The Solstice Comes

The crickets have come. They sing to us, whispering of autumn, telling us to take in summer's last glory.

Harvest is winding down, the ripened bounty hangs heavy and becomes a feast for the bees.

The hummingbirds have flown, beginning their journey to chase the sun and the blossoms that worship him.

All too soon the nights will speak with winter's voice, crisp in the first chill of evening, gone rough around the edges from too much smoke at the camp fire's warm haven.

And we shall prepare for the resting time, tucked away inside with our books and our tea, dreaming and planning our next adventures, waiting for the crack that signals the thaw.

Solstice time is coming. Prepare.

2020---The Year of Perfect Vision

 

2020--- The Year of Perfect Vision, a Year in Review

I began the year disappointed that my class was cancelled, wondering where I would go to work. January was the last time I had my hands in clay on the wheel, throwing, trimming and glazing bowls for the Central PA Foodbank’s Annual Soup & a Bowl event. February Covid came and cancelled everything. We hunkered down at home and worked out how to live peacefully together with no breaks away.

When spring came with no hope of a studio in sight yet, we accepted Mother Nature’s invitation to step outside. We installed a brick patio, built a pergola over it, and I refurbished my grandparents’ old wicker set. As spring moved into summer I rediscovered my love of gardening and expanded and improved our beds, creating a park-like surrounding for our patio space. If we couldn’t travel, well, at least we’d have an oasis at home.

Summer also brought about talks of a ceramics co-op, with the hope of leasing space to share. Everybody was feeling the need to get into clay and MAKE. But, as summer faded into autumn, life began to happen and the co-op talks stalled. In September I turned 50, and began to evaluate where my life was headed. I had no place to work, and no space at home to transform. Something had to give somewhere, and Covid certainly wasn’t volunteering.

Then in early November it hit me. That perfect vision clarified and I could see so clearly where my path forward was. A local shop was up for sale, with ample space for everything we had been dreaming of in a studio. After a few phone calls and Zoom meetings, the vision was crystal clear. I filed paperwork to make Wheel of Light Studio LLC a reality and the planning has continued. The rough draft of the business plan is almost complete. My mentor and guide will help me to fine tune it. The property is still available. By the end of January I plan to apply for financing. When approved, I will buy the property. If it sells, I will find another. I plan to have keys in hand by March with the hopes of a Grand Opening in the summertime.

I have struggled with anxieties, with the belief that I wasn’t good enough, with imposter syndrome, and when 11/11 came around I could see very clearly that I am ready NOW. Look out world! Here I come!!

Responsibility

My son, realizing the responsibility along with the blessing.

I’m afraid there is a deep misunderstanding of the meaning of the word responsibility in the world today. According to Merriam Webster, the definition of responsibility is 1: the quality or state of being responsible: such as a: moral, legal, or mental accountability, or b: RELIABILITY, TRUSTWORTHINESS. It is the last two synonyms to which my mind goes whenever I think of my responsibilities.

I think of my parents being responsible for me when I was a child. They cared for me, fed me, sheltered me, and taught me right from wrong. They had a moral obligation to try to teach me to be a good person. Good people make good citizens. We lived in a neighborhood where we had a legal and moral responsibility, not just to ourselves, but to our neighbors as well. We must never take actions that can cause harm to others. And we must love our neighbor as ourselves. Those are some of the earliest lessons in life.

When I became a parent, I had the same responsibilities towards my children. And I took them very seriously. I was a very mindful parent, always thinking about not only what my children must be taught, but also what I felt they needed to be taught, and what my life and my choices taught them by example. I was very conscious of the fact that my children may very well pay more attention to what I did rather than what I said, so it behooved me to be sure that my actions followed my speech. There was no question what was right or wrong, and I never lied.

As my children grew older and became more responsible for themselves, I also realized, as my parents before me did, that you can say and do and teach all of the right things, but having been born with God-given Free Will, people will choose which lessons to retain and follow. And so, with a breath of kindness, you must let them go their own way to find their path. I have felt that our relationship with the divine falls along the same lines. We are given all that we need, taught lessons if we are mindful of them, and shown the way; but we must choose the path ourselves. It is a daunting responsibility at times.

As an adult, I am very aware of my choices, and the consequences of them. As a parent, I am also aware of the example I set. Having realized that we are all on this journey together, I have also come to see, appreciate, and accept that we are also both parent and child to each other at times in our live. ALL OF US, TOGETHER. Maya Angelou first planted this seed in my heart, when she claimed me as her daughter. If you like, she will claim you too. Simply read her book, “Letter to my Daughter”. It was then that I looked around and realized how many mothers I have been blessed with; mothers of my body, of my heart and of my soul, wonderful women who have taught and nurtured me through the years. Some of them have been co-journeyers for a long time. Some I have met once, never to see again. But their lesson had such impact I will never forget them.

That realization opened my eyes to my own potential. With every person I come into relationship with, there is the possibility that I may be a mother to them in the same ways that others have been mothers to me. I have lessons to teach, just as I have lessons to learn. And just like with my own flesh and blood children, I have the responsibility to speak them aloud. To remain silent is to be an accomplice, an enabler. It is the ultimate in irresponsibility to say nothing in the face of danger or evil. There but for the Grace of God go I. Let no one walk alone.

This brings me to the revelations of this week and the headlines of the day. We are in the midst of a Pandemic. A new and therefore unknown disease is ravaging the world. A virus borne by those wealthy enough to fly around and travel, but which will decimate the poorest among us the most for lack of care and privilege. A virus that spreads more virulently than at first believed, Covid-19 has become the twenty-first century plague. It has now touched every continent, and almost every country. Only the most remote areas remain free of it. But all it takes is one person, who may not even know they are carrying it or have any symptoms of it, to spread it and infect an entire town.

