Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Savoring Summer

One summer when our children were young we were not able to go on a vacation and instead, decided to have a Staycation. Each day had a theme, including the "B Day"--books, bakeries, and Batman. We got treats at more than one bakery and bookstore and in the evening went to the new Batman movie. Another day was "Culture Day." We went on a backstage tour of the Guthrie Theatre and attended a performance of "Harvey" in the evening. We enjoyed an outdoor music festival one day and spent the day at a beach on another day. Each night we returned home happy to sleep in our own beds, but eager for the next day's adventure. 

We made the best of what had not been our first choice for a vacation.  

That's the way last summer felt to me.  

My themes for last summer were "Summer Stillness" and "Summer Simplicity." I stayed home. I rested. I spent more time reading and writing and praying and meditating. I made pesto and walked in the neighborhood. I attended church on YouTube and met with my clients on ZOOM.

As much as I missed family time last summer, I experienced a new  kind of contentment--a quiet acceptance and an agreement to be present to what was offered and what was possible. 

What about this summer? What are the possible themes? 

For many of us this summer is one of celebrations--a specific happy event or the very fact that we can gather. Perhaps this is a summer to stretch after being confined at home for so long or a summer that feels more spacious and spontaneous. Perhaps this summer feels new and fresh, and we are more attuned to summer senses--what we can see, touch, taste, smell, hear--to all the ways summer can dazzle us. 

As much as I am grateful for a return to a more open and freer summer, I don't want to lose the gifts of last summer --the ability and willingness to enjoy the stillness and to treasure the simplicity of cutting roses for a bouquet on the dining room table or eating lunch at the bistro table in our "Paris" space. Or roaming country roads, but returning to our own bed at night. 

Barbara Mahany in Slowing Time, Seeing the Sacred Outside Your Kitchen Door says it so well:

            You catch the barest shift of breeze, a fluttering of
        light, you look up, you realize: Something sacred just
        passed by. It came from who-knows-where, but along
        the way, it surely graced me.
            And so it is with summer, with those wisps and darts
        of weightless wing. With the moments when the heaviness
        of all-year-long is suspended, when breeze blows through
        the screen, garden leaves flutter, light practically sparkles,
        and you feel your shoulders drop their heavy load....
           Where summer settles best is in the soul. In the part of
        you that remembers not to worry for the moment. To
        soothe the long ragged edges. To breathe. (pp. 103, 105)



As June slips into July, I wonder in what ways you encountered God last summer and how do you continue to be aware of the movement of God in your life now, in this summer?

An Invitation
What are the new invitations, the new learnings this summer? I would love to know. 

NOTE: It's not to late to request your free copy of "Savoring Summer Spirituality, A Guide to Enhance the Gifts of the Season." Simply email me at nagneberg48@gmail.com. My earlier guide, "Crossing the Threshold, Honoring the New Year, A Guide to Reflect on the Old and Prepare for the New" is also available. 





Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Summer Reading

 My reading life knows no seasons. Not only do I read voraciously in each of the seasons, but the kind of reading I do does not seem to change with the seasons. My beach reading is simply whatever book I happen to be reading at the moment. 

When I think of summer reading, however, I think about the places where I read in the summer. I slip away from my desk in the garret to read in "Paris" when I have lunch or on the patio when the sun isn't too intense. I remember fondly, almost longingly, the afternoons I lingered on our front porch when we lived in Madison or on the porch swing decades ago when our children were small. 

During our Sweetwater Farm years I reclined on an Adirondack chair under the crabapple tree where the deer came to snack in the early evening hours. And sometimes we drove to Presque Isle on Lake Erie for a white sandy beach day --a lazy day of looking for sea glass and, of course, reading. 

The summers I was fortunate enough to spend a week at Chautauqua, my room on the second floor of an old inn looked out on the lake. I claimed a rocking chair on the balcony as my reading room. 

When I was a child we often moved as soon as school was out for the summer. Almost before the moving van door closed, I got my new library card and filled my days with books. What a bonus if I could bike to the library by myself. 

Many summers our family spent a week or two in northern Minnesota at a simple family resort in northern Minnesota--the kind that is rare these days. I slept on the screened porch and fell asleep reading, lulled by the rhythm of waves lapping against the dock and the small fishing boats. 

One summer, when I was about 12 or so, my mother claimed I wore out the fabric on a chair, reading with my legs slung over one of the arms. That is probably true. 

Even though my summer reading is more about place than genre, that doesn't mean I don't have ideas about what I plan to read this summer. Here's my list--subject to change and whim, of course. 

1.    Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. I read this lush book years ago, but found a copy in a Little Free Library and now my intention is to reread each of her titles. 

2.    A Well-Tempered Heart by Jan-Philipp Sendker. This is a sequel to The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, which I remember enjoying, but may need to reread before reading #2. I think #3 has been published recently as well--for a future list! 

