Some days all you can do is hunker down and live through what life has brought to you. That's what trees do in the winter and it's good enough...
Just being here, alive and yourself, allows possiblities for the world to be a better place. Even just standing back and watching the dance of life around you is enough. You don't have to "do" all the time, you have to "BE" all the time. If all you think you can be is just alive - that's all you NEED to be. Living and loving is enough.
Whatever you can find the loving care, strength, time, interest, or breath to do and chose to do, is being your loving self and it is good enough. Whatever little bit you can do, it's enough.
Even Jesus didn't "fix" everything, only what came into his path. But he tells us that doing what we see needs done in love is enough...
Mark 14:3 - 9
And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he (Jesus) sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very precious; and she brake (opened) the box, and poured it on his head.
And there were some that had indignation within themselves, (they got upset) and said, "Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor." And they murmured against her.
And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will, ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
This woman has been given no name. She could be rich, poor, married, single, loved, unloved...we know almost nothing about her. She could be any one of us that listens with our heart and does what feels most loving to us.
But I know she had heard the words of Jesus from someone she trusted and, in those words, (Mark 10: 33-34 that he would be killed and rise again in 3 days) she believed. She believed it enough to search her heart for a kindness to do for the man who had affected her life in some way that was so important to her that she wanted him to know she cared.
To the man that gave so much to so many, she gave a gift....
At that time most women were the responsibility of a man. Those that were not were considered low lifes...
Where did a woman get such a gift? Did she beg the gift of the ointment from a friend? Did she have to ask a husband or brother for the money to buy it? Did she sell her jewelry to purchase it? We can't know. But she found a way to get it.
She walked alone, through the house of a known leper, to make her gift. It's not a place many would go at all.
She didn't ask someone to hand it to him. She didn't give it to one of the diciples for him. (good thing too, or they would have sold it!) She walked through the home where a woman alone would stand out and be marked with shame. She went into the room where they were eating, found Jesus and applied it to his body herself.
When they began to mutter that it could have been used better to serve many other poor people Jesus himself didn't just defended her, he praised her action; "She hath done what she could."
And he told them, (I feel to make the point - again - that he had TOLD them he would be killed) "she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying."
In essence He said - This woman BELIEVED what I have said to you all.
And her belief and gift touched him so deeply that he declared, "this .. that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her."
Still no name given...why not?
I believe it is so any woman, any time, any where, that has "done what she could" will know that her kindness will be remembered and stand as a memorial to her.
Maybe what you can do won't seem like much. Maybe it won't seem to be good enough. Others may say you could have done more or differently -
But in God's eyes, when you have done what you could in loving care, it will be remembered.
And in the eyes of the one you do for, it will be remembered in their hearts.
Do what you can in love - it is enough.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Be not afraid, only believe
Jesus was speaking to a huge crowd....
Mark 5:21 ... much people gathered unto him:...
22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, 23 and besought him greatly, saying, "My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live".
This man would have been one whose peers were against Jesus. But he walked through a large crowd of people, people that would KNOW him, and interrupted the teachings that were being given. For love of his child, he would risk or try anything, even one reviled by his peers...and he ASKED for help...
24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
He was ANSWERED, yes; Jesus said he would come.
Those that heard the request followed to see this miracle done. How often do you get to SEE a real healing? They all had questions and wanted to be where they had a good view. They "crowded in on all sides", bumping right into Jesus and his friends as they walked....there would be many touching each other in such a large crowd trying to fit on a road...
Yet there was another who needed Him and his help that day...
25 And a certain woman, who had an issue of blood (for) twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, ... was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. 27 When she had heard of Jesus, (passing by) came in the press (crowd) behind, and touched his garment. 28 For she said (to herself), "If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole (healed)." 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
This woman BELIEVED that if she only REACHED OUT her hand and TOUCHED just his clothing, that she would be healed. And she was....
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 And his disciples said unto him, "Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?" 32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
Jesus KNEW he had been touched in faith, he FELT the power in him react to that touch. He knew it was his clothes that had been touched and he knew a woman had done it. When he asked his friends who did it, they meant "You gotta be kidding?" when they answered. How could you tell which one touched you in a crowd this large? But Jesus kept looking for her....
