What You Need!

There is a coined phrase in literature that speaks of accepting one’s lot.  It means that people learn, at some point, to accept their personal missions in life and make the most of things.  We are all put here for specific reasons. 

We come with our own inner compasses that point us in the direction of our pre-destined purpose for existence.  It is buried deep down inside from the beginning but sometimes others’ ideas about our lives may cause us to veer off course.  Yet, if we are fortunate enough to survive the detours and regain our footing, we can get back onto the right path.  

I was listening to a first grader the other day who is already fascinated with all types of ships.  He knows the history of several famous ships, the year some sank and the actions of the captains and crew members in the wake of disaster.  I said to him, “You probably will be a great Naval officer someday.”   

His inner compass is already leading him in the direction of his charted interests at such an early age.  Hopefully, he will not be thwarted and can fulfill those desires that are coming from somewhere deep down within him.

We may sometimes wonder why we did not get what we thought we wanted in life, but as The Rolling Stones remind us, “We get what we need,” in their song You Can’t Always Get What You Want!  So, once we stop peering over the fence at our neighbors’ gatherings, we can count our own blessings, review our stockpiles, and say, “Hmm.  Not bad.  Not bad at all!” 

Lynn M.                                                                 January 16, 2021 

Take Out the Trash!

Take out the trash!  It’s the end of 2020 and my best response is, “It’s been a lot!”  Our cups runneth’ over.  And the unfortunate part is that we have an overflow of darkness this year.

Time to sort it out just like we separate the lights from the darks before washing our clothes.  We put the darks in one pile and the lights in another.  We could, in this case, call the dark items things to release or even call them garbage for they need to go out with the outgoing year.

Darkness include dark thoughts, painful experiences or even a series of unfortunate events.  Sometimes, they are opaque and hard to detect like in bowling.   Just when we think that we have hit a strike there stands that hidden pin to burst our bubbles. We know that we still have more work to do.

We must turn on all of the lights as we clean and locate that hidden dirt deep down in the corners and crevices of our minds.  We have to turn on that spotlight to make sure that we have swooped up all of the darkness to add to our trash piles.

Then, we should do a second check.  Are there any unseen barnacles trying to attach themselves to the bottom of our boats as we embark upon the new year? Well, we will have none of that!

No more free rides and extra weight to bow us down!  Now take out the trash!  Make it a ceremonious event if need be, but get it done!  Then, breathe.  Let out a big sigh of relief and get ready to walk into 2021, as we put ourselves Number One on our lists!

Lynn M.

December 26, 2020

Naughty or Nice?

Have you been naughty or nice in 2020?  I know.  I know.  You think you’re too old to ask yourselves this question, but whether you are 7 or 77, it is still pertinent today!  Yes, this year has been a doozy but how do you think you fared?  When you think about Santa’s question, it basically refers to how you treated others.

Were you mean or curt in your dealings with others in some instances?  Or were you mean or curt with others on several occasions?  In this narcissistic, selfie world, did you focus on your needs, your wants and your desires while stepping on others like cobblestones on paved streets?  Did you pilfer from others or accept things from others without returning a simple thank you?

Well, if you recognize yourself here, then Santa would label you as being a naughty person.  Hmm.  That could mean that your gifts might be limited because you unconsciously created some bad karma. You might find yourself crying “Boo- Hoo,” like the Grinch.

Or were you rather nice this year on a few or in several situations?  During this ever-reaching pandemic which has touched all points of the globe, did you reach out to others around you?  Did you give a comforting phone call or send a text filled with soothing words to hurting family members or friends?  Did you share a podcast or a link to some reassuring music to lift someone’s spirit?

Did you add an emoji to share emotions, drop some lines of wisdom or even risk it and hug someone in deep despair?  Did you pay a bill or buy groceries for someone less fortunate than you?  Did you volunteer at a food pantry when you had nothing else to give but your helping hands?

Well, if you did any of these things, then you conducted acts of kindness and you will indeed fall into the nice category.  Yes, your returns will come forth pressed down, shaken together and running over.  Your joy will be full because you applied The Golden Rule.  You did to others what you would have them do to you.  Santa would like that at any age.  There is still time to sprinkle in more acts of kindness as you help others and mostly help yourself!

Lynn M.

December 19, 2020

Light It Up!

Time for all of us to purge,
Stop negativity’s surge.

Clean out those drawers and mind,
Throw out. Delete. Be more kind.

Build good karma right now,
Later, you won’t have to bow.

To those dark forces’ behest,
That counteracts our best.

Face down. Confront. Get it right.
Others will see your new light!

Lynn M.

December 5, 2020

Suddenly!

