THE SHIP

Once many years ago, I was told by someone close to me that my ship had sunken at sea many years ago and that I should quit waiting for it.  I am here to say that that person was very very wrong, Praise God!  NO ONE'S SHIP HAS SUNK. It is with that complete and true realization that I post  Mike Dooley's beautiful words of truth.

Your ship was spotted off the coast this morning, slipping silently through the fog... coming around the cape she appeared in a shaft of sunlight... and what a sight to see! Glimmering as much as the ocean herself. Massive and beautiful beyond belief! Laden with treasures, happy times, friends, love, and laughter. Quick, you must PREPARE for her docking... you MUST make space in your life for her gifts... otherwise, just as quickly, she’ll quietly slip back out to sea.  Mike Dooley

Morning, blessed morning

Whether one is twenty, forty, sixty, or eighty; whether one has succeeded, failed or just muddled along - life begins each morning! The greatest fact in life is that it is never too late to start again. Biography simply overflows with inspiring examples of this truth. However discouraging your days may have been, keep this thought burning brightly in your mind: life begins each morning!

L.M. Hodges

Eulogy To Nikki

On March 5th, 2012 my friend Nikki passed. I have only known her for a little more than 20 years. On the other hand, I have known her forever and into eternity.  Nikki is my soul sister and I use that phrase with deliberate intent. I have never known anyone as deeply spiritual and yet as authentically human as Nikki. On dark days when I pondered the course of humanity, talking to her always bolstered my faith.

Nikki was very grounded in this physical life where, like all humans, she experienced both immense sorrow and immense joy. She felt a need to atone for her shortcomings, suffered her losses, yet felt immense gratitude. She also saw clearly how important it was that she help those in need who crossed her path.  

Yet just as she experienced the wide range of the human condition, she lived for the Christ. As her physical body deteriorated, she fell more deeply into the loving arms of Christ and his Promise. There is not a doubt in my mind or heart that she is now complete in that Peace that is beyond all words. She was able to accomplish her intentions for this life and finally to surrender to Him completely.

It is not for Nikki that I mourn. It is selfishly for me and for all of us who gained strength from her wisdom and guidance. I believe that our purpose in this life is to become more fully human while remaining grounded in our spiritual truth. Nikki accomplished that with such great skill, dignity and grace. My darling soul sister, one last time, let me tell you that I love you completely. 

Human misconception.

Contrary to everything we would like to believe.........we are given this day alone.  The good news is that it is sufficient!

ROAD LESS TRAVELED

                         There are two roads that diverged in the wood.
                        I took the road less traveled.
                        And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

Indeed, what a difference that choice has made in my life.  Thus far, the journey on that road less traveled  has been fraught with both deep sorrow and deep joy. There has been massive confusion and brilliant clarity along with unspeakable darkness and magnificent light.  Loneliness of the most pervasive type is very frequently a companion. Yet there is no contemplation over whether I have chosen wisely, for once chosen there is no turning back.  Who is the one who did the choosing?  The soul, of course, with the reluctant personality scrambling in a futile attempt to maintain its control. I move forward, not knowing where I am going or even certain if I am going in the right direction, yet I keep my eye on the Promise. An occasional and simple nod from the soul keeps me focused on this road less traveled.

Do You Push The River?

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DO YOU PUSH THE RIVER?

What does it mean to “push the river”?  Imagine that you are sitting on the banks of your favorite river watching the river doing its own natural thing. Then suddenly you decide that you want the river to flow in a different direction. Wow! Can you make it happen? Not in a million years. You can not push the river for the river is governed by immutable universal laws. Well, Katheryn, that seems pretty mundane, don’t you think? Yes, in fact it is so mundane that it escapes us, especially when we speak metaphorically about the river of our own life.

Do you ever try to push the river? Of course you do. I know that because that is what humans do. Life is not treating us “right”. Things are not fun, they are not fulfilling, they are not promising and in fact, they seem pretty grim at the moment. Sometimes that lasts a day, sometimes it lasts a week and sometimes it lasts even longer. We long for something that feels good. We look around us and we see others who seem to be feeling good, whose lives seem to be moving along quite well. We feel stuck and so we begin to resist. We want out of this place NOW and we mean business. It does not occur to us that the river of our life is moving in exactly the direction it needs to move. Neither does it occur to us that there are amazing spiritual jewels to be gotten from this uncomfortable place in which we find ourselves.

Sometimes we can not see the obvious/mundane which is our universal truth. The flow of our lives can not be altered. It is said by wise ones that we don’t have a choice as to what we are given. A small amount of reflection will make that truth obvious. What we do have is complete control over how we respond. Often we respond by getting into the touchy business of trying to push the river, a hopeless endeavor. We are unhappy and even frightened at times by the situation in which we find ourselves. It is a rare human being who would welcome reversal into their life.  Yet at some point we must embrace the message hidden within the challenge in order to grow and move on. So it was that I came across this quote which is mundane and simplistic unless you look more deeply.

For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

RESENTMENT AND ANGER NOT SYNONYMOUS

Anger and resentment are not the same and words matter very much.

We must be very careful with our words, if we are intent on changing the world in which we live. It reminds me of my favorite George Carlin joke from many decades ago:

A woman walks up to a man and a dog. She remarks over what a lovely dog it is. She asks the man: Does your dog bite?”  The man says no. The woman reaches down to pet the dog and the dog bites her. She says to the man “I thought you said your dog doesn’t bite!”  The man says “That’s not my dog.”

Resentment is like a cancer. It can eat you up inside. It has no productive quality except to inform you that you are off base. Resentment wants you to believe that the person or thing you resent has something you can’t have and want badly. It makes you feel powerless. If you are in pursuit of your truth, you will learn that either you can have that with applied effort or that it is not something you need or even want in this life time. Either way, you must release this highly toxic feeling of resentment for your own health.

Anger is a vastly different emotion than resentment.  Anger can propel you into a much needed and justified action if it is owned and then used correctly. Unlike resentment, it has an energy that is highly useful unless it is left to fester unused/unclaimed by you. For instance, in the time of Jesus, He expressed a righteous anger when he went to the temple and saw the displaced use of commerce. In his justified anger, he overturned the tables and denounced the wrongness that was taking place. Using His example, we can effect change in our world with regard to injustice by focusing our anger into appropriate and peaceful change.  

Resentment  and displaced anger are dangerous to your psyche and unchecked they eat away like a cancer.  Righteous anger, on the other hand, must be addressed for it speaks of human unfairness and a need for change.  It is this injustice that must be addressed if we are to gain Peace on Earth.

Are you too old to make a difference?

My blog is truly reflective of me. Like all of us, I am so many things. I am a soul. I am a human being. I am an activist. Is it okay to be multi-dimensional? I think so. While it is true that one never knows what topic I might address, the name of the blog speaks for itself. At The Heart of Being Human is our capacity to be highly committed to many things. So today I am talking about age which naturally impacts all parts of being a human.  It also brings in the soul which determines our purpose and life course.

Age is an interesting thing. For me, I think it is important to be aware and accepting of my age. On the other hand I can not be ruled by it.  The reason I think I need to be aware and accepting of my age is that there are things associated with that fact that can not be denied or avoided. The reason I can not be ruled by the fact of my age is an awareness that chronological age is a fact of my physical body and does not make a statement about my emotional, mental or spiritual body.  So when I am addressing anything physical, that fact must be considered. Otherwise it is irrelevant and unique to each of us.

So, please, if it is in your heart to do something for our suffering world, please proceed.  The world needs your participation!