All of this makes that thought of personal and physical responsibility so important. It has put a spot light of sorts on national governments and their concepts of it as it pertains to their citizens. Whose job is it to decide what to do, to stay healthy, to slow the spread, to try to protect each other to remain safe? Unchecked, the virus infects so many that hospitals have been quickly over run and the people serving to care for the sick have fallen ill themselves. Medical supplies and equipment have been needed in such numbers that reserves and stock piles have been depleted and administrators and government officials have been desperately searching for more. And throughout the entire process, the highest officials in the United States of America have turned a blind eye and claimed to have no responsibility at all.

The President, his administration, his family, and the business people and corporations who curry favor in his court have all been playing a very lethal game. To them, it is all about money. Who has the most, and who can make the most. From the very beginning, instead of warning the citizens of the country and taking precautions to protect us, they have denied the science and downplayed the threat while trying to position themselves to reap the most benefit both in wealth and in position. They have politicized a pandemic for personal gain. And in the course of those actions, have promoted the worst gas-lighting campaign in my lifetime. Older citizens may even feel that it is the worst in their lifetimes. There have been many comparisons drawn between Hitler’s regime and this one.

In this campaign, good and decent people have had their beliefs, and their Christian faith, twisted in such a way that they are now crying that our government’s efforts to protect and serve us is actually an effort to take away our rights and should be fought against at all costs. Let that sink in for a minute. There is a disease that spreads through the air, silent and invisible. Scientists and doctors have begged people to stay home in order to stop the spread; stay home no matter what. There is concrete and scientific proof that they speak the truth. There are over flowing morgues, refrigerator trucks and ice skating rinks full of dead bodies as proof to the science. There are hospitals and ICU’s over run by sick people, losing staff to the illness while they fight. And the science deniers want you to believe that the pastor being told not to have church on Sunday is a denial of your constitutional rights to assemble and to worship in any way you see fit.

I would argue that all of the people having Covid-19 parties in rebellion and planning to pack the churches for Easter are denying me my rights to life, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. Living in an apocalyptic society where going out for bread and milk literally puts my life at risk of disease over rides everything else. WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO OURSELVES, OUR FAMILIES, AND OUR COMMUNITIES TO PROTECT EACH OTHER FROM HARM. Our government issuing shelter-in-place-orders is what we have hired and paid them to do. Just like we have hired them and paid them to fix the pot holes, build the bridges, and monitor the food and medicine supplies to keep us safe and healthy.

When did people forget that the government is there to work for us? We the People of these United States... We choose who goes to work, we tell them the laws to pass, and we pay the bill. Taxes are not a punishment, they are not something robbed from us; they are a measure of our privilege. Because we choose to live in a land where we say we make the rules, we must foot the bill. So we pay our taxes, which pay the salaries of those we have asked to work for us. And they are, by definition of their job, supposed to work for all of us, because that is how the rules were written. Don’t let the fancy, old-fashioned language confuse you. They take an oath to abide by the contract. And the contract says that we are one country, we are in this together, and they are supposed to do everything possible to protect and care for us. If the government is not responsible for us, why do we have such a huge military? Why do we have a department of transportation to maintain infrastructure? To live without the structures of governance is to live in anarchy. You can’t pick and choose when you want the government to work for you, and when you want to pretend it doesn’t exist simply because you don’t want to play by the rules right now. The, “If I can’t win, I don’t want to play” mentality is what brought you Hitler and Mussolini. I really thought we had put that to rest, but it is back with a vengeance.

It all boils down to one thing, responsibility. Who has it, who doesn’t, and who cares? My father taught me that my word is my bond. If I want to be seen as trustworthy, I must be trustworthy. If I want trustworthy people to take care of the nation, I must help to get them elected. It is really that simple. You cannot say that the ends justify the means. You cannot say that it doesn’t matter how he has cheated and who he as hurt or what laws he has broken as long as he pays lip service to that one issue you have decided is more important than anything else. If you want to insist on responsibility for life, then you must ensure responsibility for all aspects of life, at all times, in all ways, in all places, regardless of how different from you that life is. Jesus taught us to love one another, period. How incredibly loving is it to say that your life means so much to me that I will stay home to protect it? Please, love your neighbor as yourself. Stay home and wash your hands.

Quityerbitchin

We’ve all been there… running late, hoping to make up a bit of time on the road, and there’s the road construction. Sitting in line, waiting to move, we think dark thoughts about the members of the road crew, the DOT, and the government in general. And we completely forget it is our own fault for failing to plan ahead that has caused us to run late. It is precisely this type of negative thinking that can cause an ordinary day to spiral downward into rough and hellish realms. I’ve seen it, I’ve done it, and lately I’ve been seeing a lot of memes portraying various scenes of this behavior.

Stop it! Quityerbitchin! I would like to cheerfully remind you (and myself) that we have the power to change….basically everything! Because we have the power to choose, we can change the world. We can choose to get up earlier, to leave earlier, to check traffic reports and road conditions to try to be early or on time. We also have the power to choose which emotions to allow to rule the situation, which thought process to follow at any given time, which actions to take, and when to remain still and silent. And for those of us born after 1970, who may have missed out on those civics classes our elders sat through, we could use a healthy reminder of how taxes are designed to take a bit from all to benefit many. They were not invented by the Nazis to punish us.

