I read a poem this morning. The title: Ode. The first line: Here’s to everything undone today. I immediately felt relief…to start the day with accepting that stuff will remain undone. It’s almost magical to think this way. No resistance or hand wringing or awful self judgment. I lifted my head up, I looked out the window. I said to myself…stuff will remain undone today. Pause. Deep breath in and out. I found my mantra: Stuff will remain undone today.

You know what I felt? Freedom. The freedom that comes from lifting my attention from the grindstone of having to make it happen and check it off my list. (I always have a list. Truth be told, I have two. Plus a calendar. That’s another story.) What will be done will be done, and the rest will remain undone. I felt freedom and also a responsibility. A responsibility to prioritize my choices to honor myself and how I want to be in the world.

You know, most things can wait. Thankfully, life or death decisions are rare. There are usually very few items that must be crossed off the list. Think about it…many things stay undone all of the time. So what?

So, take a deep breath and look out the window. Undone is not a failure. It’s simply undone. Until it’s not.

Much love always
Paula

Ode, By Zoe Higgins, from The Path to Kindness, Poems of Connection and Joy, edited by James Crews

Have you ever been asked to pray for someone? A friend or neighbor or co-worker asks…please pray for this person. They are having a hard time. They’ve had some bad news. There has been a death in the family. They are in pain, lost, suffering. Will you please pray for them?

What do you do now? How do you pray? What effort do you make on behalf of another? Here is what I believe about prayer. Prayer is about bringing the Presence and Power that is God into our own consciousness. In order for this to happen we have to become still. Following the breath is a good way to begin. Following the breath in and out helps us clear our mind of chatter and distraction. We are able to gently sink into the rhythm of stillness.

From here we can accomplish an amazing thing: we can see as God sees and know as God knows. Through our own stillness we have allowed the movement of God in our very being. In these moments of prayer, it is we who change. We are able to see the magnificence of the Divine everywhere and in everyone, no matter the outer appearance.

We begin see the other not as someone to be fixed or healed but as someone who is whole and complete in this very moment now. To see the other as Love Itself…as tender and worthy and at ease. To see the Divine breathing and sustaining them, lifting and inspiring them. In other words, we see and feel for them what, in that moment, is difficult for them to see and feel for themselves.

It is the greatest gift we can offer another…to see as God sees and to know as God knows.

With great humility
Paula

I wrote a poem. More accurately, I’ve decided the poem was written through me. I never even thought about writing a poem. I enjoy reading poetry but I’ve never studied poetry. I don’t really know what makes a poem a poem in the first place. What happened?

I took my first bicycle ride of the season on Saturday morning. The weather was perfect. I could tell my legs were not as strong as when I was riding more consistently. So, my pace was a bit slower. Part of my ride was through Halyburton Park. I looked around at the new growth happening in the woods and how the sunlight was playing on all the different colors of green.

This line came to me…it appeared in my consciousness. I saw the carpet come alive today. What? It stuck in my mind. I thought, I need to write that down when I get home. Most of the time when I say this to myself, by the time I get home I’ve totally forgotten…not only the words but that I even had the thought to begin with!

This time I remembered. I sat down and this is what happened:

I saw the carpet come alive today
In the park near my house.
Ferns and berry bushes and probably poison ivy too.

A mosaic of light shimmering across
Too many colors of green to name.
I looked around to see if anyone else noticed.

It doesn’t really matter, I thought.
It was a miracle to me
The way the earth reveals its beauty without hesitation.

Humbled
Paula

Doubt. It’s such an insidious thing…especially as it relates to the sense of self. What I mean is self doubt. It is the lack of belief in or conviction in your own self. Doubt creeps in and often stays in the shadows. It can be crippling and treacherous.

I’ve wrestled with doubt often in my life…pretty much every week. Most of my doubt is rooted in the not-good-enough theme. And the related themes of “what will others think about me” or “will what I have to say make any sense”.

More recently I’ve decided that doubt isn’t something I need to banish. I practice noticing my doubt and not letting it take me hostage as often. Instead of giving doubt a front row seat in my life, I just let it linger near the emergency exit. Check in with it once in a while. Let it stay but certainly not in the front row.

Doubt lingers in every life. Sometimes as an overbearing monster, sometimes as a small voice. Doubt, I’ve decided, keeps it all real. It give us a chance to question, to take a risk, to leap…and most importantly to realize our strength or our beauty or the unique gift we are to the world…when we find our footing once again.

Much love always
Paula

Have you ever noticed how many systems there are? I mean as a human species we seem to have systems for everything. (yes, this is the kind of thing I think about) Systems: created structures that we all, to one extent or another, agree upon and participate in. Sometimes without even thinking about it.

We have banking systems, court systems, justice systems, computer systems, healthcare systems, mental health systems, government systems, investment systems, probate systems and insurance systems.

We have elaborate systems of laws that cover taxes, crime, business, voting, employment and death, at the state and federal levels.

We have mechanical and electrical systems that keep us warm or cool, run our vehicles, power elevators, light up the night and send satellites into outer space.

