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

a blade of grass ...

Be tough in the way a blade of grass is; rooted, willing

to learn, and at peace with what is around it.

- NATALIE GOLDBERG

I remember once learning about the incredible longevity  of willow trees ...

 they survive the high winds because they are deeply rooted

AND

because they are so flexible and are able to move with the winds!!

Whether a blade of grass or a tree of willow,

going with the flow of life 

and enjoying each moment as it comes

leads toward a life well enjoyed!!

Let's Do IT ~ ODAT!!

Cate

Enough is Enough

The Chinese sage Lao Tzu once said, "He or she who

knows that enough is enough will always have

enough.  "May we learn to be grateful for whatever we

have so that it may be enough."

and ... sooooooooo ... how do you retrain your brain?

This morning prayer I found today gave some great directions

to point the way ...

...Every morning I will rest my arms a
while upon the windowsill of Heaven,
gaze upon my Higher Power, and with
that vision in my heart turn strong to
meet my day... 

...with this vision,

I live in gratitude and awareness of the generosity of life.

The view from my window 

becomes one of awareness,

awe and wonder!

In gratitude ~ Cate       

Holy One

Holy One of Blessing
Your presence fills creation.
          - RABBI LAWRENCE S. KUSHNER

be here now ...

respecting all of creation ...

beginning with yourself.

cate

LIFE OF THE SPIRIT

There is no shortage of good days.  It is good lives that

are hard to come by.  A life of good days lived in the

senses is not enough.  The life of sensation is the life of

greed;  it requires more and more.  The life of the spirit

requires less and less; time is ample and its passage

sweet.      - ANNIE DILLARD    

  

...And the life of the Spirit is not separate and apart ...

it is within all of life!!!

It is a focus ...

it is an awareness ...

it is a choice ...

it is a gift!

May we all receive this gift today!!

cate

The Great Gift of Friendship

Tonight we give thanks for the great gift of friendship
and in particular for my dear friend, Patt.  Thank you
for the circumstances that brought us together and
have bound us into the sacred bundle of life.  Thank
you also for the gifts of our friendship; for knowledge
that comforts, for words that encourage, for insight that
blesses, for all the experiences shared, for the sweet
bliss of deeply knowing each other in so many ways;
for history and a hope of the future, for conversation
and laughter, for silence, for bearing each other's
witness truly, for holding each other safe in our hearts
with great love and tenderness.
                                                    -DAPHNE ROSE KINGMA

SO MISSING MY DEAREST FRIEND TODAY  ....

click below to listen ...

In the stillness of this moment ....

peace to all .... cate