Embracing Imperfections

If the best man's faults were written on his forehead,
it would make him pull his hat over his eyes.
--Gaelic proverb

Perfection apparently is not what this life is about at all, since perfection is nonexistent.

When I deal with my faults and imperfections, I am dealing with the basic issues of being a person.
I can become bitter and cynical about the imperfections of others, or I can realize every person is incomplete but growing, just as I am.
The way I look at the faults in others and the way I look at my own are closely tied together.
In my spiritual journey, I must begin with the premise that no person ever achieves perfection.

Since I am not perfect, I have to be accountable.
I must have standards for my behavior and hold myself to those standards, admitting my mistakes and making repairs where I can.

Elder's Meditation -- Choices

My life is run by choices and decisions.
Every choice I make today will carry with it the consequences of that choice.
Every decision I make today will carry with it the consequences of that decision.
The question I will ask myself today is, "Do I want to be happy or do I want to be right?"
Which ever one I choose will have a lot to do with the consequences I will experience today.
If today was the last day of my life, what choices and what decisions would I make?

Oh Great Spirit, guide my path today and

help me see the value of choosing the Red Road.

"Choose life."

That's God's call for us, and there is not a moment in which we do not have to make that choice.
Life and death are always before us.
In our imaginations, our thoughts, our words, our gestures, our actions ... even in our nonactions.
This choice for life starts in a deep interior place.
Underneath very life-affirming behaviour I can still harbour death-thoughts and death-feelings.
The most important question is not "Do I kill?" but "Do I carry a blessing in my heart or a curse?"
The bullet that kills is only the final instrument of the hatred that began being nurtured in the heart long before the gun was picked up.

-- Henri Nouwen

Ongoing Conversion

While I draw breath, Lord, I pray that I will ever be open to change.
Awaken me to what I need to release within myself to become who you would have me be.
You are the potter.
Keep me as supple clay so that I may continually be formed into the image you have for me.
Sculpt from my being what is not of you.
Mold me, change me, make me yours. Amen.

from Catholic Prayers for Every Day & All Day

Giving the Gift

God’s posture toward us is always a giving posture;
it never changes.
We may accept or refuse what he offers,
but that doesn’t change God’s desire to bestow on us his Son.

from The Journey Within: Prayer as a Path to God

Pride And Humility

The difference between pride and humility:
Pride is who is right;
humility is what is right.

Present In The Progression

Letting Life Unfold

Our lives are guided by natural rhythms that are particular to each of us and cannot be altered by force of will alone.
Life itself is a journey made up of processes and events that manifest before us only to be swept away when time marches on.
Whether we envision ourselves creating a career, building a family, or developing the self, we instinctively know when the time has come for us to realize our dreams because all that is involved comes together harmoniously.
When the time is right, the passage of destiny cannot be blocked.
Yet as desperate as we are to touch these beautiful futures we have imagined, we cannot grow if we are not fully present in the evolutionary experience.
The present can be challenging, uncomfortable, and tedious, but life unfolds as it will, and the universe will wait patiently as we make our way into the unknown.

The fate that awaits us is not dependent on our pace, which was preordained before we ever appeared in human guise.
Therefore there is no reason to rush through life to reach those pinnacles of development associated with the paths we have chosen.
Enjoying and fully experiencing the journey of life is as important as achieving goals and reaching milestones.
There are lessons we can learn during those moments that seem immaterial or insignificant that we cannot learn at any other time.
Appreciating these takes patience, however, because human beings tend to focus on the fulfillment of expectations rather than the simple joys of being.

Like many people, you have no doubt longed for a device that would give you the power to fast forward through certain periods of your existence.
Yet haste is by its very nature vastly more stressful than serene fortitude.
When you feel yourself growing impatient because the pace of your development is deceptively slow, remember that everything that will occur in your life will occur in its own time.
Quelling your urge to rush will enable you to witness yourself learning, changing, and becoming stronger.
There is so much to see and do in between the events and processes that we deem definitive.
If you are patient enough to take pleasure in your existence's unfolding, the journey from one pinnacle to the next will seem to take no time at all.

On the Journey Toward Being Hospitable

written by FR. LARRY GILLICK, S.J.

