Today, Feb. 14th, we had yet another round of snow here in northeastern Wisconsin. The weather report stated we got 6 inches, but I am convinced I shoveled at least 10 inches off our deck this afternoon...and it kept snowing until 6:00 tonight!
But...with the snow, came a day off - a blessing in disguise! I could not get to work because the road conditions were terrible. In fact, I couldn't even see the road from our window most of the day. So...I had a day to myself to rest, to ponder, and to play. It was one of those nourishing kind of days...food for the soul. AND...it was much needed!
It's been a busy week. On Monday I began teaching a class, which amazingly both energized and drained me. Both Monday and Tuesday were very long days of work...but I'm not really complaining because it is good work with good people. Mixed in with work, in the late evening hours, I have been reading. Not just any old reading or being engrossed in some juicy novel. My reading these days is for school. Yes, after all these years, I continue to immerse myself in learning - formal education. What a gift it is...to be able to continue education in areas I feel called to AND enjoy! But there are times when I simply get tired - worn out - in need of renewal. And today, my snow day off, was just the kind of day for that renewal I really needed!
So...winter, be what you may; snow if you will. I'll take a day of rest any time!
14 February 2008
13 February 2008
Not too old to learn...
Oh my goodness, I used to think I was on top of the game when it came to technology but things in that area move along so quickly these days. Though where I work I am considered one of the computer guru's, I have no clue as to how an ipod or an mp3 (or is it 4?) player works, nor do I know the first thing about a blackberry. I have text messaged only once and found it quite awkward.
But...to my delight, I learned just yesterday, how to upload a video on YouTube! Didn't take all that much effort in the brain power department, but it was something very new to me. No, I'm not going to give you the link to the video - it was done only for someone specific and I will be deleting it soon. But the sheer accomplishment of actually figuring out how to do it - upload a video from my camcorder - made a very long day a huge success!
All the patterns that are emerging within and around continually amaze me!
But...to my delight, I learned just yesterday, how to upload a video on YouTube! Didn't take all that much effort in the brain power department, but it was something very new to me. No, I'm not going to give you the link to the video - it was done only for someone specific and I will be deleting it soon. But the sheer accomplishment of actually figuring out how to do it - upload a video from my camcorder - made a very long day a huge success!
All the patterns that are emerging within and around continually amaze me!
09 February 2008
Doing a 180 for Lent
I just took a look at my sister's blog - a warm 66 degrees??? Well, I'm still in Wisconsin and it's 10 degrees and the wind is howling. Suspect the wind chill factor is well below zero. This has been a winter of ups and downs - warm (for winter) one day and bitter cold the next...snow one day and melting the next. I'm getting tired of hearing people say, "Well, this is Wisconsin"!!!
So, let's muse a bit about Lent, which began this past Wednesday. Every year I struggle with the concept of giving up something for Lent - as a discipline. We Catholics are to refrain (fast) from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. It may seem blatant disrespect, but I say that practice (and by the way obligation) is rubbish! Nearly 52 Fridays of the year I refrain from eating meat and I'm basically vegitarian anyway! What's the "sacrifice" in it for me during Lent? I have jokingly said this year I will give up football - would be "easy" enough since the season and the Super Bowl is over anyway. The point of fasting from something during Lent is supposed to make us better, through discipline. Well, I equate the word discipline with negativity...and there is certainly more than enough negativity that surrounds many o
f us. And the point of my stubbornness in not giving up something tangible for Lent is not really a blatant defiance of the religious practice/obligation...or maybe it is.
Anyway, what I have pondered, and invite everyone to consider, is to add something to life during Lent - to "label it", if you will, as a spiritual practice. Something that will seek and serve, if I am/we are faithful to the practice, to nourish and enrich life - and something that will "stick" longer than these 40 days. How about adding some meditation time - some silent abiding time? Heaven knows there is more than enough noise in our lives! Sure, I'll most likely have to "give up" a half hour of sleep. But it's not the giving up that is the focus; it's the adding of the specific practice that will (hopefully and with the grace of the Holy One) nurture and nourish the soul...yes, during Lent but also beyond. Now, isn't that, and the reality that God is deeply in love with us, the stuff of what REALLY matters?
