Category: One for the Journal

It is hard to define the meaning of Hope. It is elusive, and an action with little reason or justification.

We all have known the feeling of hope – we wish for it many times in life. We wish the newlyweds hope for a happy life. We bless a newborn with our hopes for good health as they grow. We wish hope for ourselves when we face change or difficulty.

Hope, to me, is born out of the promise one holds in their heart. When there is nothing concrete to rely on, it is our inner voice that prompts us to trust and believe in what the heart is set on. I think hope is a lovely notion, elusive as it is – it gives flight to many a dream and when combined with devotions or prayer often times delivers realization.

The statue above is called the Angel of Hope. This statue was born out of a movement for parents grieving the loss of a child; the most unbearable loss a human can face. There are more than 150 of these statues erected in cities and remote towns across the states. Every December 6th, there is a remembrance for this angel who is said to ease the grief of these parents and help them remember and heal. If you know someone who has suffered through this unspeakable loss, please reach out to them and offer a kind word. Sometimes a ‘reminisce’ or a thoughtful comment will be just what is needed to help that soul through another day.

“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like ‘struggle’. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly as he or she was made, exactly as they are here and now.”

~Fred Rogers

I recently posted this wonderful quote by Fred Rogers. There lies a profound ideology within the simplicity of its message. The term ‘unconditional love’ is thrown around freely these days; the basis of its meaning is Acceptance. In other words, if you wholly love another being, do not assign expectations to them to behave in the way that you do or react the way that you want them to react. The action of acceptance is allowing others to be themselves. By relating without any expectation, you allow another the space to grow exponentially both spiritually and emotionally. Accepting someone means you love them today, just as they are, with all of their victories and failures. 

How we get to Acceptance is by practicing letting go. By letting go of preconceived notions or expectations, we instead open up a state of mind in ourselves of anticipation. And, in the excitement of anticipation, you can eagerly wait for another’s reaction instead of expecting it to be as you wished.

So, take on the curiosity of child. Open up and explore life and the relationships you have (and will have) as if it were your first day with them, regardless of what the past has dealt you.

There is far more kindness and goodness to be had in doing so, and this divisive world certainly needs more of that!

Last month marked the third anniversary of the death of one of my childhood influences. To honor that date, I wanted to write a piece about this tremendous icon and how through his written word and lyrics I found my own voice.

Leonard Cohen is one of the most enduring cultural figures in modern history. Through his music, writing and art, he inspired and influenced multi-generations of followers all across the world.

I was an introspective soul barely in my teen years when he began making big waves. I hung onto every word of his deep and sensual poetry. His music opened my eyes and ignited in me courage, faith and a fathomless imagination. I was smitten, and I couldn’t get enough.

Leonard’s lyrics, I felt, were written to me, I heard the voice of his written word so clearly, I was seduced by his message. In the mid-60’s, my parents would often drive up to the relatives in New York. During these NYC visits, they would make the rounds of the famed Greenwich Village clubs of the time. I loved the stories they told on their return, ‘beatniks’ they called the performers, I thought that term so odd. But that was the name coined, the Beat Generation, which represented its followers identified by their unconventional style of dress, behavior and views.

As I matured and grew my own views and preferences, I still hung onto Leonard’s music – because it was evolving as much as I was. Perhaps Cohen’s most prolific and widely-known song, Hallelujah, was not recorded until he was 50 years old. Throughout the long expanse of his storied career, this poetic visionary delivered astounding pieces of work and did it with approachable elegance and an old-world gentleman-like demeanor. The lyrics and poetry just kept on rising!

I have followed and deeply admired many poets and musicians in my day, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, to name a few. I believe that the message we receive from the powerful heroes that we identify with help fortify and shape our own world attitudes. Though many viewed Leonard as somewhat dark, I absorbed him in great white light. And even though I evolved greatly from that innocent naive ‘tween-ager’, I still felt devastated when Leonard left this earth on November 7, 2016. Like any devotee of a hero, I can still remember where I was standing and what I was feeling.

If you are not familiar with Leonard Cohen’s body of work, you may want to explore it. Given that it spans over many decades, the message it delivers is quite profound.