There are two Latin words, which sound almost the same.
The first is "hospes," which means "welcome" and the second is "hostis," which means "enemy."
From the first word we have the word, "hospital" and from the second we have "hostage".
Welcoming is a free accepting of the other; taking hostages means imprisoning the other.

In our neighborhood, when I was a young lad, I often visited two homes of friends that were on our block, I looked forward to visiting one of them but dreaded visiting the other. Years later when I was revisiting my old neighborhood I recalled that split.
When I would go to the first home, the mother of my friend would sit down with me at the breakfast table and listen to my exaggerations and exploits.
There would be cereal bowls and empty cups on the table, but she would ignore them, turn off the radio so she could hear me better and seemed to enjoy being a part of my life.
She could get me talking about myself and I loved that, even if what I was saying wasn't really quite true!

The second house was not so much fun.
When I would visit there I had to be careful.
The woman seemed to listen, but she was always cleaning the windows and dusting and keeping me nervous with her broom in hand.
She was pleasant enough, but I felt like a germ about to infect her sanitary bubble.
I think I felt sorry for her, because she wasn't comfortable in her own house.

If we have welcomed ourselves, others will find welcome in us. If we are a hostage to ourselves, we will be imprisoned by our loneliness.

- FR. LARRY GILLICK, S.J. was ordained in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin after completing his theological studies at the Toronto School of Theology and Regis College, Willowdale. Canada. It was there he became familiar with the L'Arche-Daybreak Community of Toronto. He is presently the director of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

HenriNouwen.org

St. Augustine

In reading about St Augustine today, there was much I could relate to about his life.
Only my journey into my own imperfect and the discovery of my higher powers continues one day at a time.
My dark side is a scary place to be alone.

"Having been so deeply immersed in creature-pride of life in his early days and having drunk deeply of its bitter dregs, it is not surprising that Augustine should have turned, with a holy fierceness, against the many demon-thrusts rampant in his day.
His times were truly decadent—politically, socially, morally.
He was both feared and loved, like the Master.
The perennial criticism leveled against him: a fundamental rigorism. "

St. Augustine is still acclaimed and condemned in our day.
He is a prophet for today, trumpeting the need to scrap escapisms and stand face-to-face with personal responsibility and dignity.


“

Protective Structure

We are not unlike a particularly hardy crustacean. ...

With each passage from one stage of human growth to the next,
we, too, must shed a protective structure.

--Gail Sheehy

Elder's Meditation -- Spiritual Change

Only through prayer can we make spiritual changes that are permanent.
You have told us that all life is sacred.
Today I intend to serve you, my Creator.
Allow me to overcome temptation, and if one comes along, let me see the lessons that will give balance.
You have told us that all life is sacred.
Let me see today with a sacred eye.
Let me see beauty in all things.

My Creator, let me know what You would have me be today.

Let my intentions be honest, respectful, humble and loving.

What Love Means To Age 4 To 8 Year Old Children

Slow down for -- touching words from the mouth of babes.
What does Love mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

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"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
Rebecca- age 8

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"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4

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"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5

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"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6

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"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4

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"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7

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"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"
Emily - age 8

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"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

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"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"
Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

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"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
Noelle - age 7

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"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6

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"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy - age 8

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"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare - age 6

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"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5

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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7

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"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day"
Mary Ann - age 4

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"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4

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"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image)
Karen - age 7

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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."
Mark - age 6

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"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8

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And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
"Nothing, I just helped him cry"

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Being Ready to Die

How can we be prepared to die?
By not having any unfinished relational business.
The question is: Have I forgiven those who have hurt me and asked forgiveness from those I have hurt?
When I feel at peace with all the people I live with, my death might cause great grief, but it will not cause guilt or anger.
When we are ready to die at any moment, we also are ready to live at any moment.

-- Henri Nouwen

Elder's Meditation -- The Feeling Of Giving

There are certain prayers or actions we can take that will call the Powers.
The powers can only work through people.
The Powers are always waiting to express themselves through people that are ready.
Every person born is born with a purpose.
They have a song to sing.
They have a mission to accomplish.
Every true purpose will always be about serving the Creator and helping others.
When we let the Powers know that we are ready to serve the people, the Powers get excited because they can now do things to help the people and make things better for them.
The decision is powerful because it turns an idea into action.