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
Like anyone who has taken something from someone without asking, she was afraid she would be punished...but she knew she was already healed. She knew he was aware of her. She told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her,"Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole (healed) of thy plague (illness)".
His words to her were not a punishment, but an explaination, a comfort and a blessing.
What came to me as I listened to this passage is that he feels all of us around him. He feels our belief and our need.
Those that reach out to him with belief draw His attention. His power is ours to use, even for ourselves.
The man asked for and was going to be given help, not for himself, but for his daugher. She was too ill to ask for herself. He was afraid she would die. We can ask for help for others.
This healing slowed them down...
35 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, "Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?"
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, "Be not afraid, only believe."
His fear had come true...One of his own people had come to tell him his daughter died. Yet a man he did not know, except by reputation, told him it would be alright....what a quandry! Grieve his daughter or believe she would live? Believe in the word of one he had just met? But he would have SEEN the woman that was healed as she confessed to Jesus. And he had heard of other healings or he would not have come to ask for help. He must have kept believing, as hard as it was....
37 And he suffered (allowed) no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. 39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them,"Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth".
40 And they laughed him to scorn. (they ridiculed him, they didn't believe him) But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, "Talitha cumi"; which is, being interpreted, "Damsel, I say unto thee, arise". 42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.
His daughter lived....The worst word that can come to a parent, "your child has died", was made untrue. What a relief! What a joy to share with his wife and family!
One reached out in belief and was healed, one asked for another and they were healed....the girl was too young and too ill to believe in a stranger - but her father believed for her and she lived...I believe she lived to know who healed her...and those who believed she was dead would have KNOWN a miracle when they saw it...
Try the impossible. Believe in God's unconditional LOVE.
Ask. Don't be afraid, even to stand in front of a crowd and ASK.
Reach out. You have to reach for what you believe will help you.
See. Pay attention and begin to see the miracles around you.
Know. The power of his Love is His to share with us all. Learn to know it is real when you begin to see it around you in answer to your requests and prayers.
Believe. Not just for yourself, your belief will touch others. Ask for those that don't believe.
Ask that they see His love is real, ask that they might have what they need, too. They will begin to see the miracles and know the power of God's love. In time, as they learn to believe, they will reach out to touch others, too.
Whatever comes to you in life, however hard it is, never forget that He tells us, "Be not afraid, only believe."
Be not afraid.
only believe.
Mark 5:21 ... much people gathered unto him:...
22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, 23 and besought him greatly, saying, "My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live".
This man would have been one whose peers were against Jesus. But he walked through a large crowd of people, people that would KNOW him, and interrupted the teachings that were being given. For love of his child, he would risk or try anything, even one reviled by his peers...and he ASKED for help...
24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
He was ANSWERED, yes; Jesus said he would come.
Those that heard the request followed to see this miracle done. How often do you get to SEE a real healing? They all had questions and wanted to be where they had a good view. They "crowded in on all sides", bumping right into Jesus and his friends as they walked....there would be many touching each other in such a large crowd trying to fit on a road...
Yet there was another who needed Him and his help that day...
25 And a certain woman, who had an issue of blood (for) twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, ... was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. 27 When she had heard of Jesus, (passing by) came in the press (crowd) behind, and touched his garment. 28 For she said (to herself), "If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole (healed)." 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
This woman BELIEVED that if she only REACHED OUT her hand and TOUCHED just his clothing, that she would be healed. And she was....
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 And his disciples said unto him, "Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?" 32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
Jesus KNEW he had been touched in faith, he FELT the power in him react to that touch. He knew it was his clothes that had been touched and he knew a woman had done it. When he asked his friends who did it, they meant "You gotta be kidding?" when they answered. How could you tell which one touched you in a crowd this large? But Jesus kept looking for her....
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
Like anyone who has taken something from someone without asking, she was afraid she would be punished...but she knew she was already healed. She knew he was aware of her. She told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her,"Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole (healed) of thy plague (illness)".
His words to her were not a punishment, but an explaination, a comfort and a blessing.
What came to me as I listened to this passage is that he feels all of us around him. He feels our belief and our need.
Those that reach out to him with belief draw His attention. His power is ours to use, even for ourselves.
