Words from the Heart

After four months of job hunting, I am finding it difficult to be enthusiastic. The words from my heart seem frozen. I have become grumpy and sulky. As I sat meditating today, it occurred to me that part of my funk was caused by the lack of response I have gotten from the various positions to which I have applied. Maybe I am showing my age, but I do remember when every applicant received a notice, regardless of whether they were interviewed or not. I know because I used to sent those type of letters out once upon a time.  This is, however, no longer the case, which is extremely disheartening. Let's look at this critically.  Back before email and online applications, people had to apply on paper.  Administrative assistants typed letters of rejection one by one.  It was time consuming, yet, it was a common practice to let people know that they were no longer in the pool of applicants. Today, we have the benefits of the World Wide Web, email, and online app...

Most of us take the opportunity to assess life during what we have come to call, the New Year, which is observed on and around January 1.  I, however, rebel that I am, take time to reflect each year on my birthday. This year, as I sat in meditation, I was overwhelmed by my blessings.  My life is so rich.  Here are but a few examples in the litany of gifts in my life. My spiritual journey My beloved My daughters, each a rare and unique gem My grandchildren...five at the last count! My family and friends, which encompass the entire globe My ability to write My garden Life is good !   Am I looking at things through rose-colored glasses?  Perhaps. It is not that I don't live in reality.  I definitely understand the pain, the suffering, the heartache of life.  The choices I make are to find the good, to see the silver lining.  It is a choice. Recently, a friend wrote a blog post on how negative people can bring your energy down.  S...

I remember as a girl hearing the adults talking about a Fellini movie that was "Banned in Boston!" When I asked my mother what it means to be "Banned in Boston," she explained that the Boston diocese of the Catholic Church had forbidden people from seeing the movie.  She went on to explain that this upset her because it took away her freedom to decide for herself if something was appropriate or good or worth her time. Momma was a very progressive thinker for her day  She was a civil right activist long before the term was in daily life.   In the recent issue of the AARP Bulletin, there is a full-page listing of books that are banned in schools and libraries across the country.  To me, this seems unbelievable, especially when I read the list of books.  I can understand not allowing porn into a school library, but The Diary of Anne Frank or Fahrenheit 451 ? I read Anne Frank as a young girl in Junior High.  It opened my eyes to how someone could fa...

In the book, Listening for the Soul by Jean Stairs, she has a section on "noisy contemplation" (pg. 51), which I found very interesting.  She describes how in the midst of our daily lives we can practice noisy contemplation by simply being mindful that, in spite of the "noise" that surrounds our lives, there are moments where we can stop to connect to Spirit. I found this fascinating on several levels.  First, it is something I have practiced for many years without having a name for what I was doing.  Second, she pointed out that this act of  mindfulness  is the embodiment of the word, Namaste . Namaste is Sanskrit , meaning, "I bow to thee."  By using this word, which has become popularized through yoga, what we are saying to another is, "I recognize the Divine in you."  Noisy contemplation is recognizing the Divine in another or in a situation without being sucked into the vortex of noise and confusion. For example, imagine you are walking...