Great Spirit, the greatest joy or feeling that I have ever experienced

is when you are using me to help the people,

the feeling of giving, the feeling of being your channel.

Today, let me have that feeling of giving.

Use me as You will.

Stinkin' Thinkin'

They are able because they think they are able.

--Virgil

For me, addiction was full of doubt.
I stopped believing in myself.
My thoughts had turned to "stinkin' thinkin'. "
I didn't believe in much of anything.
I didn't take risks.
I always looked for the easier, softer way.

In recovery, I started to believe again.
I believed in the program.
I believed in a Higher Power.
I came to believe in people.

And, over time, I believed in myself again.

I was able to stay sober because I believe, because I take risks.

As I stay sober, I can face almost anything - with the help of others and the God of my understanding.

Elder's Meditation -- Acts Of Love

To serve each other,
to respect each other,
to trust each other,
to honor each other,
to love each other,
to cooperate with each other,
to care for each other,
to forgive one another,
to focus on peoples' good,
to laugh with one another,
to learn from one another;
to pray for each other
- these are all acts of love.
These values and actions will connect us to one another in the Unseen World.
Nature is a good example of how we should get along with one another.
Watch nature.
She is our teacher.
Nature lives to give to one another.
The insects give to the birds who give to the four legged who give to the two legged.
The Creator made all things perfect.

Oh Great Spirit, let me serve the people today.

Let me see that it is better to give than it is to receive.

Be with me today.

Surprised

There is no surprise more magical
than the surprise of being loved.

-- Charles Morgan

Elder's Meditation -- Sevice

The Creator can only create through human beings.
Each human being has a purpose given to us by the Creator.
We are on this earth to fulfill this purpose.
Our only work is to make ourselves ready, to become a channel, to perform for the Creator.
We prepare ourselves by prayer.
We prepare ourselves by becoming unselfish.
We prepare ourselves by seeking and choosing to walk on a spiritual path.
Each morning we look to the east and we say an honor prayer to the Creator.
We offer our gifts: tobacco and corn.
We ask him to help us do His will for today.
In this simple way, we still fulfill our purpose.
It should be an honor to serve the Creator.

Great Spirit, today I am ready to serve You.

Self-pity

Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress.

Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.

--Maya Angelou

Regret

Regret is an appalling waste of energy,

you can't build on it:
it's only good for wallowing in.

-- Katherine Mansfield

On the Journey Towards Hope

written by ALBERT M. LEWIS

The journey towards hope is a deliberate and difficult decision, especially if hope is not a common part of our life and vision.
The extreme opposite of hope is despair, and the middle ground is indecision or ambivalence. Ambivalence prevents us from seeing the mystery and hearing the music of life; all is gray, and sameness surrounds us.
Despair causes us to see and feel everything in consistently blotted blocks of black.
Hope, the consciously conceived child of the desire for more, is parented by the will to dream ever so slightly about a tomorrow, and to let go of what must be cast off from today.
Moses, Jesus, and certain prophets wandered in the desert of doubt and despair for as long as forty days.
Yet each of them allowed himself to be open enough to be delivered, and ultimately to become the deliverer.

Hope whispers to us: "You are alive and loved, even if you cannot fully feel it."
The inhale and exhale of a breath, the blink of an eye, and the yawn of tiredness or boredom remind us that hope is part of the soul yearning to be fully acknowledged.
Hope rises from the soul first as a rivulet and then as a great stream.
It begins in the daring to sleep or nourish ourselves.
Hope is rooted in the soul, watered by tears shed and shared, and given life by us and God.
At any moment, therefore, you are at least halfway there.

- RABBI ALBERT M. LEWIS is the Director of the Emeritus College at Aquinas, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a weekly columnist for the Grand Rapids Press.

Henri Nouwen Society

My Dark Side

Have you ever gone outside at night and looked closely at the new moon?
Or looked through a telescope at the moon when it was crescent shaped?
Although what we see is a bright slice, we know there's more.
Even when the moon is full and lights the night sky, there's a dark side to the moon.

There's a dark side to me too.
I experience jealousy, envy, bitterness, resentment.
How about neediness? Ugh.
Who wants to shine a light on that?

What about all those fears?
Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of intimacy, fear of going broke, fear of the unknown, fear of growing old, fear of being alone, fear of being with someone, fear of losing control.

