In Gratitude

The Mystery within...

I am so very grateful it’s finished, my next memoire. I handed it off to my publisher, David Gawlik of Caritas Communications, today. My manuscript left with the title, “Both and Things”, but now I’m not so sure that should be the title. I still have time to change it. It is definitely about the paradoxical nature of everything, that everything is a both and thing, that all troubles can eventually lead to good, especially learning how to love unconditionally.

At the close of my new memoire there is a long list of people I acknowledge who have helped form and inform me thus far. Maybe the real title is hiding in the last two sentences of my acknowledgements that end the book. They read, “Perhaps my deepest gratitude belongs to all those who have ever given me a hard time. They have driven me to reflection, searching for answers for how to love the hard to love unconditionally—a lifetime opportunity.”

Maybe my new memoire’s title should be, “Driven to Reflection—Learning to Love Unconditionally”

I wish you a blessed New Year and invite you to read the poem by the famous Anonymous, "New Year Resolutions", that is listed in the Comfort Messages of my blog under the heading Ego Training. http://www.godneverhurries.com/p/ego-training.html 

What if we all were driven to reflection?  

Post Election Gratitude

The Mystery within...

It’s over.  The campaigning.  I can turn on the T.V. now without being bombarded with cruel and bitter campaign ads.  For that I am grateful. 

I am grateful I found the Dane County League of Women Voters website with their list of questions posed to all candidates running for office in the State of Wisconsin on how each proposed to serve if elected.  I have long longed for such a service.  I am grateful I learned how to find and print a copy of the ballot I would be handed at the polls so I knew ahead of time who would be on my ballot for my district.  I felt better informed when I voted.  For that I am grateful.  

Voting is much more than a civic duty--it is a spiritual exercise.  Governance affects the quality of life, the health and well-being of us all. Education, livelihoods, healthcare, equitable tax distribution, care of the environment, justice, and war or peace are all dependent on how we vote--how we care for one another and the earth. We need a caring economy to be in healthy relationship with one another and the earth.  I am grateful the tide appears to be turning toward understanding our responsibilities for one another's and the earth’s health and well being.

And I am grateful that I am learning to practice sheer compassion for those who govern with self-serving policies that leave so many to struggle without adequate food, shelter and safety.  Breathing from my heart helps get me in touch with Sheer Compassion.  When I remember to do that, I am grateful.

What if we all understood voting as a spiritual exercise and learned to breathe from our hearts to practice sheer compassion toward all?         

Letter to the Editor

The Mystery within...

I decided to post the following letter to the editor that I submitted to two local papers. If it doesn't get published, at least it will be read by someone. Even if you do not live in my state, or country, consider we are all in this together for a more just world.  

* * *
  

I was privileged and proud to attend the first ever Ozaukee County Democratic Party fundraising dinner at the Cedarburg Cultural Center, October 17. There, “Pickin’ Up Speed,” a Bluegrass band playing down to earth music, entertained a sold-out crowd.  Bright blue, star-shaped balloons moved gently above tables where committed, enthusiastic citizens, all longing for a more just order in our government, shared a meal, and heard shining new democratic stars speak of equitable service to all.

The three Ozaukee County Assembly District candidates were introduced—Chris Rahlf, District 60; Liz Sumner, District 23; and Emily Siegrist, District 24. These three women encouraged my heart in knowing we are moving toward more equal representation through integrated gifts that both male and female bring to governance. US Congress District 6 candidate Dan Kohl spoke as well as Mandela Barnes, candidate for Lt. Governor. Congresswoman Gwen Moore from Milwaukee was the keynote speaker. 

Each speaker reflected Democratic values—respect for the dignity of all, a call for more equitable tax distribution, critical infrastructure maintenance, returning science to environmental management, investing in our children’s education, mental health, and providing adequate, affordable health care for all. Congresswoman Moore’s humor and pathos also gave us deep insight into the critical need for change in whom we elect to represent us.  

Committed and enthusiastic candidates, or their helpers, may be at your door between now and November 6 to answer any questions you have and to ask for your vote. I hope you’re lucky enough to meet some of these down-to-earth people in person, if you haven’t already. They’ve all been working hard to earn your vote. Be part of the Blue Wave, picking up speed, for a more just government of the people, for the people and by the people. Vote Democratic November 6.

* * * 

What if we all had the opportunity to vote for candidates committed to the respect and dignity of everyone and a just government of the people, for the people and by the people?  

Suffering

The Mystery within,..

