I have had many profound experiences with people in my life the last two days. Their experiences have had such an effect on me, which is interesting as there really is no direct correlation (or very little correlation) to my daily life.
1. My cousin, age 46, had brain tumor surgery - 16 hours - in September. He is now at home after going through therapy, spending time at my Aunt & Uncle's house, and is on the road to recovery. His wife put a blog on the website she writes for and the whole story is very vivid and emotional. Praise to God for his recovery.
2. I suprised the janiter lady who lets me into my office door every day as she said she was deep in thought. Her daughter, age 32, had blood in her stool and they won't be able to do the remaining test until December 2nd. I could see the worry in Sue's eyes, as she told me about her own colon cancer surgery in 2002.
3. My step-dad had surgery last week and although he came through the surgery well, his recovery and future quality of life are in question. My mother's caregiving is required full time and her strength and stamina are a gift to him. Who is caring for the caregiver?
4. One of the ladies we are working for just came back from a 4 week trip to Hawaii. I asked her how her vacation was, and her answer was, "I always say my last vacation was the best ever, but this vacation was the best vacation ever. We have already booked our 5 week vacation next year. I start my move to retirement by starting to work half time in November." Her spirit and enthusiasm for life was a boost to me as we talked about her life and the many gifts that she has been given (Fullbright scholar, studying in France, etc.,), I basked in the joy in her eyes as she talked about her rich, full life and her retirement plans.
People in your life. We are all so independent and yet so interrelated. And there are so many other people in my life that I am not mentioning that have their daily struggles and triumphs. What can we all do to help each other? I pray daily. My prayer life has become a great deal fuller and richer over the past few years, so I know that is enough for now.
Enjoy your today and be well.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
A very good breathing exercise
The following is from my daily http://www.morningcoach.com/ e-mail. The breathing exercise is very helpful as you can do it anywhere if you do not have time to sit and meditate. Last night as I worked in the garden and my mind wanted to wander into negative thoughts, I did the breathing exercise to get back into the moment. I had a very enjoyable evening and today am in a much better frame of mind.
"The great Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hahn spoke about how being mindful and keeping our attention focused, you will be able to gain insight into the object that you are focusing on, Thich Nhat Hahn shared a beautiful poem to help us focus on our breathing, the first word on each line represents the in-breath and the second word on each line represents the out-breath.
In, Out
Deep, Slow
Calm, Ease
Smile, Release
Present moment, Wonderful moment
If thoughts start to pop into your mind, just patiently start over again, eventually your skill will increase, and eventually you will be able to focus your mind on anything you need to gain insight into. The beauty of this simple practice is that it can be done any where, while we are driving, walking, or standing on line, use it anytime you are frustrated or impatient, it will pull your mind out of those non productive thoughts that are upsetting you and give you a moment of peace.
Please do not take my word for this, there is a line in the Buddhist text on training the mind in seven points that states” The meaning of this text should be known” what this means is that we can only truly know and understand the value something if we actually put it into practice, so as I leave you to your breath work, I will also now stop and breath in and out :)"
"The great Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hahn spoke about how being mindful and keeping our attention focused, you will be able to gain insight into the object that you are focusing on, Thich Nhat Hahn shared a beautiful poem to help us focus on our breathing, the first word on each line represents the in-breath and the second word on each line represents the out-breath.
In, Out
Deep, Slow
Calm, Ease
Smile, Release
Present moment, Wonderful moment
If thoughts start to pop into your mind, just patiently start over again, eventually your skill will increase, and eventually you will be able to focus your mind on anything you need to gain insight into. The beauty of this simple practice is that it can be done any where, while we are driving, walking, or standing on line, use it anytime you are frustrated or impatient, it will pull your mind out of those non productive thoughts that are upsetting you and give you a moment of peace.
