wednesday, July 26, 2023 Quote of the week

“The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.” Steve Maraboli

Unstable is a series on Netflix starring Rob Lowe. Lowe’s character is grappling with life after the recent death of his wife. In the trailer, he is peering into his bathroom mirror, the same mirror which once also reflected the image of his wife as well. But now, he simply just stares at himself. Within a few seconds, his face contorts. It withers and melts into itself. His mutating image defines grief in the most guttural way.

I will stand in the front of the line to attest that I have done the same. The trailer demonstrates how grief can wash over every cell and rinse away any color that life once contained. Unstable…yes that is a perfect word describing the side effect of losing our loved ones. Professor Hyman Minsky stated that, “stability leads to instability. The more stable things become…the more unstable they will be when the crisis hits.” Although he is referencing economics, I believe the same wisdom holds true for love and grief.

Love is the side effect of wonderful people we’ve shared our life with, and when they are suddenly gone, we crumble. Relationships are steeped in love, and love is stable…love is truth. When the death of our loved ones happens, we find ourselves clamoring for a solid foundation. Our footing was rocked and set off kilter, so no wonder why we teeter. What will bring harmony and balance back into our lives again? Choice.

After the first few seconds of Lowe’s sagging resignation, he shook his head no, and said, “No, we are not going to do this today. This is what we’re doing.” And he smiled. It was forced, but it was nonetheless a smile. Photographer and visionary, Tyler J. Hebert thought that, “in order to find stability in the world, we must first find stability within ourselves.” Lowe's character made a choice that unraveled the course of his day. I believe that the power of our intentions can create a tremendous impact on our health and our vision for what will come. Lift yourself up, smile, and stand tall.

Find stability in the new image love and losing have created.

wednesday, July 12, 2023 Quote of the week

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”

Martin Buber

Summer vacations are well underway! During this busy travel season, excursionists are searching for new and exciting adventures. Whether it be a theme park, a quiet cabin in the mountains, a palm tree laden beach, or even maneuvering through a museum, the ballooning red drop pin shows where we want to be; but here we are!

Recently, I was in a city garden trying to determine how to see all the exhibits in the most efficient way. On the map, You Are Here pointed me to where I was beginning. The map listed the attractions in alpha order, so what a better way to begin. I’ll just follow the order. But then I noticed a group of people walking in a different direction, so I thought, oh what the heck, so I followed them.

I was led to a gorgeous fountain with a stunning display of glass-blown reeds erupting from the marsh! It was breathtaking. Upon reviewing my map, I was now at M and had not started with A. Now I was in a quandary; do I backtrack to A, or do I proceed to N, or do I toss the map in my purse and just stroll? I think I'll just stroll.

Sometimes we let the confines of our linear world guide us as to what makes the most sense. We push for the most logical route instead of veering off the path to simply wander. Sure we want to eliminate toll booths, avoid road constructions, and booking direct flights are ways we plan our trips, but those too are all part of our journey.

Step beyond the logical and linear to explore the desires and whims of the heart. Ram Dass reflected on this very topic when he wrote that, “The spiritual journey is individual…It cannot be organized or regulated…Listen to your own truth.” God gave us both a brain and a heart…use them in unison and discover your own path so elegantly designed just for you!

Drop the pin and GO!

wednesday, July 5, 2023 Quote of the week

“To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

I am not going to pretend to be an aficionado on survival shows, but from what I’ve Googled, there are several survival themed productions that can be streamed anytime. Some of those I found are Alone, Survivor, and Life Below Zero. Whatever the reason, I have never been drawn to watch, but a recent promotion for one made me think how survival pertains to grieving.

Surviving the loss of a loved one does not mirror the same struggles of the TV shows except for pain, endurance, and exhaustion. It takes some prodding to lift ourselves up and stamina to keep going when we’d rather not. There is no one formula that dictates how to manage our pain, so we each have to find something that will. A Chinese proverb claims that, “You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.”

At first, the proverb painted the visual of flailing arms and an irrational pattern of terrified running. I saw myself combatting the obstacle versus taming it, so how can we tame the struggle? The Dalai Lama said that, “Loving kindness is the condition of our survival,” so we invite love in so the grief won’t invade our being.

With every beginning, there is an end…a day, a career, a vacation, a life. Our finite world only promises the end, but the in-between is ours! It is still difficult to accept that change will happen, but the way we manage our grief will change as well. Grief is forever, but we learn to grow bigger around it.

Grief is an invasive weed. It creeps in and strangles the life we once had. Although grief will never leave us, just like weeds, we can pay attention to how we thrive and live with it. Even though we are the ones left behind, we are still on the road of discovery. Carl Jung reminds us that, “the privilege of a lifetime is to become who you really are.”

I’ve got some weeding to do.

Storylight A transformational journey SHARON M WIBLE

wednesday, July 26, 2023 Quote of the week

wednesday, July 12, 2023 Quote of the week

wednesday, July 5, 2023 Quote of the week

This website uses cookies.