Cushioning—January 2012

This northern Illinois morning marks the first heavy snowfall of the season. Poking my nose out, big flakes land and melt…brrrrr and back inside! In recent January weeks, the weather has been unseasonably warm in the 40s to mid 50s. Tip toeing through the winter, I’ve been pretending we were going to skip the cold snowy part this year. Hesitantly looking out the window, I see a crimson cardinal looking right back in, perched six inches away. I receive the bright cardinal as a cushion of comfort which enables me to gracefully accept the snow blanket beyond. I’m hopeful.  On further inspection, the snow appears gentle and not particularly ominous, although I prefer warmth. Joyously welcoming spring, summer and fall, I am still working on winter.

Yesterday yielded blue skies and mid 50s. That surprising weather cushioned today's winter storm.  Even more unusual was the sunset I witnessed last week. It looked like a Santa Fe sky in Illinois!   My needs and deep desires are attended to abundantly through nature by The Artist of creation.  That is an important knowing for getting through life’s challenging times. I need to trust that there is always a cushion supplied by The Artist for whatever trials come my way, whether small or large.

Mid winter sunset
Beauty blazing across the sky
Bringing cushion of hope

Looking up the definition of cushion, I realize why I like having so many pillows in my home.  A cushion is described as, Something resilient used as a support, or shock absorber…used for resting, reclining, or kneeling. I know that life on earth is often difficult and I love the idea that The Artist provides a cushion when I need one…that I can rest or recline or especially kneel and have the shock absorbed. How sweet to know that even in these difficult times for us as individuals and as a culture, both hope and rest are available with a moment of presence and awareness in nature.

Experience a cushion--If you find yourself feeling a little discouraged or distressed get on your outside clothes and head out the door.  Literally shake yourself (if that’s what it takes) to reorient to the present moment. Wait and tune in until something comes to your attention that might be cushioning for you…notice it draw and write about it. Be with it until you find yourself shifting to a more grounded place within. Consider doing a jumping jack or two before you go back inside!  Have a good rest of your day.

Signs--December 2011

Waking up, stretching cozy, the first words I hear are, “There is a snow covering.”  My day instantly changes from snug, to a batten down the hatches sense…like a tornado is on the way.  Looking out the door, only a sugar sprinkling is visible….certainly no cause for alarm.   Green grass is poking through the white coating, sharing my sense of denial.  The hill above is melting.  Blue sky shows through the woods beyond.   Why is this first snow so riveting?

Snow dusts the earth.
Melting in sun, blue sky backdrop.
Sign of what’s to come.

Thinking it’s a sign of what’s to come, I head outdoors in my bathrobe, hit by the once crisp, now icy, air.  Grabbing garden shoes and the bamboo mobile clinking in the breeze, the last of summer on the deck, I quickly run inside.   Noticing the darkened kitchen, aware that the skylights are snow covered, I again sense the winds of change.  Last night I followed an urge to order new boiled wool slippers and now wonder if it was intuitive.  In the last few days we have put festive lights both outside and in (my way staying full of cheer in this darker season)…more instinctive perception.  Being aware of and responsive to the signs in my life pleases me.

Looking up sign in the dictionary, one meaning is, “An object, quality, or event whose presence indicates the probable presence of something else.” Another dictionary says, “Any object, action, pattern or event that conveys a meaning.”   It seems like The Artist has sprinkled signs throughout creation designed to lead us to knowledge, depth and wisdom.  Consciousness takes only a moment set aside to be present…to really see, hear, smell and feel the day…to sense the meaning beyond.

The Artist once used a star as a sign, to lead three Magi or wise men who followed it and reported, “We saw His star in the east and have come..."  (Mt 2:2)   Wow, what a concept, i.e., notice the sign, intuitively recognize it, lean into it, get the meaning and respond with action. For me, that star hailed the most remarkable moment in recorded history.  It is actually stunning from my perspective to know that The Artist is guiding and beckoning us...what love is this?? Wandering through my house, I notice the star on top of our tree still beckoning as on the tops of many thousands of holiday trees this season.  I want to be a wise woman who stops, really sees, hears and notices the sign beyond this immediate moment which guides me into action.  How about you?

