Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Making Connections

The Mystery within...
Monday, October 14, 2019

It was with deep gratitude and real joy that I received a stunning acknowledgement from a yoga classmate today. She told me I was “very brave” and how much she enjoyed reading Both/and Things. It was the priceless spiritual connection I longed for to come from my writing. 

And a paper copy of my April 30 post titled, “Brave Heart” found me today. Three lines stand out for me tonight from that post:

Be very brave.
Live from you heart.
Grow from what challenges you.

What challenges me now is to be aware of opportunities to connect with others through my acknowledgement of them.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

So thankful I got a bike ride in before dark and for listening to Democratic voices debate on my radio tonight, each offering  their hopeful visions to replace the current president. 

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

No post.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

I honored my tiredness yesterday and went to bed without writing of my day. Yesterday was one of those short days that pass quickly with an early acupuncture appointment and then returning home to find a message from my daughter-in-law on my answering machine. She said my granddaughter came home from school early not feeling well and could I look in on her. Searched my freezer for some chicken soup, grateful I found some, and took that to her. Wednesday night I went to the Ozaukee County Democratic monthly meeting where I signed up to learn the art of door-to-door canvassing for a more just government.  Perhaps, in some way, it will help me feel learning this new skill will help my very needy friend as well as grow myself. Sorting out life’s complexities isn’t easy. 

Tonight I attended the Ozaukee County Democrat’s annual fundraising dinner and listened to John Nichols, political commentator and writer. The following stood out for me in Nichols’ energetic, impassioned speech:

    - Our current president is shaming our country and harming the world.

     - Impeachment is the cure for a constitutional crisis.

     - Universal solutions are the answer to problems in this country.

     - And Nichols held up the recently deceased Elijah Cummings' difficult life of discrimination from childhood on, declaring he was part of a "glorious struggle". 

The above thoughts from Nichols stood out for me because they point to how connected we all are to one another and how we all need to be part of the glorious struggle for justice and peace in our country and the world.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Margaret Hoover’s Firing Line’s guest tonight was Bryan Stevenson, a social justice activist and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. Two statements he made jumped out at me. The first was, “You have to tell the truth to get to forgiveness and reconciliation.”  I immediately related this to my first memoire, God Never Hurries, which was about truth telling and the pursuit of forgiveness. The second statement he made was, “The opposite of poverty is justice.” Those words put light on the injustices in our world today, and how their elimination would end poverty.

And earlier today, I went to hear Robert McGrath, a University of WI psychologist, speak at my public library on “Resilience in Times of Stress”. He shared his electronic power point presentation titled, “Mind and Body Wellness”. I’m grateful he gave me permission to share it with you. 



There is no shortage of stress in our world today for which injustice is the root cause. Reflection and good self-care is critical to surviving these stress filled times, and are what both my memoire’s are about.

Saturday, October 19, 2010

I felt my limitations today in an aging brain that had significant difficulty finding addresses in unfamiliar neighborhoods as I canvassed for the Ozaukee County Democratic Party for a more just government. I had hoped pushing my comfort level would be expanding for me. Instead it was stressful and exhausting. Tonight, I am thinking I need to honor my growing limitations.

Sunday, October 20, 2010

It was a beautiful fall day but I missed most of it because I was in my kitchen cooking.  Oliver and I didn’t even get to the woods because I was making chicken soup, and readying another chicken to roast in the oven for supper. Even though I eat mostly vegetarian now, homemade chicken soup is a comfort I needed today and I had two organic chickens in my refrigerator waiting to be prepared. I enjoyed a quick cup of soup before going out to cut the grass while the other chicken went into the oven. Watching fog sweep in just before dark as I was finishing the lawn was a treat, but it was little compensation for missing our woods walk on this beautiful fall day.  

While cutting the grass, I thought of the Jewish mother and young son we met while out canvasing yesterday, as they walked home from their synagog. The mother respectivefully declined to talk politics on their Sabbath. I admired the discipline it takes to be Jewish.


Monday, October 21, 2019

There was a brief break in the heavy rain this morning.  I checked the weather radar map that showed more rain to resume soon so I put on my poncho as Oliver and I left the parking lot to walk to the woods. There, the aroma of wet wood was intoxicating. Softly moistened, newly fallen leaves of yellow, red, and some still mixed with green, dotted the path. Wind rustled in the leaves still above. And then the rain came with a beauty all its own. But all that changed as our walk ended and I bent down to put on Oliver’s leash and saw, and smelled, one side of his neck, collar, and ear was covered in shit. I stayed mad at him most of the afternoon.  Life is so full of complexity.   

    

    





    

                

  





1 comment :

  1. Your posts always help me clarify something that I didn’t

    know I knew. Nothing like an aging body/mind to point out to me where I am being critical of myself. I had no idea how much I was attached to my naturally aligned teeth until they started jumbling themselves up.

    I think “aging gracefully” must mean you’ve figured how to accept the lesson to accept the flaw. And that is so much easier to do if someone else first does it for me. Then that dismay over my ever more crooked teeth or really far out of the box thinking are challenges that become the foundation for growth.

    “Honey I don’t care, I ain’t in love with your hair, and if it all fell out well I’d love you anyway. “. ~Randy Travis.

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