Peace To You

Have a Good Day

photo credit: Aaron Springston

How often have you heard someone say something like: It's been a bad day? I agree we can perceive events as being bad for us, personally, but to blame the day? Our interpretation of what causes a day to be good or bad is interesting, too. I remember when I ran an art gallery, often people would come in and say, Have you had a good day? I most always would enthusiastically say, Yes! And often they would say, Oh, I'm so glad you made lots of sales! And then I'd have to tell them, No, I didn't sell many pieces, but it sure was a fun day! So now, in mid-August of this interesting year, many people are feeling down, tired, disheartened, perhaps frightened. If I defined this day by some things, I would say it was a bad day. For instance, I didn't care for any of the acts on America's Got Talent, I played sloppy bridge online, I learned that a friend died, I didn't feel like writing, or even reading. But, on the other hand, I put together a super good tuna salad for the weekend, the watermelon Kevin brought home is great, a local writer posted a fabulous tribute to Eureka Springs on Facebook today which has kept me smiling much of the day, my cilantro plants are sprouting, my cats are beautiful and happy, we have a project to help a sick fox and this brings us joy, a group of women I love will be having an outdoor gathering before long -- well, my point is, there are always many things we can point to which make our days "good" or "bad". It's all about where we put our attention. Namaste...

"Your influence for good depends upon the weight you throw into the right scale. The good you do and embody gives you the only power obtainable. Evil is not power. It is a mockery of strength, which erelong betrays its weakness and falls, never to rise." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 192:22

Pick Yourself Up And Start All Over Again

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Starting over. Making changes. Reinventing ourselves. Most of us have done this more than once, haven't we? Sea changes in our lives may come about because of illness, loss of a job, losing a loved one, or just needing to let go of behaviors which no longer serve us. Whatever the case, many of us resist these changes. Those of us who have done it numerous times may embrace these adventures with excitement and gratitude. It seems we are all in the midst of major shifts in our perceptions and our daily activities, and it can be frightening. I see many wishing someone would throw them a life preserver and tow them to safety. Some seem to be grasping at illusions of hope, not seeing through the mist to the pitfalls on the other side. In our desire to show others the danger, we can drive them further away from seeing what's going on. And so we must remember that we cannot save anyone, we cannot change anyone; only ourselves. By living true to my own values, expressing them through my votes at elections, by the foods I purchase, by the entertainment I choose, these values are supported. Yes, life changes can be difficult, but we have seen how life is meant to be lived reciprocally. The longer I live, the more I realize what that means. Let's be here for each other. It's the most we can do!

"This scientific sense of being, forsaking matter for Spirit, by no means suggests man's absorption into Deity and the loss of his identity, but confers upon man enlarged individuality, a wider sphere of thought and action, a more expansive love, a higher and more permanent peace." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 265: 10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIC0cdblBog

Did It Happen?

photo credit: Jim Young

Childhood memories: We all have them, I think. But I've begun to question how many of mine actually happened! When you're thinking back decades, perhaps the memories are stories parents or siblings told over and over, or maybe they come from photographs that you've looked at repeatedly. Don't get me wrong here, because I don't think that's a bad thing. Stories teach us and stories lead us to places we need to be. But sometimes those stories can mislead us, too. Recently an aged-aunt called me wanting confirmation about a family rumor. I had never heard about this occurrence and told her so. While she was questioning me, she said she was calling me rather than writing on Messenger (our usual mode of communication) because another relative had told her that I was getting off of Facebook. I have never considered doing such a thing, because I keep up with friends and family through that medium. But this has caused me to think on many things! What we believe to be true may be nothing more than words we want to believe. So let's keep an open mind and heart, whether we are remembering our past or listening to someone else's ideas which they want us to think are true. We live in an age of rampant propaganda, whether it be commercials bombarding us or bots inundating our Twitter feed, be aware that most people have an agenda they are doing their best to propel into being. Our brains are pretty good at picking out illusions, and I'm going to practice ascertaining truth by looking back through those childhood moments which seem so real. 

"As vapor melts before the sun, so evil would vanish before the reality of good. One must hide the other. How important, then, to choose good as the reality!" Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 480:31

A Poem From Hafiz

All the Hemispheres

Leave the familiar for a while.

Let your senses and bodies stretch out

Like a welcomed season

Onto the meadows and shores and hills.

Open up to the Roof.

Make a new water-mark on your excitement

And love.

Like a blooming night flower,

Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness

And giving

Upon our intimate assembly.

Change rooms in your mind for a day.

All the hemispheres in existence

Lie beside an equator

In your heart.

Greet Yourself

In your thousand other forms

As you mount the hidden tide and travel

Back home.

All the hemispheres in heaven

Are sitting around a fire

Chatting

While stitching themselves together

Into the Great Circle inside of

You.

From: 'The Subject Tonight is Love'

Translated by Daniel Ladinsky

You Can't Hide Behind Words

photo credit: Aaron Springston

We’re all trying to be kinder in our communications. We’re all learning how to listen and ask questions without being confrontational. To me, this is one of the most difficult lessons coming through this time in our lives. Listening without reaction, questioning without self-righteousness, learning from everyone, even those with whom I don’t believe — maybe especially from them! One thing I’ve discovered is that it doesn’t matter what I say out loud if my thoughts are confrontational. We can’t hide our true feelings behind the facade of kind words: we must be kind. Those of you who have pets know how true this is. You can’t hide your true feelings from an animal — or an aware human. Go forth with joy, because it shines through in your actions!

“A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive. The new idea, conceived and born of Truth and Love, is clad in white garments.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 463:12

Leap of Faith

A woman I knew would always put herself down when she thought she had not done her best (which was often). The expression she used was, I’m not walking on water yet. Her idea was that she could never meet her own expectations of what Jesus wanted her to do. Father Joseph, the priest at the Catholic Church where I am the organist, tied walking on water with taking a leap of faith. He encouraged us to speak to people we normally would ignore, or try a food we think we don’t like, or to try anything which takes us out of our comfort zone. Writing, for instance, is a frightening activity at first, because you’re putting your thoughts out there for everyone to interpret, critique, or challenge. Art, in all of its forms, is an act of bravery. Raising a child is a supreme leap of faith! The world needs us right now, so let’s open our hearts and follow where it leads today!

"The calm, strong currents of true spirituality, the manifestations of which are health, purity, and self-immolation, must deepen human experience, until the beliefs of material existence are seen to be a bald imposition, and sin, disease, and death give everylasting place to the scientific demonstration of divine Spirit and to God's spiritual, perfect man." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 99:23