transfer grace

The idea that we all hold grace is a beautiful one. The far more splendid notion is that we realize this and bring it to all of our interactions with one another.

The word grace derives from the Latin root 'gratia' meaning 'pleasing quality, good will, gratitude and effortless beauty.' Even with high ambitions, it is unrealistic to think that we can relate to others with these qualities all the time.

This is where transferring grace enters the picture. If we can bring kindness and gratitude to interactions, then we must be able to receive them as well. Therefore we can consider grace to be contagious. By giving and accepting grace through our connections with others, we do not have to carry the burden of constantly remembering to deliver goodness, nor do we have the right to blame others for their seeming lack of good will. We can have faith in the cycle of grace, both acknowledged and unseen.

As we embark on a new year, let us become more conscious of the grace that lies within us and welcome this cycle with openness and intention.

yours to hold

Sometimes it's hard to admit or to say out loud that we are special or have wonderful qualities. Maybe it is just that we are humble or that in our society we are taught not to shout our amazing attributes from the rooftops. For some reason, it seems much more common to hear people putting themselves down than singing their own praises.

In a way, just knowing our special qualities is enough. It is almost like having magical superpowers. We have secrets that no one else knows, until we choose to share them. In that way, we are in control of whom we share with and how much we choose to reveal. These beautiful aspects are yours to cherish and hold close.

What are your amazing qualities? Do you acknowledge your spectacular characteristics? Do you reveal them often? Of course, it is up to you, who you choose to share with, but remember, it would be our privilege to be present when you do.

bursting into joy

We often use the term “bursting into tears.” It is an experience most people can relate to. The other afternoon, I had an experience that I can only describe as “bursting into joy.” It was quite a moment, as you can imagine. I was changing the channel on my car radio and a live version of one of my favorite songs came on that I had never heard before. My body rushed with elation and I was smiling from ear to ear.

What a wonderful sensation. Have you ever burst into joy? If so, what gave you such a feeling? If not, can you imagine it? What does it smell like? Does it have a sound? Does it linger in your mouth?

Even if we don’t feel the power of these emotions on a daily basis, sometimes just knowing that they are below the surface is enough… and at any moment, we may just burst!

a part of all that

Have you ever had one of those days where you opted to take the long way home? Today was one of those days for me. Choosing the alternate route allowed me to walk with the sunset.

Dar Williams sings a beautiful line in her song "After All"

The sun rose with so many colors it nearly broke my heart
It worked me over like a work of art
And I was a part of all that

It is an interesting idea to feel a part of something. The "something" piece can vary i.e. a relationship, a community, the universe. I love the notion of being a part of something so much larger than myself that I can almost observe it from a distance. No matter how small I feel sometimes, I am still an important part of the whole.

Maybe my spirit is a part of the sunset I saw today.

And it is a part of me...

here it is...

May I officially introduce, my button frame! It took a long while to get all of the supplies and complete the project, but I did it. I smile every time I look at those lovely buttons. The second step was to figure out what to put in the frame. I found a fabulous quote in Journal of Solitude by May Sarton. I read the book a couple of years ago and had underlined a passage that spoke to me:

It is only when we can believe that we are creating the soul that life has any meaning, but when we can believe it- and I do and always have- then there is nothing we do that is without meaning and nothing that we suffer that does not hold the seed of creation in it.

As it turns out, many people are drawn to this quote. Strangely, this is not the first time that this has happened to me. When I read On The Road by Jack Kerouac, I found a quote that I adored and later came to find out that it is one of Kerouac's most famous lines:

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace things, but burn like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue center light pop and everybody goes "AWWW!"

How do some people have the ability to identify a universal feeling or thought? Where do those words come from? I often think about the various ways we can combine words and the beauty of expression. What are your words? How do you express them?

Let us all be open to the words of others- and ourselves. We may just find some gems...

stars all around

While we were all peeling apples for my mom's apple crumble, I remembered a dear story:

An apple tree grows in a forest under near some tall oak trees. At night, the apple tree sees stars through the branches of the oak trees, and is jealous of the stars, thinking herself not beautiful. A voice tells her to be patient, to wait, and she will see that she too has stars. The apple tree doesn't believe, and continues to stare up at the oak trees and the stars in their branches. Fall comes, and the apple tree sheds her apples, and one of them splits, revealing a star at its core, and the apple tree finally understands.

I learned this story a few years ago and it has always resonated with me. To think about what is really inside of us and inside of others. To remember that we need to be patient (I'm not very good at that). And to know that beauty lies all around us.