Energy

So many

have responded-

Energy

is striking

a  reflection

that

I share

in hopes

of re-energizing

and taking care

for each who read.

Sometimes

when I am

tired,

I realize

this weariness

is the result

of having given

my energy

to others,

usually

lovingly.

Then,

what

I need

is to give

myself

quiet to restore.

There are different

ways

to recover from

fatigue.

For me,

it isn’t always

a matter

of needing

more sleep,

but having

enough time

to read,

to think,

to meditate,

or just sit

in a comfortable chair.

Watching

the patterns of

leaves

blowing in the wind,

listening to

chattering birds,

feeling

a cool breeze

or the warmth

of the sun-

all have restorative

power.

For me,

physically,

emotionally,

overstimulated,

at a crossroads,

I have

learned to welcome

the

tiredness

as

a protective gift.

How do you

feel

in this moment,

today?

Perspective

Our hearts

are

restless

until

they

rest

in

You.

Is

restlessness

uncomfortable?

Always,

Sometimes,

Never?

St. Augustine

confesses

that

it is

longing

that makes

the heart

grow

deeper.

Does

yearning

describe

longing

for you?

Rabbi Irwin Kula

writes

“The ability

to live

with

seeming

contradictions-

and

the

ambivalence

and

tension

these contradictions

create-

is what gives

rise

to wisdom.

The messes

are the point.”

The invitation

into the depths

is painful.

A journey

to surrender.

There can be

so much

resistance

in that

opportunity.

So,

stumble

I will.

Not knowing

the measure

I will think

of longing

as yearning.

It

resonates

for me.

St. Augustine, Confessions

Rabbi Irwin Kula, Yearnings

livinglinesreflections.com

Healing

Trying to

restore

our emotional health

can be

exhausting,

particularly if we have

neglected it.

No wonder

people sometimes

choose

to numb their pain.

It takes courage and energy

to dig deep

to help

emotional wounds heal.

We can

heal

only if we

know

what the wounds are.

Our bodies hold

emotional hurts,

sometimes for years.

There are many ways

to help

the healing process-

prayer,

meditation,

yoga,

reiki,

 therapy,

asking for forgiveness

and forgiving-

that strengthen

the body

along

with

the mind

and the soul.

Are you ready

to begin,

slowly,

with awareness.?

Living Lines

Recovery

It is important

to take things

slowly

and allow

recovery to happen

at its own rate.

There are no

magic formulas

for healing

physical,

emotional,

and spiritual wounds.

Healing occurs

on

its own schedule.

Sometimes

recovery

can be traced

in measurable milestones,

and other times,

it occurs

quietly

in the dark.

On Reflection

Uncharted paths-

do those words

go together?

It’s as if our eyes

are on the

back

of our heads

so we can see

where

we’ve come from.

Can we see

where we’re going?

If we walked

backward,

would we then see

the path ahead?

A puzzle.

Isn’t life

all a puzzle?

Life-

looked at

in reverse-

seems to show us

what we needed

to find

the place

where we are now.

Those steps

seemed like

zigs and zags

at the time can,

in retrospect,

reveal that we took

the most direct path

after all.

Living Lines, Meaning of Life

More Manageable

When you feel

life is

too intense,

imagine it as a

TV soap opera.

Turn the

sound down

until

it seems manageable

or mute

the sound.

Sometimes

we can’t

eliminate

the drama

in our lives,

but

we can

turn

the volume

down.

Living Lines    livinglinesreflections.com

A Grief Observed

C.S. Lewis

In grief

nothing ‘stays put.’

One

keeps

emerging

from a phase,

but

it always

recurs.

Round and round.

Everything repeats.

Am I

going in circles,

or

dare

I hope

I am

on a

spiral?

But

if a spiral,

am I

going

up

or

down it?

Bouquet

Each

friend

represents

a world

in us,

a world

possibly

not born

until

he or she

arrives.

I have a bouquet

of friends,

each one

different.

I find

myself

revealing-

sometimes

discovering-

different

aspects

of myself

with each

of them.

livinglinesreflections.com

Attaching

I feel like

I have

crossed

through

wild winds

into the calm

eye of the storm.

I must face

the wildness again

because the

calm will pass.

Clouds

are sometimes used

as a metaphor.

Watching the sky,

sometimes only

as wisp of white

dabbles

the blue

of the sky.

Clouds may move

with the breeze

or be blown

by the wind.

Today

there are many layers

some dense,

some moving quickly.

The clouds

show confusion,

some static,

occasionally

the sun peaks through.

The clouds

remind me to

practice

not attaching

to a

particular

state of mind,

pleasurable

or painful

or somewhere

in-between.

Each state

will change.

By being

engaged,

conscious of

what is happening,

I try

not to hold

onto

one

particular time.

More Understanding

Soul and body,

I suggest,

react

sympathetically

upon each other;

a change

in the state of the

soul produces

a change

in the shape

of the body,

and conversely:

a change in the

shape of the body

produces

a change in

the state of the soul.

Surprise!

Aristotle,

Physiognomics, c.350 B.C.E.

Aristotle’s theory is

much quoted today.

It is humbling

to think

that the

ancient Greeks

framed questions

that still preoccupy us

more than 23 centuries later.

It is exciting too,

because over the

past two decades,

scientists

have acquired

powerful

new imaging tools

that are

revolutionizing

our understanding

of the connection

between

body and mind.