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Saturday, January 29, 2005
Space Station
This morning a neighbor asked if we had seen the space station as it passed through the atmosphere high above our community.
We didn't realize it was going to be going through this area, and so we were sorry that we had missed it.
"It was beautiful," the 87 year old woman said, "larger than a plane and moving more slowly...it seemed to have double sets
of headlights and was rather golden." Just her description of the sight of the space station from her front yard conveyed
a sense of beauty, harmony and wonder. How amazing it must be for those aboard the station to see the earth moving in its
own harmonious path far below them. How beautiful and quiet the earth must look from that distance. "From a distance,
we all look the same" are the lyrics from a familiar song. Harmony, beauty and peace are there if we can move our perspective
to see how the world is working, moving, singing its own tune of life. Shifting our perspective and giving ourselves
our own internal "space station" within tunes us into that harmony, beauty and peace as well. Peace to you this day.
Peace.
10:19 am est
Friday, January 28, 2005
Breath of Life
"Breathe! You are alive!" is a phrase the Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Han has made known. The phrase is included on TShirts
as well as posters and other items as well. How often we have taken the breath so much for granted that we have not
brought our awareness to the existence of the very essence of life itself. We breathe without appreciation of the essence
which creates and sustains us. Taking a few moments every hour to appreciate our breath and to sense the breath of every being,
plant, animal, or human could transform our lives. Breathing meditation invites us to watch our incoming and outgoing breath
with attentive awareness and appreciation. Thich Nhat Han suggests that on the in breath we dwell on the phrase, "Breathing
in, I know that I am breathing in." On the exhalation, he invites us to appreciate that "Breathing out, I know that I am breathing
out." And he continues, "Dwelling in this moment, I know that this is the only moment." Can you spare five minutes a
day to enjoy your breathing? Peace to you this day. Peace.
10:56 am est
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Think Spring
As the year moves on and February approaches we begin to yearn for signs of Spring. We may buy indoor bulbs and
"force" them to bloom, or we look through seed catalogs. We feel the energies of Spring begin to stir in us and we become
restless about something new and fresh coming from the darker, shorter days of Winter. We watch temperatures and hope
they will rise sooner. At this time of Winter passing we know we have more Winter to come but we also know that it will
shift and move on, yielding to warmer rains followed by fragrant Spring flowers. This knowledge lives within us. We
do not have to create it. And we can touch into this knowledge and this freshness whenever we would like. Practice touching
into the freshness that Spring brings into our consciousness--the new energy and the positive affirmation of life and possibilities.
We have the same resource within us to touch into peace within. The feeling of peace can be many faceted--the comfort of a
pleasant hearth on a cold evening, the sense of beauty on a summer's afternoon by the shore, the joy of companionship with
friends who know and accept us. We have the resource for these feelings within us. We carry them with us daily. We can
practice touching into these feelings and make them present in this very moment. You are the practice of peace in your
own life and your practice can affect others. You can change the world by practicing your own peace now and whenever you would
like. Peace to you this day.Peace.
9:36 am est
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Grey Cold Days
Winter is the time of repose. We are meant to take comfort and become a bit reclusive in the Winter months. When commerce
rules our lives and we spend most of our days inside malls and stores we lose the sense of rhythm that the changing seasons
and the movement of the earth provides. How often during the Winter nights have you looked up at a sky sparkling with stars?
Have you noticed the cold full moon the past few days? There is a peace and beauty that is available to us only when we are
aware of it. We must take time to notice what is going on around us on these grey cold days. The beauty of the sounds of snow
melting; the silence of trees standing bare in a field. The stark beauty of the grey cold days can bring us peace and beauty
if we shift our awareness to it. Peace and beauty to you this day. Peace.
9:28 am est
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Time Passes
One month of the new year is nearly gone. We are so productivity oriented that by this time we are no doubt judging ourselves
for failures in keeping resolutions that seemed so bright at the beginning of the month. One resolution worth making and keeping
is the recognition that you as an individual are of tremendous value. You have unique understandings, gifts and abilities
which no one else has in the same combination. You have an awareness that others do not share. You have an insight into life
and into situations which can awaken a new understanding and perspective in challenging and sometimes disturbing realities.
Your worth is high. You have much to give. Believe in your value. Affirm your self-worth. Practice self-worth and self-appreciation.
The most significant recognition you receive comes from your own awareness of the gift that you are. Looking externally for
recognition is like searching for water to quench your thirst. You will always be seeking more. There will never be enough.
Achieving the recognition from within is knowing and receiving from the well-spring within you. You deserve the life you are
and the message you give is the message you are. Trust yourself to be capable of being that valuable source of wisdom, beauty
and life. Trust yourself to know that you are a source and resource for peace. Peace.
2:20 pm est
Monday, January 24, 2005
The News Today
There is news today that a researcher in England has "discovered" that the 24th of January is the most depressing day
of the year. How can that be? Historically, a number of historically difficult events have occurred on this date. Additionally,
the bills from the holidays are more than due at this point and taxes are looming on the horizon as the next challenge for
many people. Do we need to hear this? Do we subscribe to this opinion? Is a day's worth determined by past events or
future events? This day is a gift in which to learn and grow. It is an opportunity to cherish your life and the gift of life
to each one of us. It is a possibility, this day, to make a difference in our own and in others lives. We have this moment
and we have only this moment in which to come to the awareness that we can bless or curse this moment by our outlook, our
beliefs, our attention. We must resist buying into the media's reports of despair and disappointment. Did the sun hear
the news and decide not to shine today? Did the birds stay in their nests rather than soar to the highest branches? Did the
beauty of streams flowing through snow covered streams sound any less joyful? Peace to you this day. Peace.
8:52 pm est
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