health

by

White

Only four weeks

since

white covered

every surface

with snow,

ice

mountains called

snow farms

to remove

snow from the streets.

Hint by hint

of color,

shoots of green first,

snow-bells

tiny crocus.

Yellow daffodils,

forsythia,

fairy pink little

tree blossoms.

Now tulips

in bright array.

Two weeks ago,

as I opened my front door,

a hint of flutter.

Oh yes,

my first petite

white butterfly.

In my guide book

described as ghost butterflies,

for me

always

Spirits.

Then in the park,

sitting with my sister,

the second Spirit white.

A week later,

at the beach,

the third.

Today,

waiting for a traffic light to change,

another.

Each time

I pause.

These white

simply colored

butterflies

appear earlier than

the fancy dressed

colored Monarchs.

During Spring and Summer

there are many more.

Later in the Fall,

the last hurrahs,

 on a warm day.

Always, I pause.

Each,

like a prayer of presence

for me.

I am not startled

by their brilliance.

They calm me

into a

prayerful thanks.

by

Foundations

7.9

The earth convulses

Ancient temples

 modern buildings

not built to withstand the fury

Crumble.

Brick by stone

disintegrate

beyond imagination.

Mt. Everest

the world’s tallest mountain

rumbles

releasing avalanches.

Chaos

confusion

who is

buried?

The next day

Sitting at Evensong

in the beautiful seven decades old monastery

Near home,

I remember when the building was closed

for two years to clean and refurbish

Empty of chants and monks,

the first discovery

the foundation, the concrete floor

Built over peat, once riverbed earth

Breaking through

Roots, trunk size

Eight oak trees

Unseen, unknown.

The foundation compromised,

Leaking,

Poised to break through.

Just in time

A new foundation

Dug deep

Roots cut out

Trees cut down.

Everywhere we trust

buildings, the ground under our feet,

mountains

to be a foundation

To live.

Thoughts of my inner foundation

Become a litany.

How strong my inner foundation?

How can I

Strengthen

my own boards, bricks, stones,

My scaffolding?

My resilience?

To roll on the rollers that some buildings are

Built on

Where earthquakes Might come.

My inner core

Can I depend on

My stability,

Ability

To withstand the shakes and tumbles

Of life?

To be strong, not rigid

Flexible.

Roll with life

As it comes.

by

Listening- A Great Gift

Just the title

Someone To Tell It To

invites an opportunity to be heard,

to be listened to.

With the speed and brevity

of the internet,

social media,

and popular forms of communication,

there is

no substitute

for truly

listening ears

and an open,

non-judging heart.

The process of offering safety

to a person,

whatever they need

to say and share,

is the greatest gift

and can help a person

to heal,

no matter

how deep

the woundedness

he or she feels.

Ordained ministers

Michael Gingerich and Tom Kaden,

came together

to use their experience and skills

and offer what

so many crave,

sometimes

without even knowing,

what is making

life challenging,

even unbearable.

We live in a society

with too much information,

24 hour news cycle,

accessibility to

communicate

in letters

that don’t even fully

spell the word.

How can someone

be truly

heard and understood?

Michael and Tom share in their book

how they meet

someone

wherever they are

in their life’s journey.

Actually meeting with someone

in a non-threatening place,

not for counseling in an office,

but wherever the person

feels comfortable,

can help

open the person to the

possibility of saying

what they need to share,

finding that being heard

in a non-judgmental way,

their burdens are lifted,

a perspective formed

and body and soul

easing into breathing

in their life force

on the way to healing,

whatever it is.

by

Ritual

Ritual

Tradition

Out of the darkness of winter

Primal celebration

Holy Week

Passover

Easter

Some continue to come together

Honor

those who have gone before.

Some are too busy

or don’t believe rituals and traditions

are important anymore,

at least to them.

Have we lost a gift of community

leaving rituals and traditions

in the past?

Can we find a way to be grateful for the gifts

of life, light, new growth?

Seeing beauty

All around

Can bring dissonance

into harmony.

Seeing beauty, being grateful

for a bird’s song,

green shoots poking through layers,

for the smile of another.

Love is the ritual we can

all share.

by

Being Mortal

Being Mortal

is something all

human beings

share.

Most, if not all of us

ignore the reality.

When and how we die

is perhaps one of the

mysteries

we don’t like to think about.

Being Mortal is

a best-selling book

written by a physician, the son of two physicians.

Composed of profiles of people

who are faced with illnesses,

they and their families

often are faced with

decisions about how much medication,

how much  technology

they might choose to use

to prolong life.

Some choices

may lead to

a poor quality of life.

When faced with his father’s illness,

the author, his mother and his father-

physicians all

did not find talking about these choices

and making choices about treatment

any easier

than most people.

The Conversation Project,

available to all on-line

gives an outline for individuals and families

to begin talking about these most challenging and

painful decisions.

Using “extraordinary means” at one time

meant feeding and hydration

and was not required by some religious practices.

Twenty years ago,

when I had to have a conversation

with my mother

I started by saying

“When Daddy’s patients died, they died,

but now sometimes, a person can be brought back to life.”

She replied,” I want anything that can be done

be done. I still have things to do in my life.”

Now,

there are so many more things

that can be done

to extend life,

the choices can be

less clear.

A Conversation with

family and loved ones

can prepare

everyone

to honor the person’s choices.

by

Rest

Oh the days

when one day a week

was set aside

for rest.

For some,

it meant doing nothing in particular.

For others

 there could be time for family to be

together.

Each of us

have 24 hours

each day.

Eight hours to sleep,

eight to work,

eight to do everything else.

Researchers are finding

that eight hours of sleep, give or take an hour

is really important for everyone.

With all-night screen time

available,

can you develop

sleep hygiene,

preparing for restful sleep

by turning off

all screens,

stimulating activity,

welcoming rest,

grateful for a full day

and enough time to restore

and be healthy and

productive

the next day,

and the next,

and the next!