3.    The Overstory by Richard Powers. This has been on my TBR shelf for a long time, but now may be the time. Like Prodigal Summer this is a book where the life of the natural world is as much a character as the people in the book. 

4.    The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. The blurb on the back says the story "follows a Dahkotah family's struggle to preserve their way of life and one woman's search for belonging and community." This book has received great reviews, and besides, it is a book that just feels good to hold. That always counts with me. 

5.    Lady Clementine, a historical novel by Marie Benedict. Lady Clementine is, of course, Clementine Churchill, and there is no doubt she has a story that needs to be told. I spotted this book while browsing in a bookstore, and I love it when I make a book discovery on my own. That is true of the next book on the list, too.

6.    Scones and Scoundresl, The Highland Bookshop Mystery Series Book 2 by Molly Macrae. The bookstore I was in didn't have Book 1, but it is waiting for me now at the library. I love cozy mysteries, especially if a bookshop figures in the plot. This will be perfect for a rainy day!

7.    Owls of the Eastern Ice, A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl by Jonathan C. Slight. The only nonfiction book on my summer reading list, this book comes highly recommended by our daughter and others normally not attracted to this kind of book. Helen Macdonald who wrote H is for Hawk, which I loved, gave this book a glowing review, and it was long-listed for the National Book Award for Nonfiction, if that is something that you take into account. 


I know there will be some detours. I will follow the reading road wherever it leads, including to the stack of books I gave my husband for Father's Day. We have both read the first two mysteries by Mark Pryor--all set in Paris--and I gave him the other seven. With titles like The Paris Librarian and The Book Artist, who can resist?

Now--isn't it time for a reading break? Happy reading!

An Invitation
What does "summer reading" mean to you and what do you plan to read this summer? I would love to know. 

NOTE: It's not too late to request my new guide, "Summer Spirituality, A Guide to Enhance the Gifts of the Season." The guide invites you to explore the themes of summer, including Summer Spaciousness, Summer Sacred Space, and Summer Silliness. To receive this new guide simply send an email to nagneberg48@gmail.com.
My earlier guide, "Crossing the Threshold, Honoring the New Year, A Guide to Reflect on the Old and Prepare for the New," is still available, too. 



Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Rites of Passage

 As noted in my last post, these past days have been important ones in the life of our family. We gathered for important rites of passage in the life of our family: a graveside service to bury my father's ashes and our granddaughter Maren's open house to celebrate her graduation from high school. Surrounding and filling each event and all the in-between times was love, especially the love of reuniting with loved ones whom we had not seen for over a year. 

After the brief (It was hot!!!!), but just right service for my Dad, I asked the representative from the cemetery if they had been busy since Covid restrictions had loosened. "Yes," he said and noted that many families whose loved one had been buried during the pandemic were returning for a more formal and planned service. "We need the ritual, the acknowledgement of change in our lives," he said. 

How good it is to do that. 

After the service for Dad, we met at my sister and brother-in-law's home for food (of course) and to relax into each other's company. I brought all of Dad's diaries and photo albums, which our daughter had organized for him many years ago. Such pleasure those gave him, and  we all wondered how often he had leafed through them. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren shared their memories, as they looked at the pictures, but they also asked questions about their Papa. 


At Maren's open house friends, young and old, as well as family, enjoyed all the pictures arranged on poster boards telling Maren's story, as well as the board with the map showing where she will be canoeing in Alaska this summer. 

I know even if our family did not have such milestone reasons to gather that we would have loved these days, but the events gave us the context, the structure for reconnecting and telling stories, and sharing who we are and how we have weathered the last months, especially the toughest of days. In a way these rites of passage remind us what binds us as family and as friends, and we were extravagant in our love for each other.

Events, such as graduation, confirmation or other religious ceremonies, significant wedding anniversaries or as we age, retirement or a move into different housing, are not just rites of passage for the person in the spotlight.  Rather, rites of passage are for the wider circle of family and friends and in some cases, the community. These rites of passage symbolize the past blending into the present, but also leading us into the future. 

We have gone through a major chunk of time when we have not been able to celebrate these rites of passage, but it is not too late. If nothing else, celebrate the gift of today, for each day is a rite of passage. 

An Invitation
What rite of passage needs to be honored and celebrated in your life? I would love to know. 

NOTE: You may recall that in January I offered free copies of "Crossing the Threshold, Honoring the New Year, A Guide to Reflect on the Old and Prepare for the New." Well, I have written  a new spiritual guide, "Summer Spirituality, A Guide to Enhance the Gifts of the Season." To receive your free copy, email me at nagneberg48@gmail.com and I will forward you a copy. 









