Milestones

Today I turn 70. For all the young people reading this, in many ways I still feel like the young woman I was at 21 or 32, but time marches on. I am just as idealistic but thankfully not as cynical! I am still moved by beauty, truth and love. I am still optimistic about my future!

There are so many things I still want to experience, so many places I still want to see, so much more to give back to life. Over the Christmas break, my sisters, niece and I enjoyed a vacation in Cozumel, Mexico. There I did something I had never done before, I had a foot massage from  hundreds of Garra Rufa fish. It felt strange; it sort of tickled, but I did it.

Garra Fish Nibbling my Feet in Cozumel

Of course there have been many changes in my life and every up or down has left an imprint on my personality, my choices, my sense of self. 

So as I am beginning a brand new decade, I want to LIVE my values! I want to start right with generosity and love. I want to "walk confidently" and generously toward my dreams. I want to live without regret. 

I want to speak up when I see injustice. I want to be bold and full of confidence, choosing only the path that will bring me happiness and satisfaction. 

This past decade has flown by. I remember clearly my 60th birthday and some of the hopes and dreams I had then. Some things I have accomplished, others are still on my list.

I want to be forgiving and generous to myself and others. I want to stop criticizing any aspect of physical self, including my body, weight, size, wrinkles and shape. I want to perceive and accept my unique beauty. I want to be grateful for "looking like my mother" rather than seeing it as a kind of curse. I want to be less judgmental of myself.

I want my default setting to be generosity of spirit.

I want to see good everywhere. I want to demonstrate the Law of Mind and Spirit as Ernest Holmes called it. I want to see Love in action in my body, my life, my work, my ministry, my finances, and my friendships. I want to know that I have made people's lives better. And from this moment on, to trust Divine Mind, through me to guide me to my highest and best GOOD!

My Sisters and Niece at Chichen Itza

My Sister Taking a Picture

Me Still Trying to Get a Good Selfie!

What is Essential to the Heart

Today my sister called me for comfort; her seventeen year old grandson had been killed in a car accident the night before. I was shocked at the news and felt inadequately prepared to be of service to her. I heard myself saying -- words meant to comfort and yet meaningless really.

Avery was a handsome young man, just preparing to start University this autumn. I prayed with her and continue to pray for her but truly words are not enough in a case like this. 

I know that life is eternal and that Avery's life continues but the fact that he will no longer show up on his grandma's doorstep (in a recognizable form that she can see and hug),  is a cold, hard  fact! I listened to my sister's heart-breaking, sobs of grief. And I cried too.

When I called my mom to let her know, she just kept repeating, "I don't know what to say." Sometimes we feel inadequate and don't extend our heartfelt condolences. Sometimes we tell ourselves that we cannot help make a difference. Yet our very being makes the difference.

It is true of the human condition that we will have times when we don't know what to say. Perhaps there are no right words to say. Perhaps we had never imagined being in such an experience. 

Antoine de Saint Exupery, in The Little Prince wrote: "Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

I love this little book and included a portion of it in the video above. Everything that we have taken the time to love, we have tamed and are responsible for. When my sister was a newborn, I remember promising that I would love her and always protect her from life's thorns. I haven't really been able to do that. It wasn't really mine to do. What has always been mine to do is to love her. 

Every guru, spiritual master, minister, rabbi or teacher has taught that everything begins and ends in love. When we are filled with love we are not filled with worry. When we are filled with love, we compassionately care for ourselves and each other. What is essential to the heart is inaudible to the ears as well. We hear with the inner ear.

Come to those moments when your friends or loved ones are suffering,with love, a shoulder to cry on and a listening heart. That will be enough.

When something unthinkable happens, what do you do? How do you handle it?