Purging

When life seems overwhelming I begin to purge. This includes paper, old files, anything I can find in closets that just needs to go; clothing, containers, old stuff, and sometimes new stuff. Our neighbor whose husband is dying of cancer and is not expected to live much longer is purging her garage, her home and her fridge even as her husband gently rests. Purging is our way of letting go of the stuff of life. Mostly the stuff of life is not material goods found in closets, garages, files and refrigerators, but the mental tensions, frustrations, sorrows, worries, and emotional baggage carried for months and often a lifetime. Letting go of things prepares to let go of the heavier weights of the mind and heart. I reflect on my own purging of things and it is usually when I am sad or worried and in the letting go, the act of getting rid of rid, my mind eases and I can usually find rest in my mind. As our friend Ruth purges her refrigerator and garage, I am aware that her impulsive need to purge things will make space in her heart for all of the goodness and love she and her beloved Lee have known. In the end it is not the material that remains it is a heart filled with loving memories and mind filled with peace.

Living Waters

Father Ryan our priest gave a beautiful homily on the gospel story of the woman at the well who both drinks of the living water of Jesus and, as Fr. Ryan stated, becomes the living well for others. The living waters are present always and I am deeply aware of the living waters in our family who are enjoying good health even as our father arrived at the hospital this past Thursday night having difficulty breathing and found he needed a new pacemaker which was put in on Friday and back home Saturday. Living waters, as Fr. Ryan indicated, are possible for all us to be for one another through saying kind words, forgiving and loving all. So much metaphor to living waters where life in the sea, rivers, ponds can be filled with magnificent beauty. Being a former scuba diver, the ocean, filled with life and underwater noise is minimal, weightlessness creates a lightness of being and sea life abundant, living waters feel free and beautiful. Lightness of being on land is possible when one knows in their heart the living waters that are within. Sometimes the living waters overflow so much that I feel as though I am floating. Now is one of those times.

Soften my heart

Harden not your heart so that you may hear God's wisdom. Last night I was frustrated over the world's financial collapse and the personal turmoil for those directly impacted and for all. However I knew that it is not in frustration that things improve but with thoughtful action. My action was first to teach yoga for my friend James who had another commitment. In arriving at yoga, a dear friend and student had indicated her husband had been out of work for more then 9 months and in her sharing came tears. She composed herself. I wish I told her to just let the tears fall. The yoga practice was rigorous and yet healing. Sometimes in the movement of the body we can eliminate some stress and frustration to the mind and heart. This morning I knew that meditation was necessary to allow my heart to soften and to listen in the silence for wisdom from my God. In the softening of my heart, I became open to generosity and to a creative response of offering a free yoga class to anyone who wants to attend. If they choose to make a donation, I will offer it to St. Vincent de Paul to further their ability to offer generous service for our poor. Soften your heart today and see what opens in possibility.