The man asked for and was going to be given help, not for himself, but for his daugher. She was too ill to ask for herself. He was afraid she would die. We can ask for help for others.
This healing slowed them down...
35 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, "Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?"
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, "Be not afraid, only believe."
His fear had come true...One of his own people had come to tell him his daughter died. Yet a man he did not know, except by reputation, told him it would be alright....what a quandry! Grieve his daughter or believe she would live? Believe in the word of one he had just met? But he would have SEEN the woman that was healed as she confessed to Jesus. And he had heard of other healings or he would not have come to ask for help. He must have kept believing, as hard as it was....
37 And he suffered (allowed) no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. 39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them,"Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth".
40 And they laughed him to scorn. (they ridiculed him, they didn't believe him) But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, "Talitha cumi"; which is, being interpreted, "Damsel, I say unto thee, arise". 42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.
His daughter lived....The worst word that can come to a parent, "your child has died", was made untrue. What a relief! What a joy to share with his wife and family!
One reached out in belief and was healed, one asked for another and they were healed....the girl was too young and too ill to believe in a stranger - but her father believed for her and she lived...I believe she lived to know who healed her...and those who believed she was dead would have KNOWN a miracle when they saw it...
Try the impossible. Believe in God's unconditional LOVE.
Ask. Don't be afraid, even to stand in front of a crowd and ASK.
Reach out. You have to reach for what you believe will help you.
See. Pay attention and begin to see the miracles around you.
Know. The power of his Love is His to share with us all. Learn to know it is real when you begin to see it around you in answer to your requests and prayers.
Believe. Not just for yourself, your belief will touch others. Ask for those that don't believe.
Ask that they see His love is real, ask that they might have what they need, too. They will begin to see the miracles and know the power of God's love. In time, as they learn to believe, they will reach out to touch others, too.
Whatever comes to you in life, however hard it is, never forget that He tells us, "Be not afraid, only believe."
Be not afraid.
only believe.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
No rules
Pain in your heart that seems caused by another can lead you understanding God's heart in your life. He loves you as you are. He asks that you love others, as they are. Not as you wish them to be, not as they treat you - but as He loves you - no conditions, no rules; Love freely given.
Your percieved pain, when you think someone has hurt your heart, is the birth of learning to love another as God loves - with no conditions. When you remove the conditions from your love the pain fades away.
Loving is not what hurts you, and not being loved by another is not what hurts. Trying to love and be loved only on your terms and not having those conditions honored by others hurts you.
But it is you that set the terms, the conditions, that you would love by....So you have hurt yourself.
""If you don't do this and do act in this way, then I will love you"" - that is what we do to ourselves. Love withheld for behaviors is not love - it is punishment and reward....You sully love when you use it in this way.
And it is human's rules you set to love by when you give conditions to be met, not God's. God's love has no rules to be met, no behaviors to be learned. Love is to always be given freely, not earned...not doled out like coins - GIVEN.
Letting go of your conditions frees you to give love, no matter what others do or how they love. Being human and having to relearn this is normal. We fall into thinking that we have to meet the conditions of those around us, family, friends, society, in order to be loved...We think again that we can not love one who wrongs us by human's rules or those around us will not understand.
Let them be confused but follow the light that is love in your own heart. Love anyway. No rules.
Accept that we hurt each other, that we can not live under others conditions. Forgive them the hurts done as you forgive yourself for being human and feeling a hurt was done.
Give and share love where ever you see it needed, with no rules, no conditions and love on with peace in your heart.
The gift of love freely given can not be wrapped, but it can be carried away in a heart with a smile and a hug behind it that will not be forgotten.
Never say you have no gift to give - your love for those around you IS the gift the never fades.
Your percieved pain, when you think someone has hurt your heart, is the birth of learning to love another as God loves - with no conditions. When you remove the conditions from your love the pain fades away.
Loving is not what hurts you, and not being loved by another is not what hurts. Trying to love and be loved only on your terms and not having those conditions honored by others hurts you.
But it is you that set the terms, the conditions, that you would love by....So you have hurt yourself.
""If you don't do this and do act in this way, then I will love you"" - that is what we do to ourselves. Love withheld for behaviors is not love - it is punishment and reward....You sully love when you use it in this way.
