Tag Archives: faith

First Spring Day

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Yesterday was the first day of spring for me, because I could walk outside barefoot, in a T-wSpringing upshirt and Capri’s, lay down in the grass and soak up the sunshine. The blue sky was brilliant, an almost unreal color with no clouds in sight. Birds chirping and calling as they flitted from branch to branch, tree to tree.

The first buds of leaves were sprouting up toward the sky, soaking in the rays as eagerly as I was. My Tulip’s heads were shyly peaking out from between their leaves. My cat was ecstatic over the movement of all living things, including me. She romped and performed for me, and she even gave me a tummy massage as I was laying in the grass absorbed in the sound, smell, and texture of new life.

wFirst leaves2Poetry floated through my head as the soft warm breeze circled my ankles. Too bad I did not bring pen and paper outside with me. I did not even bring my camera, at first. I just wanted to be in that moment and experience all of it’s glory in every cell of my body. As the western sun penetrated my skin sending comforting and loving signals to my brain, new thoughts began to bud like the leaves on the trees. I could not tear myself away from this experience.

The winter is long in New Hampshire and spring is often too short. I went inside for mywCoco's tree camera so I could capture a memory, a moment in time when my heart was content with all that is in my world. Troubles will come and go, struggles and stress are unavoidable, but there is always hope. As long as life persists there is hope.

Why is the sky so blue, the grass so green, and flowers so brilliantly colorful? Why can we smell the delicious scents around us and feel the textures of life. The universe functions so beautifully by it’s own design, it is intelligent,  it is the essence of love expressed. The mystery, the why and the how is part of the excitement of living. Beyond that, there is no doubt in my mind that the origin of this masterpiece we call life is an infinitely benevolent heart, and an intricately wise mind. wFirst leaves4

Nature is my refuge, my haven and my heaven.

For more photographs from yesterday visit my portfolio blog: http://cherylroth.wordpress.com/

wTulips peek out

Happy 2013!

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I learned a long time ago not to make a big long list of expectations for the new year, in other words, not to set myself up for big disappointments. That doesn’t mean I’m not motivated or that I don’t intend to accomplish things. I intend to accomplish whatever needs to be, and I’m motivated to become my best self; but I’ve realized that I don’t have a lot of control over circumstances that may present themselves. That’s usually what happens to well intentioned New Year’s Resolutions – life gets in the way.

This morning while reading through my emails I found this post by Drew Myron at Off The Page suggesting an “I did it” list as opposed to a resolution list. I think it’s a great idea to focus on what we have accomplished, the value of who we are and what we have right in this moment. It ties in very well with the one new year’s resolution that I did make, which is to find something to be grateful for in every day. By the way, Drew’s inspiration came from another writer, Lisa Romeo, who’s post you can read here.

Last night my family & I were sharing reflections about 2012. It was a hard year for us full of stress, disappointments, loss, incredible demands and huge change that has not ended yet. Through it all we grew closer to each other. We each realized that adversity allows us to find our inner strengths, to focus on what we can do in each moment, and to prioritize our values. A bad year became a good year as we realized how we had grown through our troubles and successfully dealt with our problems.

Toward the end of our sharing some friends stopped by to wish us a happy New Year. Our 2 families have been friends for about 14 or 15 years, so the kids are all teens or young adults and beginning to move in different directions. It was comforting to share this transition from 2012 to 2013 as both our families are also moving forward to new stages of life & lifestyle. Old friends and childhood friends are people you have gone through many experiences with and found value and strength in their company. They are forever friends.

 So here is my “I Did It” list for 2012:

  1. I survived financial collapse, bankruptcy and almost losing our home.
  2. I survived my husbands triple by-pass heart surgery (and he is doing well).
  3. I am moving forward while still dealing with the loss of my mother and another very cherished person in my life, as well as financial & health issues.
  4. I’ve started a yoga practice.
  5. I’m eating in a more healthy way.
  6. I’ve made new friends.
  7. I’ve been a supportive wife & mother through the most stressful year of my life.
  8. I’ve maintained 4 blogs, although not very well at times, but I’m still posting.

