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Love and Light from HEALING Creek
Saturday March 22, 2008
PEOPLE COME INTO YOUR LIFE
FOR A REASON
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty,
to provide you with guidance and support,
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met,
our desire fulfilled, their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now
it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons,
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and
put what you have learned to use in all
other relationships and areas of your life.
Thank you for being a part of my life,
whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.
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Friday March 21, 2008
OBITUARYJerusalem, 33 AD
Calvary
Jesus Christ, 33, of Nazareth, died Friday on Mount Calvary, also known as Golgotha, the place of the skull. Betrayed by the apostle Judas, Jesus was crucified by the Romans, by the order of the Ruler Pontius Pilate. The causes of death were crucifixion, extreme exhaustion, severe torture, and loss of blood.
Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham, was a member of the house of David. He was the son of the late Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth, and Mary, His devoted mother. Jesus was born in a stable in the city of Bethlehem, Judea. He is survived by his mother Mary, His faithful Apostles, numerous disciples, and many other followers.
Jesus was self educated and spent most of his adult life working as a teacher. Jesus also occasionally worked as a medical doctor and it is reported that he healed many patients. Up until the time of His death, Jesus was teaching and sharing the Good News, healing the sick, touching the lonely, feeding the hungry, and helping the poor.
Jesus was most noted for telling parables about His Father's Kingdom and performing miracles, such as feeding over 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish, and healing a man who was born blind. On the day before his death, He held the Passover Feast, at which He foretold His death.
The body was quickly buried in a stone grave, which was donated by Joseph of Arimathea, a loyal friend of the family. By the order of Pontius Pilate, a boulder was rolled in front of the tomb. Roman soldiers were put on guard.
Graveside services were not held but friends and family will be gathering this Sunday in celebration of Jesus' life and resurrection. Everyone is welcome to attend.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that everyone try to live as Jesus did. Donations may be sent to anyone in need.
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I couldn't sleep last night ... I went to bed too early, had time to have several good dreams and woke up at 2:00 a.m. with all kinds of ideas going through my head for the flower garden and raised gardens for vegetables and an idea for a trellis ...
I got up, grabbed a good book and went in the living room where I was treated to moonlight bright enough to seem like day! I didn't turn the lamp on, but instead, I basked in the moonlight ... looking outside and watching for the deer ...
I saw two little one at the middle feeder ... but only because there shadows were visible and sometimes not ... as they moved through the moonlight. It was like watching two ghosts come into view and then, fade again ... and then reappearing a few feet down the path ... I smiled ...
And realized I was looking at a metaphor of my life ...
Everyone loves to think they have a "sunny" disposition ... living "the brighter side of life" ... with BRILLIANT sunshine oozing through their life ... But none of us is ever thrilled when our life suddenly turns dark ... Things aren't so easy ... We can't really see very clearly ... Our depth perception is almost useless in the shadows ... The rules have changed. The same place that felt so sure, now feels uncertain and full of obstacles ...
But it's only in the dark that we can appreciate the beauty of the moonlight! The dark is where the stars are most visible and the lightning bugs fly! The dark is where ghostly figures on the path ahead are really two deer ...
And we could have missed it all if we had skipped the dark!
I smiled again at the magic in the moonlit woods, snuggled into my favorite chair and picked up the book my son asked me to read. This is what I read:
In our willingness to turn our attention towards the shadow in our own hearts and lives, we find an integrity that is true and unshakable. An ethical life is not a state of sanctuary that we arrive at, but a verb; we discover genuine integrity in those significant moments when we follow the pathway of ending harm and sorrow rather than causing it ...
We learn to pause with mindfulness and care in the moments of such patterns so we can come to understand them and no longer be imprisoned by them. We welcome our shadow and demons and learn to befriend them, to explore all their textures and forms, and find a way of being in which they no longer compel us ...
Through learning to find peace and balance within them, rather than avoiding, suppressing, or denying them, we will find unshakable freedom. There is no spiritual path which is ethically neutral. A path of awakening is directed toward peace, openheartedness, compassion, and freedom. To treasure awakening is to treasure the end of sorrow and alienation in all forms, to bring an end of to the causes of sorrow ... A commitment to integrity enables us to be taught by the ordinary moments in our lives and to approach them with reverence.
Definitive moments of right and wrong are superceded by many more moments where we simply do not know. Moral certainty is possessed by those who have not looked deeply into the countless ambiguities of human life ... We do not always have the right answer but we accept that life asks of us a quality of compassion and understanding that is beyond the realm of right and wrong ... With empathy, we go beyond the boundaries of opinion and judgment, and sense what it might mean to live within the heart and life of the person before us.
I smiled again at the way life illustrated the very thing I was reading about ...
I remembered a poem that was written by my children's great, great grandfather, William Foster Hayes, I (Side note: There is now a William Foster Hayes, IV).
The poem goes like this:
When our way leads through the shadow
Let us always bear in mind
That the shadow owes it's being
To the light that shines behind
When whatever shade beclouds us
We may feel that all is right,
Indubitably knowing
That the shadow proves the light.
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Wednesday March 19, 2008
Tuesday March 18, 2008
March 18, 2008 Issue #49
Welcome to the newsletter where playing more and stressing less is taken seriously. It's written with the intention to support you in living a life with more passion and play and less worry and work.
"Sometimes the heart sees what's invisible to the eye."
~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
~Looking for a Sign~
Have you ever asked the Universe for a sign?