Experiencing a sign—Get bundled up, if you live in a cold land like me and take your journal and crayons, but mostly your awareness outside. Go in an attitude of prayerfulness if that’s how you do it!  Look around, listen, be there, notice what calls to you in your attentive state.  Journal, draw, take a picture…lean in to learn what you need to know today.  Tuck this learning away in your heart and be aware of any action you might need to take about any sign that comes forth.  Meanwhile, be awake to The Artist’s continued care for you throughout creation in this season.

Living in Community—November, 2011

I step out the back door at Dauphin Island, Alabama and see beautiful blooming native dune plants backed by a spacious canvas of white Gulf sand.  Whew…I breathe it in!  I love this time of year with coastal goldenrod shining in a delightful community of diversity with other “natives”.  They seem committed to this community...clustered together with seasons set aside for each kind of plant to bloom and cascade into being.  Last time I visited, the native rosemary was resplendent with lavender flowers. There is learning here.  In the rush to independence that our society so highly values, we sometimes forget that interdependence is a higher way of relating.  The ability to choose interdependent community is only possible when one is first independent.

Native plants at home.
Spacious sand dune living.
Each valued for its own beauty.

I long for interdependent spacious community with others like I see with the dune plants.  After all, The Artist of creation designed me for it!  We humans are part of nature and were originally designed as a tribal community.  We’ve ventured far in our quest for independence, threatening our natural bend for caring community.  At the island, the fish are in schools and various pelican patrol flocks constantly skim along the shore in formation.  In a tribe, each person is respected for who she is and has a voice and a place in the community where she and her gifts are honored.   My husband and I gave our best effort in creating a family where everyone has a voice and differences are honored, believing this to be The Artist’s design.  Variety is good and community is prized.  I ponder where this desire for tribal living started in my life??...

In the early 60s, I was in high school in a mid-sized Wisconsin town.  My friend Julie, whose father owned the VW dealership, would drive a VW bug convertible around and pick up our friends.  Seven of us would squeeze in and hot rod around town in goofy youthfulness, calling ourselves the “magnificent seven”.  Our tribe was full of joy and respect for one another.

In the tumultuous latter 60’s I was in college and on the lookout for new friends, after having transferred from a school which was an epicenter for the mutiny of my generation.  Surprisingly, I found an interesting intelligent and diverse group of women who honored and respected one another…a tribe.  Recently, I attended a reunion with nearly 50 of these women.  This photo shows Sandy, Cindy, myself and Joanie who all shared a tiny apartment senior year and now spent several days together in a tiny condo.  After all these years, it surprised to me to see the ease and joy with which we shared the time and space.  Instead of discussing boys and books (or the lack of books), our conversation turned toward children and grandchildren among lots of topics.  The ease, freedom and laughter in our community were totally intact.  We handled the one small bathroom situation like we were conducting a symphony.  Sandy reminded us, we had had plenty of practice long ago.  We are still a tribe who love and respect one another.

Over six years ago, I helped start a retreat program for women.  SPA Sisters: Spirit, Place and Authentic Self, uses nature as a facilitator of personal and spiritual growth and is really a tribe, where each person is received for who she is without judging, fixing and advising…received with respect and honor in the company of other women.  What a sweet thing to know we can live and relate more healthfully in a way that reflects our design.  Do you have a tribe?

An experience of living in community—Go outside with your journal and crayons looking for communities in nature near your home.  Consider how this relates to you and then grab a friend you trust to receive you as you are and share what you learned.  Enjoy creating community!

Destiny--October, 2011

Looking out the windows I am horrified to see a good portion of the needles on the backyard pines are a bright golden color, but the needles at branch end are still green. Is it a disease?  Upon further inspection, I realize all the pines in the yard are simply in the metamorphosis every fall brings except with more needles and brighter color.  I imagine this could be due to weather bounces from very cold to unusual, balmy October warmth.

Walking outside, I am attracted to the golden needle phenomena in a more accepting way.  Now, close enough to examine the branches stretching upward…green needles not giving up…stretching, toward the full destiny they were designed it for.   The courageous pine reaches and never frets as old needles grow golden, then brown, then let go as the life cycle completes.

Green to golden to brown
Pine tree wisdom available
Falling needles encourage life.

