Changing Time

A heart-centered moment changes time. 

I woke up fairly early this morning, around 7 a.m. My first appointment for the day is officially at 11 a.m. As I crawled out of bed doing the math, I figured I'd have time for a leisurely breakfast, a cup tea and some ruminating on life and still have time to get some meeting notes typed up, some papers read and responded to, dishes washed, write a blog, update my calendar and perhaps even brush my teeth and hair. Well, I sat down to write some notes up from a meeting the other night and got caught up in the excitement again of that night. We were brainstorming and dreaming. It was wonderful. The energy seems to come effortless and the clock ticks on by easily when the heart/soul is vibrating in joy. The old adage rings true: Time flies when you're having fun. And that begs the question: Then why aren't we focusing more our life on what brings our hearts joy? Or are we doing that already and just hiding it well behind gloom and doom newscasts?

Contrast this morning with yesterday morning. Yesterday I got up even earlier and checked in at my desk an hour before the office officially opens. I was poised to be efficient and get so much done. And then my computer wouldn't connect with the printer. Problem-solving took over as the morning crawled along. I looked at the clock repeatedly hoping it was now time for lunch so I could excuse myself from the slog of trying to get anything done. It moved slow and I got more and more inefficient as the stress took its toll. so hiding underneath that other adage is this one: Time crawls when you're suffering. Sigh! And yet, this too is part of life. Even in the midst of the gray day, it is a positive thing to hit the wall and move through it to the other side. I did, 9 hours later, eventually get enough done so I could leave the office in peace. But my heart had checked out long before that.

Then there was the other day when I went to visit a friend recovering from surgery. We hadn't seen each other in a while. Three hours passed effortlessly. I didn't even notice lunch time breezing by. I could easily have spent more time but she was tired and so we moved on but I noted how life seems so smooth, so in sync, so effortless when our hearts are all in.

As I get move through life, time seems less and less and less tied to the ticking of a clock and more and more connected to the beating of my heart. Time cannot control us or make us do anything. It simply is a mirror reflecting the longing of our deepest parts. If we let our hearts be all in, we could even possibly travel through time. Hmmm.

uh-oh, I better get going. It's almost time for that appointment.

have a good time,

jules

10/18/13

THIS NEW DAY

Monday, October 14, 2013

I LOVE mornings! This is something that I inherited from my parents. I know this because the few times I've had reunions with my siblings, all of us have been awake and drinking tea by 7:30 am. and this is in spite of the fact that they are much older than me so we weren't growing up in the same decade. Of course, with mom and dad it was coffee but the same idea. My dad would often start his day with reading his Bible. Little did I know then, that he too had a contemplative nature. He was a pastor and often preached about the dailiness of the spiritual life. He would say that each day we were born anew to begin again with a fresh and clean slate. So no matter what had passed the day before, it was forgiven and gone. And I felt that. Generally speaking, Mom and Dad did not hold grudges. They held worries but not grudges. We were forgiven and life moved on. I think that's part of why I love mornings so much. Each day is a new beginning. 

Certainly, this does not make me lovable to all those who crawled out of bed grudgingly this morning. I know that some of you have so much pain in your body, the idea of moving in the morning is a daunting thing. I know that some of you will start this day starving for sleep that you were unable to embrace for any number of reasons. I know that some of you are carrying such grief or trauma, another day of carrying on also seems more of a challenge than any move can muster. Even I have sore, plantarfaciitus/arthritic feet that scream when I first step on them in the morning. I too have concerns and a to-do list that are bigger than this day. Each person carries a load with them. Life can be hard and another day of it can seem impossible.

Still, I invite you to consider that this new day has new possibilities. I invite you to consider that yesterday's mistakes and guffaws really are forgiven, that no grudge is being held against you. You are free to begin again in whatever small or large way you can. And you are loved and adored even if today all you do is just sit and listen to music or watch the leaves fall. 

I invite you to consider that this day is your precious gift and you are one of this day's precious gifts. Not only are you enough for this day, you are also a gift to this day. For sure you are one of the gifts of my day.

so just breathe. 

I am grateful you are here. Thank you.

And, thanks for reading.

love, jules

The Rose

The Rose

Layers of deep red wrapped around a core of joy

And thorns warning to take care in picking

An aroma so sweet, so tender, so delicious

We dare come close to nuzzle it

We dare even to pick it and bring it home
In spite of the threat to be pricked

We endeavor even to grow it in our garden

It invokes, gives some voice to,
     the love in our hearts

It gives vision to some deep expression of pleasure

And if some should pick it
     and drop it in a mud puddle

On the way walking home

We would mourn that this gorgeous creature is now covered in mud

But would we love it any less? Would we regret the encounter?

No, we would treasure it even more

Holding forever the rose in our heart’s memory

Until we can return and find our nose and eyes savoring one another

Your precious smiles

Your aroma of joy

Your twinkling eyes

Wrapped in velvet

Facing the sun.

jules, 9/10/13

Be Careful

be careful not to judge too quickly

a book by its cover

the outcome of a day by its weather

the size of the heart by the clothes on their back

the possibility for gifts from the darkness

in this world, anything is possible

be care-full

jules 9/26/13