And we have systems that are activated for particular purposes…like war and at the same time relief aid. These are the systems that just rattled out of my head in a few minutes.

But what about the really important stuff? Like systems for understanding, healing, harmony and balance? Maybe I’m talking about spiritual systems. Maybe a love system. Could we really create that? I think so. I think a love system is a simple system…powered by one thing…kindness. That’s it.

I think this system could change the entire world. Big time. Are you in?

Much love always
Paula

Not everything that happens needs our comment. Not everyone needs to be burdened with our opinion. Yet so many times we feel the need, the urge, the desire to let it be known. Our culture encourages sharing ad infinitum. Let it out. Tell it like it is. Spare no effort. Be heard now. And it’s easier than it has ever been: social media, instant messaging, podcasts and blogs. (The irony is not lost on me!)

Of course, I want to be heard…and there is a balance I strive toward at the same time. This effort is informed by a quote from Ramana Maharshi: Silence is unceasing eloquence. It is the best language.

Just think about it for a minute…the value of silence. The value of holding back rather than blathering. The eloquence of simply being present, in the language of silence. It is the practice of harnessing my mind and putting it in its rightful place behind my heart.

The mind is full of judgment and fear, ideas of right and wrong. It rejects discomfort, spins tales masquerading as truth, craves the illusion of security and safety. The mind seems to be rarely satisfied. And from this mind comes our opinions and comments? What are they worth?

Ah, but in the pause, in a moment of silence the heart whispers: I see you. We are the same. And in this moment no words are necessary. Eloquence.

With much love
Paula

We lament…time moves so fast! Where has it gone? Another year over, another month ending, the day is gone before you know it. Another birthday, a new decade, a number we can’t even fathom. Time moves so fast.

Well, not really. Time moves at the same pace it has always moved. In seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades. Over time, there is no change in how time moves. So, why do we sometimes feel we are caught in a whirlwind?

It’s easy to blame time. But really, we’re dissatisfied with our own self. We haven’t met our own expectation. We may have squandered an opportunity or become lazy about engaging in life to our full potential. We may have allowed our busyness to take priority over happiness. Maybe we got stuck in a rut, refused to let go of a resentment or have been stewing in regret.

We blame time because it’s easy. It’s harder to acknowledge our part. I mean it’s hard to accept that we don’t make conscious choices about our daily living. We know inherently that life is short.  Yet we spend our days unfocused or unaware. It feels like time is stealing our life away…moment by moment. It’s just not true.

The good news is we can get out of the whirlwind by making a choice to live fully present in each moment. By making every day count…how we want to feel, how we want to be and what we want to do. I believe there is great joy and satisfaction in a considered life. We just have to make it a practice to pause and consider. Time will do its thing. And I can do mine.

Much love always
Paula

Sometimes we get caught up in the world. Caught up in judgment, blame, lack, frustration. We forget the wisdom in this quote from Anaïs Nin: “We see the world not as it is, but as we are.”

Spiritual work is rightly focused inward. It begins with conscious awareness of self…of our beliefs and stories. Once we have awareness, then we can choose to adjust the lens and shift our perception. The world may seem the same but the adjustment changes us…and our experience is different. And eventually, the world is different, too. That’s the way it works.

This question came up for me during meditation this week: What is our responsibility as human beings? Not what do we deserve, how much can we take, not even how much can we give…but what is my responsibility as a human being, in this world, at this time?

Have you ever thought about it? Ever? My responsibility as a living, breathing pulse of life? What is my responsibility to myself, to those around me and to the world? This is spiritual work. It requires awareness and quite possibly a shift. If I am consistent and brave enough, my own work just might result in a world that looks different, a world that becomes more gentle and kind.

With great love
Paula

I think this is a worthwhile share.

“Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones. But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed.

Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal. A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said. “We are at our best when we serve others. Be civilized.” “

― Ira Byock, from his book The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life

Much love always
Paula

How much push is the right amount of push? I mean, when is it best to ‘keep on keeping on’ and when is it best to take it slow? Have you ever thought about it? Not wait for something to happen that forces one or the other…but to decide, in a measured sort of way.

I think many times we get caught up in the whirlwind of life. We let it take us because it seems easier, or at least less of a bother. Most of the whirlwind is about pushing forward or through or around. Maybe we’re afraid to slow it down. If we do, we might never find the energy to get on a roll again. Or we’ll come face-to-face with our own self…and that might be even more scary! Or we simply have convinced ourselves we are WAY too busy.

At the other end of the spectrum is the complete standstill. Maybe we’ve taken ourselves out of the flow for a while. Is life really racing by? Am I really making NO progress?

I think ‘take it slow’ is an option, maybe even the perfect ticket. Just ‘take it slow’ and see what happens. The world will not fall apart if you gear down for a stretch. Nor will it eat you up if you put it into first or second gear.

There is a reason slow and steady wins the race, as so simply told by Aesop in the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. And by winning I don’t mean crossing the finish line. I mean being alive and well…ready to race another day!

Much love always
Paula