Living Arrows Sent Forth

 Henri Cartier Bresson - Rue Mouffetard, 1954, ©MoMa.

My oldest son turned 35 today; two days ago he became a parent for the first time. I’m in love with a baby I’ve never met, and it’s a wonder-filled experience! Often, when I have too many things running around in my head, I turn to Kahlil Gibran. And he has guided me to peace today with this beautiful writing. I am grateful. Namaste…

“Your children are not your children.
They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 
They come through you but not from you.
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth...."

by Khalil Gibran

“When speaking of God's children, not the children of men, Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is within you;’ that is, Truth and Love reign in the real man, showing that man in God's image is unfallen and eternal." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 476:28-32

Seeing Two Worlds?

 

Crystal Bridges exhibit - photo by Aaron Springston

The changes we have witnessed in our lifetime have been exciting and (to take a phrase from the ‘70s) mind blowing! Decades ago, when we were told about the Age of Aquarius and more recently when 2012 was explained as a shift in consciousness, I'm not sure we thought there would be any real change in our lives. People who are looking for purely material reasons to explain the huge changes in everything from politics to weather are feeling helpless and overwhelmed. When looked at from a different perspective, we see that changes are necessary in order to facilitate the realization of this new earth we are more-than-ready to embrace. As with any shift in thought, some are afraid and working to hold on to old ways. But it is impossible to "see two worlds". I choose Love!

“During this final conflict, wicked minds will endeavor to find means by which to accomplish more evil; but those who discern Christian Science will hold crime in check. They will aid in the ejection of error. They will maintain law and order, and cheerfully await the certainty of ultimate perfection.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 96:31-4

We Are All Meant to Shine

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

The much-quoted "Our Deepest Fear" from Marianne Williamson's A Return to Love tells us that what we fear most isn't our inadequacies but our power. Here is the paragraph from the book: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Shine on, dear Friends!

[This is from a dialogue between matter and Spirit]

“I am Spirit. Man, whose senses are spiritual, is my likeness. He reflects the infinite understanding, for I am Infinity. The beauty of holiness, the perfection of being, imperishable glory,--all are Mine, for I am God. I give immortality to man, for I am Truth. I include and impart all bliss, for I am Love. I give life, without beginning and without end, for I am Life. I am supreme and give all, for I am Mind. I am the substance of all, because I AM THAT I AM.” Mary Baker Eddy-Science and Health page 252:32

Do Not Be Dismayed ...

 

art by Tijana Lukovic

With the new year comes hope -- hope for something better. But remember each one of us has the power to change our thoughts about the world, and therein we hold the key...

“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world.

All things break. And all things can be mended.

Not with time, as they say, but with intention. 

So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally.

The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”

L.R. Knost

New Day's Lyric by Amanda Gorman

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

New Day’s Lyric by Amanda Gorman

“May this be the day

We come together.

Mourning, we come to mend,

Withered, we come to weather,

Torn, we come to tend,

Battered, we come to better.

Tethered by this year of yearning,

We are learning

That though we weren't ready for this,

We have been readied by it.

We steadily vow that no matter

How we are weighed down,

We must always pave a way forward.

This hope is our door, our portal.

Even if we never get back to normal,

Someday we can venture beyond it,

To leave the known and take the first steps.

So let us not return to what was normal,

But reach toward what is next.

What was cursed, we will cure.

What was plagued, we will prove pure.

Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,

Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,

Where we weren't aware, we're now awake;

Those moments we missed

Are now these moments we make,

The moments we meet,

And our hearts, once all together beaten,

Now all together beat.

Come, look up with kindness yet,

For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.

We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,

But to take on tomorrow.”

— Amanda Gorman

Smile of the Great Spirit

 

A friend and I went to the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville, Arkansas. It was a beautiful space which took us on a journey through 14,000 years. It amazed me that there were textiles more than 1,000 years old! How could woven fabrics last so long? While I was intrigued by the pottery and other creations, it took my thoughts to spiritual insights we have gained from ancient cultures, and the understanding which is being shown us today. The days of believing in an “unknown God” will  be over, as we open our minds to the ideas Jesus (and others) have explained to us -- such as:  “The kingdom of heaven is within. The things I do, so can you — and more! You only need two commandments: Love thy neighbor, and love God.” The end of an era is coming, and many people are fearful — to the point of declaring that any thought other than traditional religious teachings are from the devil. Change is difficult, but as we look around us, we know shifts are necessary in almost every aspect of life. As a new year quickly approaches, I ask nothing of myself other than more understanding. On this last day of the year, may we all love ourselves more, so we can love our neighbors as we love ourself.

“Man is the expression of Soul. The Indians caught some glimpses of the underlying reality, when they called a certain beautiful lake “the smile of the Great Spirit.” Separated from man, who expresses Soul, Spirit would be a nonentity; man, divorced from Spirit, would lose his entity. But there is, there can be, no such division, for man is coexistent with God.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 477:26-3

Dimensionalism

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

​My friend in the Netherlands sent me writings on higher thought. When I saw the title of one, I couldn’t remember having heard the word before: dimensionalism. While this pamphlet has to do with aspects of divine Science, it gives an example to which we can all relate. If we are rowing a boat downstream, we may not see what is around the bend — a waterfall, perhaps? But if we are looking at the scene from above, we get the whole picture. As with many things in life, we see from our own perspective and it can be hard to visualize the whole picture. This doesn’t mean that the picture changes when we realize an aspect of it; but simply that we see what was always there. Perhaps we were brought up by people who believe the earth is a flat plane, and so we believe that, too. When something happens which causes us to see the truth of being, our world expands. The world didn’t change; we did. This principle applies to everything in life. I pray to not be close-minded to the wonders around me! 

“The Revelator tells us of ‘a new heaven and a new earth.’ Have you ever pictured this heaven and earth, inhabited by beings under the control of supreme wisdom?” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 91:1