Illusion

by

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

by

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

by

Black or White

Be relieved

that there is

something

that

can be

done about it.

When there is a problem,

health issue

or another difficult challenge,

be grateful

for the availability

of remedies,

even if

they

are not

magic cures.

Many problems

cannot

be solved

completely

but can be

alleviated

in some way.

Life

is not

usually

black or white,

but

it may

seem

that way.

There

are many

shades

of gray.

by

See What Is

See what is.

The tape playing

in the back of our minds

often distracts us from

what is right in front of us.

Taken together,

“see what is”

are three challenging words.

Pausing

several times a day

to check

whether

the tape in my mind

is

related

to

what is right

in front of me

can bring me

into

the present moment.

livinglinesreflections.com

by

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

by

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?

by

Life and. . .

Loss

of a loved one,

a family member,

is a stark

reality

of life.

There is

no way out.

Anticipating

a loved one’s death

offers no

preparation.

Expectation,

no matter

how long,

does not

offer

a roadmap.

Once the rituals

whatever they are

have ended,

each of us

are

on our own.

Friends may console,

prayers said,

but in each moment

reminders

present

the harshness

of raw

physical,

emotional,

spiritual

change.

When

tears wet

my eyes

or sobs

move my

body,

it is a relief.

Pent-up

emotions

erupt

on grief’s

own schedule.

There is no

measurement

of the tears, the sadness.

The shadows

linger.

“Are you over it yet?”

a friend was asked

six weeks after her husband died.

There should be

no expectation

or impatience

with someone’s

time of

mourning.

There may be

stages,

but each person

marks their own.

There may be

light

with the shadows.

Sometimes.

A smell,

a glimpse

of someone who

reminds of

the loved one.

The depth and length

of grief

may

reflect the

intensity

of love

between

the

one

who has died

and those

left to mourn.

Life

Death.

Kindness.

Please.

by

Age and Wisdom

I

should be

wiser

than I was.

Memory

composes a story

of shames and amazements.

The shames I closed

inside myself,

but the amazements,

at a sun streaked wall,

at the thrill

of an oriole,

a face,

an iris,

a volume of poems,

a person,

endure and return

in brightness.

Such moments lifted me

above my lameness.

-Czeselaw Milosz , Polish Nobel Laureate in Literature

 I don’t necessarily feel wiser as I age. However, I do remember coming upon similar challenges at earlier times and hoping that what I learned would help me.It is natural to assume that age will confer wisdom. It is really a hope that I will remember-and act on-what I’ve learned from life’s experiences.   Sometimes, I realize that asking “is this mine?”  is the question to ask myself. Often the quiet answer comes and it is “NO”.

by

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.

by

Turning the Sound Down

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

and read the text.

It reads

differently

than it sounds.

What is

going on

in your life

may seem

less dramatic.

Sometimes

we can’t

eliminate

the drama

in our lives,

but we can

turn the volume down.

Do you have

ways

that help

you ?