SING A NEW TUNE

What if today we practice being fully present, if even for just a few minutes?

Perhaps just step outside your door.
or pause on the way to the car.
Stop and look around you.
Take in the beauty.
take in the chaos.
Take in the order.
Ponder the abundance.
Learn the flowers
Listen to the leaves
Feel the sun's kiss
or the rains gentle baptism
Wonder about the earth's embrace
Smile back and walk on.
Notice gratitude
Breathe the light
Sing a new tune

have a great day everyone!
love, jules
(6/24/2014)

BROWN PAPER PACKAGES

mysterious gracious gifts
arrive in the most unexpected packages
a song, a word, the color of leaf
encouragement from a friend
the twinkle in the eye of a stranger
dragonflies emerging from their nymph stage
wings and rainbow colors emerging
from their plain bodies
brown paper packages
revealing surprising treasures
rocks overturned
uncovering life beneath
hearts cracked open
exposing God's presence within
I sit stunned at this abundance
wondering how?
how did I get so lucky?

6/21/2014_ jules

The Beauty in the Mistake

Trial & Error, trial & error...conclusion, being yourself is easier after you've made a few really stupid mistakes. Then you kinda get over the idea that you're gonna be wonderful someday or that someone is going to notice. AFter letting go of that delusion, you can just show up as yourself, your beautiful wonderful self, warts and all. I think that's my favorite part about being in my 50's. Lots of those mistakes have already been made. Whew! And I kinda like who I am now. Hidden in the mistakes was the true me, waiting to just be.

Caught Between Technology and Reality

October 24, 2013
There seems to be two worlds. The virtual one and the real one. Some days I struggle with the relationship between the two.

I'm not one of those middle-aged people who is afraid of computers or technology. I've always been curious about how things work so I dig in and get involved. Gadgets intrigue me, puzzles compel me. I've taught myself html and excel. I've learned Adobe Photoshop and Indesign. I was one of the first parents to hop on Facebook when my kids started connecting there when they were in college. I had to find out what that was all about. I had no idea it would be us middle-aged folks or baby boomers who would populate the nation of Facebook and then Twitter, Google+, etc. 

I'm also not one of those people who think we need technology to connect. Though I was born in 1959, in many ways, I grew up in the previous century. As a missionary kid growing up in a third world country, we often lived in places without running water or toilets in the house. WE boiled water to make it clean enough to drink and to make our bath water warm. Occasionally I studied by kerosene lamp. For entertainment, we rode bike, walked the beaches, climbed the local mountain and had weekly "talent" shows. we made peanut butter, jelly and ice cream from scratch. It's possible to have everything you need without television, computers, factories or even telephones. 

Sometimes, my soul feels a little trapped between these two lives. I'm grateful for the comforts I now have, clean water, hot showers and streaming Internet that allows me to write this blog, for instance. I love that through the magic of the Internet, I can connect with a great friend in Sweden, stay in touch with acquaintances in Italy and see updates of news and pictures from my homeland, Madagascar. But I also feel a little trapped by the technology. If I don't keep up with the break-neck speed at which it all develops, will I be left behind by my friends? Some days by the time I have answered all the emails and text messages, I don't have any energy left to use my hands to pick up my guitar and play a song or spend some times cleaning up the clutter in my room. It worries me. There are days that I long for that life without electricity, where it was all so real, where our bodies worked with our minds to make it all happen. 

So where's the balance? Where's the connection between the two worlds? The one world is very sensory--colors, textures, sounds, tastes, requiring that we unplug from the wall and see where we are, notice what is around us, look each other in the eye and actually touch. The other world is full of information and people, connections, we can find out anything we want from anywhere in the world. We can learn anything and feed our creativity but it requires that we ignore where we are and follow our hearts and minds. 

How do I find the Holy One within it? How do I find my true self within it all? And where do the two worlds meet 

Sweet Surrender

Ever had one of these experiences?

• I told her to meet me here at 6:00 p.m. By 6:30 p.m. I am both worried for her safety and frustrated that she hasn't called to say why she didn't come. At 6:32 p.m. I surrender. I'm thinking something has come up to keep her away and too busy to call right now. I turn and walk upstairs to my room and start figuring out what I am going to do instead. Just as I get comfortable, the doorbell rings.

• We set out twenty chairs; thinking that's a good estimate for how many show up. It's a cold dank night. Only twelve come. After about twenty-five minutes, the empty chairs and spaces get to us so we take them out and close the circle. It feels better to be closer and feel whole as a circle. Within five minutes of removing the open chairs, two more people come and we have to add chairs back in.

• At 23, my husband and I were so in love and ready to be parents We figured it was time. So we started trying to have a baby. It seemed like an easy and pleasurable task to just get pregnant. But it wasn't as easy as we thought. With each passing month, we began to wonder if there might be something wrong. I confided in my older and wiser sister. She said, "just plan a vacation or a trip and it suddenly you'll be inconveniently pregnant." She was right. The minute we focused on something else, we did get pregnant and all was well.

• I couldn't believe my ears. The spiritual center was going to sponsor me doing a "Writing as Spiritual Practice" workshop. We set a date. We calculated what might be a reasonable amount to charge and how many people would need to attend to pay me and for supplies. A week before the event, only one had signed up so we canceled it. I told them I still wanted to do it. Maybe I could do it another time? Surprisingly they said yes. So we rescheduled it. This time, I told them that I was going to do it no matter what. If only one person signed up, I would be there. And if there wasn't enough money, I would just take a cut. I said, "we can negotiate that afterward." Twenty people signed up and numerous others asked if I would do a repeat so they could go. There was enough money to pay me in full and more!

These experiences teach me the beauty of surrender. What sometimes seems like a miracle is just me surrendering control over the outcome and opening myself up to the way things actually are. I haven't completely given up. I'm still in it...I'm still committed to the cause. It's just that the energy and blessing of it seem to flow so much better when I let go of the outcome. and my gratitude grows as well. And I'm wondering if you've had this experience too?