“Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.” David Bowe.
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:6
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”. Galatians 5:22-23
Today I have had a series of conversations by text and by phone with two very special women in my life. In the first conversation, my sister-in-law and I were texting selfies where we were both comparing different aspects about our appearances. I had found a box hair color (thank you L’Oréal!) that did an amazing job of covering my gray hair and my sister-in-law has recently lost thirty pounds. This exchange turned into a conversation about love. My sister-in-law has struggled with boundary issues all her life because as she put it “she was desperate for love” after a difficult childhood. As a consequence, in the past she has suppressed her own needs always being in the position of giving, until finally her emotions explode. I on the other hand, was raised in a military family and was taught discipline, the need for self-control and proper appearances, and the importance of not making mistakes. As a result, I was always critical of myself, never feeling I was perfect enough to be loved.
As the conversation progressed from sharing photos, talking hair color and weight, and our mistakes in love, we both came to the same conclusion. When we learned later on in life that God is love and when we put our faith in God, we gradually began to grow past our insecurities. What I love about my sister-in-law is that she has the most beautiful way of bringing up a Bible verse when we are talking. This time, I sent her the quote by David Bowe I had just found on Pinterest, “Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.” We both agreed our lives have been evolution and knew our choices and responses would have been wiser in our youth if we had been the person we are now.
Next I talked to on the phone to my cousin’s wife who is a devoted prayer warrior. We too, have the most amazing conversations about God, family, life, love, heartbreak and challenges. I shared David Bowe’s quote and her response was that she saw her life as a series of encounters led by God to prepare for the next battle, her core compassion always present. This conversation made me think more deeply about the essence of David Bowe’s quote. As I have aged, I have grown in patience and thoughtfulness which are fruit of the Holy Spirit that I lacked within my younger self. I am now the person I should have been because the Holy Spirit is present within me as a result my life experiences and my faith in God. And because my soul has grown within nurtured by the Holy Spirit, so has the depth and contribution of my human gifts. So perhaps one could say, “Aging is an extraordinary journey where God awakens the spirit and soul within and therefore the person that God always intended you to be.”
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Friday, May 1, 2020
We Are Warriors
“Every victorious warrior draws his strength from the highest source; his love.” ― Tapan Ghosh
Yesterday I was engaged in a Facebook conversation with my fitness instructor. She was depressed and angry that the stay at the home order in Illinois had been extended. She thought the danger was exaggerated and she needed to lead her classes and interact with people and she just could not stand it any longer bashing the governor and Illinois. Her posts were uncharacteristic because she is joyful and a great leader. I love taking her classes because if we are slogging, she kicks our butts into high gear.
She hasn’t been the only one expressing cabin fever and economic frustration amongst the public. I have heard others including members of my family who say open up the economy. They state people die from the flu and we do not shut down the economy, the danger is exaggerated, and then they say people will die anyway no matter what we do. These comments reminded me of a commencement speech (one of my favorites) given by Admiral William H. McRaven on May 7, 2014 based on his training as a Navy Seal.
In the speech he said, “SEAL training was a great equalizer. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed. Not your color, not your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status. If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.” He went on to say, “Every SEAL knows that under the keel, at the darkest moment of the mission, is the time when you must be calm, composed – when all your tactical skills, your physical power and your inner strength must be brought to bear. If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.”
As Americans we need to reframe our thoughts to exemplify a warrior in a battle. Only forty percent succeed SEAL in finishing training, and they are not the strongest, the most physically fit – they are those that have the mental discipline not to give up and to keep going no matter how difficult the conditions.
A military motto drummed into me by my father’s military service is we never leave another person behind. There is a bound of comradeship in the military because lives depend on it. Americans who shout about their freedom that they have the right to do what they want at the expense of others, don’t know what it is to sacrifice and place their life on the line for others. They are weak in brandishing their guns in capitol buildings without understanding true discipline or unification under the American flag. They seek to intimidate, not to protect their rights.
So those who can, should help those that are struggling who don’t have the means to live. We need to make our voices heard, we are all in this together and we won’t sacrifice the lives of anyone for the sake of money. We are better than that. We do not leave anyone behind. We are warriors. We are Americans.