I sense an instinctive call from The Artist of creation to reach out and fully cooperate with the design for my life too.  I want to champion the still “green” part of me as I let the “golden brown” fall away in a desire for life lived in the present moving toward an unknown future.  Sometimes it feels a bit like camp farthest out, i.e. wanting to continue reaching toward the fullness of my destiny that I was created for.  Nevertheless, I want to feel the breeze of The Artist’s breath continuing to call me into being. 

I want to reflect the humor in nature’s design…think of how a rhinoceros or monkey looks or the sound of laughing hyena!  I’d like to display natural intelligence like the cirque du soleil spider who recently created a lovely gymnast’s world above my hot tub where she performed brilliantly for a week.  Most of all, I would like to reach out with the love I sense from The Artist through the display of nature’s color, light and vast beauty which I receive daily like a valentine.  That’s my prayer…what’s yours?

An experience of coming into your destiny…Gather your journal and art materials and go outside.  Look for something you notice and are attracted to that you admire!   What might this interesting part of nature say about your destiny?  Write about it, draw about it and maybe create a haiku as you gain clarity.  Enjoy your day as you move fully into the joy of being you!

Healing is Available—September 2011

Feeling a little flat inside, I go outdoors into the quiet of this early September day.   Surprised by the warmth of the air, I breathe in deeply and realize chill fall air has already become more familiar.  I begin to move into the better mood of this sweet breeze lazy day in New York where I am visiting my friend.  Now present, I am conscious of the constant whirr of katydid surround sound.

Further surveying the yard, I notice a large Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly dancing back and forth in the breeze as a prelude to choosing which succulent purple butterfly bush blossom to land on.  I’ve seen these yellow and black tiger striped beauties on only three occasions in my Midwestern local.  I love the beauty, color and large size of the tigers.  After the last sighting three years ago, I wrote:

Tiger butterfly
Strong, bright, bigger than life,
Rare beauty…here, now!

Today, I am encouraged by past encounters and gifts received from Tiger butterflies. I stealthily creep across the yard, pressing in with my new phone/camera.  The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly seems completely unconcerned about my presence just inches away.  Snap, snap, snap goes the camera.  Wow, I notice the tiger has an injured wing, but appears unhampered in its flight and after all, the day is sweet, the breeze is light and the flowers are plentiful.  That’s how my life feels today, a small injury to my spirit washed over by breeze, sound, beauty, color, light and glorious creatures!

When I am open to The Artist of creation, it seems that healing is available.  When I look and listen to see what is actually set before me, even the far away lawnmower seems to blend into the beauty of today.  Healing, sufficiency and patience all feel accessible now.  As I come near to The Artist through creation, I sense the peace, love and nearness of The Artist to me.

An experience of healing—Next time you feel out of sorts or just a little flat, grab your journal and crayons and head through the door…prayerfully, if that’s your way of being.  Breathe in the day…open to what is available.  Be aware of what you are attracted to.  Write about it, draw, sing, or dance or do whatever you like.  Allow yourself to shift until you find peace and meaning in this day. 

Listening--August 2011

Hot, hot, hot…dry, dry, dry…rain, rain, rain and a little hail describes our summer weather in the Midwest!  I acknowledge the weather, but do not count on it to make my day. My husband loathes the heat and longs for winter.  I like 70 degrees and sunny best, but find these 90 degree days tedious.  If the weather took top priority with me, I’d be in trouble in this climate!  Looking out the window, I see a dark dank morning sky looking like a picture of hopelessness.  Aware from past experience, however, that once outside, I will receive a gift from The Artist of creation regardless of climactic ups and downs, I open the door.

Gingerly and faithfully, I step outdoors pulling a hoody raincoat over nightgown (my backyard is private) and grabbing a cup of coffee.  I already (unnecessarily) checked the weather report… “Thunderstorms likely this morning. Then the chance of scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 91F. Chance of rain 90%.”  It’s been raining since midnight…maybe they need to remove the word chance from the forecast!

Once out, and able to attend to more than the deeply puddled deck, I breathe in the warm damp air and befriend it…Ahhhh…better.  Moseying across the deck, my view takes in the garden beyond.  I notice how lush everything is with all this rain. It appears that the combination of heat and rain has increased the size of the trees by fifty percent this year!  These extremes have not hurt them.  The colors are vibrant…even the mulch looks revitalized.  Leaving weather judgments behind, I am here, present, waiting, ready to receive.  I breathe in this air, open to a fresh Word from The Artist of creation.