Then there are other parts of me that I would prefer to keep darkened and out of sight, parts such as greed, dishonesty, intolerance, disgust, hatred.
And what about our manipulative part?
Who wants anyone to see that?

I may even consider the dark side of myself forbidden.
I may refuse to acknowledge it exists because I believe it's wrong.
Not acknowledging my dark side doesn't wish it out of existence, any more than not seeing the dark side of the moon makes it disappear.

Most sane people agree that they don't want to be controlled by their dark side.
I don't want parts of myself - jealousy, neediness, and greed - to control my behaviors.
But when I don't acknowledge these emotions and traits, they can gain control.
The more I try to repress something, the more it fights for its life.

I don't need to be afraid.
I can shine a light on that dark part.
At least look at it briefly.
Acknowledge it's there.
Take some of the pressure off.
Let me be well rounded, instead of one-dimensional.
I don't just have a light side, a bright side.
Nobody is always loving, always kind, always generous, and always thoughtful.

Thoughts To Ponder . . .

We surrender to win;
we give away to keep;
we suffer to get well;
we die to live.

Self-esteem doesn't need an audience.

Forgiveness is the final form of love.

Nothing is so bad that a drink won't make worse.

Don't give up before the miracle happens.

Give me the courage to be imperfect.

Knowing Is The Key

Getting What You Want

The first step to getting what you want in life is knowing what you want.
This may sound obvious, but a surprising number of us are going through life without really coming to terms with the truth of what we want.
There are many reasons for this, and they range from parental influences that curb our imaginations to external factors that curb our ability to take action.
We may feel that getting too caught up in exploring our deepest desires is wasted energy when it seems we want things beyond our grasp.
This is a very practical attitude and has its benefits, but it can be safely balanced with a more imaginative and unlimited approach to the question of what we want.

Perhaps you are 40 years old and find within yourself a desire to be a ballet dancer.
You see the impracticality and seeming impossibility of this idea, so you reject it without exploring it.
But perhaps you should allow yourself to feel this desire and perhaps even take a dance class.
Allowing yourself to participate in ballet in small ways may provide inspiration that leads you in a new direction in life.
And time spent doing what you want to do is never wasted because it generates energy that can fuel the rest of your life.

You can begin to uncover and discover what you want by doing a simple, timed writing exercise. Set your timer for 15 minutes and write without stopping, starting every sentence with the words "I want."
Writing without stopping for a set period of time enables your inner voice to override your inner censor and helps to unearth buried dreams.
It also creates a feeling of relief in the mind, heart, and body.
This exercise can also be practiced orally, alone or in the company of a friend.
You might try doing this exercise every morning for a week, looking back at the end of the week to see what has come up.
Sometimes the simple act of expressing a want actually releases it, while other yearnings retain their energy, asking us to pay attention.
When we pay attention to what we want, we are that much closer to getting it.

DailyOM

Thanks For Your Time

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack, did you hear me?"
"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said
"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important . . . Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture. . . . Jack stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.
"The box is gone," he said
"What box?" Mom asked.
"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.
Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:
"Jack, Thanks for your time! - Harold Belser."
"The thing he valued most was. . . my time"
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.
"Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said.
"Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!"

Already Arrived

In one sense we are always traveling, and traveling as if we did not know where we were going.

In another sense we have already arrived.

We cannot arrive at the perfect possession of God in this life,
and that is why we are traveling and in darkness.

But we already possess Him by grace, and therefore, in that sense,
we have arrived and are dwelling in the light.

But oh!

How far have I to go to find You in Whom I have already arrived!

-- Thomas Merton.
The Seven Storey Mountain.

Information And Inspiration -- Roadmaps Of Life

All the major spiritual traditions serve the purpose of offering us a roadmap to guide us on our individual journeys to enlightenment.
These roadmaps are made up of moral codes, parables, and, in some cases, detailed descriptions of mystical states.
We often study the fine points of a particular ascended master's narrative in order to better understand our own and to seek inspiration and guidance on our path.
In the same way, when we plan a road trip, we carry maps and guidebooks in an effort to understand where we are going.
In both cases, though, the journey has a life of its own and maps, while helpful, can only take us so far.
There is just no comparison between looking at a line on a piece of paper and driving your own car down the road that line represents.

