From Mindless to Mindfulness: Thursday's Reflection

I spent the afternoon cutting and pasting.

And praying.

At first, the task seemed mindless. I had decided to put together journals for the guided labyrinth walks I am leading in the next few days. I wrote prompts for each part of the labyrinth and then cut and pasted them into small journals the participants can carry with them as they walk the labyrinth. I started the project the previous day, but hadn't finished it and, I admit, I was a bit frustrated about that.

After all, I had planned to spend the afternoon working on my spiritual memoir, but there I was cutting and pasting and getting my fingers sticky and scraps of paper were drifting to the floor around my desk. What had seemed like a good idea, a creative idea, began to feel more like a chore. 

But somewhere along the way--maybe journal #3, I noticed a change. I started cutting more slowly, more deliberately and less frantically. I started pasting the small slips of paper into the journal in a gentler way, smoothing the paper, almost caressing each page.

I thought about the people who will be walking the labyrinth, wondering what cares or questions or yearnings they will bring with them. I thought about all the feet that have walked the labyrinth we will use and hoped they have found some peace, some insights, some grace along the way.

I thought about the privilege of accompanying others on their journey, about the stories I hear, the hopes and dreams shared, the joys and the sorrows expressed, the depth of seeking for connection, for awareness of the movement of God.

As I completed each journal, I whispered, "Amen." 

After I put away the scissors, the glue stick, the ruler, and cleaned up my work space, space I realized had been an altar for a short period of time, I opened Celtic Treasure by J. Philip Newell to reread the prayer from this morning's devotion time.

                   Open our eyes to see your Spirit in all life.
                   Open our hearts to receive the blessing that
                       is in all created things.
                   Guide us with your wisdom, O God,
                   in the handling of matter,
                   in the sharing of earth's resources
                   and in the knowing of one another,
                   your Spirit within every living spirit.

What had felt mindless to me, had become a time of mindfulness. 

An Invitation
What mindless activities can become a time of prayer in your life? I would love to know. 

Sunday Night Potluck Suppers and Deep Conversations: Tuesday's Reflections

Every six weeks or so friends of ours gather in our home for an old-fashioned potluck supper. The menu recently was meatloaf, green beans, scalloped potatoes, fruit salad, and cheesecake. All delicious. 

The conversations are just as rich and satisfying, and the ease we have developed with each other is its own kind of comfort food. We eat quickly, complimenting each other on whatever dish we brought to share, and then we settle in to talk, really talk and really listen. 

Eventually, the conversation turns to politics and the state of our country. Along with our own reflections, hopes and fears, we share what we have read and heard and who in our mind makes the most sense. While we don't agree on everything, we do seem to share common values and political orientation. 

I knew our conversations Sunday evening would include, perhaps even focus on, the upcoming hearings about the accusations against the Supreme Court nominee, and while I looked forward to having our own forum, a place and time of safety in the midst of such shakiness, I also knew I needed -- for myself-- to offer a reminder to look for and respond to the movement of God in our hearts and minds. 

I turned to Marianne Williamson's book Illuminata, A Return to Prayer, and her "Prayer for America." Here is an excerpt:

          May violence and darkness be cast out of our midst.
          May hatred no longer find fertile ground in which to grow
                  here.
          May all of us feel God's grace upon us.
          Reignite, dear God, the spirit of truth in our hearts.
          May our nation be given a new light, the sacred fire that
                  once shone so bright from shore to shore.
          May we be repaired.
          May we be forgiven.
          May our children be blessed.
          Dear God, please bless America.
          Amen. 

If I were involved in the upcoming hearings, I hope I would remember to pause, take a deep breath or two or three and remember what keeps me grounded and what gives me light. I hope I would call upon the spirit of truth that lives in my heart, even as darkness attempts to quench it. 

So much is broken. So much needs to be repaired, and at times wholeness and healing seems totally out of reach, but the love felt around the table at our Sunday night potlucks gives me hope. 

An Invitation
Where do you find hope? Do you have a "Sunday Night Supper" kind of group where you can share at a deep level? I would love to know. 

The Richness of Days: Thursday's Reflection

Some days are just rich. They taste good, smell good. They fill the heart. They refresh the mind and connect with Spirit. 

Some days I just feel rewarded for living. 

Today is one of those days. Let me share a few of the gifts. 

I started my Wednesday copying the day's meditation from Celtic Treasure by J. Philip Newell. I especially love the closing words:
                The blessings of heaven,
                the blessings of earth,
                the blessings of sea and of sky.
                On those we love this day
                and on every human family
                the gifts of heaven,
                the gifts of earth,
                the gifts of sea and of sky. 

