Life

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

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

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

by

Milestones

Tomorrow

is

my birthday.

Decades declare milestones.

At certain ages

there can be

the realization

that there are fewer

years ahead

than

already lived.

Mid-life

it is called.

Demographers

and cultural observers

 now offer

more gradations than

young,

middle aged

and old.

Early middle age,

middle age

late middle age.

At what point

does your category

become early old age?

Are you in

middle old age

and when

really old age?

For some,

lifespans

extend into the ninth and

even tenth decade.

When Social Security

was made available

at 65,

people weren’t

expected to live

much beyond that.

For some,

there can be

many decades

beyond

that mark.

How to live

these years,

whatever they are called?

Wisdom

offers

the suggestion

to shed

as we age.

Things,

images of ourself,

expectations,

hopes,

dreams,

disappointments.

Shedding

seems to say

that

growth stops

at some point.

Adults

we are.

Approaching

this birthday,

I am beginning

to understand

that letting go

is a better perspective

of what no longer

serves me.

Traveling

lighter,

I

hope

I

am

Growing

Into

Older

Age.

Learning,

growing.

Shifting gears,

slows me

to follow

the Inner Light

to savor

each moment,

each friend,

loved one

and stranger.

Sometimes the

Light

offers

a clear path.

Sometimes

intuition

brings

me on the path

I cannot

see

in this moment.

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

Pruning

Pruning. . .

not only speaks of

cutting back

but also of the

ultimate blossoming

that takes place

when it is done properly.

-Henri Nouwen

In horticultural, pruning encourages growth. But knowing where to cut to maximize growth requires expertise. The image of pruning has become increasingly important to me. One place I’ve tried to prune is my natural impulse to solve someone else’s problems rather than support that person’s own decisions.

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

My Mediation Healing Ritual

With my hands on my head,

I say;” Lord heal my mind so that I may think clearly.”

With my hands on my eyes,

“Lord heal my eyes,

so that I may see others with compassion and myself as well.”

With my hands on my ears,

“Lord let me hear and truly listen.”

With my hands on my throat,

“Lord, may I speak the truth and know when to be quiet.”

With hands on heart,

“Lord may I be more open to your love,

nurture others and myself as well.”

Holding lower abdomen,

“Lord let me go of what I don’t need anymore.

Let it be released by the power of your love so I may reflect Your Light

more clearly.”

It helps me to breathe and pause at each line of this visualization prayer. I don’t change the words, but I find that I do change the way I say them or turn them over in my mind. Sometimes I linger longer at one part or another, taking an extra breath or two. I do so in compassion for myself, as I quietly release what I don’t need to hold anymore.

by

Bittersweet

Sometimes

we are

aware

that

life is

bittersweet.

Even

when we smile,

there can be

a river of

sadness

flowing

through us.

Our smile

is not

a band-aid.

It is

an authentic

feeling.

Putting on

a happy face

isn’t

being

false

or phony

or denying the

sadness

we feel.

Neuroscientists

tell us

that a smile

can change

our body chemistry.

When I

get into bed

I fluff

my pillows

just right,

straighten my spine.

Then I smile.

Sometimes I

have to dig a bit

to find

something

in the day

that I am grateful for.

Smiling

as I close

my eyes,

I think I rest

better

and sleep

renews me

for the next day.