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

You Are Enough!!

My Grandmother told me,

"Never hide your green hair -

They can see it anyway."

-ANGELES ARRIEN

It's time to love that green hair ...

ALL OF IT!!

Those of us who are fortunate enough to be seated with

the other bozo's on the bus

know what it is like to be loved completely and wholly,

 exactly as we are!!

What a gift!!!

And, the words ...

'let us love you until you are able to love yourself''

have come true in so many lives!!!

Soooo,

 LOVE  YOURSELF ..

KNOW THAT YOU ARE ENOUGH ...

DO IT NOW ~

AND PASS IT ON!!!

Together We Can!!

Cate

Smile in the BE HERE NOW!!!

We could never have guessed

We were already blessed

where we are ...

James Taylor

I often here myself saying 'be here now',

and I find those to be wonderful life giving words!!

Mark Nepo's words today encouraged me to add a little something 

to those words of wisdom!

That little something might be  ~

Be here now and smile!!

or

Be here now and love it!!

or

Be here now and in-joy!!

Try to imagine that you are doing the dinner dishes and feeling blessed
 and grateful and  over-joyed just to to be doing the dishes. 

When we were studying the vows during my training classes as a young nun,

we were told that we should be doing EVERYTHING with love ...

washing dishes, shoveling snow, studying, praying, walking ...
whatever it may be.

One day I  was faced with cleaning the old library blinds,

they hundreds of old blind blades coated with months and months

of old book dust.

I decided to set about this task with love,

and spent an entire afternoon humming away while

carefully cleaning each and every blind!

I had a wonderful time!!

I felt fully blessed exactly where I was doing exactly what I needed to do!

WOW!

I'm going to work to remember that in my current experiences

and to carry that 

'here and now service with a smile reality'

 into every day.

I think life is looking up :)  Woo Hoo!!!   Cate

Unlearning

"Each person is born with an unencumbered spot - free of

expectation and regret, free of ambition and embarrassment,

free of fear and worry - an umbilical spot of grace

where we were each first touched by God.  It is this spot

of grace that issues peace."

from the Book of awakening

Isn't it amazing to realize that we are born with 

all the true knowledge we ever need ...

spend years learning things that cloud that knowledge ...

and then spend the rest of our lives 

unlearning all that extra stuff!  

A newborn baby has no expectations of themselves,

no need to prove,

no need to compete,

no need to seek safety and security 

and approval ...

the newborn accepts themselves without question,

just as they are!

A newborn has not yet learned to compare,
to judge,
or to be afraid!

A newborn has no conditioning to make them think

they are separate and apart from God.

So, a newborn simply lives in truth!!

It is in that newborn space that I find the deepest peace!

ONENESS!

How grateful I am for unlearning!

cate

Go ahead, put it down ...BE FREE!

Today's reading tells a tale that is so relateable

on so many levels!!  The young man was preparing

to paint a room, gathered all the supplies, got to the door

and carefully tried to balance everything in his arms:

paint,assorted brushes, drop cloth

while also trying to open the door!

And...YES, eventually he lost his grip

and fell backwards to the ground,

his entire being iced in red paint

and sprinkled with painting supplies!!!

He was stubborn ... he would not let go!!!

Why is it so hard to let go?  

It reminds me of Nemo in the stomach of the Whale,

oh how he struggled, until he finally followed the advice

of the whale and LET GO!!!

SURRENDER

SURRENDER

SURRENDER

The painter could not  make it through the new door

until he let go off all his stuff!

Nemo could not be blown to safety

until he quit hanging on so tightly!

Soooo, I ask myself, what do I need to set free today?

What can I let go?

How can I surrender?

For, that is truly the path to Spiritual Freedom!!!

I was invited to join the Unity Good Words Club today ...

and to focus for the next month

to adding only positive words and energy

into our world!

I know that can be quite an undertaking ...

but prayerfully decided to say YES ...

and to let go of the thought patterns

that might block my way.

I am willing to let go ...and to receive this invitation with an open heart.

What would you like to let go today?  

Be Light!!!

Love,

Cate

Welcome 2013

Of all the things that exist,

we breathe and wake and turn it into song.

We are sharing a new book this year ~

The Book of Awakening

by Mark Nepo

Here is my beautiful Fiona

posing with the gift of this new book :)

Before we begin with this book,

I want to share an approach to the new year that

I received many years ago from a New Years Day homily at church.

We were asked to quickly, without censoring, remember our  favorite moment from the past year.  Then, tuck that into your heart and carry it into the new year ... leave everything else behind!  My moment was a moment of connection with my infant niece Sheena  ... she is now 26!!  :)

I have been practicing that New Year Greeting every year since that time!

I was thinking last night about collecting the miracles of this year; filling my prayer jar with the gift of life's miracles and reviewing them at the end of the year  ... what a way to celebrate a  New Years Eve!!! 

The first miracle came a few days early ...

our dear Mary Ellen is currently in remission!!!

What a miracle of faith!!

Today ... this (below) was posted on Facebook ~

such synchronicity!!

Won't you join me in celebrating the year in this way ~

we can brighten the world with our  awareness

and celebration of the generosity

of life!!

Love, Cate