Check out the new cover! I decided, after 22 weeks, to redesign the book, inside and out, and now it’s a special gift or coffee table book. And on Day 22 in the book, I focused on Faith. Khalil Gibran said “Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.” If only we had the faith that everything would turn out all right. Isn’t it what a woman wants her lover to tell her, a child wants to hear from her mother, a parishioner wants to hear from her priest? During Lent, I try harder than usual to find peace, love, meaning, oneness, in an attempt to conquer worry. On my desk in the office, I keep a small magnet decorated with green foliage, trees, and flowers as the background on which I pasted the words “You don’t have to spend another moment wondering and worrying.” It seems to me that if we trust the universe and live in the moment, there can be no worrying. Worry is about something in the past or something in the future, both of which are out of control. We just need to open up our hearts to the present moment with complete abandonment, in faith, for worry to be conquered and no longer part of our lives.
Tag Archives | enlightenment
30 Perfect Days Log Post 19, No One’s a Stranger
We are in entertaining mode and at everyone else’s beck and call. ‘In preparation for the upcoming Word Lovers retreat, I shopped for almonds, Hershey’s nuggets, Cheddar cheese, and the weekend’s staple essentials—eggs, butter, coffee, juice. In concentrating on just that task, the task of planning and buying food for my retreat, the other things I had to get done receded and didn’t weigh on me. I could only do one thing at a time. I now not only delist, but I’ve learned to concentrate on only the most important things, and one thing at a time. Later, I prepared for the family, layering lasagna noodles with sauce and cheese, a servant to the present moment. We are servants in this world, a blessing to others if we can be receptive to where they are in their lives. No one is a stranger on this journey called life, especially if you accept them and allow them to enter into your life. Then you get a surprise—your own blessing in return. Hospitality, being in the moment, focus, acceptance, all those good things came to me when I just went with the flow.
30 Perfect Days, Blog Post 16 – Just Be
Week 16, Friday, January 30, Living in Luxury—On the 16th day of my 30 Perfect Days journey, I looked back over the previous two weeks and was ashamed of how many times I went out to eat. What luxury I’m living in! How hard do I want to work to support this consumption? It’s absurd to deplete the meaning from our lives so we can live in luxury. While I believe in my heart that it’s the journey rather than the goal that’s important, I strive too much, work too hard, try to have more, of everything. When a friend of mine recently told me that she’s amazed every day by life and what it brings, the connections, beauty, and awesomeness of it all, I remembered how simple it is to appreciate what we already have. It’s enough. The happiest we can be is when we’re enjoying the journey. We need to just be. Can you find a way to live in the luxury of just being, or are you working so hard at trying to have it all that you’re missing what you have?
30 Perfect Days Log Post 14 — Finding Privacy
From Day 14 of the Book–Audrey Hepburn once said, “I have to be alone very often. I’d be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That’s how I refuel.” I refuel in my studio, ensconced in my big chair, where a photo of the stained glass at St. Benedictine’s monastery in Erie reminds me of the time I spent in a hermitage, reflecting and writing. The wall opposite my chair is covered by floor-to-ceiling bookcases of books, photo boxes, the Tibetan bowl that sings only for me, and a basketful of Yoga Journals. My desk is loaded with photos, trinkets, and affirmations, the mementos of my life. It is here that I journal, write, read, and reflect, where the world is outside and may as well not be there, where nothing can touch me or bring me down. In the room that is my own, I allow my mind to understand and accept that there are no answers. Privacy is what’s going on in my head, and being alone is meditative. Should we carry that private self, the one who’s open to possibility and honesty, into the real world or should we keep it in its separate place?
30 Perfect Days Log 12 — Combatting Mediocrity—
Norman Vincent Peale wrote “There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.” While Paul and I walked in the Rocky River Reservation, I showed him the beach glass I’d found on the beach the previous week and said, it reminds me of the ebb and flow of the tide, how the waves calm me, and what’s important.” He took my hand and replied, “You find meaning in everything, don’t you?” Later, while eating warm bread with Italian olive oil, I examined the label on the bottle of Sangiovese and asked the waiter about the wine region. The waiter said few people ask that question, and Paul said, “This woman does that. She’s anything if not enthusiastic.” That’s the woman I want to be, the one who knows magic because she’s enthusiastic about life. I am a woman who refuses to let life become boring, run-of-the-mill, and ordinary, knowing the good life is in a small miraculous moment. Mediocrity doesn’t recognize the miraculous. Again, it’s the choices we make on how to spend our time that make a good day, a good life.