Life is filled with suffering, but also with beauty.  When I suffer I naturally seek beauty—a walk in the woods or on the beach, a bike ride down country roads, or staring up at the night sky or into an emerging dawn. Somehow being present to Beauty consoles me and imparts a sense of purpose to my suffering.  The hearings involving testimonies regarding President Trump’s Supreme Court justice nominee, and his accuser, personally disturbed on many levels.  I am grateful for the wooded path along the river, and my bike and country roads, that comfort me.

The sexual and psychological abuse I experienced as a child, and then later in my workplace, and again in medical settings, all came back with unsettling detail.  The darkness of perverse power is overwhelming.  Further suffering is guaranteed for bringing abuse into the light.  You are damned if you do and you are damned if you don’t.  I know the real fears of women who do not come forward with abuse allegations because of the added suffering that gets heaped on top of the initial offense. Somehow, understanding both sides of this suffering, those of the perpetrator and the victim, is key to understanding the way to love and peace.  So I have been walking the woods, riding my bike, and breathing from my heart to move me toward peace.

Understanding that most boys are raised in patriarchal systems has been helpful.  The dictionary defines patriarchy as “a family, group, or government controlled by a man or a group of men.”  It is more than daughters who suffer from the patriarchal model. Sons, and the whole of society are deprived of integrated gifts both genders have to offer. Someday, equal integrated shares of both male and female gifts will form the foundation for freedom, justice and peace in the world.

When I was halfway through writing my memoire, God Never Hurries, I got stuck and could not continue writing until I acknowledged my father’s abuse.  It was not well received by many.  But now, more than ever, I know it was the right thing to do.  I tried writing posts the past several weeks but couldn’t finish them, until I let myself write this one.      

If you have found events from the past week disturbing, I invite you to look for Beauty, breathe from you heart where the Great Mystery resides, and wait to be filled with empathy and compassion for all parties involved in this heart wrenching drama our country is experiencing.  I wish you peace.

What if we all learned to breathe from our hearts—would patriarchy cease to exist?  

Grace in Governance

The Mystery within...

I have been posting to my blog/website since April 1, 2013.  In my March 2, 2015 post titled, Presidential Attributes, I listed five traits I wanted my next president to have.  They were:  1) emotional intelligence; 2) reflective decision making; 3) knows our children are the future for our country; 4) has empathy and compassion for those struggling; 5) understands the pursuit of wealth for wealth alone will destroy us all.  I believe those are traits anyone running for political office should aspire too.  It now feels like we are at an evolutionary crossroad since how we govern, or allow ourselves to be governed, can determine our progress or decline as a people.  We need grace in governance.  

From November 4 to December 16, 2013 I summarized the evolutionary biologist, David Sloan Wilson’s book, “The Neighborhood Project—Using Evolution to Improve my City, One Block at a Time.”  It took seven posts to summarize Wilson’s book that uses scientific research to understand what furthers our progress as human beings.   The following links are to those seven post titles and the “What if…” question that ended each post.  

11/4/13, Life in a Pinball Machine “What if we all bumped into the more paternal and maternal among us more often?”

11/11/13, Who’s in Your Neighborhood?  “What if we all learned the right questions to ask that lead us to become more healthy and productive citizens?”

11/18/13, So Who Are We? “What if we reflected each day on our struggles?”

11/25/13, Siren and Flashing Lights  “What if we could always stop and reflect when bumping into unpleasantness?”

12/2/13, Transformational People  “What if we created a more positive environment through praise?”

12/9/13, Looking with Evolutionary Eyes  “What if we look with evolutionary eyes that go beyond self-interest; eyes that respect and highlight diversity, and search for ways to end global poverty?

12/16/13, Potential in Vacant Lots  “What if we all understood the role we play in each other’s evolutionary process?  

What if we all made a list of the grace we want in our political candidates?    

Be an Informed Voter

The Mystery within...

The following was my letter to the editors of the News Graphic and Ozaukee Press:  

I have sometimes voted with trepidation because I didn’t always feel well informed when marking my ballot.  I long for a requirement that all candidates provide a succinct summary, not more than three paragraphs, on how each one plan to serve us if elected.  This information would be readily available to all.  I’ve been told, “That will never happen.”  But I did get one good tip to educate myself, which was to go to https://myvote.wi.gov/en-US/MyBallot. There, you can enter your address and see a sample ballot for the district in which you live.  (Current gerrymandering of district boundaries makes this information important so you will know which candidates will now appear on your ballot.)  The upcoming August 14 primary field of candidates is narrowed since we can only vote in one party.  So I copied, pasted and printed my chosen party’s sample ballot for my area, and then went to work searching the Internet for my area’s candidate information.  I’m now better informed.               

