Category: blessing

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Nothing For Granted

I’ve been thinking about how often I seem to take things for granted. Maybe this happens to you too.

I began wondering why. Could it be that my mind is just too busy with other things or is there something deeper going on?

There was a somewhat melancholy feeling running through me and words started flowing onto a page in my journal. I thought I’d share them with you, so that maybe together we could remind ourselves to take nothing for granted.

Nothing For Granted

Life is precious,

Sometimes staying in one place,

Sometimes leaping head.

I want to remember it all.

I wonder to myself about things,

About moments I experience,

What if this were my last hug,

The last spoke word I’ll ever hear,

What if this were my last sunset,

Last long soothing shower I’ll ever have,

Last delicious meal I’ll eat,

Or song I’ll hear,

Or walk I’ll take,

What if it’s the last firefly I’ll see light up

On a hot summer night,

Last starlit sky,

Last new spring green explosion of leaves I’ll see,

Or the last brilliant colorful autumn extravaganza,

What if it’s the last time I’ll feel the warmth of a cozy blanket,

Or the sunshine on my face,

What if this was the last time I’ll feel my wife’s lips against mine,

Would it change what it means to me

To be alive,

Would I treasure it,

Savor it,

Breath into it.

Would I try to hold onto it for dear life.

I wonder,

What do I want my life to be like.

So,

I sit with all of this

And let it wash over me

And I know what I want,

I want everything

To mean something to me,

Every sting,

Every fall and rise,

Every illusive dream,

Hurt, hope, every breath,

Every face and heart connection,

I want the whole collection of life,

Because it all matters.

And what I want most

Is to feel alive

And connected

And

I want to take nothing for granted,

Ever

I am curious what things you’d put on your list. Maybe you are too.

Be well.

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Grace

Are you familiar with the idea of grace?

Perhaps the most common usage, would be the ‘saying of grace’ before meals, especially dinner.

I wondered where the practice came from. It wasn’t hard to discover. It appears in most Christian traditions and is a short prayer said before a meal. Saying grace comes from the Latin phrase ‘gratiarum actio’, which means an act of thanks.

Some traditions believe that grace and thanksgiving impart a blessing which sanctifies (makes holy) the meal, while other traditions focus on the belief that humans should thank God for the food and other blessings they receive.

I’ve never really been entirely comfortable with either of these concepts. I am very grateful that there is food in the world for me and I want it to create health for my body, but there’s something underneath the idea of saying grace that is bothersome to me.

I feel as though I need to take a big step backwards and perhaps ask myself several questions. I use questions as prompts. They challenge me to think deeper and delve into new territory.

Does saying grace change the flavor of the food? Does it change the power of the food to create better health in me? If I don’t say grace, do I lose some of the value of the food?

And then there is another side to this. When I say grace, who am I saying it to?  Is God the granter of grace? If so, does God speak everyone’s language and grant everyone’s wishes?

If you are with a group of people and grace is said, do all of those present have to think, feel, and believe the same thing for grace to work?

Maybe I tend to think too deeply into issues, but it feels like something important is waiting here for me to discover.

As I lean into this whole idea, I sense the word ‘grace’ has more far-reaching implications for me.

In the religious culture I was raised, ‘grace’ has a very specific meaning. God offers us grace as a free gift because God is willing to forgive us and bless us, even though we all fall short of living righteously (a good life). Further, grace is viewed as the love of God shown those who do not merit love.

These statements, and the concept of grace as it’s used, touches a nerve in me.

Who does not merit love?

In my world, there is no one who does not merit love. Some may act from places of hurt so deep that they appear cruel and heartless. But there is a place within them that is human and lovable. Every one of us comes from love and returns to love.

In my view, we all came from heaven and return to heaven. We are all parts of the whole, the holy, the one. We all deserve love and no one is excluded.

The way grace is used implies that we are missing something and need to be supplemented from outside of ourselves. This makes us dependent on someone or something else to be whole.

This is the part that challenges me because I believe that god lives inside of me (and inside of each of you), therefore I am not dependent on an external force to grant me grace.

I believe that each of us is connected to each other and to the world. We extend love because inherently, we are love. None of us is ‘less than’ or unlovable and so none of us needs grace from the outside. It is always within our power to offer love to ourselves and to remind each other that ultimately, love is who we are.

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Apology, Cost or Blessing

Have you ever considered that an apology could come at a cost to you or instead, be a huge blessing?

It’s interesting to me that the statement can be interpreted from several different directions. Perhaps the apology comes from you, but maybe the apology is offered to you.

Do you feel the same way in both circumstances?

Sometimes it depends on when the apology happens. If it’s too far into the future from the incident, it might lose its value. It also matters whether the apology is sincere or not, because without sincerity the words would not represent an expression of real sorrow or remorse, a kind of ‘non-apology’ apology.

So much goes into the act of an apology. It can be extremely difficult to know where you stand, as the one apologizing or the one being apologized to.

If you’ve seen my Facebook and Instagram posts, you’ll be familiar with the four-word questions I pose that have beautiful background art works created by my dear friend, Cheri Warren.

Together, we created a 52-card oracle deck which we hope to have available for folks who are interested. (More about that in the future- Self Discovery Cards, A 52 Card Deck that guides you to your true self).

What I wanted to share was that one way to use the cards is to shuffle the deck and choose one card at random, then answer the question posed.

I wanted to try the cards out for myself, so opened the pack, shuffled, chose one and flipped it over to reveal a card. It happened to be the one with this Post’s title, Apology, Cost or Blessing. I felt no connection to the card. It didn’t spark anything inside of me and I was a bit disappointed.

However, an hour or so later…wham! A string of meaningful thoughts arrived, seemingly out of nowhere. After the shock of recognition, a further question popped up.

‘To whom do I need to apologize?’

I sat with that, pondering. Then three words showed up…’Me, that’s who’.

I’d never considered that when the question came up. I’d immediately thought about what person I needed to apologize to or who had offended me enough that I’d expect an apology from them.

So, why me? Why would I need to apologize to myself?

A voice inside me spoke saying, “because you’ve released our power. You’ve let it leak out of us.” It was a somewhat angry voice and I realized it was my ego speaking. It was demanding to be heard saying, “you don’t stick up for us”.

I realized it was the truth and that there were many situations I allowed my power to ebb away. I felt truly sorry that my actions had caused myself pain and sorrow. I apologized and committed to make some important changes, ones that would hopefully keep this from happening again.

I recognize how this simple apology cost nothing but has created many blessings for me. I can be more honest in the moment, watching carefully what I do and say and making sure it is in harmony and alignment with my life plan, with who I am here to be. I am so happy that I chose that particular four-word question and look forward to the next one I choose, realizing it might take a moment or two before it reveals some deep truth to me