Tag Archives: spirituality

Posted on May 10, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I think this is a thought-provoking question. It is possible conversation, like community, is in the midst of being redefined, but we should take care and retain the intimacy each brings into our lives. I felt a kinship as I read this posting. Kathy and I, after almost 40 years, try to find time for each other. We always made time, and continue to do so, for each other. It is what makes a relationship healthy.

Broadside

This recent think-piece in The New York Times argues that we have:

At home, families sit together, texting and reading e-mail. At work executives text during board meetings. We text (and shop and go on Facebook) during classes and when we’re on dates…
We’ve become accustomed to a new way of being “alone together.” Technology-enabled, we are able to be with one another, and also elsewhere, connected to wherever we want to be. We want to customize our lives. We want to move in and out of where we are because the thing we value most is control over where we focus our attention. We have gotten used to the idea of being in a tribe of one, loyal to our own party.

One of the rituals my husband and I enjoy is my driving him to the commuter train station in the morning. It’s only about 10 minutes door…

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Transformation of the Self, Stewardship Reunderstood

Posted on May 4, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

This morning, as I sat quietly, the following words came to me and I am hopeful I can begin to live them.

If I am fully present for each moment in a non-judgmental way and transformed the world I live in from ordinary to extraordinary what joy I would give and receive. I fell back into old reactive habits yesterday instead of living into and embracing each moment. Time and space helps point one’s self to the moment and an understanding of those things I control. It requires quieting my ‘monkey mind’ and that was a struggle yesterday.

Transformation is slow, mindful change. It is patient moment-to-moment and incremental change. It is humbling and requires compassion as I tend and nourish an internal garden and attempt to bring the quiet of those moments into the busyness of my life. Each time I sit, I need a quiet mind to reveal the hidden wisdom. Until this morning, I considered stewardship as caring for something external, but it begins from within.

Abundant Community

Posted on April 21, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

We talked about community today. Community is organic. Through and in it, we tell stories revealing relationships. It grows around what is held in common. We communicate what is held in common, valued, and shared. Community is breaking bread and being true companions with those who join us. We hold and share vision denoting our shared nature within community and exist in paradox. It is what is today, the present, and what was, a historical memorial.

The poet David Whyte wrote “What we hold in community is loved, because it is offered from the heart; a place of love.” Because it is a place of love, it is a place of abundance. Even in crisis, members of a community find ways to heal and regain wholeness through resiliency. Its members know there are others to turn to and seek help from. We do not have to ask; it is given instinctively and intuitively. It is the right thing to do and not the easy or expedient thing to do.

Community is a place we identify with and it signals we are entitled to membership. It is a safe place to be and someone wants us there. It is a sacred place; hallowed ground. We share and expose personal vulnerabilities, because those around us love us unconditionally. Community is a place of discovery. We are nourished and nurtured and grow. It is a place of invitation and opportunity due to its abundance. A wonderful metaphor emerged. A community is a garden. You plant a seed and it prospers in the abundance of the place we name home and community.