My New Year’s resolution:

To love my life & live joyfully by finding gratitude in each day.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge – Thankful

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DSC_0096My mother passed away the week before Thanksgiving. In order to give enough time for notifying loved ones, to avoid the holiday and allow people to make travel arrangements, we scheduled the memorial service for Dec. 1st. I think this was the first Thanksgiving I have not celebrated with my parents in 55 years.

I’m thankful for my family & friends, and their love and support during this difficult time.

I’m thankful that my mom is not suffering anymore, and that she is in a better place.

I’m thankful for traditions that bring us back together and keep us moving forward.

 http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/weekly-photo-challenge-thankful

May the Force be with you….

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May the Force be with you…..

Another great post by Brad Stanton at Give Me 5 Minutes. I felt my comment would be too long so I decided to post about it.

The interesting thing is that it’s much easier to have faith in a “force” that is outside of ourselves, than to have faith that the “force” is within. Most of us continue to believe in a God that is somehow separate from ourselves, or that we are separate entities from God. That is what we have been taught, isn’t it?

Theology may have taught us that, but Jesus was trying to teach something more when he said to the Jews who wished to stone him, “Is it not written in your own Law, ‘I said: You are God’s'?” (John 10:34) He was referring to Psalm 82:6 which reads, “This is my sentence: God’s you may be, sons all of you of a high God,…” Through out the Gospels Jesus tries to get his disciples and the Jews to understand that God dwells within, and that only our perverse or divided thoughts and feelings prevent God from manifesting in our lives.

Believing that there is a God, a creator, a force out there, is easy and requires little responsibility. Believing that God the creator, “the force” dwells within us requires taking responsibility for what that means: cleaning up the temple. As Jesus said, “There must be no limit to your goodness, as your Heavenly Father’s goodness knows no bounds.” (Matt. 5:48)*

You won’t often hear me quoting the Bible, not because of lack of belief, but because I feel it’s too often misunderstood and misused. I studied the Bible a lot in my 20′s, and I have referred to it often for guidance, or a reminder and refresher when I’ve become distracted by the illusions of this world. It is so easy to forget who we are and where the power comes from, to lose faith in ourselves and the indwelling of that which is holy.

I really appreciate this post by Brad Stanton as it reminds me once again that “the Force” of creation dwells within, that we exist as co-creators of our lives, and that “faith” has as much to do with belief in ourselves as it has to do with belief in the Original Creator.

* All quotes taken from the Oxford Study Edition of The New English Bible.

My Symphony

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“To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather that luxury; and refinement rather than fashion…to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.”

William Ellery Channing, 1780-1842
American Minister

Create The Day With Hope

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Spring is hopeful, the weather is warming and everything is blooming. Most people feel a renewed sense of wonder or happiness, especially the people living in a place that has cold, gray winters. Finally we can start getting our daily dose of Vitamin D naturally and get rid of the SAD.

However, all the vitamin D in the world will not relieve grief, broken-heartedness, regret or major depression. A walk in the sunshine and smelling the flowers may help uplift the mood for awhile, but sometimes people need a lot of help to find hope. Sometimes we face such trials in life that it seems impossible to go on, or like the world is caving in on us.

When I experience a great difficulty, loss or disappointment and I wonder how I’m going survive, pictures start to flash through my mind. These pictures are the things that moved my heart most while I was growing up and made me wonder how I could help end human suffering. Images of mothers desperately handing their babies to soldiers who were boarding helicopters in an effort to save their babies from the war; a toddler crying next to the dead bodies of his parents in the midst of war; children & mothers starving to death due to oppression or lack of access to resources; people suffering & dying of illnesses that no longer exist in our country. These images never leave me, they fade into the background only to resurface during times of trouble, to remind me of how fortunate I am.

Even still, pain and problems do not go away simply by thinking of the less fortunate. To move forward one has to take a step. Action creates possibilities and possibilities create hope. Hope is the invisible power that motivates us beyond survival.

We desire so many things from life, not just physical things, but we have a great ambition to fulfill our potential, to find love and to be happy. Why then, are so many people let down?  Why do we find it so difficult to fulfill our dreams? Why does living and just getting by become such a struggle? Could it be that people have learned to expect too much?