Please do not take my word for this, there is a line in the Buddhist text on training the mind in seven points that states” The meaning of this text should be known” what this means is that we can only truly know and understand the value something if we actually put it into practice, so as I leave you to your breath work, I will also now stop and breath in and out :)"
Saturday, September 19, 2009
How I know that I am old
Today is Saturday - 6:36 a.m. My husband has already left to go bow hunting for deer. That leaves me home with the dog. How I know that I am old is that I am excited about this day and the opportunities it holds.
1. I have a new cost efficient laundry soap that I am trying out on the first batch of laundry / jeans.
2. It is still dark outside so I feel like I have gotten a head start on the day.
3. It is going to be a beautiful September day. Great for hanging laundry and cleaning out the garden.
4. The new tractor is here (as opposed to our other property), so I can use it to clean out the garden.
5. By the end of the day I will have a clean house, fresh whole milk from our friend, and dinner on the table. Happy hour is so sweet when that mix all comes together.
6. I am writing this morning - a goal I assigned to myself for the new year (2009) and I am back on task.
7. It is my friend's 30-19th birthday, so I am going to start a new batch of wine in honor of her special day.
8. The chicken house is already cleaned because I did it last night. We also got the little hens moved out of the back building last night - so again, it feels like we have a big head start on the day.
9. I feel good. The fact that I have no aches and pains is wonderful.
10. I realize that many people would look at the things I am happy about and see a lot of work. I feel grateful that I have a place to do these things, a wonderful day to do them in, a dog to keep me company and a husband that will be home for dinner.
All in all, I am happy that I am old.
Namiste'
1. I have a new cost efficient laundry soap that I am trying out on the first batch of laundry / jeans.
2. It is still dark outside so I feel like I have gotten a head start on the day.
3. It is going to be a beautiful September day. Great for hanging laundry and cleaning out the garden.
4. The new tractor is here (as opposed to our other property), so I can use it to clean out the garden.
5. By the end of the day I will have a clean house, fresh whole milk from our friend, and dinner on the table. Happy hour is so sweet when that mix all comes together.
6. I am writing this morning - a goal I assigned to myself for the new year (2009) and I am back on task.
7. It is my friend's 30-19th birthday, so I am going to start a new batch of wine in honor of her special day.
8. The chicken house is already cleaned because I did it last night. We also got the little hens moved out of the back building last night - so again, it feels like we have a big head start on the day.
9. I feel good. The fact that I have no aches and pains is wonderful.
10. I realize that many people would look at the things I am happy about and see a lot of work. I feel grateful that I have a place to do these things, a wonderful day to do them in, a dog to keep me company and a husband that will be home for dinner.
All in all, I am happy that I am old.
Namiste'
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Daily Newsletters
The following e-mail newsletters are worth looking at to see if they are of interest to you
http://www.morningcoach.com/
www.about.com (yoga newsletters)
and
http://everydaycheapskate.com/
It's good to have motivation or a different "thought for the day."
http://www.morningcoach.com/
www.about.com (yoga newsletters)
and
http://everydaycheapskate.com/
It's good to have motivation or a different "thought for the day."
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Ireland 2010
Today my sisers and I formalized our trip to Ireland. We will leave in 2010 for a 13 day guided tour of the entire ireland of Ireland. Lisa and I have been palnning for this trip since 3-2008 and today we told Linda about the trip. Is it now real and I am very excited.
My husband asked me to tell him the story about how we told Linda two times tonight. I gave him two different versions, highlighting different parts of the experience with each story. Isn't that how life is? We tell the parts of the story that we think is interesting to the person who is listening - but there are so many other parts of the story that are so much more interesting...
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Morning Walk with Abbie:
This morning the moon was extremely bright and was casting shadows as Abbie and I set out for our morning walk. We have been starting our walks as the sun starts to rise and walk toward the sunrise. However, this morning, we needed to get an earlier start on the day while the moon and stars were still shining in the dark cloudless sky.
We started walking toward the East as we normally do, but Abbie was spooked by something. She normally starts our walks with extreme enthusiasm, but this morning was different. There was something different, something scary to her; so she dug in her feet and changed our minds about the direction we were going to walk.