Some people seem well-suited to following maps, while others are always looking for new ways to get where they're going.
In the end, the only reliable compass is within, as every great spiritual guide will tell you.
The maps and travelogues left behind by others are great blessings, full of useful information and inspiration, but they cannot take the journey for us.
When it is time to merge onto the highway or pull up anchor, we are ostensibly on our own.
Strange weather patterns, closed roads, and traffic jams arise in the moment, out of nowhere, and our maps cannot tell us what to do.
Whether we take refuge in a motel by the side of the road, persevere and continue forward, or turn back altogether is entirely up to us.

Maps are based on observations from the past and we are living in the present, so we are the only true experts on our journey to enlightenment.
We may find that the road traveled by our predecessors is now closed.
We may feel called to change direction entirely so that the maps we have been carrying really no longer apply.
These are the moments when we learn to attune ourselves to our inner compass, following a map that only we can see, as we make our way into the unknown territory of our own enlightenment.

No Wrong Response

Experiences Shape Your Reactions

Our view of the universe is largely determined by our experiences.
It is when we are caught off guard by the spontaneity of existence that we are most apt to respond authentically, even when our feelings do not correspond with those of the multitude.
Events that arouse strong emotions with us or are surprising in nature can be disquieting, for it often is in their aftermath that we discover how profoundly our histories have shaped us.
The differences that divide us from our peers are highlighted in our reactions when these diverge from the mainstream, and this can be highly upsetting because it forces us to confront the uniqueness of our lives.

When our response to unexpected news or startling ideas is not the same as that of the people around us, we may feel driven by a desire to dismiss our feelings as irrational or incorrect.
But reactions themselves are neither right, nor wrong.
The forces that sculpted the patterns that to a large extent dictate our development are not the same forces that shaped the development of our relatives, friends, colleagues, or neighbors.
There is no reason to believe that one person's reaction to a particular event is somehow more valid than another's.
How we respond to the constant changes taking place in the world around us is a product of our history, a testament to our individuality, and a part of the healing process that allows us to address key elements of our past in a context we can grasp in the present.

Life's pivotal events can provide you with a way to define yourself as a unique and matchless being, but you must put aside the judgments that might otherwise prevent you from gaining insight into your distinct mode of interpreting the world.
Try to internalize your feelings without categorizing or evaluating them.
When you feel unsure of the legitimacy of your reactions, remember that cultural, sociological, spiritual, and familial differences can cause two people to interpret a single event in widely dissimilar ways.
Examining your responses outside of the context provided by others can show you that your emotional complexity is something to be valued, for it has made you who you are today.

Focussing Our Minds and Hearts

How can we stay in solitude when we feel that deep urge to be distracted by people and events?
The most simple way is to focus our minds and hearts on a word or picture that reminds us of God.
By repeating quietly: "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want," or by gazing lovingly at an icon of Jesus, we can bring our restless minds to some rest and experience a gentle divine presence.
This doesn't happen overnight.
It asks a faithful practice.
But when we spend a few moments every day just being with God, our endless distractions will gradually disappear.

God, this is hard.
Today, allow me to be a Warrior.
Let me be strong.
Let Your voice be clear to me.
Let me hear Your guidance.
My goal today is to serve You, to develop myself to be the kind of Indian person that You would have me be.
To Walk the Red Road must sometimes be walked alone.
Great Spirit, let me walk the Red Road today with the confidence that You are with me.
If I fall, I will quickly ask You to help me know what I should do next.

Our Poverty, God's Dwelling Place

How can we embrace poverty as a way to God when everyone around us wants to become rich?
Poverty has many forms.
We have to ask ourselves: "What is my poverty?"
Is it lack of money, lack of emotional stability, lack of a loving partner, lack of security, lack of safety, lack of self-confidence?
Each human being has a place of poverty.
That's the place where God wants to dwell! "How blessed are the poor," Jesus says (Matthew 5:3).
This means that our blessing is hidden in our poverty.
We are so inclined to cover up our poverty and ignore it that we often miss the opportunity to discover God, who dwells in it.
Let's dare to see our poverty as the land where our treasure is hidden.

