body

by

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?

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

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.

by

Spirit Storage

Spirit Storage is the name of

an acupuncture point

on the upper chest.

At a time

When I was challenged

on many fronts

to share my energy,

this acupuncture term

reminded me

to pay attention

to my reserves

of spirit.

My personal image of

Spirit Storage

took a new form

when a dear friend gave me

a gold, beaded journal.

This beautiful book

is a reminder

that my store of spirit energy

is a

precious resource.

The best way

of keeping track

of my

store of spiritual energy

is meditation.

In the quiet,

I ask myself

if I need to

replenish my spirit supply.

Sometimes,

I realize that

I have not been aware

that my

spirit energy

is low.

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

Soul and Body

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.

Artistotle, Physiognomics, c. B.C.E.

by

Synchroncity and Opportunity

I see

synchronicity

In

the shocking murder of

nine people

in a Bible class

at the AME Emmanuel Church

in Atlanta

by a young white supremacist ,

many retailers no longer

selling Confederate flags,

the decision in Georgia

and other states

to remove the

Confederate flag

from public display.

President Obama’s

moving eulogy,

words moving into

singing

Amazing Grace with

all joining in.

Conjecture, publicity

To Kill a Mockingbird

 Harper Lee’s beloved book and movie

told by young Scout

seeing her father Atticus

through a child’s eyes.

The much anticipated

release of the

old, discovered

first book

taking place twenty years later.

Go Set A Watchman,

portraying Atticus

in a segregated  town,

challenged by a

climate, calling, demanding

equal rights for blacks and white.

An Off Broadway show

Hamilton

moves to Broadway

full of hip hop

historical characters played by

multi-racial cast.

Another play

Amazing Grace 

opens on

Broadway,

its writer, leaving his job

compelled to write this story

and produce it.

Publisher of Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

moves up release date

so we can read

his words written to

his fifteen year old son.

Growing up in Baltimore,

he feels the same

fear for his son

as week by week

there are

unnecessary murders

by police of young black men

barely adults.

Whatever events, words, books, musicals

might stir you,

move me,

the convergence

is an opportunity.

In the words of Amazing Grace

that forgiveness and redemption

are possible

regardless of sins committed,

“Amazing grace!

How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost,

but now am found,

Was blind,

but now I see.”

What can I see now

that I did not see before?

What do you see

that you did not see before?

“‘Twas grace that taught

my heart to fear,

And grace my fears

reliev’d;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed!”

by

My Weather Report

Global warming,

Heat waves

Ten feet of snow in the Northeast

still melting in July

in “snow farms”.

Grit and lost cars and smaller things appear

as the snow melts

to reveal

what plows picked up

unseen to the drivers

in the sculptured hills on the roads.

Weather extremes

Tornado watches

Homes blown to the ground.

Treasures lost.

Hurricanes

named now for

men and women.

Seas rising.

Homes and businesses

flooded out,

destroyed beyond repair.

This week

temperatures and humidity

have ranged.

My weather report

is measured by

the four nighties

hanging,

each worn

on nights where

long sleeves brought comfort,

sleeveless for mid-range,

short sleeveless,

and last night

the thinest strapped

 short blue flowered.

Waking up

this morning,

the storm had blown

out the high heat and humidity

 and

I pulled up the

covers

and took a warm shower,

then dressed for a mid-temperature day.

The pretty weather forecasters

might reveal

their forecast

this way

and

bring a smile

as we listen

to the forecast

which is often

unpredictable

and unreliable.

by

Seesaw

Did you play

on a seesaw

as a child

or maybe be lured to a

big one in a park?

Balancing

back and forth is

made easier

if the other rider

is about

the same size.

If a different

height or weight

the back and forth

requires closer

attention.

Imagine the momentary,

usually fleeting moment

when the riders

are evenly balanced

on the triangle stand

in the middle.

Three lines

visualized

in my mind

remind me

of the seesaw.

An upside down V

two lines,

and one line

evenly placed at the top of the

upside down

V.

Life

is usually more of the

back and forth,

sometimes

smoothly exchanging

the upper

with the lower.

Fleeting

stillness

when both sides

are

just

paused

in balance.

I try

to notice

the moment of stillness.

Grateful.

I am also aware

that the

seesaw of my life

can be going

back and forth,

abruptly.

I need

to adjust

my balance.

Sometimes

the weight on

the other side of the

seesaw

disappears

and

I am thrown

off balance

and realize

I must

re-establish

my

inner

gyroscope

on my own.

There are times

when

I am unaware

of how little

can upset

my sense of

being

in

balance.

by

Legacy

On Memorial Day

we honor

those who serve and served.

For some

it is a particularly

poignant time.

Some served and

remember those who died.

For families

who lost someone

it is a time

to be open with their grief.

For each of us,

we may serve in other ways

than the battlefield.

How do you live your life?

Consciously

or

unconsciously

of ways to serve.

For me,

I have learned to

no longer

make a plan

for my life

but to respond

to the things

and people

in my life

who are

part of a pattern or plan

I cannot see.

At the end of the movie

Saving Private Ryan,

a memorable reflection

can become our filter.

I’ve tried to live

my life

the best

I can.

I hope that

is enough.

Your

legacy,

my legacy.

Today

and everyday.

Serve.