Summer rain and heat collide
Breathing opens possibilities
For the deep to emerge.

St. Anthony, born in 251 AD said of his relationship with creation, “My book…is the nature of created things, and any time I wish to read the words of God, the book is before me.” In Greek, the word rhema means "an utterance." In Biblical terms it refers to a word or portion of scripture that reveals something fresh to a believer.  Very often I, like St. Anthony, receive through the “book” of nature.  As I listen for The Artist in this wet and fruitful place today, the words, “I love you” come to me and I breathe them in deeply.  I could have missed them fretting about rain watering the earth.  Instead, my day has a new direction…a different grounding.  I am growing through this hot wet season too.

An experience of listening—Pick a day where the weather is less than your ideal, scoop up your journal, pen and art supplies and head outdoors.  Shake off the day and your attitudes about it.  Breathe and be aware of your breath until you have a felt sense of openness and awareness.  Ask The Artist of creation to bring you whatever you need in this moment.  Wait until a sight or sound or fragrance attracts you.  Listen to your heart and its response to whatever rhema Word comes to you.  Write about it, draw it and move into this new more spacious place within.  Then, go and live your day well.

Look Up--July 2011

The outdoors are calling on this warm beautiful summer day.  Moseying around the yard, I am taken with the round faces of deep crimson scabiosa blossoms.  Even with their strange name, it’s a favorite perennial blooming from May to October.  Very prolific, they seed many new plants resulting in plenty to keep and give away.   Round cherry buttons on tall stems shooting up from the plant, they patiently reach to the sun whether it is available or up beyond the rain clouds.  Torrents of rain have poured down the past several weeks with only glimpses of sun and yet these lovely flowers wait patiently, steady and ready.

Round faces turned up
Waiting patiently for sun
Never wavering.

A life lived face up reaching toward the sun, rainy or not, has great appeal.  When my thoughts and view stay earth bound, there is clutter in my head and heart and I can get distracted from the truth.  I was created by The Artist of creation with the ability to wait, trust and be faithful while a space greater than my limited vision opens in my life.  When I follow this path, I know that “all shall be well” in the words of Julian of Norwich, a 14th century English mystic.

Looking up faithful in the dictionary, I find words like constant, loyal, stable, dependable, devoted and steadfast.  I’d like to be able to say that’s me!  Thanks crimson scabiosa for the reminder.

An experience of looking up—On a day when you might otherwise get caught up the things of the world as you look down at your desk or the kitchen sink…grab your journal and crayons and go outside.  Look up…expand your horizon literally.  Notice what you are attracted to. Write about it, draw and consider what The Artist of creation might be telling you today…a day suddenly new and clear without clutter!

A Breeze Blows Through—June 2011

Windows open, a warm gentle wind blows through, carrying bird songs in the new day as I wake from a sound sleep.  My first awareness is of breathing deeply with quiet joy.  This day is like an outdoor magnet drawing me.  Once out, almost imperceptibly, I feel the warm breeze blowing and notice the movement all around me.  I am calm and open.  The gust gets more intense and swirls around creating its own song as bamboo wind chimes soothingly clink clank clink.  My life has been busier than usual and it is so good to be brought back to this simple awareness. The Artist of creation is often identified with the wind. Ruah is the Hebrew word for breath or spirit, or it can mean the Holy Spirit.  It is as though the Ruah is blowing through the early hours of my day, opening, clearing and readying me for whatever comes.

The airstream gets stronger and wraps around me as the clouds move overhead.  There is something going on in the heavens, but I don’t know what.  Sun and then shade and sun again as I gaze up.  I am grateful for this moment, tree branches moving up and down, leaves “waving” as my grandson Dylan noticed yesterday.  I love being brought into his world view.  He misses nothing!  As the breeziness continues, I feel like it is blowing right through me as a prayer might…goodbye agenda…hello freedom…cleared out, refreshed and ready for the day.

 Breezy day leaves waving.
Opening, clearing, smoothing.
Enlivening me.