And it is human's rules you set to love by when you give conditions to be met, not God's. God's love has no rules to be met, no behaviors to be learned. Love is to always be given freely, not earned...not doled out like coins - GIVEN.
Letting go of your conditions frees you to give love, no matter what others do or how they love. Being human and having to relearn this is normal. We fall into thinking that we have to meet the conditions of those around us, family, friends, society, in order to be loved...We think again that we can not love one who wrongs us by human's rules or those around us will not understand.
Let them be confused but follow the light that is love in your own heart. Love anyway. No rules.
Accept that we hurt each other, that we can not live under others conditions. Forgive them the hurts done as you forgive yourself for being human and feeling a hurt was done.
Give and share love where ever you see it needed, with no rules, no conditions and love on with peace in your heart.
The gift of love freely given can not be wrapped, but it can be carried away in a heart with a smile and a hug behind it that will not be forgotten.
Never say you have no gift to give - your love for those around you IS the gift the never fades.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Choose to love
Each love you nourish in your life teaches you more about how to love. I try to learn to show love to others as I wish others would show love to me. When I exercise my ability to love gently and kindly, it nourishes everyone I touch but it only changes ME. It changes the way my heart feels.
When I am hurt and forgive it, I feel eased, released from the stress of being upset or emotionally in pain. I can't change how another person is feeling. I can only decide how I will feel.
When I can offer help it lets my heart smile. It is in how we interact with others, how WE each decide to act toward others, that the hope of a good world is brought closer to reality.
A seed can only grow to be like the flower is came from. You can loosen the soil, locate it in the proper amount of sun, keep the weeds away and feed it - offering your labor, your time and your care to the seed. Still, a zinnia seed will only grow to be a zinnia flower.
With your extra care, it will be the best and most healthy zinnia flower it can be, but it will still be a zinnia. What comes from your care of it is your increased exposure to sunshine, more exercise of your muscles, more contemplation of what you can do to help it flower better, thinking caring thoughts - YOU grow stronger for your care of the flower.
People can only be what the seed in them is designed to be - we can't change that, even in ourselves. But our loving care of each other can help us all be the best at being what we are.
It is YOU who changes from giving love to others. You learn to encourage, not discourage; to offer a hand up, not a hand out; to feed a spirit as well as a body. Your heart learns to see that they don't need to change, any more than you do - you just need to accept them as they are and yourself as you are.
Love them just as they are and learn to see what you can do to encourage them to be their very best self. Love yourself JUST as you are and know that each time you overcome your anger or hurt to forgive a friend that the world IS a better place. Be the best and most loving YOU that you can every day.
Lu 12:31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
If God is love and the kingdom of God is composed of love, then the kingdom is in each heart that loves - your heart and mine. Seek to love freely, to forgive easily, to show others how to love as you wish love would be showed to you here.
Plant your feet in love and expand the border of His Kingdom on this planet. His Kingdom come, His will be done. In His Unconditional and Divine Love I trust. Choose to love.
When I am hurt and forgive it, I feel eased, released from the stress of being upset or emotionally in pain. I can't change how another person is feeling. I can only decide how I will feel.
When I can offer help it lets my heart smile. It is in how we interact with others, how WE each decide to act toward others, that the hope of a good world is brought closer to reality.
A seed can only grow to be like the flower is came from. You can loosen the soil, locate it in the proper amount of sun, keep the weeds away and feed it - offering your labor, your time and your care to the seed. Still, a zinnia seed will only grow to be a zinnia flower.
With your extra care, it will be the best and most healthy zinnia flower it can be, but it will still be a zinnia. What comes from your care of it is your increased exposure to sunshine, more exercise of your muscles, more contemplation of what you can do to help it flower better, thinking caring thoughts - YOU grow stronger for your care of the flower.
People can only be what the seed in them is designed to be - we can't change that, even in ourselves. But our loving care of each other can help us all be the best at being what we are.
It is YOU who changes from giving love to others. You learn to encourage, not discourage; to offer a hand up, not a hand out; to feed a spirit as well as a body. Your heart learns to see that they don't need to change, any more than you do - you just need to accept them as they are and yourself as you are.
