Did we win or lose today?

Post by Being Liberal.

This really is the point, isn't it? We formed a government to provide a way for us to meet our group needs in ways not possible for us to achieve individually. At some point, the government was infused with our collective conscious (and spiritual leanings) regarding how to care for the least of us. This is its job, because it is our job as people. Unfortunately, as people have become more infused with the ideology of politics (informed by 15 second sound-bites and two-minute news clips), so has our government. Now instead of our government helping us meet groups needs, it has become a battleground to see which ideology wins. But do we get what we need (win) in the battle of ideologies? Honestly I think we lose, regardless of the ideological victor. We need to find a way to reintroduce human values and the needs of the group (which is dictated by the needs of the least of us -- it really is true that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and our needy are our weak spot, especially if we don't help) into our government, so we can grow healthy and strong, instead of divided, crippled and weak. #IMNATBHO

Facing the day

There is a point in every 24-hours, when I have to face the day. Sometimes, it is when I awake. On those days, it is usually because I am weary, following a short or restless night. Sometimes, it is when I walk out the door, taking on the challenges that exist outside my custom-made sanctuary.

Most of the time, its near the end, when the tasks that remain to be completed outdistance the hours left to complete them or the energy I have left to use. These could be the saddest of days, but thankfully they usually are not. It is on these days I have accomplished the most. At the end, there may be more to complete, but the list of jobs well done is significant.

If I were to focus on my neverending list of tasks, I would fail see the triumph and glory of my efforts. I would leave myself miserable instead of victorious. I would face the day with recrimination instead of joy. I would fail to honor the blessings of the present, as my sadness would readily seep into the unawakened promise of the new day.

What I see, when I face those most trying of days isn't just success, it's hope.

Face your day with joy, pride and hope.

a luta continua means the struggle continues

Happy New Year to me

I had the full moon with me as I walked this morning. It's a gift usually reserved for the night time, but this morning, it watched over the sunrise from high in the sky, and over me during my walk. Since childhood the full moon has been a special friend – I believe it watches over me. It reminds me of the majesty of God, His looking in one my life and the wonders of this universe we've been given to embrace and explore.

The morning seem filled with a great and peaceful stillness. There was a point, as I walked and prayed, that even the birds were silent so I could hear. I was able to breathe in the peace and feel it strengthen my soul. The moments were a perfect birthday gift.

A new year starts for me today. I know, the calendar says the new year starts on January 1, but my rhythms for reflection, rejuvenation and new beginnings have always been strongest and more enduring around my personal year.

The past 12 months were a whirlwind of change for my family and the spinning started by many of the adjustments has yet to stop, or even slow down. To characterize any as good or bad is to try to give meaning in isolation, but nothing that happens is like that. Everything is, until later. It's value, significance, usefulness and meaning can only be evaluated in context, and context comes from the broader perspective of distance and from wisdom and thoughtfulness.  

The results of my
first mandala meditation. 

For the first time in years, 14 to be exact, I was able to indulge in my reflective, meditative ritual of renewal and resurgence. I rested, prayed, meditated, wrote, sat in solitude, chatted with friends, cooked, read, reorganized, indulged in creative pleasures, watched television, read, discarded, added, berated, praised, evaluated and planned, all to come to the start of this new year with gratitude, insight, energy, motivation and courage.

I start this year with as full a plate as any other, despite all I have released, and with faith as the only plan for how to pull it all off.  (That sentence made me laugh aloud with a joy from deep within. It acknowledged the peace about all that's to come I just this moment realized I possess.)

There is much to do, and I look forward to it with excitement and eagerness.

Some quotes, old and newly discovered, that I'm carrying into my new year (some of them mine):

"Uncertainty, surrounded by attention, intention and faith, lead to success."

"Everything is, until later."

"When you're lost and alone, or you're sinking like a stone, carry on. May your past be the sound, of your feet upon the ground, carry on."

"You will make it, but only if you run."

"A thing is exactly what it is, and nothing else."

"I put one foot in front of the other one. I don't need a new love or a new life, just another place to die."

"Woman can do all things if she will."

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

"In a day when you don't come across any problems, you can be sure you are traveling on the wrong path."

"Do not allow fear to keep you from reaching your goals and pursuing your dreams."

"In order to get more into your hands later, you have to be willing to give away what you hold now."

"Make the most of where you are. Your future may very well depend on it."

" Be encouraged in the fact that the adversity that stands before you is only temporary. Your success is not contingent on the adversity but rather you being able to see past it."

"When you do small things right, big things happen."

So, without further ado, I must get started. Happy new year, to me!

Nothing from me today -- she is saying it better (click here)