Monthly Archives: May 2014

Compassion

Posted on May 9, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

It is an interesting process when we silently bless others. I am not sure how it helps them, but it always brings a feeling of peace and having done something worthwhile for me.

Wildflower Women

What if you extended the gift of compassion to all those you meet today by silently blessing them? This simple act will serve to acknowledge our spiritual interconnectedness. When we are able to salute the unity that binds us, we are more able to accept the journeys that each one of us is on, where all paths ultimately lead to the same universal spirit. It is only through respecting our unique differences that we may begin to affirm how interconnected we all are. Honoring this takes time, patience, and most importantly, practice. When you are able to see the value that everyone’s life has, you will find greater meaning in your own.

There is a plan for each of us, and each of us is precious. As we open our hearts more and more, we’re moved in the directions in which we are suppose to go. ~ Marianne Williamson

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The Guest House

Posted on May 9, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

Several years ago during a difficult time, I read this poem and it spoke to what I was going through. From time to time, I recall the poem and how it helped me meet life differently. I compartmentalized life, including my emotions, in unhealthy ways. Emotions and accompanying experiences are guests coming and going and not staying for life.

I treated life as different buckets containing each part as if I could easily separate them. Rumi reminded me life is holistic and involves life flowing with no clear boundaries between parts. It is all oneness.

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

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To start the day …. need to keep this alive!!

Posted on May 8, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

This is a sad situation and I am not sure what we each do as individuals, but pray and exert pressure on our politicians to consider this as more than just a political and rhetorical situation.

It Is What It Is

~~May 8, 2014~~

Updated: Tuesday, May 6, 2:55 p.m. EST

For the nearly 300 girls in northern Nigeria kidnapped by Islamic extremists, going to school was a risk worth taking. They were set to become global leaders, teachers or lawyers in a region where only 4 percent of girls complete secondary schooling.

Now, the girls, who were abducted on April 14, are reportedly set to be sold into marriage to militants for $12. Governments, nonprofits and citizen activists are scrambling to help the students, some of whom have reportedly died from snake bites and contracted illnesses, the Associated Press reports.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered military personnel, law enforcement officials and other experts Tuesday to help find the girls, which Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has accepted, according to Agence France-Presse. The offering comes amid global outrage that governments aren’t doing enough to…

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Silence

Posted on May 8, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

This is a beautiful poem and prayer to begin the day. Even when we are not outside, we can close our eyes and experience the world in mindfulness and prayerful positions.

Life With Catnip

Borrowed From:

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Rhubarb

Posted on May 8, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

We have rhubarb in our backyard and it yields fruit through the summer. Kathy and I grew up where rhubarb was inexpensive and plentiful. It made great pies, jams, canned fruit, and was edible, with sugar, when eaten raw as it is tart.

It is interesting to note how, as we age, we notice things that seemed less relevant earlier. Larry Schug reminded me about rhubarb. I took this particular plant for granted as I grew up, but they create miracles as do other plants and animals in our world. Rhubarb provided an inexpensive dessert and snack that, as I recall, seemed available year round in some form.

When I reflect on nature, I see miracles and the ordinary is more powerful than when taken for granted. Nature is a great provider and takes care of human needs in ways that are not always readily evident unless I take time to see treasures provided.

By April, sour red stalks
push elephant-ear leaves
into near-earth atmosphere.
Rhubarb plans ahead,
years, decades even,
lives sustainably on the interest
of sunlight stored under ground,
having folded up its solar collectors
in September,
when the days grow too short
to make sugar.
See how simple is a miracle.

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Born into this

Posted on May 7, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

I have only begun reading Charles Bukowski’s poetry and he can be cynical at times. In his poetry, I find a space where I become aware of things I overlook. One thing that stands out is how we fail to communicate leading to conflict, broken relationships, and a broken world. Beginning with listening, we can hear what troubles our self and others.

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I Worried

Posted on May 6, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

Life has aspects we cannot change about and worrying simply comes to nothing as Mary Oliver suggests. There are many things we do not control even when we think we can. It is important to let go and recognize these phenomena as part of the unfolding of life.

Although Mary Oliver includes phenomena outside our control, she includes advice on how to deal with the lack of control. We can go out and sing or act in ways that are creative and life-giving. We can accept the world as it is and not try to correct it. Nature will do what she naturally learns to do. Our role is to be in the world, live in it lovingly, and attempt to do no harm in our living.

We control certain phenomena in the sense we can avoid what is destructive, but there are things that we learn and taught in living naturally.

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers

flow in the right direction, will the earth turn

as it was taught, and if not how shall

I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,

can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows

can do it and I am, well,

Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,

am I going to get rheumatism,

lockjaw, dementia?

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.

And gave it up. And took my old body

and went out into the morning,

and sang.

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Today’s Quote

Posted on May 6, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

Mark Twain had a great grasp of what it meant to be human and shared that with his readers. Sometimes doing the right thing is simply its own reward.

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A Spring Haiku

Posted on May 5, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

It has been unseasonably cool and will continue to be as we get ready to go home. It is nice to have images and poetry that brings spring to us in at least metaphoric ways.

Bette A. Stevens, Maine Author

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When Someone Deeply Listens To You

Posted on May 3, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

When we listen to our self closely and deeply, we open our self up to listening to others and the world deeply. In turn, the world and others are able to listen to us deeply as we create vulnerable spaces exposing ourselves and holding that dented cup out with certainty that others will respond.

John Fox wrote this poem about others listening to us. The process begins within us and moves out. When we are unable to listen to our self, we should not expect others can listen to the person we are unable to listen to, our self. Spending time in meditation, taking Sabbath breaks makes this possible.

When someone deeply listens to you
it is like holding out a dented cup
you’ve had since childhood
and watching it fill up with
cold, fresh water.
When it balances on top of the brim,
you are understood.
When it overflows and touches your skin,
you are loved.

When someone deeply listens to you
the room where you stay
starts a new life
and the place where you wrote
your first poem
begins to glow in your mind’s eye.
It is as if gold has been discovered!

When someone deeply listens to you
your barefeet are on the earth
and a beloved land that seemed distant
is now at home within you.