Imagine the opening scenario a little differently. We are still running late, because stuff happens no matter how well we plan ahead. However, we accept the fact that we will be late, we plan our apology to be brief and honest, and we move on to thinking of other more productive things. We take a deep breath, blow away the negative energy, and think happy thoughts. When we arrive at the road construction, we think of how great it is to live in a country where we have a system designed to take just a small percentage of everyone’s income to help pay for the design, building, upkeep and repair, of roads and bridges to take us where we need to go. We look at the members of the road crew as people, just like us, working to pay their bills, and perhaps to pay for the education required to design that bridge rather than hold the sign that made us stop. Contrary to popular belief, they are not out there planning on where and when to make us late and miserable. We do that well enough on our own.

Now imagine how that kind of positive thinking can change other moments of your day. Waiting in line gets easier when you stop thinking of yourself and wonder about the inner thoughts and outer lives of those in line with you, or those serving you. If we stop to make eye contact, to actually connect when greeting people, to remember our shared humanity, we can make the difference between suffering in silence and commiserating with our fellow human beings. We all have stories that need to be shared. Rushing through our days consumed with our own story prevents us from ever hearing the others’. If we can learn to slow down and take a few moments to acknowledge our co-journeyers and to hear a bit of their stories, we may find ourselves feeling a bit less alone and harried.

“There but for the Grace of God go I” is a favorite quote of mine. It is a humbling reminder that I am no better than any other human being. If I am honest with myself when I look back over my life, I can see moments when a different choice would have made a big difference that may not have been a good one. And I can see many times when a kind word from a stranger made all the difference in the world. It can be hard to believe in yourself. When you are young, tired, stressed, untrained, unsure, overwhelmed by all that life has thrown at you, it can be very difficult to see the path. When those around you are self-absorbed and self-centered, it can be even harder to find a way through. When you have struggled and failed repeatedly, it can be hard to find the faith to try again because you expect more failure. It becomes a way of life. You are trapped in a downward spiral of negative thinking that you can’t escape. That is how people become mentally ill, how they lose jobs, lose relationships, become homeless. Despair is a powerful emotion.

You have the power to change that. You can look into someone’s eyes, and ask them how they are, and listen to their answer. You can refrain from telling stories that show how you’ve had it worse somehow. You can listen and say nothing. You might be able to think of something kind to say. Sometimes kind words and positive advice can be helpful. Sometimes all they need to know is that they’ve been heard. You don’t have to know all the answers. With practice, you learn when to share, and when to just listen.

Be the change you wish to see in the world. Begin as you mean to continue. Be the rainbow in someone else’s cloud. Be the hope….wise words from wonderful people. These are all a great place to start, and wonderful way to live. But if all of that seems to be too much for you today, then I ask you to simply Be. To simply Be is to do no harm, to affect no one, to save your strength and energy for another day. It is the best place to start.

V is for Victim

Another day, another school shooting, another mass murder…when will it end? And what can we do about it? Those are the thoughts swirling through my brain today. And since I have the luxury of time in which to think and write, that is what I’ve decided to do; because I need to do something.

I began my day as I always do. Feed the animals, pack lunches, drink coffee, chat with hubby, read email, check out social media to see what my peeps have in store for their days. And of course, social media is overloaded with the latest school shooting. The news articles with numbers and quotes, video and pictures are sandwiched between the retweets from people in power along with the counter tweets begging for justice. There are memes and political cartoons along with prayers and poetry covering all sides of the issues. And the inevitable story in support of the NRA that takes us all the way back to Cain and Abel and their story to explain the existence of hatred in all of men’s hearts as some kind of excuse for why it is perfectly legitimate to purchase your own personal arsenal for self-defense. Suddenly, I just can’t stand it anymore. I want to rant and rave, scream and yell, cry out “WHY???” to the heavens. Children are dying and all we can do is argue and debate?

For the record, I have to address the Cain and Abel reference for the smarmy attempt at mollification that it is. I would like to point out a few things that always stick in my craw when this comes up. First of all, it is comparing apples to oranges. Cain beat his brother to death with a rock or club, depending on your translation. He didn’t mow him down with an automatic weapon equipped with a high volume magazine. He hit him with a big stick. Second, he wasn’t some stranger, newly arrived in town that had everyone looking over their shoulder because damn, that guy looks creepy. He killed his own brother. I don’t know about you, but I normally don’t expect my brother to beat me to death because he is jealous that my work has brought more favor from our father than his did. If that were the norm in sibling rivalry, I would have been dead decades ago. Lord knows there were many times that my efforts were seen as better than his and we all knew it. But that’s not the point. The point is that if we are aware and wary, we all have a chance to defend ourselves against an angry person wielding a big stick; nobody has equal footing with an AK-47. And dumping more guns into public hands hasn’t done a damn bit of good. If you read the studies and statistics, the increase in gun ownership has grown by leaps and bounds and the mass public shootings have grown right along with it. As far as the bit about Cain and Abel being proof that there has always been evil in men’s hearts…I can only say, “No shit, Sherlock!” After thousands of years of history, of wars, violence, slavery, etc., I think we have figured that out. What I just can’t understand is why so many people are totally fine with handing over weapons designed to kill efficiently and in large numbers when they know that evil is out there. You cannot condone your own use of those weapons by quoting the Bible. The Bible says to turn the other cheek, do not kill, do not covet thy neighbor’s wife and stuff….the Bible does not say it’s OK to own guns because you fancy yourself a great white hunter, or are afraid of Muslims, and besides, Cain killed Able.