I love that we spend one day of the year in gratitude for all the graces we have realized in this life so far. I am on a campaign to extend that expression to the other 364 days. It is a habit that anyone can form, and an embodiment that we all can easily adopt. Small but daily changes will manifest this feeling within our hearts. By starting small, we are building the blocks of change necessary to achieve this goal.

Famed American author of self-help books, Melody Beattie, describes this approach beautifully.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates vision for tomorrow.”

Melody Beattie

Today on what is termed ‘Black Friday’, I hope we can all turn this day into a ‘White Friday’ by filling the hours with the feelings of gratitude that we all experienced yesterday. And when tomorrow dawns, I hope that feeling lingers still.

I just read some heartwarming news. A fellow-writer posted on his blog a sweet message that he received from a grateful single mom. This fellow that I follow – leads his “Army of Good” in performing everyday ordinary miracles that deeply touch the lives of others.

One of his stories wrote about a single mom with no apparent husband, working two jobs and struggling to raise her son amidst rising rents in Albany NY. We learned her boy did not have a winter coat or winter boots. Nor did they have a table and chairs from which to share a meal. By his broadcast of the story, this fellow was able to raise the money to purchase these few items to make this family more comfortable. The furniture he located may not have been new, but it provided the family a place to come together; a place to bow their heads in grateful praise. The coat and boots ensured this child would not shiver at the bus stop wearing only layered-on sweatshirts and sneakers in the deep cold of up-state New York.

The mother’s message of heartfelt appreciation resonated in the depths of my soul. It reminded me that we should listen to the quiet, and in that, try to find our way to performing some daily act that would bring some comfort to someone’s day. Big or small, the beauty is in the act itself.

I know this is the Season for giving, and many folks rally to the call. But, I would love to think that once December 25th passes by, the feeling of wanting to provide comfort and joy to others will stay behind! I love the thought of beginning a movement – just think of all the great accomplishments we can achieve – all born out of very small gestures.

I want to leave this world with the assurance that I have left nothing unsaid. When I go forward I want the people I have walked with to be assured they know everything there was to know. I do not wish to have questions remaining when there is time in these days to answer them.

I guess that is why I have so much to say now. My introspective spirit allowing me the time I have needed thus far to contemplate and resonate.

I hope to speak all the words needed to convey my quest for bettering humanity in myself, and perhaps inspiring it in others. I have a heart full of hope that needs planting and spreading. To those of you who are near me – I wish the audible to reach your ear; and to those of you far – the written word to reach your heart.

When I say ‘I love …’, I do so freely and sincerely. I do not want to reserve those words for only special occasions. I speak to the trees and the magnificent sunsets, I love you and thank you. And to my friends, who encourage my journey, I speak ‘I love you’ in thanks for it is much harder to receive love than to give love. I do not want to leave you with words unspoken or words unheard.

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The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone. ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

What do you see when you look at this charming photo? I see Hope. I see Joy. This photo was shared with me by a family member. It is a ‘newbie’ photo taken at the hospital of her friend’s first grandchild.

This beautiful infant only hours old, is nestled on her father’s chest and seemingly is delighted with her entry into this world. Each time I gaze on her beautiful smiling face, I am reminded of the purpose that we all are given when WE entered this earth, and it leads me to think the purpose this little angel was given was the ability to bring unabashed cheer to all she encounters.

To think that this child had just made her way down the birth canal and into the waiting arms of her doctors; leaving the quiet serenity of her mother’s womb to be met with the bright lights and cacophony sounds of the delivery room – well, that must have been a traumatic experience. Yet, here she lays in total rapture listening to her father’s heartbeat and possibly dreaming of all the goodness that awaits her in this world. And, from all that, this precious little one beams with delight!

I don’t know what the parents of this precious bebé named her, but I am thinking her middle name should be Joy – for that is what she is – a little bundle of Joy!

Two children, ages 6 & 2, were spotted last week wandering along a residential street with no known school bus stop or school nearby. This event might have gone unnoticed except the outside temperature in the Wisconsin town that morning was a mere 18 degrees.

A Waukesha Metro bus driver happened along on her regular route that morning and spotted the children. The bus driver, Nicole Chamberlain, stopped her bus and approached the children. She said, “Hey there, what’s going on?” The 6-year old replied, “We are looking for grandma…” With that, Chamberlain ushered the two children into the warm bus, taking off her coat and covering the toddler’s bare legs with it, and told them “I’ll help you find grandma.”