Couage

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent.
It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction.
-- Albert Einstein

Balance

As within, as without, our present thought determines our future.
If we want peace outside ourselves, we must first have peace inside ourselves. I
t's not what is going on but how we are looking at what is going on.
We need to keep ourselves in balance.
We must be careful to not get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired.
We must know the times - time to work, time to rest, time to play, time to sleep, time to pray, time to lighten up, time to laugh, time to eat, time to exercise.
There is a saying "The honor of one is the honor of all."
This means when we work with all, we need to also work on one.
We need to take care of ourselves. You cannot give away what you don't have.

Great Spirit, let me walk in balance today.

Remove from me resentment, self pity and self seeking motives.

Let me love myself so I can love my neighbors.

To my cost, I sometimes think that obedience to God's will is an iron cage.
On the contrary, God wills that everyone be saved: set free, made whole, brought to the joy of the kingdom.
Mary pondered and did the will of God not reluctantly, out of sense of martyred duty, but with her whole heart , in delight

The Gifts To Give

Because we have been forgiven, we know the way of forgiveness;
because we have been healed, we know the way of healing;
because we have know God, we know the way of God.
The gifts given to me are the gifts for me to give.

Hand Of Pardon

So wide is God's mercy that no sin is too great or too small for forgiveness.
So much narrower is my charity that I often find the small annoyance the hardest to forgive.
The more often we turn in prayer to the all-forgiving God, the more we will become like him in extending the hand of pardon to others in every daily circumstance.

Thanksgiving

"Thanksgiving" is the meaning of the Greek word "Eucharist."
The attitude of thankfulness is central to Christian spirituality.
The debt of gratitude I owe for God's faithful love can be repaid only in a two-sided coin:
turning to God in thanksgiving and
doing for others what has been done for me.

Seek To Be Meek

Being a servant of God means respecting and loving my Master.
I show my love by fulfilling my duties with joy.
Do I seek to be meek and to serve others, or do we prefer others to serve us?
By serving others, I serve God, but by lording it over others I turn my back on God.

Harvest Of Life

When the burden seems to great to bear, let me put my hope in His promise that joy awaits those who follow the road faithfully to the end and bring home the harvest of life.

Unnecessary

In order to survive in the world and meet my obligations I must make use of material thngs.
But I am often tempted to seek out unnecessary material wealth at the expense of the spiritual wealth which "neither moth or decay destorys, nor thieves break in and steal."

How much time and energy do I put into that which is unnecessary?

Trusting in the Fruits

We belong to a generation that wants to see the results of our work.
We want to be productive and see with our own eyes what we have made.
But that is not the way of God's Kingdom.
Often our witness for God does not lead to tangible results.
Jesus himself died as a failure on a cross.
There was no success there to be proud of.
Still, the fruitfulness of Jesus' life is beyond any human measure.
As faithful witnesses of Jesus we have to trust that our lives too will be fruitful, even though we cannot see their fruit.
The fruit of our lives may be visible only to those who live after us.

What is important is how well we love.
God will make our love fruitful, whether we see that fruitfulness or not.

-- Henri Nouwen

Elder's Meditation -- Growth

There are no short cuts.
Every tree must grow according to the growth plan of the Creator.
Every flower must grow according to the plan of God.
The moon must make its trip around the earth according to God's plan.
Every human being must grow according to the plan of the Creator.
Sometimes we look at ourselves and we think we are not growing but we are always growing.
Because we cannot see it with our mind does not mean it is not happening.
We must be patient with ourselves and let the Creator direct our growth.

My Creator, let me be patient.

Let me realize that You are in charge of all things.

Let me realize that I must grow my roots a little at a time to become strong.

Clinging to God in Solitude

When we enter into solitude to be with God alone, we quickly discover how dependent we are.
Without the many distractions of our daily lives, we feel anxious and tense.
When nobody speaks to us, calls on us, or needs our help, we start feeling like nobodies.
Then we begin wondering whether we are useful, valuable, and significant.
Our tendency is to leave this fearful solitude quickly and get busy again to reassure ourselves that we are "somebodies."
But that is a temptation, because what makes us somebodies is not other people's responses to us but God's eternal love for us.

To claim the truth of ourselves we have to cling to our God in solitude as to the One who makes us who we are.

-- Henri Nouwen

Elder's Meditation -- Peace

The Elders tell us the greatest gift we can seek is peace of mind, to walk in balance, to respect all things.
For us to do this, we must have peace within ourselves and peace within ourselves cannot come unless we are walking the path the Creator would have us walk.
Sometimes the tests on this path are difficult, but we know that each test makes us stronger.