Much of the morning I spent in "Memoir Immersion." After taking time off this summer to let my spiritual memoir breathe and also to focus on planning the 3rd Chapter retreat I presented last week, I have returned to my memoir project, beginning with revision of the first chapters. Thank heavens I have a "Revision Rewards" bag to inspire me.

My wonderful sister filled a bag with treats and when I need a reward beyond the awareness that I am doing what I need to do, I can open a present. After working for over two hours, but not sure I am making progress, I opened Present #1. The Post-it notes cube is terrific, of course, but more than that is the support it represents. Thanks, sis!

Then it was time for lunch, and my husband and I had a date with our amazing granddaughter Maren who has the day off from school. She is a sophomore in high school, and you know what that means. She is busy--and we don't get the kind of time with her that we did when she was younger. 

Such a good conversation we had with her about her classes and activities at school and, of course, about books. She read my all-time favorite book, Pride and Prejudice, this summer and yes, she really liked it too. Will a Pride and Prejudice movie marathon be in our future? She is a delight, and the hour with her will keep me filled for a long time. 

This afternoon I made a batch of tomato soup with tomatoes I bought at the farmers' market on Saturday. A messy task, but ooh the smell and soon the taste. I may return to the kitchen and make applesauce for the first time this fall. 

As if all these gifts weren't enough, a friend and I arranged our next get-together date; another friend texted me a happy picture of herself; Peter, our grandson will be here after school today; and tonight I am going to a writing class. A rich day indeed. 

True, not everything is great. We have an invasion of ants, but Bruce took steps to show them who's boss, and they will move on. And the world continues to reverberate with pain and loss and fear and scary stuff everywhere, but still there remains good tastes, good smells, full hearts, refreshments for the mind, and love and connection with Spirit. Life is rich. 

An Invitation

What are the gifts of your day? I would love to know. 

Gifts of Wisdom: Tuesday's Reflection

Last week I facilitated a 3rd Chapter retreat. You are in your 3rd
Chapter, by the way, if you are 55 or older. The retreat was called "Who Am I NOW, A Birthday Party for Your 3rd Chapter," and I used the birthday theme throughout the day. 

We played a game, "Go Fish," in which each person "caught" a prompt as a way to introduce herself/himself to the group.
          I am the person God created me to be when....
          I am (something I would like to be true about myself)
          I am (something I would like others to know about me).
          I once was _____________, but now I am __________.

We had birthday favors--funny sunglasses, and candy, and noisemakers-- and we wore a birthday hat while we ate cupcakes. We blew out candles, made wishes, and sang "Happy Birthday" to ourselves and each other. 

It was a good party, but what would a party be without presents?

Throughout the day we reflected on our stories of loss, but also of growth. We discovered connections as we made new friends. We gained insights about the meaning and purpose of our lives. 

And we shared the gift of wisdom with each other.

At the end of the day each person was given a "gift card," with these words,

         Dear Friend and Colleague in the 3rd Chapter, I offer
             you a gift.
         My best advice, my deepest wisdom is:

         I want you to have this because.

After completing the card, the giver tucked the card in a box,  wrapped it with pretty paper and ribbon, and placed it on our retreat altar. One by one boxes were selected and opened, and each person  received a gift of wisdom.

And because wisdom is best when it isn't held too tightly, here is a present for you, some of the words of wisdom from the birthday party guests:

       My best advice, my deepest wisdom is to be who you desire to 
              be because that is also who God desires you to be.
       I want you to have this because it is the sole thing your soul 
              needs. 

       My best advice, my deepest wisdom is that you are a gift to
             those in your life. Give freely your wisdom to all these
             people. 
        I want you to have this because you will be rewarded over and          
              over again.

        My best advice, my deepest wisdom is to share your joy with 
              everyone you meet.
        I want you to have this because you are a child of God who is 
             on the heavenly journey home. 

We ended the day with these words, 
        NOW is the time to enter and relish each moment we are
        given. We ask for you help, O God, in all the ways you
        know we need your presence. Amen. 

Happy Birthday! 

An Invitation
What words of wisdom do you have to share? I would love to know. 





              

Labyrinth Lessons: Thursday's Reflection

Savor. 
  

That's the word I received on a recent labyrinth walk. 

The labyrinth itself was small and almost shabby, untended, and I was disappointed when I saw it. The location with driveways and parking on either side of the slim slip of green where it was located wasn't very private. There wasn't even a bench nearby where I could sit and write in my journal after walking the labyrinth. 

But there I was, and I felt a need to walk a labyrinth. 

