"Remember this always: The living of your own life writes the
book of your most sacred truth, and offers evidence of it."
Neale Donald Walsch
Tomorrow's God
It is not lost on me that there are those out there that wonder why an interfaith minister would have a back yard that looks like it came out of a Dr. Seuss book. If I was on the outside looking in I might wonder that myself, but I believe that the root of love, the root of kindness, and so very, very many other things that are lacking in this world come from a lack of joy. Joseph Campbell wrote, "Follow your bliss." I am following mine even as I meditate, pray, and have a magical ship in my back yard painted purple, orange, and pink.
I walk outside at twilight, carrying wee little Babs, the spunky little deaf and blind near fifteen year old pug. The picture below was taken a couple of years ago. Her eyes are now cloudy and white but she is still spunky and determined. When the vet came last Friday to see all five dogs I got upset when Babs was hollering to beat the band and carrying on. My beloved vet, of near 20 years, said, "She's just mad. Really mad..."
Wee tiny Babs, the littlest, feistiest
pug in the house...
I look at what I am creating with awe and wonder. When I have completed (...although of course this kind of thing is always a work in progress...) this magical world in the main, I will sit by the large pond that will be dug this summer in the center of the huge yard filled with koi and beautiful water plants under the shade of huge old trees, and I will pray, I will meditate, I will hold many in my heart, and then I will look up around me and smile. I will pray for those that I hold dear, every day, that they, too, might follow their bliss, wherever they are, and find happiness too, even if on a park bench at their lunchtime break at work, or reading a good book on the subway on the way to work, perhaps sharing a good meal with dear friends, or working in a community garden in the inner city.
There are so many ways to find joy in our lives, and finding it, revelling in it, is food for the spirit. As I have said about the teaching of maitri, it isn't just about compassion and loving-kindness, it speaks to the fact that we cannot have compassion and kindness for another unless we first have it for ourselves. We cannot give from an empty well. I am filling my world with color and life and whimsy and magic. I was a little girl who spent much of her life afraid for many reasons. Perhaps the little girl in me is coming out to play at 55, and from that release of pain, of finally letting go of the last vestiges of that timidity, that fear of the world, is springing the joy than only the innocent can feel. As I go deeper in my spirituality the colors become brighter. I think one day I will sit on the magic ship and meditate and talk to God. What a wonderful juxtaposition between our material world and the spiritual one.
So yes, I am a writer, an artist, a minister, a teacher, a healer, and a cattywompus goofy woman who is, in many ways, for the first time in her life, letting go and having fun. It's about time, and it shall carry on and grow. Just wait until I get my chickens and goats. I love the idea of free ranging chickens and fresh goat's milk. Healthy and good for the planet. I think God would like that.
We all do what we can in our own way. We take care of our own lives, we pray for the hearts, the souls, the well-being and happiness of others, and we tend the dogs, the birds (inside and out) and all of the natural world around us. We commune with Mother Nature, and I, as an interfaith minister, have an altar that is outdoors and amidst the bounty of the earth, the flowers, vegetables, and herbs, and the many feeders for the wild ones, will be statues of Buddha, of St. Francis, of angels and goddesses, perhaps a Medicine Wheel and a labyrinth.
In my small world I celebrate it all, and I paint it pink, purple, lime green, and orange while I'm at it. And I shall continue on, creating rainbows of color, and cherishing each moment and all that is holy on my little plot of land, with a heart wide open. I am now...
Maitri, having fun...
I walk outside at twilight, carrying wee little Babs, the spunky little deaf and blind near fifteen year old pug. The picture below was taken a couple of years ago. Her eyes are now cloudy and white but she is still spunky and determined. When the vet came last Friday to see all five dogs I got upset when Babs was hollering to beat the band and carrying on. My beloved vet, of near 20 years, said, "She's just mad. Really mad..."
Wee tiny Babs, the littlest, feistiest
pug in the house...
I look at what I am creating with awe and wonder. When I have completed (...although of course this kind of thing is always a work in progress...) this magical world in the main, I will sit by the large pond that will be dug this summer in the center of the huge yard filled with koi and beautiful water plants under the shade of huge old trees, and I will pray, I will meditate, I will hold many in my heart, and then I will look up around me and smile. I will pray for those that I hold dear, every day, that they, too, might follow their bliss, wherever they are, and find happiness too, even if on a park bench at their lunchtime break at work, or reading a good book on the subway on the way to work, perhaps sharing a good meal with dear friends, or working in a community garden in the inner city.
There are so many ways to find joy in our lives, and finding it, revelling in it, is food for the spirit. As I have said about the teaching of maitri, it isn't just about compassion and loving-kindness, it speaks to the fact that we cannot have compassion and kindness for another unless we first have it for ourselves. We cannot give from an empty well. I am filling my world with color and life and whimsy and magic. I was a little girl who spent much of her life afraid for many reasons. Perhaps the little girl in me is coming out to play at 55, and from that release of pain, of finally letting go of the last vestiges of that timidity, that fear of the world, is springing the joy than only the innocent can feel. As I go deeper in my spirituality the colors become brighter. I think one day I will sit on the magic ship and meditate and talk to God. What a wonderful juxtaposition between our material world and the spiritual one.
So yes, I am a writer, an artist, a minister, a teacher, a healer, and a cattywompus goofy woman who is, in many ways, for the first time in her life, letting go and having fun. It's about time, and it shall carry on and grow. Just wait until I get my chickens and goats. I love the idea of free ranging chickens and fresh goat's milk. Healthy and good for the planet. I think God would like that.
We all do what we can in our own way. We take care of our own lives, we pray for the hearts, the souls, the well-being and happiness of others, and we tend the dogs, the birds (inside and out) and all of the natural world around us. We commune with Mother Nature, and I, as an interfaith minister, have an altar that is outdoors and amidst the bounty of the earth, the flowers, vegetables, and herbs, and the many feeders for the wild ones, will be statues of Buddha, of St. Francis, of angels and goddesses, perhaps a Medicine Wheel and a labyrinth.
In my small world I celebrate it all, and I paint it pink, purple, lime green, and orange while I'm at it. And I shall continue on, creating rainbows of color, and cherishing each moment and all that is holy on my little plot of land, with a heart wide open. I am now...
Maitri, having fun...
3 comments:
May the Rainbow Serpent continue to slither her way into your life, as you walk the way of the Wise Woman. LOVE the colors! More please and thank you!
I hold you in my heart as well, dear si*Star shining brightly...
Blessed Be,
VSD
you are right! People are mad because they hate. We all need to ♫Put a little love in "our" hearts.♫
Peace {:-D
What a beautiful enchanted space you are creating to meditate and find your bliss, I love it. I think God would approve of your color palate just look at all the beautiful colors he created in nature. Have fun Maitri you deserve it.
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