   

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

A Reframing: From Paralysis to Pause

When I feel overwhelmed, whether by tasks, choices, ideas, or even eagerly anticipated events, I often feel paralyzed. 

 

I linger in bed in the morning even though I am awake--and time is a wasting! 

I play too many games of Solitaire on my phone or check the library online for titles I want to add to my hold list, which is already long.

I promise myself I will read just one more chapter in the book currently at my side, but --no surprise--one chapter turns into two or three more. 

I won't reveal all the ways I procrastinate, but there are many. Too many. 

Well, Monday morning I had a bit of an ah-ha. 


This week is a busy one. A week of major milestones. A week greatly anticipated. To begin with on Sunday we attended our granddaughter Maren's high school graduation, and it was glorious. She was stunning in her while suit, and how wonderful it was to celebrate her. After a summer adventure of canoeing in Alaska, she will attend Lewis and Clark in Portland, OR. 

On Thursday our Cleveland kids, Geof and Cricket arrive and oh how I can't wait to have them here after not being with them for over a year. Hugs!!! They are coming both for Maren's open house, but, also, our whole family is gathering for a graveside service to bury my Dad's ashes. An important and emotional time for all of us. 

The list is manageable, but still I felt stuck, not wanting to do the next thing. Or much of anything. That feeling of being paralyzed was all too familiar.

And then the ah-ha! Instead of labeling my inaction as paralysis, why not appreciate it and reframe it as a pause. A pause to breathe. A pause to gather energy. A pause to prepare. 


A pause to smell the roses and be present. 

A pause to pray.

Why is it we are so hard on ourselves. How often we criticize ourselves for not doing enough or not doing the right thing at the right time or for being lazy or passive? For being paralyzed. Instead, how wise we would be if we paused to listen to ourselves and to the voice of Spirit within.

Pausing is not the same as stopping or ignoring or giving up or disabling or being numb. Or denying. A pause is a recess, a time-out, an interlude. And then we move forward refreshed, more awake, and alert, open, and ready. 




An Invitation
Do you ever feel overwhelmed? If so, what helps? I would love to know. 

NOTE: Next week my "summer spirituality guide" will be available. 





 

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Words of Wisdom on the Humane Virtues



I have been reading such a wise book, a challenging book, Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love by Stephanie Dowrick. In her book Dowrick examines the humane virtues: courage, fidelity, restraint, generosity, tolerance, and the oh so big one, forgiveness. 

Needless to say, I have underlined a lot in this book, and many times I thought I heard the author saying, "Nancy, this paragraph is for you!" or "Go back and read that sentence again, Nancy. Don't pretend these words don't apply to you."

Don't you hate it when that happens--when someone you don't even know, points out the work you need to do! 

Yes, I could use more courage, and yet at the same time Dowrick reminds me that I have survived the daily navigations between known and unknown.

Yes, I could exhibit more fidelity to the person I was created to be, but I have also paused along the way to remember what grounds and supports me.

Yes, I could exhibit more restraint, which Dowrick says is an expression of one's choice to act--or not--but somedays I actually start the day with a full consciousness of attitude. 

Yes, I could be more generous with my time and my gifts, but I know I have had times when I have flowed with love. 

Yes, I could live and act with more tolerance, but I rejoice when I feel myself open to what I don't know and to what challenges me.

Yes, I could forgive myself and others more graciously and willingly. What freedom, what lightness when forgiveness lives in and moves my heart.  

The purpose of this book is not to shame you nor is it a guidebook for becoming more virtuous. No, this is a book to read on the patio in the quiet of the day or place on your bedside table or even on your kitchen cupboard to read as you wait for the rhubarb sauce to boil. Read it in bits and pieces. You'll recognize the relevant parts and feel its companionship, one human, one spirit to another. 

 In the chapter on forgiveness, Dowrick writes

                It is the means to let go not only what was done
                to you, but how you were then, so that you can
                experience yourself as you are now. When it is
                appropriate, it is also the means to move on
                from an old version of another person to who
                that person is now. p. 337

The new version of myself is not perfect, that's for sure, but I yearn to be a more complete version of myself, and than means a person who lives with courage, fidelity, restraint, generosity, tolerance, and above all, a person who forgives.

I have work to do. 

Thich Nhat Hanh offers hope. "Looking deeply at our own mind and our own life, we will begin to see what to do and what not to do to bring about a real change." p. 316

One more thing. This past week I encountered the same quote in three different places. I guess that means I need to pay attention. 

            Find your practice and practice it.
            Find your teaching and follow it.
            Find your community and enter it.
            Find the suffering within yourself and the suffering
                of others and heal them.
                                        James Finley

I think Stephanie Dowrick would agree.

An Invitation
Which of the humane virtues is most challenging to you? I would love to know. 

NOTE: Watch for an announcement here in the next couple weeks about my "Summer Spirituality Guide."