 I say BULLSHIT! Christian gun owners feeling guilty over their stance really need to find a better argument. Spouting Bible quotes for every violent occasion hasn’t done a bit of good yet. Why not try a new tack? Christ didn’t just get pissed off at the money lenders and yell at them. He didn’t walk around with some kind of holier than thou attitude telling everyone the right way to be. He literally turned the tables on them, threw over the tables and tossed their money on the ground and took action against the injustice he saw. He fed people, washed their feet, learned what was in their hearts and learned to LOVE them. He didn’t sit in glass cathedrals sweating while the migrant workers start collecting stones.

So the great burning question is-- What can we do? Those of us that love our children more than guns, what can we do to help change the world and make it safer for our grandchildren? I know that many people have been calling, writing letters, and emailing their representatives for years on this matter. I asked my hubby what it would take to get some intelligent legislation written to help and was reminded that it has already been written, repeatedly. But as long as the NRA, (or Russia) keep paying, and as long as the gun lobbyists can expect to keep being paid, nothing will change until we vote some intelligent people into office. As long as we have large groups of citizens living in fear of The Other, listening to that idiot on Info Wars and his ilk, spreading hate and intolerance, and equating their rights to own guns with their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we have a very long, steeply graded slope to fight our way up.

This brings me to a few things I heard recently, from Morgan Freeman and Michelle Obama while they were being interviewed on separate occasions. Morgan Freeman was talking about people in general over time, and that behaviors and beliefs are like waves and can be almost predictable given enough distance and perspective. And I was reminded of the fact that ocean waves, while coming in and retreating, are inevitably turning over everything under them. If you study an island like Assateague, you will find that the island itself literally rolls over given enough time spent with the waves constantly moving. Michelle Obama pointed out that if you look at our nation just in the past 100 years, yes, we still have a lot of work to do, but we have already come so far. I take heart in that statement, and in the knowledge that like the tide, the Love will slowly work its magic. The ebb and flow will inevitably turn over everything it washes over, exposing the fear and cleansing it, washing away the hate and distrust it brings, exposing the tender love it hides.

Bottom line, if you can’t run for office to make positive changes, vote for those that can and do. And in the meantime, go out and love one another. Practice random acts of kindness, because Nice Matters. Be the change you wish to see in the world, one smile at a time. And never forget that you are not just a single drop in the ocean, you are also the entire ocean in a single drop.

Many thanks to Gandhi, my daughter Rebecca Emerick, Rumi, and many other poets for their inspiring words that I have taken the liberty to paraphrase in my closing.

Soul Lights

Have you ever looked out of a window and seen, 

instead of the view outside,

the reflections of the lights in the room behind you,

sparkling off of the glass, shining in the dark?

When we look out into the world, 

we see the light of our soul reflected back to us.

It appears, not as our one light, but as many lights, multiplied.

When we share our soul light it grows and spreads,

touching off light in other souls.

When we look out and see our soul lights multiplied, 

reflected back at us,

we are seeing each other’s’ soul lights.

We feed each other, even when we don’t realize it.

If we could be aware of how we feed others when we share,

we could start a great bonfire of soul lights.

We could illuminate all of the darkness, so that all can see.

It all starts with one small spark.

Won’t you share your light?

Hope

I have come to feel very sorry for a lot of folks in the world; not out of a sense of pity, though. I feel sorry out of a sense of compassion and empathy. There are so many people from so many walks of life, many nations, many creeds, who are feeling so very afraid. The world as they know it has ended. The understandings and practices that they have grown up with, that they are comfortable with, are gone. And perhaps gone is too harsh a term, but they are certainly out of fashion and are not welcome in practice. Imagine growing and learning and living under a set standard of beliefs, one that was passed down to you and was upheld by every establishment you were aware of, and suddenly being told it was wrong, invalid, outdated. How would you feel?

Having found myself in that position more than once in my lifetime, I can tell you it makes one feel afraid, insecure, distrustful, even paranoid and suspicious. I struggled to understand this new world I found myself in, and it was hard, especially when many of my friends and family didn’t understand or couldn’t even see my dilemma. How could they appreciate my struggle if they had never experienced it? Fortunately for me, I was blessed. I was given new friends who joined with some of my family in supporting my growth and encouraging my learning. They have been some of the angels on my journey, bright souls sent to light up my darkness so that I could see the path. It has not always been an easy path to follow. I have been challenged repeatedly, to grow more, to open up more, to learn more. In reward for that effort, I was given the greatest blessing of all.

To be loved, wholly, unconditionally, completely, just as I am. From that point of blessing, I have been able to see all the ways in which my life has been blessed; how the world has been blessed. And with that in mind, I offer Hope to all of those that are fearful of the future and the world they’ve known and understood changes daily under their feet. That Hope comes in the form of the children. I have been blessed with many children. Some I have carried and nurtured in my womb. Others I have carried and nurtured in my heart. All of them have taught me many lessons of love and acceptance. Theirs is a world of equality and solidarity like none we have witnessed outside of stories and books. Theirs is the world I believe Christ could see and encouraged everyone to work towards.

Our problem is that too many of us are closed off, unable to see this world as it is. We have grown old trying to keep up the rules and laws that serve a few while oppressing too many. Those rules are a heavy burden to bear and haven’t born the fruit they were promised to. We have grown tired, deep in our souls, struggling to maintain an old way of thinking that separates us from the greater humanity, tired of working to try to maintain a living that seems empty and devoid of reward. When we are separate, we are alone. When we are alone, we are prone to fear the Other. They are different and strange. We don’t understand their ways. We are afraid they will take something from us. We fail to see that the more we give, the more we receive.

