Trust The River
June 12, 2024
Grace-fully Release Your Worst Stories…
Franciscan friar and founder of The Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque New Mexico Father Richard Rohr, encourages us all to “Trust the River.” In a recent Daily Meditation, he says the following:
“Grace and mercy teach us that we are all much larger than the good or bad stories we tell about ourselves or about one another. Please do not get caught in your small stories; they are usually less than half true, and therefore not really ‘true’ at all. They are usually based on hurts and unconscious agendas that allow us to see and judge things in a very selective way. They are not the whole You, not the Great You, not the Great River. Therefore, it is not where your big life can really happen. No wonder the Spirit is described as ‘flowing water’ and as ‘a spring inside you’ (John 4:10-14) or, at the end of the Bible, as a ‘river of life’ (Revelation 22:1-2). Strangely, your real life is not about ‘you.’ It is a part of a much larger stream called God.”
No Place Like Home
May 31, 2024
Seeking what is within…
Welcome back, friends. Last week I encouraged you to sit in stillness as a way to find your way to a homecoming deep, deep inside of you. Were you able to hear through the quiet to that still small voice calling you home, wrapping you in a knowing? As Sufi mystic, Rumi, so beautifully addresses:
“If light is in your heart,
You will find your way home.”
I have been thinking this past week about the process of finding and returning to that inner home.
The Odyssey “Home”
May 17, 2024
An inward path back from adversity…
I have felt like Odysseus in Homer’s The Odyssey for the past six weeks or so, navigating a myriad of medical tests, anxiety, loss of sleep, physical depletion, setbacks, loss of way, and a whole bunch of hurry-up-and-wait. For Odysseus, during the sack of the city of Troy, the Greek army desecrated the temples and altars of the gods, angering the gods. Upon the departure of the Greek army, a fierce storm caused by the gods scattered the Greek fleet. Odysseus and his men were blown off course, and this began a 10-year struggle to return to Ithaca, his home. To the place he most desires to return, as it represents home, love for his family, his queen, and the end to a long, arduous journey.
Interrupted Spirit
May 3, 2024
I received a needed dose of “pick-me-up” this week…
I sit in my brown wooden swivel chair padded with pillows wanting to find the right words that will share my inner journey with you. The hope is the words you read touch your soul and resonate with a deep sense of peace of being seen and known.
My father-in-law used to sit in this chair and quietly listen to words I would share with him as I prepared a talk or a lesson or just a story. The creaking sounds as he would adjust his position in the chair made me know he was there, listening intently to the message beneath the words.
Uncovering the Gold
April 5, 2024
This Little Light of Mine…
I am recognizing that as a person who survived childhood maltreatment in various forms, I spend much of my time hiding from my innate goodness, or as Franciscan monk Father Richard Rohr terms it, “my original goodness.” My goodness gets tethered to the inaccurate truths about myself that keep swirling loudly round my brain. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?
GO BLUE
March 29, 2024
Awareness of Child Abuse…
Friends, April is Child Abuse Awareness & Prevention Month.
Unfortunately, many adults are squeamish at the mention of child abuse. Certainly, adult victims of Adverse Childhood Experiences are reluctant to share or revisit their awful memories. Perpetrators of child abuse keep their secrets hidden deep inside. The result is there is little real awareness of the causes and extent of child abuse, how to recognize it, and what any individual might be able to do if confronted by it.
In Williamson County, where I live, there is a collaborative effort between organizations and professionals drawing attention to child abuse awareness and prevention called “GO BLUE.”
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