Aligning with Grace

I have not made an entry in this blog since January. Since then, I have been knee deep in spiritual practices - trying on new ones - revisiting old ones I may have hastily or inadvertently discarded. As a result, in this very deep and very long winter, it has fed my soul, while I quietly hibernated, waiting for the first signs of spring... These are turbulent times. All one has to do is listen to the news or read the newspaper, which I avidly did most of my life. Now, I find myself needing to step away from the constant maddening assault on my senses in order to nurture my soul and come home to my True Self. Many mornings, after meditation, I walk down to a pond where I sit on a bench, and often meditate some more. But often, I just watch the geese and ducks do their own thing, under a canopy of tree limbs and evergreens, listening to the cacophony of an impromptu chorus of birds happily chirping overhead. One day last week, I noticed all the usu...

It is a time for changes... It is a time for different seasons... The spring season is here, or at least it is trying to make its way into our hearts and lives... I have spent months out of sorts for many reasons, but those reasons need not be explored any more than I have already have... I hear the birds outside, happily singing, and reminding me that change is always possible... I reflect over and over again on so many failings on my part, realizing that each and every one of them is an invitation to grow. These failings hold up the mirror to where I need to do the work. And with whom... I begin again... I put one foot in front of the other, and try to remember that this is a gift denied to many. This day is a luxury many do not have... There is always room for change... There is always room for growth... It is always a time for change... I decide to make small changes today - just simple design changes to my social media platforms. I wish t...

The river is totally calm, and the sky and the trees on the other side of the riverbank are clearly reflected in the waters... Every once in a while a bass jumps out of the river and splashes about with such joy, it seems as if it is dancing! There are weeks at a time I come down to this river and never see one at all, but today, they are very active, and every few minutes another one hurls itself heaven-ward, sending out undulating concentric ripples into the stillness and the silence... The bass are the only ones seeming to enjoy the river this morning, and myself of course. I have come to do my Loving-kindness meditations, and most especially pray for a soul facing her fifth surgery in recent years, with one more to go... The prayers tumble out of me, as if they are being prayed through me, only to be punctuated by the occasional splash of the fish. One of them jumps several feet above the water with its mouth very wide open, momentarily suspended in mid-air, as if it has some...

Blossoms explode everywhere, in a symphony of colors - finally, spring has awakened, arising from its deep slumber - and everything is in bloom everywhere at the same time! The daffodils are dancing - cherry trees, Bradford Pears, and forsythias - clothed in delicate blooms embroidered by nature - are making a triumphant display of their spring tunics, just about anywhere my eyes choose to rest... I go for a walk on this magnificent day, gorgeous beyond words, grateful for this season and the beauty that it brings... I am in awe and mindful of every delicate flower and emerging bud, so triumphant and glorious, bursting with life... I watch a Cardinal joyously dancing from perch to perch... I reflect on sacred time spent with a soul companion traversing the greatest challenges of her life, tasting in my heart, the beautiful prayer that arose from her own, simply titled, "Glorious Day." She is told by a gifted seer, that while there are difficult times yet to navigate, the ...