So, let's muse a bit about Lent, which began this past Wednesday. Every year I struggle with the concept of giving up something for Lent - as a discipline. We Catholics are to refrain (fast) from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. It may seem blatant disrespect, but I say that practice (and by the way obligation) is rubbish! Nearly 52 Fridays of the year I refrain from eating meat and I'm basically vegitarian anyway! What's the "sacrifice" in it for me during Lent? I have jokingly said this year I will give up football - would be "easy" enough since the season and the Super Bowl is over anyway. The point of fasting from something during Lent is supposed to make us better, through discipline. Well, I equate the word discipline with negativity...and there is certainly more than enough negativity that surrounds many o
f us. And the point of my stubbornness in not giving up something tangible for Lent is not really a blatant defiance of the religious practice/obligation...or maybe it is.Anyway, what I have pondered, and invite everyone to consider, is to add something to life during Lent - to "label it", if you will, as a spiritual practice. Something that will seek and serve, if I am/we are faithful to the practice, to nourish and enrich life - and something that will "stick" longer than these 40 days. How about adding some meditation time - some silent abiding time? Heaven knows there is more than enough noise in our lives! Sure, I'll most likely have to "give up" a half hour of sleep. But it's not the giving up that is the focus; it's the adding of the specific practice that will (hopefully and with the grace of the Holy One) nurture and nourish the soul...yes, during Lent but also beyond. Now, isn't that, and the reality that God is deeply in love with us, the stuff of what REALLY matters?
30 January 2008
Musing on Solitude and Silence
Most recently I read Henri Nouwen’ s “The Way of the Heart” and found it absolutely wonderful. Almost right off the bat, on Page 16, the statement of: “Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter – the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self” is one I both agree with and think is incomplete. Certainly it is in solitude we come face to face with our compulsions that serve to make us something or someone other than who we truly are – God’s beloved. But it’s the second part, the encounter with the loving God, that I think is incomplete. While God is encountered in solitude, I also believe God’s loving presence is encountered in community and in the other person (not to mention in nature). The challenge is to look at another and see the face of God – to see that they too are God’s beloved, whether we happen to like that person or not. The face of God is in all – rich and poor, well off and destitute, beautiful and not so pretty...
In his section on silence Nouwen writes, “The word no longer communicates, no longer fosters communion, no longer creates community, and therefore no longer gives life” (pages 38-9). This I agree with wholeheartedly! So many words fill any given day – written and spoken words, conversations, commands, television, emails, newspapers, etc. It’s really easy to “turn a deaf ear” when we feel word-overloaded – when the words we hear and read no longer are life-giving for us. Our society in general is not comfortable with silence…and yet, it is precisely silence we need…desperately. We almost feel odd when we are comfortable with, even crave, silence. But...we can best hear the voice of the Holy One in the depths of our heart when we are surrounded by silence.
In his section on silence Nouwen writes, “The word no longer communicates, no longer fosters communion, no longer creates community, and therefore no longer gives life” (pages 38-9). This I agree with wholeheartedly! So many words fill any given day – written and spoken words, conversations, commands, television, emails, newspapers, etc. It’s really easy to “turn a deaf ear” when we feel word-overloaded – when the words we hear and read no longer are life-giving for us. Our society in general is not comfortable with silence…and yet, it is precisely silence we need…desperately. We almost feel odd when we are comfortable with, even crave, silence. But...we can best hear the voice of the Holy One in the depths of our heart when we are surrounded by silence.
Christmas Dogs
For our annual Christmas letter each year, I include a picture of our Shih-tzu's, Maximus and Pugs. This year (2007) I decided to make it a "true" holiday picture and dressed them up in snowman costumes...neither were too pleased! Pugs, the 8-year old, is on the left; Maximus, the 6-year old is on the right. I did vow to them that I would not burden them with costumes next year...we'll see!
