Present Living

 

 

Do you ever look at the holiday aisles stuffed with the accoutrements of Christmas in August(Yes, August- I haven't even lost my summer tan yet!) and shake your head?

Me, too.

However, I think it is more than just a symptom of the endless marketing, consumerism and commercialism of the holidays. I feel that it is indicative of our inability to be in the present.

Aren't we endlessly planning ahead?

Counting the days to vacation? To retirement? To the next holiday? Sacking money away for our children's education, our own retirement?Making to-do lists for tomorrow?

And aren't we also endlessly lost in the past?

Constantly purusing social media for updates on what our friends and acquaintances have done on Facebook? Seeing pictures of what they've seen on Instagram?

We are bombarded by news every time we log into a computer or phone as if we really need to be kept up to date minute by minute of the happenings of every half-rate celebrity, or the latest terrorist attack, or school shooting.


My God. Its exhausting, isn't is? To keep up with the past and the future at every moment.


Let's try something different today.

Let's just be in the present. The PRESENT. Have you met her? She is the moment you are in right now and she is FABULOUS.

So, take a deep breath, Dear Ones. Meet the present where she is. Have a dance with her under the fall foliage. Find gratitude in this moment before searching for joy in a past or future moment.

All we have is what is here now. This second. This moment.

And, isn't that enough?

Shine on, In this moment and in the next.

For the Mamas

Do  not take in the big picture. 

Forget the unloaded laundry that's been laying in the basket for days.

Look past your sleep deprived and swollen eyes in the mirror.

The dishes will be done tomorrow, disregard the sink.

Instead, gaze upon your sleeping child, your screaming child, your playing child.

Those cheeks will soon lose their cushion, those tiny hands their dimples.

So look beyond the mess, the fatigue, the stress. For but a moment.

Today you have the sweet moments with your children that you will long for when they are grown.

Do not forget that these are the halcyon days-
the days that you will dream about,
yearn for,
lose yourself in years from now.

They are here today.

Live today.

Embrace the perfection within the imperfection today.

Love yourself today. 

Shine On, Dear Mamas(and Papas)! You are the brightest of lights to those little souls that you are ministering to everyday. May you be blessed in your giving.

Lucky

I met with one of my homeless clients today.

 As I pulled up to the shelter I noticed her eyeing my car with appreciation. After greeting me, she said that she bet I had a nice house, too and how lucky I was.

And pride, that bitter lady, rose in my throat as I became defensive, wanting to assuage my guilt about having nice things by explaining myself. I wanted to tell her that luck had no part in it, that I'd worked hard for everything I had. 

However, one look at the lines in her face and her sore, gnarled hands told me that she'd worked every bit as hard as me in this life, though perhaps without the advantages I've had.

So I took a grateful breath and simply replied "Indeed. I am so very lucky".

Truth Keeper

Every day, every hour, every minute, there are signs-some subtle, some glaring.

These signs whisper to me, scream at me, measure up the unworthiness of my work, of my mothering,  of my housekeeping, of my appearance...of my very existence.

Day after day, the heaviness accumulates. 

Dust falls on my shoulder, makes me shrink unto myself.

I am simply a vesicle to fill with the waste  of this exclusive and unreachable sorority.

It weighs heavier on my being, shutting out the voice of my electric soul until it is but the tiniest of whispers.

But no.

Not today.

Not today.

Today I will shake off this impossible, excruciating weight.

I will gather my pure, glittering truth and tattoo it unto my heart, where it shall never be forgotten.






Shine on, Dear Ones, Shine on.

Shine On, Dear Ones

Find Comfort in the Quirks

I've been thinking of my favorite stories from childhood.

They are not pages of tales regaling me of stories of the perfectly put together family, living in a perfectly tidy suburban home, all the characters constantly cheerful and with no problems in sight. Sounds boring, right?

No, They are full of characters from quirky homes and nontraditional situations.

 It comforts me to know that the best stories do not come from homes that are perfectly kept, with always put together parents and ever ready stacks of cash. The real, the true, the interesting stories-the fascinating, kind, incredible children-come most often from the homes with more love than money, more discussion than cleaning, more laughter than primping in a mirror.

Let us stop the constant comparisons and the "I'm not good enough"s. It's time to rock our perfectly imperfect life and live a life worthy of being written about.

Shine on, Dear Ones, Shine on.