The Unbearable Sadness/Joy of Life

photo credit: Aaron Springston

I visited with two old friends, one who moved back to town from an extended stay on the west coast. The other visit was with someone who is paralyzed with emotional distress. Both of these women have had recent moves: one from one place in Eureka to another, the other from far, far away. One is calm, one is not. One is happy, one is sad. One is excited, one is afraid. Once again, I ponder why they perceive their moves so differently. I've noticed that one has a strong spiritual base, grounded in reason and understanding. The other is going on blind faith. I, too, think it would be frightening to feel alone, no matter who is helping you and caring about your wellbeing. Her loneliness is deep and cherished. My joyous friend and I discussed changing the world by changing ourselves. We know we can’t beg God to do something, nor can we ask our neighbors to change their minds. This rabbit hole I'm looking into gets deeper and deeper as I watch it, and am I grateful for Love. 

"Happiness is an attribute of love. It cannot be apart from it. Nor can it be experienced where love is not. Love has no limits, being everywhere. And therefore joy is everywhere as well. Yet can the mind deny that this is so, believing there are gaps in love where sin can enter, bringing pain instead of joy. This strange belief would limit happiness by redefining love as limited, and introducing opposition in what has no limit and no opposite." A Course in Miracles W-pI.103.1

Overwhelmed by Change, or Excited?

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Why do some people take events as stressful, while others interpret them as exciting and fun adventures? I know I’ve done both, using changes in life’s circumstances as an excuse for retreating into emotional distress, tempered with bouts of drinking. I’ve been watching a dear friend who is moving from one house to another. She has experienced some other life trauma in recent years and feels overwhelmed by this change. I watch her whirlwind thoughts dwell on the sadness and seeming impossibility of adjusting to a new place. Her fright carries over to her pets. I try to calm her, but she doesn’t want that. So I’ve been thinking about these things today, wondering how we grow into acceptance of the moment, rather than fighting to keep things as they were. It occurs to me that she feels punished by the God she worships. Looking back to a time I was overwrought by illnesses, death, and other forms of separation, I see my change in attitude began and continues with an unfolding view of God, and my expression of this all-encompassing Love. I think I’ll sit and pet a cat and ponder this for a while!

“Change is always fearful to the separated, because they cannot conceive of it as a move towards healing the separation. They always perceive it as a move toward further separation, because the separation was their first experience of change. You believe that if you allow no change to enter into your ego you will find peace. This profound confusion is possible only if you maintain that the same thought system can stand on two foundations. Nothing can reach spirit from the ego, and nothing can reach the ego from spirit. Spirit can neither strengthen the ego nor reduce the conflict within it.” A Course in Miracles T-4.I.2

Are There Levels of Integrity?

photo credit: Aaron Springston

What would you do if you found millions of dollars in the woods in a wrecked plane? Would you go directly to the police or would you stop and think about the consequences of keeping it? We watched a movie, A Simple Plan, which brought these and other questions to thought as we saw this multifaceted dilemma unfold. While we may not have such dramatic choices in daily life, there are many instances presented to us which give an opportunity to test our morality. For instance, if the grocery checker gives you too much change, or when you see someone drop something of value without realizing it — well, the list is endless. Thinking about this has caused me to be more aware of being kind when I could be indifferent. There have been organized movements which foster good behavior, such as, Pay It Forward, or doing random acts of kindness. Yes, I’m going to be more aware of needs and try to fill the void when I see it. Ah, that’s the secret: seeing the need!! 

"The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father, and blessed is that man who seeth his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another's good." Mary Baker Eddy

Evasion of Truth Cripples Integrity

I love to watch Dancing With the Stars. People step outside their comfort zone and dance, practice hard, and often change their lives. In the years I’ve enjoyed this show, I’ve never seen anyone who has no natural rhythm advance beyond the first week or two — until now. Sean Spicer came on the show and was easily the worst dancer, seeming to be an early elimination prospect. But he is still in the competition, when five others have been sent home. Why, we all wonder? Well, Trevor Noah has given us the answer. Through a series of interviews on Fox News and Mr. Spicer’s own advertisement, we see how he is manipulating the system. He has told people how to cast votes more times than they normally could, and urges people on the west coast to vote even before they’ve seen him dance. He has turned this competition into a pitiful parody of what it’s been for the past 20+ seasons. Why is it so important for him to win? He has given interviews on Fox stating that this is for the “cause”, and that Democrats think they’re better than everyone else and people should vote for him, making his appearance on the show into some sort of convoluted political stand. Good grief. What have we come to? When voting and results can be manipulated through a person or group, it makes me wonder about those buying into the story as much as those telling it. What has become of our integrity? Where does the madness stop? It stops with us, you and me, right now. Namaste... 