Oh Great Spirit, I ask You to whisper Your wisdom in my heart.
You are the only one who knows
the secret to peaceful living and the mystery of harmony.
Teach me of Your peace, understanding and balance
and guide me onto your good path.

Take Off All

If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light;

take off all your envy, jealousy, un-forgiveness, selfishness, and fear.

Love And Knowledge

Do not be small minded.

Do not pray for gourds and pumpkins from God,

when you should be asking for pure love

and pure knowledge to dawn within every heart.

--Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Great Swan by Lex Hixon

Putting You First

I spend so much of my day striving for material things —
all the things the world tells me I need.
And too many times, I leave my thoughts of you as an afterthought.
Help me today to seek you first in my life.
May you be my first thought in the morning, Lord, and my last one at night.

From Catholic Mom 24/7: Daily Meditations for Busy Mothers

Misery Is Misery

Money may not buy happiness,
but it can buy the type of misery you can live with.
-- Zibby

I think to myself, "Wouldn't it be nice not to have to worry about the washer breaking down?"
"Wouldn't it be nice to drive a reliable car?"
"Wouldn't it be nice to take a Caribbean vacation every year?"
"Wouldn't it be nice not to have to work?"
If I had money, I think, at least I wouldn't have to worry so much and could live comfortably.
True.
Money buys external comfort - plush couches and chairs, luxury cars, beautiful environments.
Money buys what comforts and soothes me on the outside.
And, if I am going to be miserable anyway, why not do it in comfort?
I remember that regardless of my surroundings, misery is misery.

Unless I have the right attitude, I'll find something wrong with whatever I have or don't have.
When I work on improving my inner world on alleviating the real cause of my misery - I know true comfort.
I know serenity.

Happiness

Your success and happiness lie in you. . . .

Resolve to keep happy, and

your joy and you shall form

an invincible host against difficulties.

--Helen Keller

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?

You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,"Hi"

You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift . . . .
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

Faith

Faith dares the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see.

Peace Of Mind

Happiness and peace of mind
are always here,
open and free to anyone.

Hugs

We need four hugs a day for survival.

We need eight hugs a day for maintenance.

We need twelve hugs a day for growth.

-- Virginia Satir

Virginia Satir was an internationally acclaimed therapist.
She knew a lot about what people need to be healthy and happy and to live in good relationships with each other.
She was very smart, and most of her advice was pretty simple.
Take hugs, for example.
What could be more simple?
One person reaching out to touch another person with safety and care.
Very simple.
But what do hugs give people?
Comfort.
Acceptance.
The basics we all need no matter where we are at today.
What is easier for me -- to get a hug or to give a hug?

Higher Power, help me ask for the hugs I need and want today.

Remind me today to offer hugs to the people around me.

And help me feel the big hug You have for me too.

Public Prayer

“Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there:
If you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames.
But gather these straws into a bundle and light them,
and you get a mighty fire,
rising like a column into the sky;
public prayer is like that.”

-- St. John Vianney

The Mystery of God's Touch

The mystery of God touches us

-- or does not -- in the smallest details:

giving a strawberry, with love;

receiving a touch, with love;

sharing the snapdragon red of an autumn sunset, with love.

Marion Woodman

Coming Home to Myself

A New Life

New ideals and new attitudes bring a new life.

Elder's Meditation -- Listening

Sometimes my mind is talking so fast about so many different things that I can't slow it down.
All day long I am judging and making assumptions about everything.

Great Spirit, help me this day to slow down.

Help me to listen - quietly.

Help me to watch carefully.

Help me to listen to my inner voice.

Let me listen and watch only the thing

You would have me observe.

Guide my eyes and my ears to be focused on You.

Grandfather, love me today and teach me to be quiet.

Elder's Meditation -- Balance

The Elders have taught us to balance our lives emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.
If I am out of control emotionally, I get angry, doubtful or erratic, I am out of balance.
If I trigger bad mental pictures of my brothers and sisters, I am out of balance.
If I get too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, I am out of balance physically.
If I don't pray and talk to the Creator daily, I am out of balance spiritually.
To be centered, I must be in balance.
The Creator talks to me in the quiet and still place.
So if I get angry, what I should do first is to pause and get still so I can hear the guidance of the Grandfathers.