Love them just as they are and learn to see what you can do to encourage them to be their very best self. Love yourself JUST as you are and know that each time you overcome your anger or hurt to forgive a friend that the world IS a better place. Be the best and most loving YOU that you can every day.
Lu 12:31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
If God is love and the kingdom of God is composed of love, then the kingdom is in each heart that loves - your heart and mine. Seek to love freely, to forgive easily, to show others how to love as you wish love would be showed to you here.
Plant your feet in love and expand the border of His Kingdom on this planet. His Kingdom come, His will be done. In His Unconditional and Divine Love I trust. Choose to love.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Shine on
"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, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are 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."
The above was orignally written by Marianne Williamson not by Nelson Mandela.
When others don't understand why I care so deeply and give so much, I will not do less to suit their view of life.
I know sometimes we can only love a little from our broken and sad hearts. I will not care less to "match" their level of love. I will keep sharing my love so there is more love in the world.
I want to show them that even broken and sad hearts can learn to love and trust again and that caring for each other is caring for ourselves.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are 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."
The above was orignally written by Marianne Williamson not by Nelson Mandela.
When others don't understand why I care so deeply and give so much, I will not do less to suit their view of life.
I know sometimes we can only love a little from our broken and sad hearts. I will not care less to "match" their level of love. I will keep sharing my love so there is more love in the world.
I want to show them that even broken and sad hearts can learn to love and trust again and that caring for each other is caring for ourselves.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Forgive me
Why is it so HARD to remember - "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, [b]do ye even so to them[/b]:....matthew 7:12
Some don't return my phone calls, some don't come when I think I need help. Some can't soothe me when I hurt. Some say unkind things about me when I'm not there. Some have taken things from me without asking. Some don't show up when they say they will be over. Some hurt my feelings with words or actions. Some just seem to be mean to me.
To do what makes me feel I am on the right path and get the warm fuzzy feeling inside, I have to remember we are each just human. I have done these things to others in the past. I have to forgive the hurt I am feeling and return only loving attention and care.
I don't find it easy. Striking out when we hurt is built into the body as a defense mechanisim. It shouldn't to be built into our hearts. We can look at the hurt done to us and realize that, in many cases, it is our sense of importance and pride that is hurting. Is that really worth losing a friend over?
I can no longer return tit for tat. I'm just not going to get into a lose-lose situation again if I can help it. You do what you need to do - I will answer when you call, return your calls, come when you need me, share what I have and try to give what you ask me for. I will continue to help where I can, to fill the needs I see around me....I will try to soothe hurts, ease hearts, offer caring attention....even if that is NOT what you have shared with me -
Why? Because I believe we are all in this together - we are ONE - each a part of the whole. If I hurt you I am hurting myself. I want to love myself. I want to love all of myself. That means loving you, too.
The book doesn't say 'do unto others AS they do unto you', it says to do what you WISH they would do for you...
I wish to be loved. To have help when I need it. To have food when I am hungry. To have companionship when I am lonely. To have what I need when it's needed...I wish to be loved by others and to love them freely.
I can't do that and count the hurts done to me. I am letting go of the hurts and only counting the love. I will count the smallest sign of loving care and watch as those small, loving actions increase.
I believe Love is all there is. Why would I try to track and remember things that are "notlove"?
If you encourage the smallest kindness of others and offer only kindness, it will change the world.
Maybe I won't be able to live up to the ideal every day. I'm human. I can't get vengeful and vindictive and want to hurt someone back....but if I can slow down even one minute and think to try and let the hurt flow over me instead of through me, I am slowing notlove and encouraging Love....I gotta try.
So do unto others as you WISH others would do unto you - feed them, house them, hold them while they cry, laugh with them, and love them.
Forgive them for being humans, love them for being part of your life forever.
Some don't return my phone calls, some don't come when I think I need help. Some can't soothe me when I hurt. Some say unkind things about me when I'm not there. Some have taken things from me without asking. Some don't show up when they say they will be over. Some hurt my feelings with words or actions. Some just seem to be mean to me.
To do what makes me feel I am on the right path and get the warm fuzzy feeling inside, I have to remember we are each just human. I have done these things to others in the past. I have to forgive the hurt I am feeling and return only loving attention and care.