I see great paradoxical promise in the scary political turmoil of our time that can give us all pause to reflect on our past, present and future.  How our politics, and we as a people evolve, really lies in our own hearts, minds, hands and ballots.  Author Parker J. Palmer links politics to our humanity in his book, “Healing the Heart of Democracy:  The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit.”  Following are some excerpts of his thoughts that will give you an idea of what makes real democracy possible when we understand:  “…we are all in this together…profoundly interconnected…accountable to one another; …practice deep hospitality…invite ‘otherness’; …hold tension creatively…to expand our hearts…to generate insight, energy and new life; …speak our truth checking and correcting it against the truth of others; …companionship of two or three kindred spirits can help us find the courage we need to speak and act as citizens.”

  

It is easy to get totally discouraged with the messiness in our politics.  But we the people can help create a politics worthy for all.  Have sheer compassion for another’s fears.  Know it takes a healthy village to raise a healthy child to create a healthy future for us all.  What if our scary political turmoil is designed to awaken us to a new era of understanding and growth in our humanity?   

Please take time to be informed and vote August 14.  

Thresholds

The Mystery within...

What a great focus we had for reflection for this summer’s weekend Women Gathering retreat--the many different thresholds crossed in our life, and what new threshold currently awaits us.  Cathy Gawlik and Dawn Zak, from Way of the Willow again lightly and skillfully led an incomparable group of women seekers in helping one another grow through sharing our struggles, and understanding it is our troubles that grow us in grace and wisdom.  Prior to our gathering we were given a Jan L. Richardson quote to reflect on: “And there are times for leaving; times when the holy thing to do is shake the dust from our feet and leave behind a place that is not meant for us.”

To help each of us reflect on the past thresholds we have crossed we strung either multi-colored glass or wooden beads of varying sizes, shapes and colors on a cord. Each bead we chose was a symbol of a past significant threshold we had crossed. Reflecting on my past thresholds, within our sacred circle, I was overwhelmed at just how hard life has been sometimes.  Through our sharing we became intimate with our own and others’ past pain and present fears.  I had Pema Chodron’s book with me, “When Things Fall Apart—Heart Advice for Difficult Times” and shared this quote from her:  “Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.”  And each of us did just that in unique and unfathomable ways.  In the process of our sharing we were touched with sheer compassion for one another.

My fear of ridicule and getting dirty in a fight was exposed and brought into the light.  I am now making peace with my fear by simply speaking or writing my truth and then showering any ridicule or criticism I might receive with sheer compassion for my detractors’ fears.  I want to advocate for thinking with our hearts and not our wallets to help one another live free, productive and healthful lives on a vibrant, healthy planet.  So the nest I was given to decorate in the OT (Occupational Therapy) portion of our gathering represents our home, Mother Earth.  I put a small sprig of white flowers representing me, the grandmother, who has some hard won learning. The feathers, joined together by two butterflies, represents the transformation that will take place when our female and male energies become more integrated resulting in a more equitable, peaceful world.  And the nine multicolored flowers within the nest represents all of us on this planet, and our nine different Enneagram spirituality types, each with a unique strength to be shared and a corresponding weakness in need of sheer compassion.  Accepting our fears, and integrating our spiritual strengths as men and women, is what this grandmother wants for us all and our planet. 

Cathy Gawlik’s husband, David, thoughtfully put the five poems Dawn and Cathy used to create the outline for our weekend into a booklet for us.  Lines from each poem that especially spoke to me:  Being Here, “…to live fully, we must take the path and keep sweeping it.”  We look with uncertainty “…something new is being born in us if we but let it.”  A Blessing in the Dust,“…feel the full weight of your gifts…” Blessing the Threshold,  “…This blessing has been setting the table as it hums a tune from an old song it knows something about, a spiraling road and bread and grace.”  Breaking Surface “Let no one keep you from your journey, … no lover who measures their worth by what you might give up, no voice that tells you in the night it can’t be done.”

We closed our weekend together the way we began it by calling in our ancestors and inviting them to be with us for our healing as well as theirs.  We again asked the four directions for blessing and guidance and thanked the Great Spirit, known by many names, for bringing us together in sacred circle.  And then we carefully took our sense of fragile wholeness back out into the world and our next threshold crossing.   

What if we could all welcome the truth our threshold crossings have taught us and continue on with a sense of fragile wholeness?