Oh Great Spirit whose voice I hear in the winds,

protect and keep me safe today

- hear my prayers.

Gratitude

Gratitude is so close to the bone of life, pure and true,

that it instantly stops the rational mind,

and all its planning and plotting.

Regina Sara Ryan

Praying Dangerously

Forgiving Myself

The most difficult part of ongoing recovery is admitting that I really am a sinner and allowing God to see and forgive me as I am, with all my faults unmended and all my flaws showing, especially the ones over which I seem to have no control.

Have mercy, My Creator, in your kindness:

When I am reluctant to own my sins as sins.

When I am afraid, in my sinfulness, to pray.

When I feel hopeless about the sinful patterns in which we are trapped.

When I refuse to forgive others because I cannot forgive myself.

Forgive what I cannot forgive;

heal what I dare not face;

grant humility where I take refuge in false pride.

Grant me singleness of heart and a stead fast spirit.

Building Bridges

If my Creator rescues me from the snare of my faults, should I not extend the same hand of rescue to my neighbor?
Resentment, grudges, retaliation do not help the one who offends me.
They merely confirm the breach between us.
Bridge-building is costly but the people stranded on both banks are all freed by the bridge.

Lord, hear my prayer:

For peace among warring nations and people,
For reconciliation among friends and relatives
divided by old resentments, and
For freedom from the desire for revenge.

Thought to Ponder . . .

Walk softly and carry a Big Book.

A Short Memory

God is true: he has a long memory for his own promises and a short memory for my failures to keep my own.

Grant me the grace to put my trust in my God's fidelity rather than my own short-sightedness.

Teach me to hear and to live the words I pray.

Make me walk in the ways of truth and beauty today.

Let us strive for purity of heart, poverty of spirit,
and for the character of little children
and we will be threefold blessed.

-- Blessed Peter Favre

Keep Smiling

You can't let adversity get you down.

Keep smiling.

--Violet Hensley

Smiling is first an attitude and then an action.
I don't have to be bubbling over with inner happiness to smile.
On the contrary, if something is bothering me, I may discover it will not loom so large if I focus my energy on smiling at a friend or even a stranger.
Some would label it miraculous how changed a problem seems when I decide to put my energy into smiling at the passersby in my life.
The separation I feel from others is what often gives rise to my problems, regardless of their details.
Giving a smile and getting one in return diminishes my sense of separation.
Problems diminish, too.

Elder's Meditation -- Becoming Teachable

Many of us, when we are young, spend a portion of our lives in learning.

Unfortunately, some of us spend this time learning the hard way.

When we are young we sometimes think we know everything.

Sometimes we do foolish things.

As we get a little older, we realize we don't know anything.

This is when we become teachable.

There is a saying that goes, when the student is ready, the teacher appears.

We usually aren't teachable unless we are ready.

The ancestors are waiting and willing to help.

When we are ready, many beautiful teachers start to come into our lives.

Then we really start to grow and mature.

We are ready for the spiritual lesson.

Creator, help me to become ready and teachable.

Thought to Ponder . . .

Attitudes are contagious.

Is yours worth catching?

Elder's Meditation -- Finding The Red Road

There are certain times in our lives when a voice whispers to us.
The voice doesn't always talk. Usually we hear it best when we are sick an tired of being sick and tired.
Inside of every person is the knowledge that a Supreme Being exists.
Sometimes a restlessness occurs and it makes me feel I need to be doing something or I need to be going somewhere or maybe I start wondering who am I?
Often when this happens, I feel lost.
Inside of everyone is the natural, built-in desire to be walking the Red Road, or to be seeking a relationship with the Creator.
No one can force us to make this journey.
We must make this journey because we want to.
This journey is not on the outside. The path is inside of ourselves.
It is inside that we must begin our search.

Oh Great Spirit, help me this day to look within myself.

If trouble arises, let me realize that it's not what is going on
but how I am looking at what's going on.

Give me Your power this day to conduct
myself according to Your way of life.

Gratitude

Ironically, gratitude's most powerful mysteries are often revealed
when we are struggling in the midst of personal turmoil.
-- Sarah Ban Breathnach