I don't find it easy. Striking out when we hurt is built into the body as a defense mechanisim. It shouldn't to be built into our hearts. We can look at the hurt done to us and realize that, in many cases, it is our sense of importance and pride that is hurting. Is that really worth losing a friend over?
I can no longer return tit for tat. I'm just not going to get into a lose-lose situation again if I can help it. You do what you need to do - I will answer when you call, return your calls, come when you need me, share what I have and try to give what you ask me for. I will continue to help where I can, to fill the needs I see around me....I will try to soothe hurts, ease hearts, offer caring attention....even if that is NOT what you have shared with me -
Why? Because I believe we are all in this together - we are ONE - each a part of the whole. If I hurt you I am hurting myself. I want to love myself. I want to love all of myself. That means loving you, too.
The book doesn't say 'do unto others AS they do unto you', it says to do what you WISH they would do for you...
I wish to be loved. To have help when I need it. To have food when I am hungry. To have companionship when I am lonely. To have what I need when it's needed...I wish to be loved by others and to love them freely.
I can't do that and count the hurts done to me. I am letting go of the hurts and only counting the love. I will count the smallest sign of loving care and watch as those small, loving actions increase.
I believe Love is all there is. Why would I try to track and remember things that are "notlove"?
If you encourage the smallest kindness of others and offer only kindness, it will change the world.
Maybe I won't be able to live up to the ideal every day. I'm human. I can't get vengeful and vindictive and want to hurt someone back....but if I can slow down even one minute and think to try and let the hurt flow over me instead of through me, I am slowing notlove and encouraging Love....I gotta try.
So do unto others as you WISH others would do unto you - feed them, house them, hold them while they cry, laugh with them, and love them.
Forgive them for being humans, love them for being part of your life forever.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Day is Done
By fire or candle, light was labor. You were sparing with it. There was no running down to the gas station for more propane or to the neighbors for candles...The light went OUT when the sun went down. And we let it.
After a day of hauling wood, cutting sod, feeding animals, and teaching kids how to do the same, the sun went down. Readings or recitations by firelight were entertainment and schooling. Singing was a release of the heart after a day of exercising your muscles...break time. If it was too dark to read, too dark to mend harness, we gathered together and told each other stories.
Families didn't have limitless supplies of acholol or drugs to 'relax' with. Forget TV. They found their own ways to unwind at the end of the day.
We are losing the art of family relaxation. We all need it; it's hardwired into almost everything on the planet. We need the dark. We need to rest.
Even out plants grow better when given dark time in their day. Too much light makes them spindly and thin. Our animals produce better when they are given "night" in their barns.
There is no prize for "Most Exausted Human".
There is a prize for families that relax together. That time of almost sleepy but still awake that we can share builds a bond that lasts. You don't have to do anything but be there and communicate with your family. Make it "Joke of the Day" and everyone tells one. Or just sit in the yard and stare at the consellations together.
Find a way to spend a few minutes each day glad that the night is come and day is done with your family. Even if it is the panacea of TV, snuggling down together to watch it makes the bonds between you stronger. It helps you all rest better knowing there are those who care who are with you each night.
Kick back and party, play cards, sing, tell stories - RELAX - but do it together.
"Col 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love ........."
After a day of hauling wood, cutting sod, feeding animals, and teaching kids how to do the same, the sun went down. Readings or recitations by firelight were entertainment and schooling. Singing was a release of the heart after a day of exercising your muscles...break time. If it was too dark to read, too dark to mend harness, we gathered together and told each other stories.
Families didn't have limitless supplies of acholol or drugs to 'relax' with. Forget TV. They found their own ways to unwind at the end of the day.
We are losing the art of family relaxation. We all need it; it's hardwired into almost everything on the planet. We need the dark. We need to rest.
Even out plants grow better when given dark time in their day. Too much light makes them spindly and thin. Our animals produce better when they are given "night" in their barns.
There is no prize for "Most Exausted Human".
There is a prize for families that relax together. That time of almost sleepy but still awake that we can share builds a bond that lasts. You don't have to do anything but be there and communicate with your family. Make it "Joke of the Day" and everyone tells one. Or just sit in the yard and stare at the consellations together.
