“Hope
smiles from the threshold
of the year to come.” – Alfred Tennyson
May we
release the past with compassion,
sleep this night in peace,
awake with vision and courage,
and greet tomorrow’s hope with faith.
Archive for December 2012 | Monthly archive page
Some say a shift is happening now.
When I see declarations like the Three Days of Love, A Global Call to Action, and other proclamations for peace, a prophesy made by Teilard de Chardin comes to mind:
“The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the wind, the tides, and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in human history, man will have discovered fire,” he said.
Is that day near? I hope so. Can we help make it so? I believe so. How? Read more
My mom had suffered a severe stroke. Her doctor said we should prepare ourselves: she probably would not recover.
My mom survived that night. And another.
When she regained consciousness, she couldn’t move or speak.
But her eyes seemed to say: “I’m very sick, aren’t I?”
The next morning, after reading a healing message in my daily devotional, I hurried to the hospital and rushed to her beside.
“Mom, I read something this morning. I’d like to read it to you. Would you like to hear it?” I asked.
Her eyes said, “Yes.” Read more
I had just written my “Today’s Touchstone” message for tomorrow about faith being like a safety net.
I made a Berry Smoothie and then slipped on a drop of water on the kitchen floor.
The amazing thing is: I felt cradled on the way down to the tile. Time slowed. I somehow landed gently. So did the glass. It fell on the tile but did not break!
I wish I had thought to get a photo of the mess before my husband kindly cleaned it up. The deep purple drink splattered everywhere. Here’s a photo of that glass next to a formerly-white washcloth after repeated rinsing.
One sip of the drink remained in the glass. It was delicious.
What was more delicious was experiencing a sense of safety and being cared for, even during and after the fall, especially in light of what I had just written to share with others:
“Parachutes weren’t proven trustworthy
by having people carry them around on their backs.
The device showed its reliability once someone jumped.”
– Mary Manin Morrissey
Are you facing anything now that calls for a leap of faith?
Read more
One of the things I loved about Christmas when I was a child was gazing into the shiny balls on our decorated tree and feeling as if I had entered a magical place.
When I looked into those fragile spheres, I saw my home transformed. The curvature of the ornaments reflected rooms much larger than they actually were and created an effect that was both sparkly and soft.
So, instead of seeing our small living room and dining room, I saw rooms that were spacious and gracious, peaceful and palatial. I loved going from color to color and experiencing the palace of my home as golden, then silver, then red because each color stirred a slightly different wondrous feeling, kind of like love, hope, and joy.
Looking back, I can see now that I HAD entered a magical place, a mystical place.
The outer palace I saw was a reflection of the inner sparkling spaciousness that dwells in the heart of every child.
Remember how you felt as a child, when outer wonderment resonated with the wonderment in you?
No matter what age we are now, we’ve all got that place within us.
During this busy season, may we take time to enter the “Inner Palace.”
May we be renewed in the gifts of love, hope, and joy.
And, may our inner sparkling spaciousness shine in the world and be reflected back to us.