The blessing of the many children I have been given, however, is to witness and learn from their openness. Those lessons I taught that I understood intellectually, they have absorbed deep into their souls and reflect them out into the world in such a beautiful rainbow. Where we see difference, they see oneness. They look out and see beauty in the Other, in their difference. They find the strange exciting and challenging. They embrace the difference and do not fear the upset of change, for they can appreciate the zest it brings to life to have things shaken up a bit. And in the most important ways, they fail to see any difference at all.

When my children look at their fellow human beings, they see people just like themselves. People who want to work at something they love. People that want to play with people who appreciate their gifts and talents. They see people who want to love and be loved, wholly, completely, unconditionally. Beyond those traits, the rest is just details to be learned, understood, and accepted. Those details are what make life interesting. They are the zest of life, the tang and excitement that brings excitement to our world. If the entire world was full of folks exactly like us, down to the last little idiosyncrasy…well, the world would be an awfully boring place. And hating the differences out of each other hasn’t worked no matter how many thousands of years the human race has fought. Perhaps we can take a page from my children’s’ book. Perhaps we could try to love one another. Sounds rather simple, doesn’t it? Although it was the greatest lesson anyone has ever tried to teach the world, it has proven to be the most difficult for the world to learn.

Let us begin as we mean to go on. Let there be Peace on Earth, let us Love One Another, and let it begin with you and me. Let us embrace in solidarity, for we all have the same hopes and dreams no matter the form they take. To Love, and to Be Loved….that’s all that matters. If we can keep that in our hearts, then it’s all good.

Solidarity Cups

#SolidarityCups

A well rounded belly, to remind us that at the moment we emerged from our mother’s womb, we did so equal to every other human being.

A cup with no handle, to allow a universal grip from all directions, by all hands.

A black band, reminiscent of an armband, to remind us to mourn those lost to the fight for freedom and equality.

Lined in yellow, the color of soft sunlight, to remind us that we all carry a light within us, the Divine Light, and it is our duty and privilege to spill that light out and share it with others.

The black band is not glazed, so that we can stay in touch with our inner clay and be mindful of our inner darkness.

The body of the cup comes in many colors, just like our fellow human beings.

View on Facebook to order yours today.

Balance

            It is important to maintain one’s balance in order to stay centered on the path. Moving quickly can be good for a short time. But if moving too quickly or suddenly causes lost balance, especially when changing direction, you could step off the path. Losing balance, losing the way, the path, can cause ripples that may not be good.

            Being centered and balanced produces positive energy. This energy goes out in circles that spread peace and joy. When off balance, the energy is not positive, but it spreads out in circles just the same. Good or bad, centered or not, balanced or not, we spread energy by causing rippling circles.

            Sometimes it is good to slow down, to pause, and to take tiny steps that may seem to move us nowhere. But if the tiny steps change our direction along the path, it is good. To change direction in a steady, balanced, controlled way is better than a sudden turn that throws us off kilter and causes us to stagger off the path.

            When we feel ourselves careening out of control, staggering off kilter, we must give ourselves the gift of time and patience. We must allow ourselves the leisure of slowing the pace and taking those baby steps that enable us to recenter and find balance in order to change direction smoothly.

            We must strive to be mindful of the energy we are sharing when we act. The circles will grow; the ripples will spread, no matter what. It is up to us, through mindful practice and consideration, to ensure that we create positive ripples. We must choose to share our positive energy and choose to pause and carefully shift our negative energy to prevent its spread until we are balanced and centered once again. In this way, it is all good.

The Power of Love

The Power of Love

“Non-violence is a power which can be wielded equally by all---children, young men and women, the elders, provided they have a living faith in the Source of Love and have therefore equal love for all humankind. When non-violence is accepted as the law of life it must pervade the whole being and not be simply applied to isolated acts.”  

~~Mohandas Gandhi

I have been struggling to find peace ever since January 21^st. Since the inauguration, it has been a whirl wind of headlines, sensational and not always factual news, and a struggle to find balance. I found a creative outlet in my pottery that has served as a distraction and given me purpose. I have found a likeminded group of individuals with which to join energies and find ways to Expose the Love. And I have found myself challenged on almost a daily basis on whether or not to remain silent.

A good man once said that the only evil a good person can do is to remain silent in the face of evil, or something to that effect. I have witnessed the powerful truth of that statement on more than one occasion, and our collective history is full of examples. Hitler and his rise to power is the leading example these days. And with that in mind, I have chosen to speak out on occasion, and felt compelled to speak out on others when I would rather choose to hide. As a mother I am very aware of my living example to my children. I cannot possibly expect them to live by a certain code of ethics if I do not. Knowing that, I have made an effort to choose carefully what news articles I share on social media. I check my sources. I make sure I have the facts straight and have a strong understanding of the problem at hand. I am human, and have occasionally shared something a little too quickly. But I have also taken the time to go back and correct mistakes, delete falsehoods, share links to the truth, and most importantly of all, to own my actions and their consequences.

I expect our president and his staff to do no less. As the highest ranking public servants in the nation with more than 3 million employers asking them to do a good job, they should be working as hard as I am to check their sources, be sure of the facts, delete falsehoods and correct mistakes. Unfortunately, the almighty dollar and all of the power they believe they have been given has corrupted them into thinking they have absolute power. And they are trying to wield it mercilessly. Not being blinded by the hazy promises of some greatness only they can see, being grounded in reality and aware that the whole world shouldn’t look like or think like me and me alone, I take issue with the passionate dishonesty being peddled in Washington these days. And as a mother, I have always believed my job as my children’s first teachers was not only important by never ending. As I said, I am a living example of what I want them to know. I can preach it or teach it if I don’t live it.