Find a way to spend a few minutes each day glad that the night is come and day is done with your family. Even if it is the panacea of TV, snuggling down together to watch it makes the bonds between you stronger. It helps you all rest better knowing there are those who care who are with you each night.
Kick back and party, play cards, sing, tell stories - RELAX - but do it together.
"Col 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love ........."
Friday, September 25, 2009
How may I help you?
I care about those around me. I try to show it. How do you know it's needed if you aren't the one who needs it?
When I care about others I often see things that I think need filling -- from sugar bowls to hearts. I think it's needed because I have needed it before. A gallon of milk, a gas tank, a hug, a quiet talk...I can only recognize "need" as I have known my own needs.
There are some needs we all have and can't mistake. There are some needs unique to each of us.
How do you know you are filling what's truely needed when it's not you who needs it and it's not a need you have had?
I don't. I can only offer to fill the needs as I see them.
I'm really filling the needs [i]I know[/i] in those I meet; My needs. I can only hope it's close enough to what they really need that it helps them.
Can you fill a need if you have not known the need?
I think we can. I think we can see another's plight and aid them even when we don't understand why they think they need something we have never needed so badly. It's not a need you have had, it's not important to you, but you reach out to help them fill it...I think that is love; To help another be all of the best that they are.
I need to love and be loved. I see that as a need in all of us. Whether it truely is a need or not, I see it that way.
When I see someone who needs to be loved it touches my heart. My heart is ripped when I can't fill that need. When all expression of caring is denied by them you can't soothe their hurts. They will not let others love them.
When I see someone who has stopped loving, it makes my heart ache for them. Denying yourself that need, to me, is the same as standing in a blizzard naked. To stop loving others is to kill something in yourself, as I see it.
So the basic reason I fill the needs around me is because I NEED to love. To show people they are loved is secondary, really.
That's a hard thing to say. I want to be caring for others to show them there is one who cares for us all, but I know now it's my need to give love that I am filling...
When I fill anyone's need, I am filling my own....I'll keep reaching out to each I meet. Now I think I understand why I do.
When I care about others I often see things that I think need filling -- from sugar bowls to hearts. I think it's needed because I have needed it before. A gallon of milk, a gas tank, a hug, a quiet talk...I can only recognize "need" as I have known my own needs.
There are some needs we all have and can't mistake. There are some needs unique to each of us.
How do you know you are filling what's truely needed when it's not you who needs it and it's not a need you have had?
I don't. I can only offer to fill the needs as I see them.
I'm really filling the needs [i]I know[/i] in those I meet; My needs. I can only hope it's close enough to what they really need that it helps them.
Can you fill a need if you have not known the need?
I think we can. I think we can see another's plight and aid them even when we don't understand why they think they need something we have never needed so badly. It's not a need you have had, it's not important to you, but you reach out to help them fill it...I think that is love; To help another be all of the best that they are.
I need to love and be loved. I see that as a need in all of us. Whether it truely is a need or not, I see it that way.
When I see someone who needs to be loved it touches my heart. My heart is ripped when I can't fill that need. When all expression of caring is denied by them you can't soothe their hurts. They will not let others love them.
When I see someone who has stopped loving, it makes my heart ache for them. Denying yourself that need, to me, is the same as standing in a blizzard naked. To stop loving others is to kill something in yourself, as I see it.
So the basic reason I fill the needs around me is because I NEED to love. To show people they are loved is secondary, really.
That's a hard thing to say. I want to be caring for others to show them there is one who cares for us all, but I know now it's my need to give love that I am filling...
When I fill anyone's need, I am filling my own....I'll keep reaching out to each I meet. Now I think I understand why I do.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Where are you going?
Joh 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
You can't bear them now. Interesting phrase. He would not hurt their hearts further or load them down with things they did not need to know yet, but He wanted them to know He would be sharing more thoughts with them later.
What he had to say NOW was hard enough to share with them. The rest could wait.
Joh 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Joh 16:18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
They didn't understand. He is telling them he's going to die, but he calls it "you won't see me and then, after a little while, you WILL see me...He SAYS he doesn't die, just go where he can't be seen.....but "He'll be back."
