Ho! Ho! Hold the Thought

I wanted something a little more lighthearted and festive in this Musing so I have this Christmas Wish to offer you. (Hum along to the tune of "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas")

Have yourself a Max and Mary Christmas

May your Yule be Cool(e)

Joy and fellowship is the Christmas Golden Rule.

Have yourself a Max and Mary Christmas

May your hearts be light

Our feelings of gratitude burn long and bright.

Here we are not in olden days but in wiser ways I'm sure.

Having known treasured friends like you

Makes the road we tread safe and secure.

Have yourself a Max and Mary Christmas

A last thought for you:

May magic and miracles bless you the whole year through

And every hope and dream you have come true!

The Deepest Valley on the Highest Mountain

I am humbled and inspired by the moments of grace that touch my life. It is a source of awe to me that so often a person, a book, a song, or a passing comment will open up a new way of thinking or dealing with an issue that is stressing my life. The following passage was part of a recent daily meditation and it struck a very deep cord, especially when combined with the message of a book that I had just finished. I will let you judge for yourself if it has meaning for you.
Your blessings have your name on them; so do your lessons! Your greatest blessing appears before you cleverly disguised as your most difficult challenge, as your greatest obstacle, or as an extremely negative experience you are forced to handle all by yourself. What a blessing! What a blessed opportunity to face the truth, forgive yourself and others, practise faith, develop trust, be still, and know," Right where I am, God is!"

This passage from a recent reading in my most coveted spiritual guide, Faith in the Valley, was made all the more poignant and relevant as its message was echoed in another thought altering book that was recommended by my stalwart friend, Sonja. This book, Miracle in the Andes, gives a first-person account of what transpired following the crash of the plane carrying the Uruguayan rugby team into a desolate and brutal glacier in the Andes. The details are harrowing and the experiences are beyond anything we can imagine. Yet the overriding message is totally life affirming in the face of devastating loss. That message is that what truly matters is love: love of family, love of friends, love of God. These young men faced almost insurmountable obstacles and when they realized that help would not be coming and that outside rescue was not possible, they banded together and scaled this highest mountain from the depths of this deepest valley. In this spiritual and emotional valley they did indeed have to face the truth of their situation and themselves. They had to forgive themselves and others. They had to practise faith, develop trust, be still and truly know that where they were, God was with them as the source of the love which kept them alive as they sought to find a way home. They learned to take each day one breath and one step at a time. We each deal with valleys in our lives and we should be ever grateful that we will never have to endure what these young men had to. Yet, for what ever our valley experiences, may the lessons of their struggle and the resulting awareness be a guiding light as we travel out of our valley into the light of the absolute love that awaits.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

I really appreciate the responses I am receiving from those who are reading these Musings and taking the trouble to post a comment. At this point it is just two very stalwart friends but this is to formally let you know that you both are an example of the kind of connection I was referring to in the previous Blog. This is also sent as an opportunity for me to practise uploading a new graphic on my own. I think it is a most appropriate image for the way I feel when I read your comments. Thank-you so much!

The Joy of Christmas Presence

No, it is not a spelling mistake and, yes, I love to give and get the actual presents as much as anyone. This Blessed time of year is indeed a time to rejoice in the blessings that fill our lives as well as our closets and cupboards. The first Christmas was the ultimate gift from God to his children on earth and has been represented by loving offerings ever since. Sometimes though, I wonder if the gift of ourselves is the one that can mean the most. It is very easy to shop the malls (well not if you hate crowds) but the act of making ourselves available to those we love and care for can open us to a joy that cannot be purchased with the swipe of a card. Maybe this year we can wrap up: time to talk, time to remember, time to plan, time to dream, time to forgive, and time to reconnect with those, whose lives like ours, can be so consumed with the daily minutiae of modern living. Samuel Johnson noted that " To improve the golden moment of opportunity and to catch the good that is within our reach, is the great art of life." May we open ourselves to this golden moment and may its light illuminate not just our Christmas but the whole year to come. Do you think it's possible?

Phantom Fantasy ?

As we are approaching the time of year when ghosts and goblins and all thing unworldly seem to be in evidence and actually quite celebrated, my mind is drawn to how we allow the unreal to so influence the real in our lives. I suppose it is easy to dismiss much of the gory and gruesome as truly beyond the realm of possibility, but what of the equally destructive fear based behaviours that we allow to govern our thoughts and actions.We can shrug off the ghouls we see on our doorstep on Halloween night but what of the monsters that invade our waking hours and keep us from accepting and embracing the opportunities that come our way. I once read that fear is False Expectations Appearing Real! How easy to acknowledge this acronym and how difficult to consider separating the letters into another possibility....... Fervent Energy Abolishing Restrictions!! As the light of day casts aside the phantoms of the night, maybe the light of a different outlook can cast aside the phantoms in our mind. Is it worth a try?

