Jan
31
2010
This post is a reprint
I was rereading some of my old posts, reflecting on how far I’ve come with my websites, writing and efforts to help others heal and I came across this one. There are so many moments in life when we face challenge, pain and doubt. There have been many moments when I felt others judging my life. It was during that time when I wrote this post. It still holds true and I hope it will touch my readers and remind them to take a step back and reflect, rather than make a quick judgment on those in their lives.
A degree of sensitivity is necessary when we make judgements on situations and people in our lives or those we encounter in our day. We never really know the space from which another is coming and despite appearances we need to to take a deep breath and realize life isn’t necessarily the perfect picture it may seem. I think at times people judge situations and circumstances without realizing in any way the depth of the situation or the complexity involved. I’m certain I have done the same thing without realizing it.
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Oct
20
2009
kinsiekins photo flickr
Apr
02
2009
Beach Photo Credit: Lisa Overman
Life is joy, love, challenge, choices and change. We all want to feel loved, cherished and desired. It’s part of the nature of our soul to need love. We want to feel the warmth, closeness and the delight of loving and being loved. Relationships are a gift and a challenge to walk each day. No matter what relationship you choose you will find moments that transform you with the depth of their love, the fear, the frustration and the sheer joy and commitment of loving another soul. This is no easy walk, it’s a baptism of fire. No matter who we are, who we love, who we feel drawn to in our life the fact remains we are changed and challenged by commitment in the best and worst ways. For certain life will become about WE rather than me. It will feel at times like a series of compromises, which challenge your very being. We all think we are flexible until we’re faced with the needs and desires of another soul. Then we come to realize maybe we aren’t as easy and flexible as we imagined.
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Mar
24
2009
Sunday brought me an experience which touched me with compassion. As I drove home from church I noticed a man standing at the side of the street with a sign. His sign said LAID OFF, please help. He was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, and white running shoes. The first thing that struck me was how much like any average person he was. He could have been any friend of mine or any family member, he was approximately fifty. I realized in that moment, as I drove that the face of those in need has changed radically. Our economic recession has brought desperation to middle class families across America. Last week a friend of mine was laid off, and I know several others deeply affected by the economy. I’ve seen family members laid off, homes lost, and others struggling with the loss of their savings in this economic downturn.
Feb
08
2009
This is truly life changing and amazing. I know three specific people who live with extreme clutter and according to Peter Walsh a surprisingly large number of American families live in similar chaos. Peter did a show with Oprah in October. What I took from this show is the possibility of REAL LIFE CHANGE for these people. When Peter went into these unsuspecting people’s home it was obvious they were paralyzed with the uncertainty of HOW TO BEGIN. They had created situations in their home that were so overwhelming that they just allowed it to spread further becoming out of control chaos.
Peter Walsh was AMAZING. He is focused and has a plan. He gave some excellent tips and ideas for those who are living in that kind of clutter. Actually his ideas are excellent for EVERYONE, even those of us with a single closet or drawer that needs attention. To view Peter Walsh’s website take a look at this link.
His first plan of action with homeowners was to look around the room and have the owner assess how they feel about the clutter and their home. Then Peter started with two bags, black for trash, blue for recycle and with a stop watch set for ten minutes they attacked one cupboard. Peter basically stated to the homeowners before they began, “if you haven’t touched it in 12 months you need to think about letting it go.” So with Peter and the stop watch I watched as they cleared out an entire kitchen cabinet filled to the brim with cups, glasses and a multitude of children’s drink cups and amusement park drink cups. Many were recyclable and within six minutes Peter and the home owner had restored organization and neatness to the cupboard and they were left with a bag of trash and a bag for recycling.
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Feb
06
2009
Photo By Fiancailles Flickr
Security is a perception. We are never completely safe, our situations just seem safe. We bask in the contentment of seeming safety. It’s only when disaster strikes, jobs are lost, finances are compromised or our health is jeapordized that we realize what felt safe was simply a perception. Our real security comes from within, in feeling and trusting the spirit of God in our life. It’s God’s prescence in our life that brings a true sense of feeling secure.
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Jan
29
2009
Soon my Aunt Judy will depart for another two years in Kenya as a missionary. She loves her work in Kenya and feels called to be there. She has been on home leave since the first of July. It seems to have flown and I have seen her far less than I expected to do. It’s odd really that we live in the same city yet we only talk via phone most of the time, meeting for lunch or a BBQ occasionally.
Her time at home has been packed with events and activities and must do’s. Doctor and dentist visits, speaking at visiting churches who may like to become one of her mission supporters, time for family, time for old friends, a bit of time to travel, mission conferences and suddenly seven months is gone in the flash of an eye. It’s startling and sad. I know she has enjoyed this time back at home with family and friends and her church. It’s been good to see her, to know a bit more about her life in Kenya.
She talks fondly of the people and the events her church in Kenya has sponsored and the children and families that are helped with her mission work. I understand her desire to be in Kenya probably more than anyone else in my family. I too feel a calling, to my writing and my healing work. I too have spent years living overseas. I understand and even with understanding I am sad that she will soon leave again. We will miss her.
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Dec
27
2008
The True Power of Water By: Masaru Emoto is a book that I find deeply interesting and that I recommend. It is one of several books that Masaru Emoto has written on the effects of vibration, energy, prayer and thought on water. When I was flipping through it this morning, reading randomly I came across a piece I wanted to share. Along with this is a YouTube video with Dr. Emoto
A family that subscribed to our magazine conducted an interesting experiment. They put the rice in two glass jars and every day for a month said “Thank you” to one jar and “You fool” to the other, and then they tracked how the rice changed over the period. After a month the rice that was told Thank you started to ferment, with a mellow smell like that of malt, while the rice that was exposed to You fool, rotted and turned black. Pg 97
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Dec
20
2008
My Mom. What a woman. I wish you all could have known her when she was younger. She was amazing; always busy, a tower of strength, smart, independent and most important, her love knew no bounds. Mom did not have an easy life. When he was three years old she lost her only son to cancer. I inherited the Edwards depression gene and for many years keeping me from harming myself was sometimes a full time chore for Mom. When I lost my first husband to divorce, there was Mom, helping me cope, helping with my bills, helping me raise my two sons, Robin and Timothy. When my second husband Richard was diagnosed with a brain tumor, again, Mom drove him to his radiation treatments every day and to his doctor appointments while I was working. I don’t what I would done without her. After he died she was my rock.
My sister, Linda, lost her husband to cancer when he was only 33 years old. Mom was right there for Linda and her two children, Melissa and Christopher, again helping Linda cope with her grief, helping take care of the kids and helping Linda around the house.
Mom worked for the stock market all of her adult life and knew the business backwards and forwards. She loved her work and didn’t want to retire when she turned 65. However, she was forced to retire at 70. She hated retirement. Mom needed to be busy. She started volunteering at church and at Boyd Hill Nature Park. She took care of her grandchildren, she took care of her daughters.
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Dec
18
2008
The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.
Dalai Lama
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