Joh 16:20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
You will be sad and upset, but it will be a good thing that I have died to this world...and you will understand it - later.
Joh 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
Now He knows He has made his friends sad. They understand he's going to die...and - like us - they STILL thought it meant "dead". Even though they had seen him revive the dead.....so they know that the spirit can be returned to a body....the SPIRIT didn't die.
He tries to comfort them by saying He will see them later and you will never miss me again...but they probably didn't believe Him.
Dead is dead, right?
So when people don't believe me I know I am in good company.
What happens when we "die"? Where do we go? Can WE come back? He tried to tell them.
I try to tell you... http://1way2see.com/thebook.html
You won't die. You change, but you are alive and loving on. I can't say I will return here to see anyone after, but I will say I'll be watching and loving you and that I'll see you when you get there.
Next time I will take another swing at grace. It's why I believe that each one of us will meet later.
You can't bear them now. Interesting phrase. He would not hurt their hearts further or load them down with things they did not need to know yet, but He wanted them to know He would be sharing more thoughts with them later.
What he had to say NOW was hard enough to share with them. The rest could wait.
Joh 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Joh 16:18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
They didn't understand. He is telling them he's going to die, but he calls it "you won't see me and then, after a little while, you WILL see me...He SAYS he doesn't die, just go where he can't be seen.....but "He'll be back."
Joh 16:20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
You will be sad and upset, but it will be a good thing that I have died to this world...and you will understand it - later.
Joh 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
Now He knows He has made his friends sad. They understand he's going to die...and - like us - they STILL thought it meant "dead". Even though they had seen him revive the dead.....so they know that the spirit can be returned to a body....the SPIRIT didn't die.
He tries to comfort them by saying He will see them later and you will never miss me again...but they probably didn't believe Him.
Dead is dead, right?
So when people don't believe me I know I am in good company.
What happens when we "die"? Where do we go? Can WE come back? He tried to tell them.
I try to tell you... http://1way2see.com/thebook.html
You won't die. You change, but you are alive and loving on. I can't say I will return here to see anyone after, but I will say I'll be watching and loving you and that I'll see you when you get there.
Next time I will take another swing at grace. It's why I believe that each one of us will meet later.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Truth
I've covered this before but it comes back over and over. The Divine Love is so pure it feels like liquid truth...I can't say it better.
Truth is so much a part of love that they can't be separated.
When you use untruths to those you love it twists something in you because YOU know it is not truth.
The other person now has false information to work with between you. They believe you. Your lie is their truth.
Now the balance is off between you but you are the only one who knows it.
When all the lies you have told come together in the day you need the truth between you they are hurt, your love together is hurt badly and you have shown yourself as untrustworthy.
Really - is it worth looking perfect to lie?
We're not perfect. We make mistakes. We hurt each other. But if you keep it all in the daylight, nothing to hide, it can be dealt with between you.
I'll find the verses that go with this later, it is in the book.
But I am glad I have kept what I do and where I walk in the light. I have no shame and nothing to hide in my life now.
I have done things in the past that shame me. I like walking without that in my life.
It's hard to be honest. And it's hard to find honest words that don't hurt. But it's loving to be truthful with each other. It's not loving to lie.
I gotta go with the love.
Truth is so much a part of love that they can't be separated.
When you use untruths to those you love it twists something in you because YOU know it is not truth.
The other person now has false information to work with between you. They believe you. Your lie is their truth.
Now the balance is off between you but you are the only one who knows it.
When all the lies you have told come together in the day you need the truth between you they are hurt, your love together is hurt badly and you have shown yourself as untrustworthy.
Really - is it worth looking perfect to lie?
We're not perfect. We make mistakes. We hurt each other. But if you keep it all in the daylight, nothing to hide, it can be dealt with between you.
I'll find the verses that go with this later, it is in the book.
But I am glad I have kept what I do and where I walk in the light. I have no shame and nothing to hide in my life now.
I have done things in the past that shame me. I like walking without that in my life.
It's hard to be honest. And it's hard to find honest words that don't hurt. But it's loving to be truthful with each other. It's not loving to lie.
I gotta go with the love.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