Therefore, I have been compelled to share news articles that are pertinent, important, and fact based, in order to help provide them with some real information from which they can make well educated choices in their lives. And lately, a lot of those articles are politically based, with good reason. As I see it, the White House is rushing madly down the sewer pipes and headed for the cesspool. So much for draining the swamp; these days, it seems to be overflowing.

But what bothers me even more are the people I know who take exception to my sharings. Friends and relatives who are good people deep down, but who have been taken in by these conmen and believe the promises of greatness. These good people are chastising me and telling me that I am tearing apart this country (like I’m some kind of Goddess with Great Powers) and that instead of tearing it down I should be trying to build it up, to make it great again. Yes, they have actually quoted that God-forsaken excuse for a campaign slogan at me in their comments. And I have to ask, when did we stop being great? What exactly do you mean by great? This line of commentary is entirely too generalized for intelligent people to consider. Therefore, I feel compelled to go on record and state my opinions, for my own sanity and sense of well-being.

America is only as great as the people who live within its borders. To be a people of open inclusiveness and loving kindness is to be great. To be a nation that welcomes the down trodden and offers them an opportunity to learn, work hard, and build a good life is to be great. To help other nations around the world work towards that same greatness would also make us great. To defend the weak, support the young, care for the old, and show respect to all people equally would make us great. To encourage truth, justice, hard work, and loving kindness in all peoples, towards all of humankind, would make us great. And I do believe that many of us have been walking that path for a very long time.

What disturbs me is the possibility that others may think that having lots of money, or oil, or guns, or other forms of wealth is what would make us great. I am bothered by the seeming hunger for power over other people that drives some to argue the hate filled rhetoric that they share. I don’t understand how denying basic dignity, or basic health care, or food, or clothing or shelter for that matter, could ever make us great. How can bullying the weak and greedily hoarding wealth possibly make us great? Striking fear into the hearts of the people of the world is not the way to greatness. And bringing religion into the argument serves no good purpose. Those Christians who argue for such power and control do not follow the teachings of Jesus and need to go back and read their Bibles. They have become like Cesar and the Pharisees and have forgotten the lessons Christ taught on the Mount. And one of those lessons was respect for other people’s beliefs. Christ did not condemn the Samaritan, but lifted him up as a lesson to all not to limit their compassion for the select few that share your beliefs.

So I ask you, the next time you see or hear something that demands your attention and your action, pause first and ask yourself why it moves you so? Is it an affront to your long held beliefs? Are your beliefs grounded in love, or simply in comfort? Do you feel uncomfortable? Perhaps you are being challenged to grow, to open your mind and consider another way. We should all be willing to hear others out before we decide what we feel to be true. Hiding from the truth never helped anybody. And quickly condemning others as false without doing any research or considering others sources does more harm than good.

We cannot begin to practice greatness as long as our hearts are sealed to shut to others. Greatness begins at home, by respecting others feelings and opinions, and accepting their rights to those feelings and opinions. We do not have to be carbon copies of each other to live in peace and love. We simply need to be open to the possibility that we are human, and therefore we can and will be wrong from time to time. If we can own that responsibility completely in our personal lives, then we can begin building a world that is as great as some imagine it can be. In order to begin we must first agree on what makes a people great. I for one believe greatness lies in our ability to love extravagantly, completely, with unflinching wholeness. That it is the greatness I will work towards.

The Wind

The Wind

The wind whispers softly

Of peace and contentment

The wind roars

And we are made aware

It rages against our apathy

With thrashing of limbs and gnashing of teeth

Its cold force bites through us

Lonely souls walking under the trees

Where is love, joy, kindness?

Who shares these willingly, often?

There is too much anger and grief in the world

The wind cries

Wailing under the eaves

Moaning of the lost

We gather inside to share our warmth

Slowly peace comes

Mother

Mother

There is a tree I know, a weeping beech tree. She is mature, tall and gnarled. Her trunk has a spot in which I can climb up and rest myself, cradled in her arms. One day while communing with her I realized that I am very much like her.

I am rooted deeply in the Earth. I gain my strength from digging deep into the Earth with my roots, deep into the Unconscious. I soar to great heights. Reaching high into the sky, into the world, growing taller every year. I have many branches, stretching out in all directions, reaching out to embrace the Light. My branches are also grounded, rooted into the Earth, keeping me grounded and secure.

I provide shelter and shade to those seeking comfort. I am bumpy and knobby, twisted and misshapen, scarred from years of surviving storms. I am beautiful in all of my perfect imperfections. And no matter how tall I grow, how far I reach, even my top most branch looks down to secure itself a Connection. The peak does not disappear into the sky. It bends down, and grows back over and into itself, like a mother bending down to cradle a child. My trunk is full of nooks and pockets where rain can collect to provide nourishment and treasure can be hidden.

I am full of secrets waiting to be discovered. I am full bodied, tall and strong, soft and curvy, hard and weathered. I am gloriously Real and I revel in the knowledge of my own Being.

The Value of Honesty

I was raised to value honesty. I learned the importance of integrity first hand from my father. He taught me the meaning of the phrase, “My word is my bond.” And he didn’t just teach it to me intellectually or philosophically, by explaining it. He also taught me through example. He lived it. He was very careful not to make promises unless he was sure he could keep them. He told the truth, as he saw it, always; no matter what. And he insisted on the same measure of integrity in his children. I also learned that I could always count on my father, because he was a man of his word. If he said he would do something, he did it. Because he gave his word and his word was his bond.