I had spent time thinking about a question to bring with me as I crossed the labyrinth's threshold. Questions like 
                   How am I to use my energy right now?
                   How am I to live in this season of my life?
                   What is my calling right now?
                   What needs to be liberated?
                   What is your desire for me?

As I stood at the threshold, it occurred to me that those questions seemed too big for this humble labyrinth. I envisioned walking a labyrinth like the one at Chartres; a labyrinth that would fit the scale of my yearnings, my unsettled questions; a walk that would inspire deep and lofty insights. How could this labyrinth with its woodchip path and overgrown plants reveal the perfect response to my search for clear direction and purpose? I reminded myself, however, that the woodchip path was defined by stones someone had carefully placed, and I thanked them for their effort, their devotion to the journey. I took a deep breath, and told myself to walk humbly with God. 

I walked slowly and stopped frequently, but still I reached the center of the labyrinth quickly, and I thought about how quickly the years have passed and how the coming ones will pass just as quickly, I'm sure. It was then on a wisp of breeze the word came to me, "Savor." 

Say that word aloud. Savor. Doesn't it taste good? The taste of honey, of melted chocolate, really good chocolate, or the feel of fresh sheets on the bed or the smell of a rose or lavender you brush against as you walk by or the sound of soft background music, barely heard. 

Walking out of the labyrinth I always hope a plan will be revealed, an action to materialize, but that didn't happen. The path out was just as humble. 

The word "savor" lingered on my heart.

Savor what I have.
Savor each day.
Savor the simple and humble gifts of each day.
Savor what is right in front of me.
Savor and dwell in the Presence within and around me.
Savor the walk, the steps, the journey, the path.
Savor this season--of the year, of my years. 
Savor.

An Invitation
What are you invited to savor? I would love to know. 

A Survey of Myself and a Recipe: Tuesday's Reflection

I'm cheating today and not writing a real post. 

Friday I am giving a retreat called Who Am I Now, A Birthday Party for Your 3rd Chapter. (If you live in the Twin Cities, spaces are still available. Let me know right away, if you are interested.) 

Anyway, I have a lengthy TO DO List to complete in order to feel fully ready for the retreat, and do not feel very contemplative or reflective. Instead, here is a survey I have conducted of myself. Maybe you would like to do the same. 

I am loving this cooler fall weather. Our windows are open. I wore a sweater Sunday to church. We have a quilt on the bed. Delicious. And one pumpkin under glass! 

I am reading The Soul's Slow Ripening, 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred, Christine Valters Paintner newest book. I laughed outloud when I read in the introduction her assertion that she had started a journey toward becoming a "recovering planner." Where can I sign up? I am also continuing to read the first volume of the Taylor Branch trilogy about the Martin Luther King, Jr years, but that is too heavy to hold when I read in bed, so my bedtime book is The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar. 

I am watching on Amazon Prime all the seasons of DCI Banks, and I recently watched and really recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (Netflix), which I thought was just as good as the book, even though the title is awful.

I am listening to a podcast called "Just the Right Book," and that means my book list is growing. I also love the "On Being" podcast with Krista Tippett. Of course, Minnesota Public Radio is my ongoing first choice, but I was weary of listening to the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. 

I am eating apricot oat bars, a Giada De Laurentiis recipe. I made these for Labor Day supper at my sister's house and made them again for Rally Day picnic  at church this past Sunday and with any reason at all I will make them again. Here's the recipe:
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 (13 oz jar apricot jam or preserves (about 1 1/4 cups)
8 dried apricots, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1/3 cup)
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 packed cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup (4 ounces) coarsely chopped walnuts
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13x2-inch metal baking dish with vegetable oil. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment. Spray the parchment with vegetable oil.

In a small bow mix the jam and apricots.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Stir in the oats and walnuts. Add the butter, egg, and vanilla and stir until incorporated.

Using a fork or clean fingers, lightly press half of the crust mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Using a spatula, spread the filling over the crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the pan. Cover the filling with the remaining crust mixture and gently press to flatten.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until light golden. Cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Cut into bars and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

Enjoy--and I know you will!

I am writing NOT MUCH. Post retreat I will return to working on my memoir. 

I am looking forward to more fall days, decorating with pumpkins, making applesauce, and putting away summer clothes. I do my happy dance on these days. How about you?

An Invitation
How would you complete the above prompts (I am reading..., I am listening to... etc)? I would love to know. 

A Mystery and Words of Wisdom: Thursday's Reflection

You never know when or where or how you will receive words of

wisdom. Sometimes they even appear in a mystery series.











