Read that passage again. Our departed loved ones were the spice that seasoned our lives so beautifully, yet we remain whole even after they are gone. I am so much more because of them, and I am incredibly grateful! In Alanis Morissette’s song “Unsent,” her lyrics proclaim that “you were the best platform from which to jump beyond myself…”. Jim specifically pushed me to jump beyond who I thought I was and showed me who I had the capacity to become.

If we workout everyday, the results are not immediately prominent, but in time, we see a physical change. We are more energized and more confident. Being able to see beyond our darkened state of grief is a tough workout as well. It takes hard work and time, but the light of possibility lies just beyond us. If we reach and stretch just a bit, we can touch it! We can continue being more than a conqueror.

In the book of Romans, it says that “all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him.” With my deepest gratitude, I am thankful that God granted me the gifts of the people in my life; those who are gone and those still present. There will be times to lean on others and times we get to prop up one another. With strength and perseverance, we are able to carry onward with honor. In doing so, we successfully finish strong and as Beattie states, turn what we have into enough.

The losses we’ve endured navigate our future. Where are your losses taking you?

Storylight A transformational journey SHARON M WIBLE

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