We had walked to the end of our property, but we acted on her hesitation; turned around and walked back to the house. I thought she might have sensed something was wrong with my husband, so we went back into the house to see if anything was amiss. Nothing was wrong, so we went back outside, walked to the end of the driveway, and turned west. That seemed to work for Abbie, so we walked our mile and a half with the moon in front of us and our shadows behind us.
We walked past Des’s house. She was sleeping in front of her TV so the windows of the old schoolhouse were illuminated by flashing pink, blue and green lights throughout her front room. Abbie and I kept on walking toward the lake’s end, crossed the highway, and kept walking.
When the first car crossed the highway behind us, Abbie stopped and watched (as we have been practicing in our training. Praise followed, but she wasn’t interested in eating her regular treats. It took a few attempts at treating for calling her name, until I realized she was only going to respond to the good treats – the soft ones that don’t require chewing. This morning was a morning where she needed to focus on the road, eat quickly and quietly and pay attention to the shadows.
As we got to the end of our walking away from our place, the sun was starting to show a rising of pink and orange on the Eastern horizon. Abbie had no problem walking toward the sunrise now that the shadows were missing. When it was time for Abbie to do her business, she made sure she was well off the road in the tall grass. It was as if she didn’t want to leave a trace of her walk in public view this morning (which sometimes happens when she is just too excited to keep walking).
We crossed back across the highway, past the house with the goats, rabbits and geese, past Des’s (where the TV was still making pretty images in her windows). Once we were almost to our place, Abbie started pulling in order to get home to her comfort zone. We finished by crossing into the yard and let out the chickens.
It was a good walk, but there was some undefined scariness outside. It made being home a nicer place to be, but there was still something lurking out there that I thought I saw out of the corner of my eye.
This morning the moon was extremely bright and was casting shadows as Abbie and I set out for our morning walk. We have been starting our walks as the sun starts to rise and walk toward the sunrise. However, this morning, we needed to get an earlier start on the day while the moon and stars were still shining in the dark cloudless sky.
We started walking toward the East as we normally do, but Abbie was spooked by something. She normally starts our walks with extreme enthusiasm, but this morning was different. There was something different, something scary to her; so she dug in her feet and changed our minds about the direction we were going to walk.
We had walked to the end of our property, but we acted on her hesitation; turned around and walked back to the house. I thought she might have sensed something was wrong with my husband, so we went back into the house to see if anything was amiss. Nothing was wrong, so we went back outside, walked to the end of the driveway, and turned west. That seemed to work for Abbie, so we walked our mile and a half with the moon in front of us and our shadows behind us.
We walked past Des’s house. She was sleeping in front of her TV so the windows of the old schoolhouse were illuminated by flashing pink, blue and green lights throughout her front room. Abbie and I kept on walking toward the lake’s end, crossed the highway, and kept walking.
When the first car crossed the highway behind us, Abbie stopped and watched (as we have been practicing in our training. Praise followed, but she wasn’t interested in eating her regular treats. It took a few attempts at treating for calling her name, until I realized she was only going to respond to the good treats – the soft ones that don’t require chewing. This morning was a morning where she needed to focus on the road, eat quickly and quietly and pay attention to the shadows.
As we got to the end of our walking away from our place, the sun was starting to show a rising of pink and orange on the Eastern horizon. Abbie had no problem walking toward the sunrise now that the shadows were missing. When it was time for Abbie to do her business, she made sure she was well off the road in the tall grass. It was as if she didn’t want to leave a trace of her walk in public view this morning (which sometimes happens when she is just too excited to keep walking).
We crossed back across the highway, past the house with the goats, rabbits and geese, past Des’s (where the TV was still making pretty images in her windows). Once we were almost to our place, Abbie started pulling in order to get home to her comfort zone. We finished by crossing into the yard and let out the chickens.
It was a good walk, but there was some undefined scariness outside. It made being home a nicer place to be, but there was still something lurking out there that I thought I saw out of the corner of my eye.
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