Recently, I had a crummy cold--mainly, an unrelenting cough--and I spent more than my usual time in the snug reading. I am slowly making my way through Taylor Branch's Parting the Waters, America in the King Years (1954-63) in preparation for a civil rights tour we are taking to Alabama and Mississippi in November. Although LONG, this book is fully absorbing and extremely well-written, but sometimes I needed a break from the documented horrors of that time. 

This would have been the perfect time to read a new Louise Penny mystery, but her next one comes out later this fall. However, waiting patiently on one of my TO BE READ shelves was a mystery by an author unfamiliar to me, Julia Spencer-Fleming. Did someone recommend this series to me? Did I read about it in one of my favorite book blogs, like, The Modern Mrs Darcy or was it mentioned in the independent book stores' monthly newsletter? I don't know, but now I am hooked.

The main characters are a female Episcopalian priest, Clare Fergusson and the chief of police, Russ Van Alstyne. The setting is a small town in Vermont. I gobbled up the first book, In the Bleak Midwinter and dashed to a used bookstore and found the third one, Out of the Deep I Cry, which I loved, too. I have ordered three more because, alas, our library system only has them as audio books. 

Back to the words of wisdom part of this blog. 

In the first book one of the characters asks Clare if she thinks prayer can help and she says, 
              I believe that prayer focuses our human thoughts
              and energies and sends them to the people we're
              praying for. I believe that helps, in ways we can't
              yet understand...I believe that God hears our prayers
              and cherishes them. I believe He answers by sending
              us His spirit, giving us strength, and peace, and 
              insight. I don't think He responds by turning away
              bullets and curing cancer. Though sometimes that
              does happen.

When the other character responds, "In other words, sometimes the answer is no?" Clare adds,

              No. Sometimes the answer is 'This is life, in all
              its variety. Make your way through it with grace, 
              and never forget that I love you.'

Like I said, you never know how you will be offered words of wisdom.

An Invitation
What do you believe about prayer? I would love to know. Oh, and do you have any good mysteries to recommend? I would love to know that, too. 

Staycation: Tuesday's Reflection

For many retirement is a time to travel, and I enjoy hearing about
the interesting trips friends are taking, but my husband and I have realized the last couple years that we are "staycation" kind of people. 

Make no mistake, I have loved the wonderful trips we have taken to places like London, Paris, and Rome, and oh, how lucky we were to have visited Tanzania when our daughter and husband lived there for a year, but travel is not my passion. 

However, I do love a good road trip, especially one not far away from home, one that means being away from home only a day or two or three. We have always loved exploring where we live, getting in the car on a Saturday morning, pulling out the map, and heading down country roads or city streets. Sometimes we plan where we are going to go, and sometimes we just go and see what we can see. 

Last week we nabbed our grandson Peter and drove to southwestern Minnesota for an overnight. We had two destinations in mind, the Jeffers Petroglyphs and Pipestone National Monument We had a hotel reservation for Wednesday night and knew Peter needed to be home by 5:00 on Thursday for his school open house, but that was the extent of our planning and the schedule. Our packing was light, no expensive airfare was involved nor delayed or cancelled flights. 

And yet in that brief vacation time I felt restored, seeing different scenery, especially the prairie, alive with diverse flora and the subtle waves of wind through grasses. I felt blessed as my awareness of special and unique nearby sites, places sacred to native peoples, expanded. I felt connected to those who have left their prayers, their carvings, their love of all creation. Plus, it was just plain fun to be with our grandson. 

Earlier this summer we visited a lavender and cherry farm lavender and cherry farm in Baraboo, Wisconsin (Trust me the lavender-cherry pie with lavender ice cream was well-worth the 6 hour round trip drive time.) and one Saturday morning we toured a Prairie School home built in 1913 located near one of the lakes in Minneapolis and now owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. (Purcell-Cutts House)We have gone to several art fairs, tried different restaurants, visited the new location of the Bell Museum of Natural History, created our own tour of garden nurseries outside the metro area, and attended West Side Story at the Guthrie Theatre and...and...and...

Still, there is lots more to do, to see, to learn, to discover and explore, and all it takes is an open and curious mind and a bit of time. 

Recently, we visited with a couple our age who said they aren't interested in retiring because it would be boring. How can any day be boring when there is always another book to read, interesting radio and tv programs for education and entertainment, lectures and concerts, many free, to attend, causes to support, ways to help, and people to get to know better, deeper? There is so much life to be lived—and much of it is right down the block. 

An Invitation

Is there some place in your hometown or state you have intended to visit, but haven't gotten around to yet? Now might be a good time. I would love to know what you discover.