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Joy in real life…
Brene Brown says, “Joy is the most vulnerable emotion.” Maybe, that’s why I have always struggled with it. I open my heart to experience the exquisite beauty of this moment, but I know it cannot last. The sunset that paints the sky in sherbet colors of orange, gold, and lavender will soon fade to dusk. The moment of pure laughter and connection will soon shift back to living side by side. The smell of a warm baby, just out of the bath, gives way to a defiant tween. A long slow summer Sunday afternoon, too quickly turns to Monday morning. We don’t give ourselves over to joy in order to…
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The Strong Ones…
this space has become a place where we can be both. There are places in my life that require me to be strong. There are a few places that allow me to be weak. There are very few that support me when I’m both. Around this table, we have created a space for both.
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What is saving my life today…
What is saving my life now is the conviction that there is no spiritual treasure to be found apart from the bodily experiences of human life on earth. My life depends on engaging the most ordinary physical activities with the most exquisite attention I can give them. My life depends on ignoring all touted distinctions between the secular and the sacred, the physical and the spiritual, the body and the soul. What is saving my life now is becoming more fully human, trusting that there is no way to God apart from real life in the real world.” Barbara Brown Taylor from An Altar in the World: A Geography of…
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Managing the gauges
I think about the video games my kids played. They had gauges measuring life, health, fire power, or strength. As the kids moved through the game, interactions might increase or decrease the health, strength, or fire power of a character. They were always looking at the life gauge that indicated when the game had come to an end.
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Self-care in real life…
When I am weary to the bone, depleted mentally and physically, I often need good old-fashioned rest. I need the get off the ride and allow the world to stop spinning.
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Minding the silence…
I love words. When I get overwhelmed, you can often find me on my way to the book store. The weight of pages, the smell, and the hush sooths my soul. I am a talker. I process my world through an almost constant deluge of words. I think out loud examining my life, my experience, my relationships, and my world through words both penned and aired. If you think I have a lot to say, you should hear the words that swirl around inside my head that never even see the light of day. Sometimes, I find that I need a break. Maybe you too, need a break from words. Imagine…
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Redefining success…
Success here is not based on a number on my scale or the back of my pants, but a new awareness that my body must be nurtured and cared for as a good friend. She needs to be fed, clothed, and cherished. I’m not going to get another.
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What is saving my life now…
The color, shape, rhythm, and light in the world has a new power to move me. I feel starved for beauty and I am grabbing hold of scraps of wonder and gulping them down like my life depends on it.
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What your life says…
If you feel like you are no longer leading in your life, and instead feel like your life is running ahead, and you are simply bouncing behind it… here are some things you might want to consider.
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Winter beach…
I still need to just go. To rush to the wind and the shore, and remind myself that there is still spontaneity and fun in me. I am too serious, and often too well planned. I am tired from taking care of all the people. Maybe when I am tired from the cares of life, instead of a nap, I need a quick trip to remind me of this other part… of me.