The path into the woods beckons and bird songs lead me to tiny yellow, purple and white flowers on the path…most of which I would call weeds in my yard.  Here they are full of beauty as I become present.  All is beauty when I am available.  I can almost hear The Artist of creation whisper, "Stay close. I am always here." Thank You.

An experience of breeziness—When you look outside and see the movement of the breeze in the trees, grab your journal and pen and crayons and go outside…be part of it…in it.  Allow yourself to be present and open.  Notice what you are aware of as the breeze washes over you.  Write about your experience. Be in your day!

Unexpected Joy—May 2011

It has been a running around kind of day.  The cold of this spring has suddenly turned to 80s and 90s.  My friend gave me perennials from her abundant yard and I’m planting them. Then I’m on to a massive watering job and then distractedly pulling previously unnoticed weeds…and so on, as the hours melt.  Finally, I squeeze in exercise, am dressed and ready to run errands and a huge deluge of rain starts pouring down. It wildly lets go full force from somewhere above.   As thunder rolls by, the sky fills with shards of streaking lightening and I skid to a stop.

My plans are forgotten as dime size hail balls barrel down the waterfall roof.   It is inky dark outside. The hail is getting larger and there is no pause as it slams into the glass ceiling above.  I see and hear it all. The hail grows to nickel size and there is enough to make hail balls.  I poke my nose out the door and have a brief experience of warm air and cold hail.  Wow!

By now, sitting in a chair, feet on an ottoman I watch and listen...still.  What surprises me most is the pleasure I feel witnessing this storm.  The sounds and visuals are exciting and overwhelming. Gradually the torrent melts the hail and daylight comes back.  The thunder slips off into the distance and the waterfall has become just a constant drip.

Spring flowers hail surround
Seasons surprise collision
Take a moment…be in it!

This unexpected weather vacation was quite wonderful.  The rest of life is not so different from this day.  There is great joy available when I let go of my agenda and remain present to what is actually happening.  I planned to run errands, but The Weather Maker got my attention with something more interesting.  As a child in the 50s, it seemed like there wasn’t much going on and there was lots of time to play and imagine.  The door was always flinging open and the moms wanted us outside!  Between the weather, the economy and the political atmosphere these days, life is stressful for most of us.  We human beings originally started out in tribes, like birds in flocks and fish in schools.  It was an everyday experience to interact with plants, animals, storms and sunrises and one another.  Sounds full and good, but it often seems unavailable to us in this age.  My friend has the word sunset in her e-mail address…that’s a good start, but how can we get more deeply into the riches of our origins at this late date?

It is simple, but requires conscious choice.  We can choose to be flexible and fully participate in the present moment regardless of circumstances.  I want to be available to nature, to myself, to others, and to The Artist of this amazing creation.  As I spend more time in nature, I will honor and cooperate with it more and as I recognize I am part of nature, I will also honor and cooperate better with me.  I am choosing to be present because that is where my deepest experience of life and joy reside. How about you?

An experience of unexpected joy—When you are buzzing around and not in the least present and a moment of awareness comes, grab it, go outside or at least open the door and poke your nose out.  Breathe, settle, be still, look, listen and allow awareness to come about how it feels to be in the present moment.  Journal, draw, breathe and then get on with your day in a richer way.

Green--April 2011

Today, I look out the window and it is there. Then, I jump in my car and drive down the road and it is there.  Green is suddenly all over.  I quickly become saturated and have all but forgotten the difficulty of arriving at green.  My thoughts this day have been dominated by the color green.  I think green was one of The Artist’s best ideas.  About to give up for lack of color as I looked out over the brown and more brown end of winter landscape a few days ago, abruptly, the grass turned a bright emerald green…it is both a soft and vital green like velvet.  It was cold, cold, cold and then turned unexpectedly hot and so the trees and bushes are holding with the last dead un-color of winter and the grass is abruptly dominating with a new tune.  “I am here. I have arrived. Please don’t pay attention to the other actors.”

