Aligning with Grace

Painting is like meditation... Painting IS a meditation! I have spent the last few days painting walls, with a few more left to do... This morning, as a new basement door and storm door were being installed, I took a few mo ments to carefully inspect the painted walls and note the spots I had missed earlier this week, as I mentally reflected on my work. What I realized, as I painted, is that I am attracted to this endeavor because of its meditative qualities. It is an activity that is solitary, and one which requires both practice and concentration, if one is to become "better" at it. Earlier in the week, when I began the project of painting the upstairs hallway, I did not know if I would complete it in a day. And it did not matter. I gave myself totally and wholeheartedly to the task at hand. Later on the second day of painting, I posted this as my status on Facebook: "If you concentrate and surrender, you are in the flow and become one with the painting and...

There are times in this life, when we are taken care of... There are times in this life, when others take care of us... Life is truly an endless dance of giving and receiving... There are times when we are in great need of prayers, of support, of unconditional love - and the caring of selfless souls who spill out the very essence of their souls for us, touches us profoundly... There are times when we are the ones doing the spilling - as we respond to those in need - be they loved ones, or perfect strangers... St. Francis of Assisi once wrote, that in giving we receive... Mother Teresa of Calcutta urged everyone, to give until it hurt... St Jeanne de Chantal taught that we cannot always do great things - but we can always do small things with great love... And I have come to realize, my place in this life is not to make a big splash - but to go about my work quietly, allowing my interior life to flourish and blossom... Jesus taught that we are to love one another as God ...

What is your way? Which way do you walk? What path do you follow? I receive this in my inbox, and it seems so appropriate. I reflect on its deeper meaning for me: "I walked this way, I walked that way, and then I walked MY WAY." We have begun a new month, and I continue to receive messages from everywhere, and everything. I will share more about this in my next entry... On the first day of this month, I lost the last of my great aunts, and the youngest of my beloved grandmother's sisters. She truly walked her way. She lived life on her own terms. And her way, like my grandmother's, was the way of love... She touched lives near and far that cut across all levels of class or racial distinctions. She was beloved by many, and my own memories of her are very fond... In fact, her grandchildren and great grandchildren, simply referred to her as "Love." Not "Nonna," not "Grandma," but "Love." Quite a testament to any living soul! And to...