• 

  November 2020

In a matter of weeks or shall I say days, we have gone from rich colorful leaves of gold, bronze and red to barren trees.  Life! It is ever-changing whether we notice or not.  The earth is still turning on its axis and doing what it has always done.

Seasons change.  People come and go as do some jobs.  This is a stark reminder that as the adage goes, “Time waits for no man.”  It would behoove us to a take a moment out of our busy schedules, whether that includes those Zoom meetings, tapping on our laptops or scrolling on our devices and stop, look, and listen to nature.

Poets, writers, novelists, painters, and songwriters have always acknowledged nature’s magnificence. It tells us stories and warns us of things to come.  The weather even helps us make conversation with those who we otherwise have no common ground.

Taking notice of the sky has served farmers and planters for eons as they make decisions about their crops.  They can see the rain clouds, or the storms brewing and then they know if it is the best time to sprinkle seeds, cultivate, pull up weeds or gather their harvests.

Looking at these swift changes that have taken place with these trees pictured here, remind me that Old Man Winter is on his way.  And before he makes his frosty arrival, we all should check our stockpiles, put our houses in order and prepare to hunker down so that we can ride out those ensuing storms.

Lynn M.                                                        November 14, 2020

Days of Reckoning

It’s almost the end of 2020.  We are headed into the home stretch and close to wrapping up the year.  Truly hindsight is 2020.  It has been like nothing that we have seen in our lifetimes and some of us have seen quite a bit over the years.

This pandemic has hit us all like a ton of bricks.  We have been snapped out of our Adam-like sleep and awakened screaming, “Whoa!” “What?  “I can’t go outside?”  “I can’t eat in a restaurant and laugh with my friends?”  “I can’t hug my family members or hold my elderly parent’s hand?”  “What is happening?”

Some of us have asked, “What will I do with myself?”  Slowly, many of us realize that we have never been alone with our thoughts. We are being forced to take a break from the world’s madness and take a deep dive within our own souls.

We have watched enough television and reruns to fill us to the brim.  At some point, we must end the Zoom and Google Meets meetings, stop scrolling on the phone and take a step back in time to the medieval era.  In the silence, we might slowly begin to come to our senses as we pretend that there is no Internet, social media nor any technology.  We might even notice the beauty of the rising and the setting suns.

Some may even be inclined to pick up a pen and a piece of paper and try a little journaling. As we jot down our true feelings about a host of things, the debris, filth, and negativity of the past will surely rise to the surface.  We must face them so that they can forever be erased from our consciousness. 

As we look at what has been holding us back, we start the clearing and cleansing process.  We get out the soap and water and clean and continually take out the trash and until we feel that we have completed the catharsis.  We realize that the pandemic has brought its rewards because it made us slow down, think and conduct some overdue inner house cleaning.

Then, we are free to pray, go into a Zen mode, hold some Yoga positions or whatever brings us a sense of tranquility.  When our souls feel purified and we have a squeaky clean, glistening feeling, then we know that we have reached the other side of the murky river. 

We are now more prepared to run that last lap of the indelible 2020 and are almost ready for 2021.  We count our blessings as we take a quick look over our shoulders and think of those who will not see 2021, because they left us in 2020.  We breathe in again and exhale more pain.  We now have had some days of reckoning!

  Push play and take a thoughtful journey with Charlene as she sings, “I’ve Never Been to Me.”

Lynn M.                               November 8, 2020

I’ve Never Been to Me by Charlene

Refreshing Newness

Beautiful Trees

The change of seasons is refreshing!  To me, it mirrors the change of our thoughts.  As the earth rotates on its axis, we too continually evolve as we accept life’s ever-giving newness.  We discover that what was once important to us becomes miniscule today because it no longer holds our full attention.

We wave goodbye to past events and bless every experience.  Each one was there as a benchmark and phase of our growth. We simply turn the soil, gingerly water it and sprinkle in a few new seeds that will certainly yield a future harvest. 

As the autumn leaves fall to the ground and the trees display their beautiful colors, we too can show our hues of accomplishment. We can shed light on what has been gained from those lessons learned.  Like the fallen leaves, we too must cast off whatever no longer serves us.  We welcome the showers and sprinkles that both cleanse the earth and spiritually clear our minds of the staleness of yesterday’s bread.

During this season of harvest, we should carefully bend down, gather the fruits of our labors, and place them in our personal cornucopias.  We may be able to pause for a while as we rest on our laurels.  But, then after giving thanks and gratitude for what the universe has offered us, we will know when it is time to rise from our times of reflection.

We will be alerted and know when it is time to walk into our new season and enter new cycles of production. We are still creating and much like the Energizer Bunny, we should beat our drums and keep it moving!

