The Guest House

The Guest House by Rumi

This being human is a guest house

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

Some momentary awareness comes

As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,

Who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture.

Still, treat each guest honorably,

He may be cleaning you out for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

Because each has been sent

As a guide from beyond.

I found this poem quite by accident but as always it was very timely. Part of my life pattern has been to look at emotions I don't like as negative and then judge myself for having them. In the process of doing that I tap into even more negative thoughts that run rampant. Over the last years it has been a turning point for me to look at what comes my way as a gift. It is not something that has to fought and conquered, but instead something to be embraced and learned from. As much as I know this, I can still let fear get in the way. Paulo Coelho wrote it beautifully when he said, "We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's about our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world are written by the same hand. "

Blessings,

Sandy

Elusive Hope

Over the last few weeks I have been thinking and talking a lot about the idea of visioning. The process of looking outward to see what is possible for ourselves, friends and family, our community and world. I love the process because you get to throw out all the rules of how it should be to imagine how things could be. The next step is to explore how that could actually come to be. That's the place we often get stuck, in the movement from what we want to what can be. It is also the place of most opportunity because so much is possible. This is not a place for those who are faint of heart; this is a place to muster all the courage and heart you have and move toward your vision.

In my conversations with people I have heard that maybe we have lost hope that things can be different in our world. You only have to watch the news to see that our world is not at peace and people feel the uneasiness in themselves. The security we once felt on all levels is no longer there and spans from job security to the security of our nation. It makes think me that vision is of no use without hope and hope is not possible without seeing things in a new way.

Just recently I was given this excerpt from a publication and it goes like this: " The world is to big for us. Too much is going on, too many crimes, too much violence and excitement. Try as you will, you get behind in the race in spite of yourself. It is an incessant strain to keep pace, and you still lose ground. Science empties its discoveries on you so fast you stagger beneath them in hopeless bewilderment. The political world is news changing so rapidly that you're out of breath trying to keep pace with who's in and who's out. Everything is high pressure. Human nature can't endure much more."

Does this sound familiar? This was actually written in The Atlantic Journal in 1833! I'm guessing that the author felt hopeless in what was happening around him or her. How this is much different than today I'm not sure, but I do know that hope is one of our biggest attributes.

There is a song by Andre Thomas, an African American poet and writer called, I Dream A World. The beginning of the song goes like this, I dream a world where man No other man will scorn, Where love will bless the earth And peace its path adorn" We are in the very process of asking ourselves this very same question, what kind of world do we dream and how can we dream it together? What do we want for ourselves and our world?

I want to leave you with one final thought and it is from Margaret Mead, " Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. " If you could answer the question I dream a world....what do you imagine? We would love to hear from you! ~Blessings~

Sandy

Expect God...

I am sitting on a crude wooden bench surrounded by red clay mud walls and a tin roof. The floor is dirt and high above my head are wooden beams draped with beautiful cloth and tied to look like butterflies. The altar is simple, made complete with a cross and hand woven baskets. This humble room is a church packed with people dressed in traditional African and Maasi clothing. It is vibrant and colorful. The people who cannot get in are 4 deep at the windows peering in to get a glimpse of what is going on. Inside the people are singing and dancing in such a way that it appears well orchestrated. But nothing is orchestrated, they are simply letting the spirit move them. The harmony of their voices and the beat of the drum seem to reach right into my soul...I cannot help but be moved. The tears are running down my face, I have never experienced God in this way. Many times in my life I have looked for God's presence in my life. But here I am, sitting with some of the poorest people in the world and they feel God's presence...they expect God to be there. They don't even expect it, they just have a knowing that is like nothing I have ever witnessed. I could ask where is God in this monetarily poor country, but it never enters my mind. When asked if they ever asked that question they said, Why should we do that...He is here.

I am in the mountain top village of Idunda, Tanzania. It has been more than a year since I visited this village, but all I have to do is close my eyes and I can be right back there. But I am not there, I am here, in one of the richest countries in the world. I have more than I need of material possessions but yet I sometimes find myself asking, where is God today or looking for signs of His presence. How often I forget that His hand is in everything. I was truly blessed to have this experience of grace and love. What if we just for this moment remembered that there is nothing that God's hand is not in...what if today instead of looking for the places we see God that we could just close our eyes and know His presence. May you be blessed and be a blessing.

Sandy

the dot...ish

Recently, a friend gave me two new books to add to my collection of children's books. I love children's books and these two are exceptional in their message. The first one, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, is a Christopher award winner. This award is given to films, television programs or books that affirm the highest values of the human spirit. Vashti, the character in the book claims she cannot draw when invited to do so by her teacher. Her teacher encourages her to "Just make a mark and see where it takes you", but she is angry! To prove she cannot draw, she puts a dot right in the middle of the page and exclaims, There! Many more pages of angry dots appeared, but soon Vashti softened and that "dot" marked the beginning of a journey to surprise and self discovery thru drawing dots.

The second book by the same author, is simply called, Ish. In this book Ramon does what makes him happy, which is drawing. One day, his older brother made a critical comment about his drawing. From then on Ramon worked hard to do it right and make it perfect, but he never succeeded. Instead his papers ended up crumpled in the trash can. His sister saw the world in a different way, and helped him see the creative process was more important than getting it right.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? I know I sure can see myself in both of these books. On the inside cover of the books it says The Dot and Ish are books that"shine a bright beam of light on the need to kindle and tend our creative flames with care." I could not agree more! We have forgotten to embrace our creative side and honor the value of creativity in our life, however it is expressed. I will often recommend that people start with crayons and a coloring book or better yet, get out their favorite medium and just start to create whatever comes to mind. We are so much in our heads, organizing and figuring things out, that we need to just break away from our thoughts. Using the creative process allows us access to inner most wisdom that can help new perspectives emerge.

Today, make some time to sit down with a box of crayons and a blank sheet of paper and just allow your hand to move on the paper. Remember there is no" right way" or "wrong way" to do it. It is important for all of us to find ways to get out what is deep inside of us and creativity is one way to that. Have fun and give it a try! If you care to post a comment we would love to hear from you!

Sandy