Purple Among the Green

Walking, 

searching for the beauty in the everyday.

I spy a clump of purple in the expanse of green.

Short yet tall compared to the sea of green.

And I am hopeful. 

Walking, 

searching for the beauty in the everyday.

I spy a new clump of purple in another expanse of green.

Again, I am hopeful.

Everyday as I continue walking,

searching for the beauty in the everyday,

I spy new clumps of purple among the expanses of green I travel.

The purple clumps whispering

Hope in all things,

Spring is coming,

the season of Lent is here,

Grow your faith,

Grow in unexpected places.

Messages sent and received 

from the purple clumps of crocuses

among the expanses of green.

Listen more, see more

As I sat in the classroom of silence,

a coworker came over to sit near.

She wanted to talk.

The intention I set on a previous day

whispered, "Listen more"

So I willed myself to put aside my will

and I listened.

As the conversation came to a close, 

I withdrew my attention, 

and we both steadied our gaze on the window.

 The shadows from dormant stalks

fall across the glazed window. 

Grey and white in contrast to 

the other color filled windows.

A blank page, clean slate, 

to plant ideas, 

Spring is about to be sprung. 

Serenity

Serenity is

a collection of deep breaths

filled with blue, purple and green bubbles

when popped -

refresh,

calm 

the racing thoughts away.

What are you feeling?

 

What are you feeling?

When words collect and speak wisdom to your heart, you must collect them, reflect on them, and share them with others.

Listening to the radio, the announcer said these words her husband spoke to her when she was having a teary moment.  

“What are you feeling?” 

Not why are you crying.  (Laden with annoyance)

There are a myriad of reasons why you might be teary or engaged in a full blown snotty mess of a cry.

Asking “What are you feeling?’ is a deeper dive into an empowering conversation.  Without blame or shame or discounting reasons.  An acknowledgement of what you are feeling is real.

And as I embrace this thinking, it will take intentionality to undo years of the “why” and embrace the going forward with “what”.  

Catch myself.

Try again.

Flip the switch.

Embrace the emotional beauty in each moment. 

Towards the end of my mom’s life, 

after announcing I was pregnant,

she cried. 

Later she wrote me a letter, (which I hope to rediscover) in which is etched in my memory, 

“Cry when you are happy, and cry when you are sad.”

A student asked me “Do you ever cry?” 

I replied “When I fall down” 

 

Now to a first grader, my words mean scraping a knee on the blacktop. 

Rereading “When I fall down”,  

I hear, “when I fail”

She cries when her brother is mean to her. 

Crying is a voice to be heard and honored.

What are you feeling?

Dusting Off

Dusting off the virtual cobwebs.

Twelve notebooks filled with scribbles

of thoughts and experiences

And a blog that has been ignored.

Time to listen to the voice 

that has found its way to the page,

yet has been bound 

to the confines of 

the notebooks

that fill the bag

left in the bottom of 

the closet. 

Time to 

clear off the dust that had 

settled

on the surface

and revisit the intention. 

Day 31

I start typing, 

then I backspace to erase it all.

Small pieces make a bigger puzzle. 

Serving as a Eucharistic Minister for the first time

and in awe of this experience, 

and reminded that each person has a faith journey that share similarities, yet is unique to them. 

Happy that my house is full this morning, 

as everyone makes their way to the kitchen for breakfast. 

Grateful that I had time to go to Yin Yoga with Grace,

and practice self-care. 

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather and taking the dog for a walk with Danny and Kayla.

Making a departure from our usual routine of cooking on Sunday afternoon, 

and calling for a pizza and salad as everyone gathered to watch March Madness, 

Yet continuing to abstain from pizza. 

Purchasing a new composition book to use for quarter 2 in my spiritual journaling quest. 

Sitting now and typing my the final entry for the March Slice of Life challenge.  

March Madness at its best. 

Writer's Thumb?

My thumb has been drawing attention to itself.

Every now and then.

Sometimes it is a whisper, 

"Hello, are you sure you need to have such a tight grip?"

Other times it is nagging, 

"Give me a rest." 

I have been trying to figure out what has changed.

Is it aging? 

Is it the dog pulling me in a different direction on our daily walks? 

Is it the grips during hot yoga when I squeeze my hands together tightly, 

thumb over thumb, and holding the pose? 

Is it the writing that I have been doing by hand? 

I just googled thumb grip, and I know it is not sore due to gaming. 

I am unsure of the culprit; however, I am listening to my thumb, 

and loosening my grip. 

Winner, winner

Walking into the meeting room, 

I was excited to see that there was going to be a raffle. 

I wrote my name and included an explanation point!

After lunch, 

it was decided to begin the raffle,

 as there were many goodies to be raffled off.

The biggest prize was going to go at the end of the meeting. 

