From the new day…

Sometimes, even as we are doing our best to live a good life, a life of caring, service and compassion, situations arise that challenge us, hurt us and leave us feeling very sad.  Regardless of the harsh impact of the situation, we may want to make it better. Or in a weak moment, we might want revenge of sorts. It is not unusual to have a variety of thoughts go through our heads as we try to process what happened and think of what should come next. Tonight, I was faced with all the above.

In some ways I felt like I was watching a movie of someone else’s life, because what was being said to me, and about me, made no sense. I listened, and at the appropriate times I spoke, but my accuser could not be reasoned with and the disturbed look in his eyes confirmed this fact.  Clearly, I was not able to correct misperceptions, or bring reality into his thought processes or help us come to any resolution.  

When I left his house, after this unsettling confrontation, I was overcome with a variety of emotions…anger, sadness, disbelief. I thought about what my response should be, fueled by my anger. I cried from the sadness and disbelief.  But as the evening progressed, and my compassionate side took over I calmed down and was able to move away from any thoughts of revengeful words or actions, but the sadness remained because the problem took on a new face. It transformed from my hurt to his pain - pain that he bore from issues never addressed and pain that could be buried no longer. When this realization came to me I worried about what was going on inside of him that was causing this pain to surface and be evidenced in the misdirected anger coming towards me. I wished I could help him. In the end, the day spoke clearly to me and said to give this situation over to a Higher Power, to surrender, realizing that it was beyond me and not within my control to change.

The affirmation on the surrender card in The Spiritual Beings of Light Oracle cards says, “I believe in the goodness of the Divine plan and I am surrendering the need for control.”

And so I have, but for him and his family, I will keep them in my prayers always.

Giving thanks for the blessing of this day...

 

From the new day…

As the evening air becomes cooler and the light of day is running short, it’s clear that fall is on its way, but summer is not over yet. This weekend I had the chance to immerse myself in this free and easy season when life is more about down time than a hectic pace and the outdoors is one big recreation room.  A weekend at the beach in Rehoboth provided some of the season’s finest offerings…buying local peaches and tomatoes at a road side stand…sitting on the beach with friends on Friday evening watching the changing colors of the sky as the dolphins entertained us in the water…the grandiosity of a summer thunderstorm…and a long walk on the beach on Sunday morning as the sun sparkled on the water, the sea spray lightly touched my skin and my footprints were left in the sand as my signature on a thank you note to summer.

The summer of 2012, like many others, was filled with seasonal pleasures…tending the gardens and seeing the beautiful results of this earthy work, filling the feeders and watching the golden finch and hummingbird return, sitting under the night sky imagining the expanse of the universe, driving with the windows down and the air blowing my hair, picking fruit with my grandchildren and seeing them love their first taste of blackberries, breathing in the summer air tinged with the scent of honeysuckle and seeing the lushness of the Pennsylvania woodlands. The pleasures are many.

Thank you summer! What fun you have been!

Giving thanks for the blessing of this day...