Truly receiving gifts

Can gratitude become the foundation of my life? Recently my brother was in town during the Thanksgiving holiday. He is a good guy and I am glad we could spend time together. But after he left,  the old demon of comparison had me in its grip. My brother was fortunate enough to make enough money…

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Breaking a cycle

In the last 24 hours, my emotions had become heightened and were spinning out of control. I am feeling anxiety over my mother’s health decline and the uncertainty of her well being. So I know deep inside I am worried and even fearful. Now, I am a firm believer that it’s important to feel my…

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Meeting “what is”

On my first day of being 50, it turns out my 87-year old mother is admitted to the hospital. We had just spent a weekend celebrating my birthday, with my sisters and my mother, sharing in delicious meals, laughing together, and going through the usual ups and downs, and joys and tensions, of being a…

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The cycle of life

There really is a cycle of life. I just turned fifty and I am meeting creation — and it has its own terms. So how do we encounter this meeting of time and nature? I move between openness and anxiety. I think the more I can cultivate the openness to receive the mystery of life,…

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Flowing through us

Great is the overflow of Divine Love which is never still but ever ceaselessly and tirelessly pours forth, so that our little vessel is filled to the brim and overflows. If we do not choke the channel with self-will, Divine gifts continue to flow and over flow. –Mechthild of Magdeburg. 13th century, German mystic and…

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Patience

Once again, I am ending the day with my feet in a bucket of cold, icy water, trying to tame the inflammation in my toes. I noticed the week had both good days with my toes and difficult days with my toes. I think when I put expectations on my body, I crash, because I…

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