Can you make heads or tails of this?

As I am still musing about the proliferation of puny-sized personal Pods and phones, I came across a description of radio when it was first introduced. People were obviously having difficulty understanding how it worked and the eminent Albert Einstein came up with a very scientific and, if I do say so myself, reasonable explanation: You see, wire telegraph is a kind of very, very long cat. You put his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? Well, radio operates in exactly the same way. You send signals here and they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat! Too bad, since often the sounds emanating from the cat are far more pleasing than those heard on the radio. Can you believe we have come so far in the ability to miniaturize our communication? Come to think of it, the cat is one of our smaller animal friends. Was Einstein right? What do you think??

Singing the Blues?

It is with some chagrin that I admit to being a very recent convert to the joys and freedom of an iPod. I am now in the process of transferring hundreds of songs to an instrument the size of a small chocolate bar.(Chocolate can be applied to ANYTHING).

In the course of going through the numerous CDs we have, I turned my thoughts to the jazz I love and thought you might be interested in a quote from the legendary Duke Ellington: "I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues".

Can you imagine what might be accomplished with the challenges in our lives if we only looked at how they could be transformed into something totally outside the box of our preconceived notions. I suppose it takes the patience and courage to wait them through and then see what appears. Clarity tends to come long after our immediate response has mellowed. Even though the prospect of a good sit and pout has some appeal, can you imagine the release of an even better jumping jive! Good exercise and good karma.

A Sober Thought

As we begin a new school year, I cast my mind back to the days when I was preparing to welcome a new class of students. I realize we were both approaching this time with some trepidation. New experiences can be a testing ground for all the wonderful resolutions we have regarding our need to be, as well as appear, in control. We put on our masks and face the world and then wonder why we are not experiencing the satisfaction we feel we should. Peer pressure is acknowledged to be a very real part of a student's life, yet it exists in everyone's life and often determines how we react in any given situation. We want so much to be respected and admired that we often acquiesce to what the "group" dictates, forgetting that they too are operating under the same false set of rules. We fear words against us as if they were actual blows. I offer this thought when such a situation arises. It comes from a cherished book, Faith In The Valley, by inspirational writer, Iyanla Vanzant, whose words have guided me over many years: It's not what people call me, it's what I answer to that counts. Disregard the negative calls and answer with kindness in all events and see what happens. Such a simple concept, and one, which embraced, can effect such a change in how we handle some of life's challenges. Would you agree?

A Fine Time for a Little W(h)ine!

There a many definitions of friendship, embracing all the various situations in which we so often seek the solace of those who understand. I believe the following thought deserves a very serious place among those definitions:

A real friend knows when to listen,

when to stop listening,

when to talk,

when to stop talking,

when to pour wine,

when to stop pouring,

and when to just hand over the bottle!

Good friends are like good wine, they truly do improve with age. What do you think?

For the record?

I offer a point to ponder for those of us who have reached the "vintage years" and find that our memories are sometimes less than reliable. I have found the reason and it comes courtesy of a very clever bear, Pooh! Let me quote:

"Pooh, did you remember to help owl?"asked Piglet.

"Of course. I have a phonographic memory, you know." said Pooh.

"You mean,"said Rabbit, "a photographic memory."

"No," insisted Pooh. "Phonographic. It goes around and around. Sometimes it gets stuck. That's why I remember things so well."

"So you took care of it," said Piglet.

"Took care of what?" asked Pooh.

Ah yes, and this is especially relevant since it applies to those of us who can actually remember phonographs. Would you agree?

Perseverance

I am musing about the need we all have to persevere even when things are difficult. Max and I seem to be particularly dealing with this right now. This place, which we inhabit at this time, is calling for real courage and faith. Booker T. Washington offered some true insight into this when he observed that "I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed."

I am including, as inspiration, a photo of our portly pussy cat, Bumble. Due to her ample girth, she was unable to copy her less well-endowed house mate, Missile, in relaxing on her back. BUT she was not deterred and continued to practise with absolutely hilarious results until one day......EUREKA, she did it. The look of wonder and pride at this accomplishment is evident and well-deserved. Winston Churchill would be proud of her as one who took to heart his exhortation to " never, never, never quit". How can we fail to do the same?

Tulip Tranquility

When I am stressed and need to connect to what is real, I gaze at flowers, especially tulips. I find this particular photo taken of our tulips evokes a real feeling of tranquility. Would you agree?

I am going to try sending some of my quotable "musings" to see if these thoughts strike a note with anyone else. Please let me know what you think.

Since we have just come back from seeing the Oscar Wilde play, An Ideal Husband, let me offer this thought: The true perfection of man lies not in what man has, but in what man is. Comments?