Lynn M.

October 17, 2020

March On!

Perhaps Mother Teresa’s poem Anyway says it best when she graciously reminded us to rise above people’s comments and opinions. She wrote, “If are you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.”

Unfortunately, many people are entertained by petty gossip and hearsay. It is never a safe pastime, but it easily fills the voids in many people’s personal lives. Every day, we hear something about what someone said or did, but the sources are often neither tangible nor reliable. It is merely inexpensive entertainment for the bored.

If we ever find ourselves caught up in the word flow, it behooves us to try to rise above it. We simply lift ourselves and float above the contentious fray. We know within ourselves what we have and have not done, and we know what is in our own hearts. However, accusatory people tend to think that others think like them and can do what they themselves would do. How erroneous!

We may even find ourselves amid some firestorm and not have clarity about the details. We feel the rustling movement and hear the fluttering of angst wings, but we are too busy taking care of our own affairs and do not give it much credence. We seem to be in the dark but maybe it is for the best. We give a brief pause, shake our heads, and think of Shakespeare’s title, ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’

After we forgive the immature babblers, we step over the Lilliputians or the little people as a dear friend advised me to do. Og Mandino wrote, “I will make allowances for his anger and irritation of today for he knows not the secret of controlling his mind” (From: The Greatest Salesman in the World).

We brush off the debris left by wagging tongues and continue to plant our new gardens. We prune the weeds and unwanted growth and enjoy the fruits of our focused labor and march on!

“March on. Do not tarry.
To go forward is to move toward
Perfection. March on and fear not
The thorns, or the sharp stones
On life’s path.”
{Kahlil Gibran}

Lynn M.
September 19, 2020

Ascending and Descending

Sometimes you climb the ladder of what some people might claim as success.  You get to the top rung of the ladder and you stop as you pause and catch your breath.  You cannot believe that you finally made it all the way up there.

Then, you look, stare for a while, and take in all the happenings and activity on the new summit.  As a wise one, you look before you take further leaps into limitless lineups of hoops. You should be feeling loads of exhilaration but after further study, dismay sets in to replace those good feelings.

You are not sure that you like nor approve of what is in your frontal view.  You might find yourself having a smh moment as you shake your head.  Your mind is screaming, “Noooooooo.”  You are saying, “Is this what I worked so hard for?  Do I want to be a part of this scene?  Could I ever fit in?  Do I even want to?“

But you want to make sure that your feelings are on point, so you place both feet firmly on the surface of the new platform.  You walk around to become more certain of your feelings.  You walk and walk and over a period, the unsettled thoughts do not disappear.  They remain, hang, and linger as they swirl around over your head unlike a halo but more like a bad omen.

Again, the still small voice whispers, “Nope.” So, you quietly leave the scene and exit stage left.  When you get to the edge of the dramatic stage, you lean over hoping to see the ladder still propped there.  It is!  After letting out a “whew” sigh of relief, you calmly anchor your foot onto the top rung of the ladder. 

You slowly and assuredly descend the ladder as you hum a tune and think of Jacob’s ladder with angels ascending and descending like a slide ruler. You softly sing you own mantra and say over and over, “Not for me.  Not for me,” until you place your foot firmly back onto the sainted lower platform.  You think of Julius Caesar’s quote, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” You brush yourself off and give thanks that you ascended, made good choices, and descended with grace.

Lynn M.

September 5, 2020

After the Dance!

When we have climbed to the top of the mountain and successfully jumped through a series of hoops, the question arises, “What’s next?”   Robert Schuller spoke on this subject after he completed his envisioned glass cathedral.  It took years to complete it and yet, once it was beautifully standing, it gave him great satisfaction but only for a season.

He found himself asking that haunting question, “Now what?”  He discovered that the conquest pumped up his adrenaline and drove him throughout the completion of the project.  But what was to be done thereafter?

When we finish some long-withheld dream, we may be astonished to find that the inner fulfillment will last but for so long.  It is comparable to savoring a great gourmet meal.  It was great, but that chasing hunger will return over time.  The totem pole has been heightened but there is still more room at the top.

We check our calendars and our circadian clocks and realize that we have plenty of time and fuel in our personal tanks.  There are quite a few more miles to go. So, we pause and become still.   We then reach for a new draft book from our personal libraries and draw up a new plan.   Obviously, there is more to be done.

We change out of our old celebration clothes and put them neatly away into our closet of precious memories.  We put on our less formal attire such as some overalls and get busy working on that new thing.  We answer the new callings and proceed on, after the dance!

Lynn M.

August 22, 2020

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