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| Bene blessing |
"If you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings."
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings."
Lyrics from a song written for White Christmas.
The blessings are endless. The more you look for them,
the more you see. As I count, I remind myself to say the simple prayer;
"thank you, thank you, thank you."
The blessings are endless. The more you look for them,
the more you see. As I count, I remind myself to say the simple prayer;
"thank you, thank you, thank you."
Sweet little chickadees on our deck.
Crocheting with my mom.
An unexpected phone call from my sister.
My mother-in-law dropping off spaghetti dinner.
My mother-in-law dropping off spaghetti dinner.
Soft pillows.
Cozy blankets.
Our two little Bichon "kids".
The sound of the train.
Mom so cute in her sexy cowboy apron, making cookies.
Mom so cute in her sexy cowboy apron, making cookies.
The silence of the woods.
The blue gray light of dusk, barely illuminating the trees and snow covered ground
Waking to a gentle snowfall.
Fresh raspberries and blueberries in my yellow bowl.
This morning's gathering at the feeder; mr. and mrs. cardinal, a blue jay, several chickadees
and the red-headed woodpecker who took a stab at the blue jay and chased him away.
Some blessings are obvious. My challenge is to be thankful in all things. My thoughts go to
Beth's illness and death. How do I see God there? How can I be thankful? I ask for help. I pray for faith to continue to see God in a world so full of pain and suffering.
A book that I have read daily for the past two years is "Healing after Loss, Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief", by Martha Whitmore Hickman. I think this is the best little book for anyone who has lost someone dear. Brief stories and quotes, little nuggets of wisdom have served to comfort and help me move forward. Often it was just the thing to make my tears flow, unleash the sorrow and start the healing. A catholic priest once told me that tears are just as important as laughter. He believed that a daily dose of both laughter and tears is good for the soul. Laughter and smiles come easily to me and probably to most of us. We have to remember to let those tears flow, too.
From Hickman's book:
"If we have ever wondered about the limits of our strength and our ability to endure, our experience of loss will tell us much. Our life is shaken to the foundation. But we survive. And out of this terrible, rarefied self-knowledge comes, if we are fortunate, a kind of empathy with all of creation - a sense of the wonder at the suffering and the beauty, of the world." Martha Whitmore Hickman
"I think these difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way and that so many things that one goes around worrying about are of no importance whatsoever." Isak Dinesen
"It is a costly wisdom, and God knows we would not have asked for it. But it is also true that coming through a great sorrow can make us stronger, teach us what is really important." MWH
We face loss all the time, in many different forms; the death of someone dear, the loss of good health, the loss of agility, the loss of physical strength, the loss of friendship, the loss of a job, the loss of hearing, the loss of eyesight, the loss of youth, the loss of possessions, the loss of memory, the loss of our pet, the losses go on and on. It is good to remember that everyone we meet carries pain and sadness from their own loss. How much more compassionate we would be with ourselves and others if we thought of this each day.
Waking to a gentle snowfall.
Fresh raspberries and blueberries in my yellow bowl.
This morning's gathering at the feeder; mr. and mrs. cardinal, a blue jay, several chickadees
and the red-headed woodpecker who took a stab at the blue jay and chased him away.
Some blessings are obvious. My challenge is to be thankful in all things. My thoughts go to
Beth's illness and death. How do I see God there? How can I be thankful? I ask for help. I pray for faith to continue to see God in a world so full of pain and suffering.
A book that I have read daily for the past two years is "Healing after Loss, Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief", by Martha Whitmore Hickman. I think this is the best little book for anyone who has lost someone dear. Brief stories and quotes, little nuggets of wisdom have served to comfort and help me move forward. Often it was just the thing to make my tears flow, unleash the sorrow and start the healing. A catholic priest once told me that tears are just as important as laughter. He believed that a daily dose of both laughter and tears is good for the soul. Laughter and smiles come easily to me and probably to most of us. We have to remember to let those tears flow, too.
From Hickman's book:
"If we have ever wondered about the limits of our strength and our ability to endure, our experience of loss will tell us much. Our life is shaken to the foundation. But we survive. And out of this terrible, rarefied self-knowledge comes, if we are fortunate, a kind of empathy with all of creation - a sense of the wonder at the suffering and the beauty, of the world." Martha Whitmore Hickman
"I think these difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way and that so many things that one goes around worrying about are of no importance whatsoever." Isak Dinesen
"It is a costly wisdom, and God knows we would not have asked for it. But it is also true that coming through a great sorrow can make us stronger, teach us what is really important." MWH
We face loss all the time, in many different forms; the death of someone dear, the loss of good health, the loss of agility, the loss of physical strength, the loss of friendship, the loss of a job, the loss of hearing, the loss of eyesight, the loss of youth, the loss of possessions, the loss of memory, the loss of our pet, the losses go on and on. It is good to remember that everyone we meet carries pain and sadness from their own loss. How much more compassionate we would be with ourselves and others if we thought of this each day.
The Course in Miracles, a book I read many years ago, refers to each encounter with another as a "holy encounter". I love this image. This holy encounter; this opportunity to honor, respect and bless each other. On days when I remember this, my heart feels full and I am aware of how we are all connected to one another. I say a silent blessing for every stranger in the store, the homeless man on the street, the cashier, the person filling my grocery bags, the people in line with me. On a really good day I even feel compassion for the angry, impatient, rude stranger and bless them, too. I remind myself, that I also have been angry, impatient and rude and we need to forgive each other.
Think of all the holy encounters we have in just one day! Many opportunities to practice compassion and forgiveness. Remember to forgive yourself, too.
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