Yesterday I was engaged in a Facebook conversation with my fitness instructor. She was depressed and angry that the stay at the home order in Illinois had been extended. She thought the danger was exaggerated and she needed to lead her classes and interact with people and she just could not stand it any longer bashing the governor and Illinois. Her posts were uncharacteristic because she is joyful and a great leader. I love taking her classes because if we are slogging, she kicks our butts into high gear.
She hasn’t been the only one expressing cabin fever and economic frustration amongst the public. I have heard others including members of my family who say open up the economy. They state people die from the flu and we do not shut down the economy, the danger is exaggerated, and then they say people will die anyway no matter what we do. These comments reminded me of a commencement speech (one of my favorites) given by Admiral William H. McRaven on May 7, 2014 based on his training as a Navy Seal.
In the speech he said, “SEAL training was a great equalizer. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed. Not your color, not your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status. If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.” He went on to say, “Every SEAL knows that under the keel, at the darkest moment of the mission, is the time when you must be calm, composed – when all your tactical skills, your physical power and your inner strength must be brought to bear. If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.”
As Americans we need to reframe our thoughts to exemplify a warrior in a battle. Only forty percent succeed SEAL in finishing training, and they are not the strongest, the most physically fit – they are those that have the mental discipline not to give up and to keep going no matter how difficult the conditions.
A military motto drummed into me by my father’s military service is we never leave another person behind. There is a bound of comradeship in the military because lives depend on it. Americans who shout about their freedom that they have the right to do what they want at the expense of others, don’t know what it is to sacrifice and place their life on the line for others. They are weak in brandishing their guns in capitol buildings without understanding true discipline or unification under the American flag. They seek to intimidate, not to protect their rights.
So those who can, should help those that are struggling who don’t have the means to live. We need to make our voices heard, we are all in this together and we won’t sacrifice the lives of anyone for the sake of money. We are better than that. We do not leave anyone behind. We are warriors. We are Americans.
New Beginnings
“New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” – Lao Tzu
We have been blessed this year in the St. Louis area with cooler weather and rain with the dogwood, red bud and other trees slowly blossoming and leafing out on the branches. It seems like so many of our springs lately have been missed as we transition from winter directly into hot summer temperatures.
Yesterday I planted my three remaining shrubs I purchased this month and as I dug the holes, placed the shrubs in the holes and packed the dirt and mulch around them I thought about a lot of things. For one thing, it is much easier to plant shrubs after several days of rain. So next time, I will buy the shrubs, but wait for a cool day after a steady rain to plant. I realized that I need to use the shovel to slice around the hole before digging and that I had learned that from watching my nurseryman Joe, who has helped plant gardens at my last four homes who is now retired. I remembered he used a tarp to throw the dirt and grass clumps keeping the area tidy. I improvised with several buckets. I loved sitting on the ground and running my fingers through the dirt to break it up the clumps. I loved how the bushes looked with the fresh mulch circled around.
When I realized how much I loved sitting on the grass looking out, versus the view I have from my elevated deck, I decided to bring two chairs from the garage to place in the backyard so I can sit on the ground. I visualized where I want my Iris and butterfly gardens to go and vowed to build my square foot garden this fall to be ready for planting vegetables and herbs next spring. I envisioned a small stone patio outside the sliding glass door to my walk out basement with a bed of perennials around it. The backyard was so beautiful, and I know I am blessed with the view to the natural area behind me. I am excited that the birds are flocking to my feeder in the front of my house again this spring after being absent from it most of the winter and I decided to get another birdfeeder for the backyard. I’ve been really worried about the twenty-nine percent reduction in the bird population in North America since 1970 and I want to encourage everyone to feed the birds and restore natural habitats.
Although the coronavirus has been stressful on everyone, I realized that the reduction of carbon dioxide may be improving our spring and that birds are now singing outside my windows. After reading about how pigs are raised in warehouses and slaughtered quickly as the news covered the coronavirus effect on farmers and packing industries, I realized that I really don’t need to eat pork and subject pigs to those conditions. I didn’t eat much pork before because of health reasons, but now I know I can do without it. The empty freezer cases at the grocery store reminded me of that fact. I thought about installing a bidet in the toilet, so I don’t need to use toilet paper.