After taking action, it’s necessary to continue the effort, to stay creative and keep doing positive things. However, while making so much effort we can often get caught up in our expectations for the results, setting ourselves up for another let down. The down side of hope is our expectations. To make consistent effort to live virtuously while overcoming adversity and pain is hard enough, but the hardest part of all is letting go of expectations without losing hope.

Real hope comes from knowing that our efforts have value regardless of the result, that life is not all that we see, but it is the state of mind that we create and the love that we give. Hope is rooted in the invisible world of heart, the eternal world of absolute love.

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Create The Day – With Thoughts

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When I was a child sometimes people would say, “you think too much”. Such a funny thing to tell a child, especially a child like me. I was very imaginative, but I was also very busy, always busy, creating something or going somewhere to do something.

I always had an awareness that there was power in thoughts, because happy thoughts can make you feel good and sad or negative thoughts can make you feel down or tired. It was difficult for me to turn off my thoughts, causing me to have a long struggle with insomnia. For that reason I turned to prayer and visualization late at night when I couldn’t sleep. However, it would not be until many years later that I would learn about focusing my thoughts into action, and about calming my mind, actually I’m still learning about that.

After leaving home I had other interesting experiences with the power of thoughts. Often when the phone would ring I would know who it was ahead of time, especially if it was my Mom or someone I was close to. One time I even decided to “will” my mother to call me because I needed to talk to her but I didn’t know the number for where she was staying. Within several hours she called me.

During another period of my life I was sharing a house with 3 Japanese girls who knew very little English and had just come to live in the USA. It was kind of my job to help them acclimate and learn English, but my knowledge of Japanese was zero. Sometimes however, they would be speaking to each other in Japanese and I would respond to their conversation in English, with correct information or answers. They were always surprised and would ask, “How did you know what we said?”

Prayers are like thoughts too. I have often experienced having my prayers answered. I have been led to books I needed to read, people I needed to talk to, or places I needed to be at a particular moment because I had prayed for a specific type of help. I prayed for a friend who had been trying to conceive a child for 6 years, and a couple months later she was pregnant. I prayed for another friend who was having vision trouble due to diabetes and their problem cleared up within a hours. I’ve had too many of these experiences to write about all of them.

Some people would consider these experiences to be just coincidence, and once someone even told me, “you’re not that powerful”. Okay, I’m not that powerful, but I think that’s mostly because I don’t focus on using my thoughts in these ways. Usually when these things happen it’s because my heart is moved to help someone or to care earnestly about something. When the heart and mind work together, thoughts can be very powerful.

On the other hand I have experienced that my thoughts can be pulled in so many different directions that I become powerless to do anything. I also have experienced being so focused on one thing that I miss or forget something else that’s important. So this week I want to practice focusing my thoughts more carefully on positive and productive things. Of course I should do this for the rest of my life, but I think I’ll just take one day at a time for now.

Just as thoughts will influence our emotions and actions, emotional experiences and activities will also influence our thoughts. The mind, heart and body are like partners performing a dance together, but it takes a lot of practice to make the dance beautiful.

The Smile We Can Never Forget

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Thanks for all of your comments & sympathy Kristen, Deborah & Cel. The ceremony was actually quite beautiful and heartfelt with over 200 people showing up. This young man was cared about deeply by school friends, church members, relatives and friends from around the world. He had a great impact on peoples lives as he was a loving son & brother, supportive friend, incredible athlete and a passionate person with an infectious smile that everyone remembers. There was a sparkle in his eyes when he smiled.

Why then did he end his life? As much as he fought to live a good life and be a good person, there was an internal suffering going on for a long time. I am one who knows the power of hormones, brain chemistry and nutritional imbalance and how this affects the way we think and feel. Having dealt with these issues as an adult, I can only feel great sympathy for a young man growing up with such issues. The beauty is that in spite of all this he was a loving person whose departure from this world brought many people together with a renewed heart of love, understanding and compassion. The unconditional love of God is both mysterious and liberating.