After the long wait, the adjustment to this turn of events is almost instant.  It reminds me of being pregnant…waiting, waiting and then complete memory loss around the wait at the birth of something beautiful.  Amazing how resilient we are and how much we learn about appreciating beauty when we have to wait.  If I were running the universe, a secret fantasy, it would always be 70 degrees and sunny.  I have come to believe I would not learn nearly as much and my brain and spirit would soon become sluggish.  Life would slow down and all the green would blend into a sort of blandness in my spirit.  I might even become immune to it.

Last night I had a dream about my dear long loved friend Sue and she had the most wonderful green dining room (in the dream).  The woodwork was white and crispy beyond description with big crown moldings, but the walls were the color of life itself…vibrant beautiful green.  I called her in Minnesota to thank her for the inspiration…it was so beautiful.  Sue introduced me to The One who created green and I reflected that that is probably why she had this starring role in my dream.  Then, I impulsively headed for the Benjamin Moore Paint Store and purchased a gallon of green.  Needless to say, I now have sample swaths on my bathroom wall and it is not doing my green dream justice.

Green is like life to me.  I cannot manufacture this experience of sudden effervescent life giving green on my own.  It is really a glimpse of Glory, the extra-ordinary Artist of Creation splashing something my way to remind me that Benjamin Moore is not enough. I need something beyond merely human creation.

Splash of vibrant green
Waiting is suddenly over
And the Glory appears.

I have decided waiting is worth it and enables my experience of birth into the next season.  I am seriously considering changing my favorite season to spring.

An experience of green…I double dip dare you to put away your attitudes and be in this moment.  Grab your journal and art supplies on a day you have judged as BAD outdoors.  Go out, close your eyes and allow your attitude to float away in the breeze or rain or snow.  Open your eyes and see, feel, touch what is beneath and beyond your overlay of attitude.  Write, draw and live in this day.  Enjoy!

Instinctive Genius—March 2011

The snow is melted way back and brownish green grass is gaining ground.  Although the grass is winning, there was a dusting of snow earlier this morning.  Outside, I breathe in still cold air with the promise of change.  Slowly, quietly spring is coming.

This average chilly windless grey day has changed into a wild frenzy while I’ve been watching the sky.  Flocks (or tribes as I prefer to think of them) of geese started flying by in small “V” formations.  Gradually they grew into giant “Vs” and I counted one with 21 geese on one leg and 36 on the other.  In the flurry of return, the “Vs” have gradually jumbled into “S” forms and then into even less definition.  The Artist of creation must have whispered that today is the day for this large amorphous tribe to move.

A bright red cardinal and his mate land five feet away on the bare branches of the ginko tree and pay no heed to me or the mayhem above.  Instinct is apparently taken for granted in the bird world.  During a brief break from the geese, a hawk gently circles over the roof, listening to his own instinctive music.

Instinct is defined as a natural or innate impulse, inclination, or tendency….a natural intuitive power.  Genius is a synonym.  Many geese which used to migrate now hang around for winter as there is sufficient food and shelter.   Perhaps they have forgotten their ancient genius for crossing continents with the map inside.

 As we humans get comfortable in the world we have created, our instincts that came with The Artist’s design can also start to fade. I want to be a part of a genius tribe that is operating out of instinct, rich in intuitive power.  It is easy to settle back into the comfort of food and shelter.  However, it seems a poor substitute for the opportunity to leap beyond a concrete quagmire into the fullness I was created for.  Each of us is a unique creation.   If I decide to give up my attachments to fear, comfort or whatever else stops me from leaping into The Artist’s vision for me, my destiny will be revealed.

Flying with precision
Innate genius migration
I’m all set to join!

An Experience of Instinctive Genius—Gather up your journal, your crayons and your courage.   Go outdoors and stay awhile.  Meander and sit and notice. Let go of whatever is ON your mind.  Notice what is attracting you. Stay with it.  Write and draw about it. Let your thoughts meander until gradually you become clear about your learning.  Let go of yourself to find yourself.  Enjoy the fullness of your day!

Being Integral—February 2011

Integral means necessary to the completeness of the whole and has synonyms like
essential and indispensable.

I sleep long and well, awakening in a darkened cave, skylight and house blanketed in deeply drifted snow.  Even the windows are, to some extent, covered.  Oprah has been cancelled in favor of media reports describing “thunder snow, white out blizzard conditions, wind gusts of 50 miles an hour and the third largest snow storm in recorded Chicago history at over 20 inches. I turn on CNN, wondering if our weather is big news everywhere and find increasing violence on the streets of Cairo. I go back to my warm “cave”, pull up the covers and enjoy a minute of respite before experiencing the blinding white outdoors.