Christmas 2007
Just a few pictures taken Christmas day at our house. It gets a little confusing but...when the Smilebox comes up, click on the "Play" button to automatically move through the pictures and...don't forget to turn on your computer's volume! Enjoy!!!
 |
 |
| Make a slideshow - it's easy! |
02 October 2007
In Search of the Me
Who is this person I see?
A glance in the mirror
shows emerging signs of
mother’s face.
Where has the youth gone?
Fingers bent, swollen
out of place.
My grandmother’s hands.
Yet neither am I.
But the physical has
succumbed to the inevitable
heredity.
Who is this person I am?
Strong-willed yet so
unsure,
Determined yet hesitant.
Searching but not seeking,
with all my heart,
that which matters most.
Rough around the edges
as I have tried so hard
to mold my life into that which
only I wanted.
And so the dreams end?
No – I say no!
The dream has yet to begin –
to be imagined, nurtured,
as if a newborn life
blessed and broken
open wide;
given and shared.
Where is this person I long for?
Stuck on the path of hesitation,
not wanting to take a step
right or left
back or forward.
Planted with roots deeply set
in the quasi reality of now –
in a box of self-making
full of false image
tattered and torn
bruised and bleak.
O Joy, cannot I let you in?
Will I not see
your gentle power to
transform – to
beat down the barriers that
urge me to beware
vulnerability?
Wisdom of the Ages,
Guide my feet.
Urge, push, shove
me on the path,
any path,
on the journey of life –
life in you, with you, for you.
Transport my heart,
no not only my heart
but my spirit too
on the way of truth
that I may seek
with every fiber of my being
the way
that will only, at long last
find rest
and peace
and meaning
in the embrace of divine loving arms.
9 May 2006
A glance in the mirror
shows emerging signs of
mother’s face.
Where has the youth gone?
Fingers bent, swollen
out of place.
My grandmother’s hands.
Yet neither am I.
But the physical has
succumbed to the inevitable
heredity.
Who is this person I am?
Strong-willed yet so
unsure,
Determined yet hesitant.
Searching but not seeking,
with all my heart,
that which matters most.
Rough around the edges
as I have tried so hard
to mold my life into that which
only I wanted.
And so the dreams end?
No – I say no!
The dream has yet to begin –
to be imagined, nurtured,
as if a newborn life
blessed and broken
open wide;
given and shared.
Where is this person I long for?
Stuck on the path of hesitation,
not wanting to take a step
right or left
back or forward.
Planted with roots deeply set
in the quasi reality of now –
in a box of self-making
full of false image
tattered and torn
bruised and bleak.
O Joy, cannot I let you in?
Will I not see
your gentle power to
transform – to
beat down the barriers that
urge me to beware
vulnerability?
Wisdom of the Ages,
Guide my feet.
Urge, push, shove
me on the path,
any path,
on the journey of life –
life in you, with you, for you.
Transport my heart,
no not only my heart
but my spirit too
on the way of truth
that I may seek
with every fiber of my being
the way
that will only, at long last
find rest
and peace
and meaning
in the embrace of divine loving arms.
9 May 2006
On Seeking the Dance of Life
In the dark time
glow steadily to melt away
the layers that hide.
And then grow stronger.
Rise up O Flame
Rise up high – reach
into the depths of my being
Urging me to join with you
so that together we can
enter into the dance
of joy.
And in that dance
to the divine music
the Light will emerge
and shine through
to be seen in glorious splendor.
The Flame of a candle;
The dance of life!
29 April 2006
glow steadily to melt away
the layers that hide.
And then grow stronger.
Rise up O Flame
Rise up high – reach
into the depths of my being
Urging me to join with you
so that together we can
enter into the dance
of joy.
And in that dance
to the divine music
the Light will emerge
and shine through
to be seen in glorious splendor.
The Flame of a candle;
The dance of life!
29 April 2006
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