Tickets were drawn and names announced.

Each time my name wasn't announced

I thought to myself, I am going to win the big prize. 

With six tickets left in the container, it was time to get back to the agenda.

At the very end, 

it was time for the big prize- a Bloxels kit. 

Finally, 

my name was announced.

It must have been the exclamation point! 

Simple Things

It has been 15 months since undertaking the no clothes shopping challenge. 

As I result the only store that I regularly shop at is the grocery store. 

The other day I was running errands with my daughter.

On her list was hangars. 

I began rambling about how long it had been since I had been in TJ Maxx, 

talking animatedly 

about the fact that I was about to walk in the store 

that I had not made any purchases in for over a year

and how I was prepared not to buy anything. 

I was there as part of her errand. 

She turns to me and says "It's for hangars mom. Don't get excited."

And I had to burst out laughing.

Brief

Keeping it brief. 

I don't think it is supposed to take 2 hours today, 

Plus another hour from the other day 

to write a two page brief. 

That is all I can muster, 

after wrestling with a brief. 

Melting

There is nothing better than scooping out a large spoonful of peanut butter out of the jar, 

placing the spoon in your mouth, 

and letting the peanut butter melt in your mouth, 

savoring the awesomeness 

and remembering days from your youth, 

when you used to do the same thing 

after a long day 

to melt your worries away. 

Finish Line in Sight

A couple of finish lines are in my sight,

a project that I am wrapping up, 

taxes,

a homework assignment, 

And the slice of life challenge. 

So close, 

yet, 

at this time is where I feel like I have nothing left to give. 

Too much noise.

I must take care

to listen to the voice inside, 

"You got this.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Chunk it.

Just keep going. 

Progress over perfection. 

Finish strong." 

Thinking about the races I have run, 

and the feeling you get when you see the finish, 

yet are still unsure how you will ever cross it. 

"Just put one foot in front of the other."

Trip to Rita's

The first trip of the season is always a trip down memory lane. 

Favorite flavors from the previous season are debated.

Spring is in the air and it is time for Rita's. 

What will it be today?

A large vanilla custard gelati with mango and wild black cherry ice.

Always Leaving Something Part 2

Popping my trunk,

I see my yoga bag. 

Still trying to solve the mystery of the breakfast left behind. 

The faint scent of bananas 

fills the air. 

Where is it coming from? 

Bringing the yoga bag into the house, 

I start emptying the bag of dirty clothes. 

The scent of bananas becomes stronger and then

Viola! 

Mystery solved. 

I assumed I left my breakfast from the day before at the studio. 

Instead, 

I left it behind

in the deep bottom of my bag. 

Now where is my mouse? 

Always Leaving Something

Once it was my yoga mat, 

then my Fitbit and watch, 

my coat, 

my conditioner, 

my towel.

Always leaving something. 

Trying to check 

and double check

before leaving class- 

Have I left anything?

Of course, today I should have triple checked, 

stomach growling, after

my breakfast

left behind

Always leaving something. 

What Is It That Makes You That Way?

"What is it that makes you that way?" 

Reading inspirational books, 

listening to the whispers between the pages, 

wrestling with the ideas and concepts

searching for the takeaway- 

the call to action,

the gentle nudge,

the heart imprint 

influencing the next steps of the journey.

God working through the words in the book.

That is what makes me this way.

The question was posed in today's Dynamic Catholic post: Necessary, Possible, Impossible. 

Educare

Educare...

to draw out

with

questions, 

example, 

stories.

Envisioning the drawing out 

as a thread, 

that when pulled,

keeps advancing,  

sometimes quickly, 

and at other times

more slowly-

tugging the thread gently

as the tangle releases.

Aha! 

Inspired by today's Dynamic Catholic reflection titled Virtuous. 

Underneath Everything I Own

Months ago I listened to the audiobook 

The More of Less, 

then passed it to my husband. 

Conversations around the content 

inspired minimizing- 

29 minutes,

a day, 

to tackle the mountain.

Today

taking a crack at the mountain, 

Having set the timer for 29 minutes

discovering a box 

of misplaced items.

Where did this come from?

Pulling out an item at a time, 

Ahh, this must be from the clean out of his car. 

And as I looked down at the audiobook, 

I realized that there was more to the title, The More of Less-

Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own.

Did I mention that the audiobook was from the library? 

Also...did I mention that when I received the overdue notice

I swore that the item had been returned? 

Still searching for the life I want under everything I own. 

Which picture

Which picture best represents...

...something you are grateful for?

As an opening activity,

this was the story card I chose. 

From the other photographs, 

the photograph of the donuts stood out,

for the photograph

told a story that

no one else could imagine. 

Celebratory donuts to celebrate an engagement.

The donuts have been eaten, 

the engagement continues to be celebrated.