A Believing Fool

I would rather be fooled

than not believe.

Today, Mark Nepo says ...

"There are many reasons to be kind, but perhaps none is as

compelling as the spiritual fact that that is what we do.  It is how 

the inner organ of being keeps pumping.  Spiders sting. 

Wolves howl. Ants build small hills that no one sees.  And

human beings life each other, no matter the consequence.

Even when other beings sting."

I think of Viktor Frankl and his amazing

ability to remain faithful and to live in

grace throughout his time in

a Nazi war camp.  

He remained kind,

he remained faith-filled,

he miraculously maintained his humanity.

He said:

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. 
Viktor E. Frankl 

These are difficult times,

we can all make a difference by choosing to be kind ...

no matter what!

A small act of kindness can make a HUGE difference!!!

BELIEVE,

cate

iS iT yEs Or No ?

I say yes when I mean no

and the wrinkle grows.

- NAOMI  SHINAB NYE

Mark Nepo reminds us:

"The unwavering truth is that when we agree to any demand, request, or condition that is contrary to our soul's  nature, the cost is that precious life force is drained off our core. Despite the seeming rewards of compliance, our souls grow weary by engaging in activities that are inherently against their nature."

Now that I am in my 50s,

I seem to have achieved in the age unlearning! 

I am letting go of all those conditioned messages,

and returning to the truth.

I am enough.

Babies and animals and nature know this truth and live it out.

The rest of us can become easily conditioned

to think we need to be more ...

and more ...

and more!

Thus, sometimes feeling we need to chose to do things

that are contrary to our nature.

Imagine for a moment ...

trying to condition a cat  ...

or a cloud!

They are who they are,

as they are intended to be,

and that is enough!

when they sleep they sleep ...

when they play they play ...

and they simply are who they were created to be :)

What a great reminder for all of us ...

in loving and accepting ourselves as we are ...

and in embracing life on life's terms.

Three Cheers for unlearning!!!

Cate

The Life of Experience

Even if one glimpses God,

there are still cuts and splinters

and burns along the way.

It's funny, human nature I suppose?

We refer to the cuts and splinters of life

as 'life on life's terms'.  But, we don't think of

new babies and sunsets and blooming flowers

in that same way.

There are glimpses of God in the fires and the new babies.

When i remember that,

I remember ALL IS WELL.

When I remember that,

I am Free!

Gratefully,

Cate

Seeing Into Darkness

Seeing into darkness is clarity ...

This is called practicing eternity ...

-LAO-TZU

Do you remember those childhood nights when

you were afraid to look into your closet

or under the bed?

The longer you waited,

the scarier the unknown monsters became! 

I remember the elaborate scenes my sister and I would

develop each evening: we would

drop a brush and loudly exclaim that

we needed to pick it up.  Then,

while bending quickly to pick up

the brush we would steal a glance under the bed.

As for the closet ... that was an entirely different

drama filled with loud speeches about selecting clothes

for the following morning,

and flinging the door open so quickly

we practically flew across the room!

All that drama,

just to peer into the fear 

hidden in that darkness!

Once we looked,

shining the light into the darkness,

the fear evaporated.

In our world today,

fear is the marketed in products,

news programs, politics.

It surrounds us!

What a challenge it can be

to live the light

in the midst of a market-place

of dark shadows!

Gratefully, life sends many reminders

that 

ALL IS WELL!

Reminders to

BE HERE NOW ...

IN THE PRESENT!!

When I was out today,

I received one of my favorite reminders.

I could hear the geese,

a symphony of honking as they

flew across the dark sky

above the snow laden clouds!

I could not see them,

but I knew they were there ...

following one another on their journey through the skies.

They remind me of God ~

Even when it seems God can not be seen,

and things appear to be dark,

I know God is there,

doing God's thing,

and there is no-thing to fear!

Thus, there is no darkness,

only my fear of the unknown!

They remind me to Be the Light!!

Please enjoy Chris Rice singing at the link below:

CHRIS RICE: GO LIGHT YOUR WORLD

Shine your light on the world today, we need you :)

Cate

Grass Grows

Even when the way isn't clear,

the heart still pumps.

Even when afraid,

the air of everything enters and leaves the lungs.

Even when clouds grow thick,

the sun still pours its light earthward.

What a great reading today ...

reminding me to just 

LET IT BE!!!

ALL IS WELL  :)

The universe has everything in its

care, even when I can not see it!!

“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself”

YES!

Cate

Shoulder to Shoulder

We must take turns;

diving into all there is

and counting the time.

I was just talking to a friend tonight about the wonder 

of traveling shoulder to shoulder ...

how when one of us slips,

there are people on both sides

to keep us from falling completely down!

One of my favorite parts of the AABB

is the end of page 164 ...

Our book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven’t got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us.

Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.

May God bless you and keep you - until then.

Enjoy this little song :)  Click link below:

Shoulder to Shoulder Song!! :)

Love, Cate

ONENESS

"For mysteriously and powerfully,

when I look deep enough into you,

I find me, and when you dare to hear my fear

in the recess of your heart, you recognize it as your secret

that you thought no one else knew.

And in that unexpected wholeness that is more than each of us,

but common to all -

that moment of unity is the atom of God.

Mark Nepo : The book of Awakening

I noticed something very unique when we spent several days
at Mayo Clinic when my Mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
The hospital there was huge, and filled with patients with very serious illnesses.
I noticed a quiet connection among the hundreds of people who walked 
those hallways, ate in area restaurants, slept in  local boarding rooms ...
a quiet reverence and unspoken respect. 
It was if we all knew that we were there experiencing deep trauma
and needed to be in a loving gentle space ~ and that everyone 
respected that in the others, and provided it through their 
common quiet connection, reverence perhaps.

We are all one  ... we can approach one another with reverence and respect, 
tenderness and kindness.  
We do not have to be at Mayo Hospital to realize this need.

It is said ...
BE KIND, FOR EVERYONE YOU MEET IS FIGHTING A GREAT BATTLE.

It is a softening of humanity,
Cate