It is as though God has said to us, we can help our planet survive by making simple changes – working from home, installing bidets, eating sustainable food, get back to nature, plant a vegetable garden and spend time with family playing board games or hoops instead of rushing them to activity after activity. It has been pointed out that although financial experts say we should have six months to a year of cash for living expenses for an emergency, the majority of corporations, small businesses and Americans don’t have that safety net. We need to ask ourselves why? Is this solely a problem of wealth distribution and expenses rising faster than income, or is it also a consumer-based economy always on the move which tells us constantly to spend and, in the process, we are destroying our natural resources with our greed?
I am not sure of what the solution is, but I hope as Americans and world citizens we can envision an economy that is better balanced in wealth, built for resiliency and better for our environment. I believe this is a wake-up call for a new beginning if we will listen.
We have been blessed this year in the St. Louis area with cooler weather and rain with the dogwood, red bud and other trees slowly blossoming and leafing out on the branches. It seems like so many of our springs lately have been missed as we transition from winter directly into hot summer temperatures.
Yesterday I planted my three remaining shrubs I purchased this month and as I dug the holes, placed the shrubs in the holes and packed the dirt and mulch around them I thought about a lot of things. For one thing, it is much easier to plant shrubs after several days of rain. So next time, I will buy the shrubs, but wait for a cool day after a steady rain to plant. I realized that I need to use the shovel to slice around the hole before digging and that I had learned that from watching my nurseryman Joe, who has helped plant gardens at my last four homes who is now retired. I remembered he used a tarp to throw the dirt and grass clumps keeping the area tidy. I improvised with several buckets. I loved sitting on the ground and running my fingers through the dirt to break it up the clumps. I loved how the bushes looked with the fresh mulch circled around.
When I realized how much I loved sitting on the grass looking out, versus the view I have from my elevated deck, I decided to bring two chairs from the garage to place in the backyard so I can sit on the ground. I visualized where I want my Iris and butterfly gardens to go and vowed to build my square foot garden this fall to be ready for planting vegetables and herbs next spring. I envisioned a small stone patio outside the sliding glass door to my walk out basement with a bed of perennials around it. The backyard was so beautiful, and I know I am blessed with the view to the natural area behind me. I am excited that the birds are flocking to my feeder in the front of my house again this spring after being absent from it most of the winter and I decided to get another birdfeeder for the backyard. I’ve been really worried about the twenty-nine percent reduction in the bird population in North America since 1970 and I want to encourage everyone to feed the birds and restore natural habitats.
Although the coronavirus has been stressful on everyone, I realized that the reduction of carbon dioxide may be improving our spring and that birds are now singing outside my windows. After reading about how pigs are raised in warehouses and slaughtered quickly as the news covered the coronavirus effect on farmers and packing industries, I realized that I really don’t need to eat pork and subject pigs to those conditions. I didn’t eat much pork before because of health reasons, but now I know I can do without it. The empty freezer cases at the grocery store reminded me of that fact. I thought about installing a bidet in the toilet, so I don’t need to use toilet paper.
It is as though God has said to us, we can help our planet survive by making simple changes – working from home, installing bidets, eating sustainable food, get back to nature, plant a vegetable garden and spend time with family playing board games or hoops instead of rushing them to activity after activity. It has been pointed out that although financial experts say we should have six months to a year of cash for living expenses for an emergency, the majority of corporations, small businesses and Americans don’t have that safety net. We need to ask ourselves why? Is this solely a problem of wealth distribution and expenses rising faster than income, or is it also a consumer-based economy always on the move which tells us constantly to spend and, in the process, we are destroying our natural resources with our greed?
I am not sure of what the solution is, but I hope as Americans and world citizens we can envision an economy that is better balanced in wealth, built for resiliency and better for our environment. I believe this is a wake-up call for a new beginning if we will listen.
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