You know...some kind of proof, a "special" message or something that makes you blink twice, shake your head and wonder if it's the very answer you've been looking for?
At some point in our lives, I think we've all experienced a sign, a connection if-you-will, to something that's beyond our own understanding. Perhaps it showed up just as you were pondering a big decision. Maybe it happened as a result of you wanting a bit of inspiration. It's also possible you weren't looking for anything at all, but something suddenly appeared that wasn't there a second ago and you noticed the difference and the impact it had on you. I use to be a serious sign-seeker until I realized one day all I had to do was open my heart more than my eyes and I would always see whatever it was I was looking for.
You don't have to believe in God or a higher power to know that the Universe works in inexplicable and amazing ways. The mysteries of our world may baffle us from time to time, but most of the answers we seek can usually be found within ourselves. It's not necessary to have watched the movie "The Secret" in order to realize your thoughts determine your experience. The law of attraction doesn't apply to just certain people. It works for everyone all the time regardless if you accept it as truth or not. The sign(s) we ask and look for are a 24/7 phenomenon and the truth is...we're just not paying enough attention to the stuff that's really important. As human beings, we try to ascribe meaning to everything and honestly, there are signs we should just smile and say "Thank You" for rather than rationalizing them away.
Is this a sign or just a basic billboard?
Being aware that all this global goodness is happening around us is the first step to recognizing signs.
Does this mean you need to become hyper-vigilant and always be on the lookout for information and validation? Nope. It just means you accept there's a lot more going on around you than you can take in and have explanations for. It's not necessarily the signs themselves that make them extraordinary. It's the interpretations we give them that make them matter. While signs tend to make our minds whirl about seeking their cause, they usually make our spirits soar. Why? Because even as we try to mentally discount the sign, somehow we intuitively know we've just been given a gift.
How might our lives be different were we to accept the mysteries of life as readily as we accept its realities?
I suspect the challenge for most of us is letting go of the need to know why something is so and just learn to be grateful for all our experiences.
5 Sure Signs There's More Than Meets The Eye
1. You notice a sudden change physically –
Whether your heart beats faster or your palms sweat or your breath becomes deeper, you feel a significant difference in your body.
2. You experience an overwhelming sense of awe and/or wonder.
3. You spontaneously burst into laughter or tears.
4. You feel moved to share your experience with others.
5. You feel immense gratitude and/or a connection to something greater than yourself.
I wholeheartedly believe when we start noticing more of the signs that occur in our lives it's because we're seeing more with our hearts than with our eyes. The next time you find yourself asking for a sign, remember that it existed before you even asked. Remember that anytime you make a request, you'll always be given an answer. You won't have to look far to find it. In fact, it's likely you won't be looking at all.
Personal Recommendations for books, music, websites and all resources fun!Lijie I don't remember what I was searching for on I-Tunes a couple weeks back, but I found Lijie (pronounced Lee-Jay) and have been enjoying her beautiful voice ever since. Sweet lyrics and lovely guitar melodies are especially poignant on the tracks "Roam" and "Blue". She sounds a bit like Sarah McLachlan, but she has her own unique sound. Listen to her songs either on her website or on i-Tunes and see for yourself why I've recommended her music.
Song of Songs
Once a month I receive an inspirational c.d. of movies from the Spiritual Cinema Circle. Spiritual Cinema Circle. Song of Songs was the featured film for February and it can be viewed online for a small fee without having to become a member of the Circle. This hour-long documentary may look a bit amateurish at times, but the content is superb and touches on something all of us struggle with at some point in our lives. The movie was made in celebration of the filmmaker's grandparents' 66th wedding anniversary and it consists of a variety of enlightening and poignant interviews with both relationship experts and regular folks. It's insightful and authentic and the best part is it will stir something up inside you. You can check out the preview just by going to the website. If you decide to watch the film, I'd love to hear what you thought of it.
Ways to Play Today
Why not...create yard art?
Whether it's a flower or vegetable garden, a hand-painted sign or a cobblestone path, spring is just around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere and it's the perfect time to combine your natural talents with nature. Get outdoors and banish those wintertime blahs by making something memorable with your bare hands and physical labor. Take photographs of your artistic masterpiece as its being created so you can fully appreciate your hard work and efforts. Who knows? You might even inspire your neighbors to give a face-lift to their front yard.
Why not...spring for some new potted plants?
If you're not gung-ho about planting a garden this spring, why not indulge your green-thumb with some low-maintenance indoor foliage? Check out your local nursery and indulge in some shrubbery shopping. With potted plants, you minimize the time you'll spend playing with dirt and you won't have to worry about pulling weeds. Add a splash of color to your kitchen counter or dining room table by getting terra cotta pots and painting them up pretty. The most important thing is to bring indoors some plant life that perks you up and makes you feel like spring is almost here even if the weather outside isn't so cheery.
Something to Ponder
Questions designed to stimulate your thinking AND encourage you to take action towards what you want.
Do you pay attention to signs in your life? Why or why not?
Has a decision you've made recently been influenced by something you couldn't explain? How did that make you feel?
Care to share what these questions stir up in you?
Thanks for reading this issue of Lighten Up! If you enjoyed it, please pass it along to your friends, your family, your co-workers...You get the idea. May you see more with your heart than your eyes and may all the signs you feel provide you with the answers you seek.
~Playful Spirit Productions' mission is to inspire people to show up, be real and play big in life.~
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