Some lessons are difficult, and take time to really sink in, especially when they are not reinforced by all those around us. When I was afraid of being wrong, or of being punished, I told lies. It became a bad habit I could not break, and I learned how painful it was to be considered untrustworthy by those I loved.  And I knew it was a direct result of my personal choices.

As I grew older, I outgrew my fears and insecurities. I learned that it is alright to be wrong. After all, we are human. I learned to overcome my selfish pride, and be to honest. It was difficult and painful at times, that growing and stretching. But I was rewarded with the satisfaction of being known as an honest and trustworthy person. And I knew I had earned this through my own careful, personal choices.

When I became a parent, I realized I had the unique perspective of being able to see the issue from both sides. I understood the importance of earning my children’s trust, and I explained to them why it was so important that I be able to trust their word. I was careful with my promises, and showed them by experience that my word is my bond.

We went through some rocky times when they fell prey to their childish insecurities and selfish pride, but we weathered the storm. I had faith in their abilities to overcome themselves. I pointed out to them that I’ve known them, inside and out, forever. I looked into their eyes and saw the beauty of their souls and the goodness in their hearts, and I had faith that in the end, they would choose the right path, and live with integrity.

I also made it clear how important integrity is when dealing with people that haven’t known you forever. You must show them that you are of good character and earn their trust. It is good to be known as a person of integrity, who values honesty and tells the truth.

Knowing all of this, I am sickened by parents who teach their children to be dishonest. It is bad enough when the lessons are learned by example, through broken promises, deeds left undone, and lies overheard or witnessed. But it is especially abhorrent when the parent knows the child has lied, and publicly supports them in maintaining their deceit, for no other reason than their own selfish pride. This act would be hateful if done to anyone, but when it is aimed at loved ones, it is particularly evil. I have absolutely no respect for such selfish and immature parents and mourn for the corrupted souls of their children.

Our children are such miraculous blessings entrusted to us by our Creator. They are a gift for us to cherish, protect, and nurture. We are their first teachers, and if we are truly blessed, we can remain their teacher and their friend for a very long time. So we must be very careful what we teach our children, knowing that they learn just as much, if not more, from what we do, or leave undone, than by what we say, or leave unspoken.

And so I encourage all parents to be the change we need in this world. Live a life of integrity, teach your children the value of honesty, and speak the truth, always. And for those of you who have been doing so already, I say do not lose faith. Continue on your path, and others will follow. Many of them are seeing more clearly, and just need someone to point the way. We must blaze a trail so clear and wide that all who are searching may find their way.

And it all begins with the next promise you make, and whether or not you keep it.

Advice for a Happy Life

There are a few things that I have learned over the years that are important if one is to have a Happy Life. I wrote them down for my daughter, on the occasion of her graduation from high school. But they are good things to know for any one, at any stage in their journey. So I thought I'd share them here.


Life can be hard. No one promised easy. There is no Instruction Manual. Follow your Heart.


Intimacy is messy. True Love and Genuine Friendship require Intimacy. You are Worth it.


You have a Light in you child; don't let anybody put out that Light! 


Feed your Soul. Do what you Love. Love what you do.


Never be afraid to give your love.You are Beautiful, inside and out, just as you are. Your Love is a Gift. Always share it.


The only regrets are Questions not asked, Answers not given, Love not Shared.


Start as you mean to Finish. If it is worth your time, it deserves being done right, the first time, with all of your attention and your best effort.


Never Quit. Never ever Quit. But know when to Let Go and Move On.


Love Deeply, Completely, and Treasure Anyone who touches your Heart.


Live your Life, don't just Survive it. 


Leave a Legacy in People's Hearts. That is the best Memorial a Person can earn.

A Window to My World

My husband, James, and I had known each other in a polite and distant way for years before we became close friends. Our youngest daughters had been in kindergarten together. When they were in first grade, my daughter, Rebecca, joined Girl Scouts. Her troop leader was his wife at that time.


Over the years, there were polite exchanges during Halloween parades or other public events that our children happened to be attending together. But those exchanges were always kept rather shallow and surface-like, out of respect, because we were both married and aware that any impropriety on our parts would be wrong.

Years later, after struggling with my now-ex-husband’s prolonged depression following the death of his mother, I finally made the decision to separate from him and begin divorce proceedings. Coincidentally, James, after asking for a divorce more than three years before, had finally been granted his freedom.

We happened to meet one day at Fort Hunter’s Fall Festival. I was volunteering with my daughters at the children’s games. James had stopped with his daughter, Kate, who joined us to help run the tin punch. James went off to explore the stands.

When he returned, he was carrying a book. The book was actually a photo book, of which he was the author and photographer. When he discovered that I hadn’t seen a copy yet, he offered it to me, to take home and peruse at my leisure.

The book was full of photographs of our immediate area. Looking at the dust jacket, and reading his biography on the flyleaf, and thinking about the man himself, I was hesitant to actually sit down and go through the pages. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt that doing so was going to somehow change everything. Looking into that book, aptly titled, “A Window to my World”, would be akin to looking into the man himself. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to cross that line.