"Evil which obtains in the bodily senses, but which the heart condemns, has no foundation; but if evil is uncondemned, it is undenied and nurtured. Under such circumstances, to say that there is no evil, is an evil in itself. When needed, tell the truth concerning the lie. Evasion of Truth cripples integrity and casts thee down from the pinnacle." Mary Baker Eddy 

It's the Small Stuff

photo credit: Gerry Toler

The magic of a single day is magnificent! For instance, I came home the other day and Kevin gleefully told me it had been the best day of his life. Fun and interesting things had been happening around him all day. I kind of feel that way about today! On this chilly, rainy day, life was bursting forth at every turn. It could be said that our fall leaves are rather lackluster, but on this gray day the leaves glowed. People seemed different -- somewhat raw in their emotions and words. It felt really real out there today! It's the little things, don't you think? Seeing the last rose shivering at the end of October, watching friends gather together with heartfelt caring for each other, lifting a glass and sharing food -- what a joy to be present in each moment! When things seem mundane, or difficult, or overwhelming, start noticing the moments and hang on tight! 

"Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences, by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love." Mary Baker Eddy 

Giving is Supply

Apple Stock Image: The Gift

I love the teachings of Joel Goldsmith, and many mornings I will open up one of his books at random. This morning, I picked up “A New Concept of Supply” and immediately saw this sentence: “Supply is not getting; supply is giving.” He gos on to tell us that giving is not necessarily monetary, but it could be giving UP something, such as jealousy, hatred, and anger. Concerning money, he says sending out a dime into the world with the attitude of giving freely, with no thought for recognition or someone’s gratitude, is the key to starting the flow of supply. This is a tough concept for many of us, because we’ve been taught that the more we give, the less we have. We have a feeling that there is not enough to go around and we must hold onto everything we can get. In developing the consciousness of supply, we first must realize that supply is invisible and infinite; it is Spirit. It can be difficult to grasp the concept that giving is getting (and it’s actually more a releasing of thought than a grasping of it), but once the flow begins circulating, it’s easier to “take no thought...”, as Jesus recommended time and again. 

“The belief that money and property constitute supply has been accepted for so many years that most people rely on them for their security; and then when, through the devaluation of the currency or through a world-wide depression or for some other reason beyond their control, billions disappear, they feel that their world has collapsed. Students of spiritual wisdom must come to the realization that they have no supply outside their own being, that supply lies in something that cannot be known through the physical senses: Supply is the Infinite Invisible.” Joel Goldsmith

The Appeal of Horror

photo credit: Richard Quick

Halloween is always fun because of playing dress-up and eating sweet stuff. But what of the horror phenomenon? I have never enjoyed being scared or tricked, so that part of this time of year has never held appeal to me, and I’ve been wondering why we have this obsession with zombies. We have quite an invasion here in Eureka Springs, and I’m content to have been out of town and missed last weekend’s influx. I suppose people like the idea of being dead but continuing to walk about in these bodies, going on and on while our decrepit selves try not to fall apart. I find no appeal there either - my goodness!  Perhaps we can act out our fears of other things, such as “invasions” and death, working through the things we dread or don’t understand. I hear that our U.S. Center for Disease Control issued advice on how to survive a zombie apocalypse, and it was meant to prepare our citizens for a pandemic outbreak of any type. I’m not sure how all this ties together, but it’s what I’ve been pondering today. Please feel free to post your thoughts to the blog (website link is below). You don’t need to sign in to do so! 

"The fact that the Christ, or Truth, overcame and still overcomes death proves the 'king of terrors' to be but a mortal belief, or error, which Truth destroys with the spiritual evidences of Life; and this shows that what appears to the senses to be death is but a mortal illusion, for to the real man, and the real universe there is no death process." Mary Baker Eddy