Once outside, it all appears to be land before time, a new beginning.  With no footprints or plowed streets in sight, I make the first mark on this day with my UGG boots. Big hat with ear flaps, infinity scarf and bulky coat, make me feel like a bundled child.  I am new, integral, in this snowy environment, aware of each footstep and the sound of the whistling wind.  Snow in gently curving drifts reaches my waist and higher.   Poofs of refreshingly icy flakes swirl around my cold tingling face as I reach the place where the street was yesterday.  I see no sign of it. I am delighted.  My childlike self is fully present.  I have a clear place with a perfect fit which is so easily forgotten in the rush of life.  My presence is essential to the wholeness of this beauty.

Drifting snow swirling
Transported to an earlier time
I am new again.

Returning to the house, I read a news story.  It is about the indigenous people of Brazil whose lives are in danger as others poach the rainforest.  An arial photo of an uncontacted Amazonian tribe shows them innocently looking up as civilization threatens to bring them into our world full of economic and political concerns.  I like the idea of a tribal life surrounded with the stories of those one knows well in a lifetime of community.  I must admit, however, I also like my cozy home and washing machine!

I live in this often chaotic culture and sometimes need a respite from it.  The good news is that while it is true that I am in this culture, I am not the culture, but rather an integral part of The Artist’s extraordinary creation.  I can choose at any moment to step away from the events of the world and nourish who I most deeply am.  How can I do that if I am constantly bombarded by the world?   I can step outside my door and listen and look and breathe.

An Experience of Being Integral—Next time you feel enmeshed in what is going on in your life or the lives of those close to you, take a break.  Grab your journal, crayons and anything else you need and go outdoors.  Go to a place that is as empty of human habitation as possible…sit, be, listen, see.  Wait.  Notice how you feel…wait some more.  Stay until you feel integral, refreshed, a part of the beauty of this place.  Ahhhh.

Go Out Anyway--January 2011

OK…I have to admit I’m going outside with a resistant attitude today. It is 25 degrees and that is an improvement.  It is very cozy in my house.  I even consider the idea that I won’t learn anything out there on this cold day, thus trying to distance myself.  I remember, almost against my will, that I always learn something of value while allowing myself to be present outdoors.  Scanning my huge front yard through the window, I see empty garbage cans by the street and think the walk to retrieve them will be quite long today.  In spite of my attitude, I decide to go out anyway. I wonder what The Artist of creation will show me on this day as I bundle on clothes and head out the door.

Two steps later, the first clue appears as I gaze at a blue bush and notice swelling new growth on the branch tips. Sitting completely still, hopefulness protrudes in the midst of this arctic winter wait.  I admire this readiness for new life.

Venturing further, I look up and notice the branches of my serviceberry tree also budding against an intensely blue sky.  My walk to the street continues as I allow a little thankfulness to creep in for cerulean blue on this freezing day.   Moving along the driveway, I look up even farther to the tall silvery branches of the poplar trees.  They shimmer against the sky.

I check in with myself and find joy, even on this day...surprise!  My cheeks are icy and I feel refreshed…kind of like diving into a cold pool on a summer day.  By the time I get back to the garage with the empty garbage cans, I realize I have broken through my crabby attitude completely and am finding hope growing within.  If I am willing, even in an unwilling mind-set, to go out in creation and be present to whatever goodness The Artist has to impart, I find treasure.

Arctic day attitude
Blue sky bursting buds change agents
Encouraging presence.

Wonder-filled messages are available whenever I choose to prayerfully enter into the beauty and complexity available through nature. The Artist of creation always supplies my needs whenever I venture forth.  Regardless of the circumstances, the opportunity is open for on the spot renewal.

An Experience of going out anyway—Wait until a day when the weather is not what you would choose and your mood is not receptive.  Grab your journal, crayons and outdoor gear and go out anyway.   Allow a moment of openness to what gift The Artist of creation might have  for you today.  Breathe it in and then express it in journaling, drawing and whatever way you wish.  Then enjoy the rest of your day!