His book sat on my end table for several weeks before I finally had a quiet afternoon in which to relax and enjoy myself. I sat down, gathered my courage, and took a deep breath. Turning the first page, I was stunned at the beauty unfolding before me. This man had roamed the countryside that I have always called home, and taken such lovely photos. And in the middle of the book, in a section dedicated to farmscapes, there was a photo of my family’s farm, in the glow of an early summer morning. The title of the photo itself was “Home”. I felt like I had been pole-axed. Of all of the people and places, for him to choose my grandpa’s house and call it home, just floored me. I knew at the very least that I had to own a copy of this book.

I emailed him right away, to find out how much it would cost. I actually ordered three copies, so that I could give one to my father and one to his sister as Christmas gifts. My Aunt Sarah had inherited the farm from my grandpa when he died.

The emails started out with discussions about prices for books, and prints of the picture, “Home”. That led to discussions of the house itself, and how I was connected to it. He told me that he had titled it “Home” because out of all of the area farms, if he could choose one to live in, that would be the one he’d choose.

Those exchanges led to stories about my grandpa on the farm, and other stories about my childhood. He returned with stories of his own, and a link to a Blog Spot where he’s written quite a few in short story form under a nom de plume. Reading his Johnny Miller stories, I was charmed and captivated by the little boy he once was.

This new intimacy opened a path to other frank discussions about more current events, where we found a deep and instant connection. He saw in me qualities that others had largely overlooked for most of my adult life. I found an acceptance of my character, flaws and all, which was true and refreshing. I could relax with him in ways I never could before. And it was mutual. We could say anything, talk about anything, and we did. We were more real together than we had ever been.

The email exchanges over several months were wonderful, and we were able to get to know each other at a deeper level than either of us had expected. Eventually, emails led to phone calls. The telephone added a new dimension; now there was a voice with emotion and inflection. There was a warm, caring friend waiting just a phone call away.

One day he suggested we meet in person, for lunch. We agreed on a local park, and met one chilly February day, to take a walk though Wildwood. I found our rapport to be just as easy and natural face to face as it was over the phone or the internet. We were having a grand time, chattering away as we made our way around the lake.

Suddenly, the wind blew in a snow squall. We pulled up our hoods and looked around for some kind of shelter. The snow was blowing horizontally, and the world had gone dark and white. He took my hand and tugged me towards a large tree where we could shelter against the trunk. We stood there and looked out at the whiteness swirling around us, holding hands while we contemplated our predicament. Abruptly, he pulled me into his chest, to shelter me in his arms. It was like coming home after a long and arduous journey. I listened to the roar of the wind, and felt its coldness lash around me. His jacket felt cool to my cheek, and smelt of wet leaves and wintery sunshine. His arms a strong enclosure, I leaned against his chest and relaxed. I had found a safe haven, and I knew my life would never be the same.

When the storm had passed, the snow was gone, leaving only a light frosting on the tree trunks. The sun emerged from her nap in the clouds, and we continued our walk hand in hand.

When we returned to our cars, we went our separate ways. But in the weeks to come, our friendship evolved into something profound, rich, and wonderful. And when he told me he loved me, and I returned the phrase, he admitted that his life, too, had altered shatteringly, one chilly February day when he held me through a snow storm.

Amazing Grace

I have been thinking about life, and the Grace that guides us. Some people talk about having luck, be it good or bad. I don't believe in luck. I believe in choices. Our lives are made up of the results of our choices. Good choices bring good results, bad ones, well, we know what they bring. There is no luck involved. But there is a lot of Grace. We just don't always see it, or recognize it, or acknowlege it.

When I was about four or five years old, I spent my days at my friend Patty's house, while my parents worked. I had other friends that stayed there, too. Lisa and Betty also had working moms, so Patty's mom took care of us.

One day, as we were playing in the back yard, a man came along and asked us to help us look for his kitten. Betty was afraid, and stayed behind, but Patty, Lisa and I followed. We walked along through back streets and alleys, calling for the kitten. We came out to the edge of the neighborhood near a field, with some sheds and outbuildings. The man, Mr. Kissinger, asked me to help him look in one of the sheds. When we went in, he started fidgeting with his belt, and told me to pull my pants down. When my daddy did that, I was going to get a spanking for misbehaving, but this wasn't my daddy. I said ,"No!", and went back outside with my friends.

When he came back out, he gave Lisa some dimes and told her and I to go back up the street to buy us some sodas. When we came back with the sodas, Mr. Kissinger was sitting against a tree with Patty in his lap, and her pants were down, and his hand was between her legs, and she was crying. We turned around and started heading back to Patty's house. I was following Lisa at first, not knowing what was happening. I didn't understand, and was trying to. When we came to a street that Lisa knew, she took off running for her house. I kept going towards Patty's.

Lisa was a bit older than I was. She seemed to know what was happening. She must have run in and told her parents. By the time I got back to Patty's house, my daddy was there with the police. They already knew everything, I didn't have to tell them. So I figured Lisa already had. My daddy went with the police, and they brought back that man with Patty. Later we went to the police station and answered questions, and I looked at pictures and told them where everything happened. Then we went to court, and I told everything all over again. The judge gave me silver dollars for being so well behaved. I always wondered what they gave Patty. She didn't smile or seem happy any more when I saw her. And I didn't get to go to her house any more, either.

Was it luck that I wasn't in Patty's place? No. It was Grace. I was moved, guided by Spirit, to act as I did. I was young and open. It was easy. As I've gotten older, I've found it takes a bit of effort sometimes, to remain open. But if I make the effort, when the Spirit moves, and I follow Grace, good things happen.

I'll come back again and look back on other steps I've taken, and other times when Grace was with me. For now, ponder carefully your next step. But remain open to the Grace that Spirit sends to guide you, and see where it leads you. Have Faith, and the next step will always be revealed.