Chamberlain phoned police and within minutes the grateful grandmother arrived and explained she had fed the children their breakfast and while they were eating and watching TV she had gone downstairs to tend to the laundry. It was then the 6-year went outside and his baby sister followed along. The children were uninjured and were reunited with their grandmother without further incident.

Chamberlain, when interviewed, modestly stated “When I spotted the kids walking alone I knew I had to help them.” This is case in point of listening to your inner self, your intuition. Nicole Chamberlain was called to action that frigid morning. She instinctively knew to stop what she was doing and act accordingly. This simple action took her act of kindness to another level. Chamberlain might have just radioed the incident in and continued along her route not jeopardizing her time schedule to which she was accountable. But she did not, why? Because she was called to act. By opening her bus door and gently beckoning to the children and inquiring; by her welcoming the children into the warm interior of the bus and sheltering their bare limbs with her own coat, she acted extraordinarily. I am sure in those moments of flashes that went through Nicole Chamberlain’s head; she thought to herself, ‘I can do better’. And she heeded the message.

Wherein this story has the happy ending that we all are pleased with, it offers us more than that – it offers us a teaching moment. And so I ask that you take today’s actions under your wing and look for ways at doing better – take a step to further a good deed, and by that, make it an extraordinary one. For in looking for ways to do better, you will find the ‘quiet’ that accompanies that action. And in the quiet is where you will find the voice of your inner self, your intuition which will lead you in furthering your good intentions.

It is important to remember that every thought is a prayer, that’s why I try to keep my thoughts positive. Purity in affirmations is significant as you are the writer and producer of your own story. In order to get to your soul’s purpose, you must follow the rules of engagement. I don’t mean that in a military sense, I mean it in an celestial sense. One must listen to the internal callings that lie within us all, and to which are so important to our reaching our goal of a successful life.

Success in life should not be attributed to one’s wealth or status but rather from their inner self. The inner peace found in one’s soul should be the true measurement for success. The path to finding inner peace is not always an easy or rapid one. Even the masters of such have taken years to acquire and ascend through to their path. If you look at the life of Buddha, you would discover that this great man was led through pain and suffering to a life of rebirth and his realization of enlightenment. The title Buddha means ‘the awakened one’.

Every day that I awake, I am seeking more knowledge on the topic of expanding kindness and becoming a greater human. What I have found so far is the path to this is startlingly simple; start by adopting a style where you speak Love-offering kind words and encouragement to friends, acquaintances and strangers is keeping those ‘thoughts or prayers’ we have living inside us in a state of purity. Next, just Smile. A smile costs nothing yet is contagious. You can feed the need in others without having to say a word. And, finally...Anticipate. Others around you are facing some sort of difficulty, be it large or small. By considering the difficulties of others and stepping into that space without being asked is fulfilling this principal.

I love the idea that all of our thoughts are prayers. Offering them up as they come to us is spreading the creed that the masters of faith set forth for us thousands of years ago. Steeping myself in this rich history, I am its devoted student.

“Eat your fruit; Drink your water; Grow; Love yourself; Mind your business; Base all your actions on love; Spend time alone; and Trust your intuition.”

I didn’t write that, but I have come to live by its credo. It is a simple set of thoughts, easy to prescribe to yet long on the worthy part. Each one of these ruminations has lasting value to your spirit and if you can get on board, I guarantee that you will feel it’s very powerful and positive response within your body and soul.

I have long believed that if we nourish ourselves both inside and out, it will lead to a place where we feel the power within us to do more to better the world. I like urging folks to spread joy and kindness around. I know that I have been put here on earth to do that, but I believe that I am able to do so much more when everybody gets in on the act.

Try practicing each thought – reach for an apple when you are stressed and about to find the bottom of that bag of potato chips. Guzzle a refreshing glass of water to purify and flush the toxins of daily living. Don’t just plant the seeds of good intentions – make them grow within you. Leave the urge to gossip alone and instead look within yourself to find something beautiful then give it away. Let all your actions be pure of thought and of good intent. Find the quiet in the day and savor it. And, as my mother always said, “listen to your intuition” for in regarding your sixth sense you just may be receiving messages from angels!

And messages from angels are worth listening to!