An evening of Fun

Sometimes a person needs just an evening of pure fun and energy. Nothing heavy to ponder or think about or figure out and nothing of any real meaning.

So tonight I go to see Momma Mia--the musical with Abba songs. My daughters have all went through the phase of listening incessantly to Abba and loved the movie...so we all go to the Broadway Play and just have fun. It is always nice to get some time to share something like this with the kids--of course the boys are home with video games and pizza!!

We all have our own paths

Recently a friend did something that annoyed me. Hurt my feelings. As I mulled it over I realized that what was happening was this person was on their path. And sometimes that means me getting out of the way so they can continue. Often what we feel is a hurtful event was simply another person having to move ahead and follow their path. Our paths will often intersect with another's and briefly we meet someone and hear their story. Sometimes our paths run parallel and what fun that is to have a "partner in crime" and then sometimes they move away and that always seems sad. We see it as failure somewhere or betrayal or unkindness but really its just Time to move apart and go on.
It is hard for us to know when to let go--we hang onto relationships almost obsessively--wiling to do anything to keep this person in our life even when we know its not doing us an good or we make excuses for their behavior that is unkind with things like overworked, or having a bad day or just tired. If we would instead step back and let them go on--yes grieving is part of the process and sadness but ultimately it is better for us to let others go on their path so they will let us go on ours.

Ultimately what I think of as unkindness is really a freeing of my energy. It is a gift allowing me to sally forth and see where my path is going and be glad that others can also do that.

So..get out of someone's way... find your own way... and be thankful for the time together!!!

Life is a puzzle...

is my thought.
As life is put together by us, we often have a piece or two we cant quite fit. Eventually if fits or we make it fit or set it aside because we all like a well defined puzzle.
I can remember a time in my life--maybe even a few times--where all the pieces seemed not to fit..i was looking at a puzzle of my life and nothing worked, nothing matched, no edges and no color came together. I can remember sitting and thinking WTF has happened to my life and why is nothing working?
Slowly though as I watched, the pieces began to make sense..over time my life has become a little more clearer. I still have pieces of it I am holding...but I know they will fit at some point.
I also have come to believe while it is normal and ok to have a few pieces not fitting in my life--- too many not fitting is a sign from the Universe that something aint right and I MUST pay attention.
Recently I had this experience again with a situation. I found myself holding one piece that didnt fit, then another, then another and before I knew it, I had several pieces that were not part of MY puzzle.....and I knew I could not ignore it any longer. I had to take action and DO something about this issue.
What is even more interesting is I was in the shower where I do most of my thinking (along with driving) and it came to me what I was doing...Denying my intuition about a situation and now i had an out of control puzzle!!!!!
I have learned not to ignore my intuition as it always tells me something I dont want to hear and later AFTER I have ignored it, I see where I was wrong and I vow NOT to ignore it again. But I do. And I regret it.

Confronting someone about how they treat me IS hard for me to do. I have spent a lifetime nurturing everyone but myself, accepting hurtful behavior to me in the name of love, and ignoring signs that someone is being dishonest with me as well as themselves.

So..... I am going to take these pieces of my life and as soon as I validate them and accept them as truth..they will fit into my life in such a way that I will understand what was happening.

Life is a puzzle... and I hold the pieces.

Life is what it is and nothing more.

I hope all is good with you. I do miss you.....the well you.
It is a tough road and one you felt needed to be done by yourself without solid resources. I hope that was true.
It is your journey not mine so hang on tight and know there is an end.

An interesting movie

So we watched The Answer Man. And it was good.
Often a movie can spark ideas, create communication and expand beliefs. A couple of quotes from the movie I found interesting
" something is what it is and it is not something else" We can deny something as it is but we know it is what it is. If and when we finally admit that we can then proceed to dealing with it in a mature way. (or not so mature as the case may be :)

The writer of this movies was describing a character that he created..this character has some issues but the writer said he did not want to make this character looking for the light but rather having the light and trying to hold on to it.
That was a thought provoking statements for me.
Looking for the light is something people do..light meaning beliefs, morals, god/goddess etc. I think we easily find those lights yet the hard part is hanging on to them. Friends, society, culture and our own waveringness can do so much to take that light away from us. Its hard making a stand then to have it judged or criticized or made to seem less than anothers stand.
Going through life and hanging on to our own light is hard and can be lonely and can be sometimes more than we can do.

One character asked whether we had free will or was it all destiny...the answer he gave was free will to move towards our destiny or away from our destiny..... I loved it!!!

Overall I loved the humor, the quirky characters and the spiritual message from all the different paths the characters were on. How we have our own answers--people come into our lives to help us along the way if we are awake enough to notice them. They are the messengers from Her the Divine. They dont have our answers but they do have guidance.

If we all looked at people around us as the messengers from Goddess and observed them-- how much better off would we each be? The person who is causing me the most angst or hurt is really sending me a powerful message and giving me some strong guidance.

I. Need. To. Pay. Attention.

So I recommend The Answer Man.

Rebuttal Of The Dalai Lama’s Denigration of Sex By Janie Rezner

Rebuttal Of The Dalai Lama’s Denigration of Sex By Janie Rezner

So the point is?

I know conservative Christians who approach every issue with "that person just needs to find God and a personal relationship with Jesus" as THE definitive answer. It bothers me and I am pondering why.
First..who can know what another person needs spiritually? Just because one needs it themselves does not mean another needs it. And to ASSUME one knows what another person needs IS arrogance on a grand scale. Adversity IS our own path--we have adversity because that is life and that is what changes us to what We are to be. Adding Jesus to the mix doesnt change THAT.
So first off maybe the person needs a hug, or maybe just a compassionate ear or a hot meal without sermonizing or sometimes just let them feel the sorrow as Part of life.
Then the question is What will having a personal relationship with Christ Actually Accomplish??? It wont take away the adversity..it wont take away sorrow or give them a hot meal and a hug. And those with JC dont have happier lives than those who dont have JC as a constant companion or have sadder harder lives. If a mom has a sick child and you say..Oh I will pray for you and then walk away when INSTEAD you could have brought her a meal, watched her other children while she got some sleep or even a shower and actually helped in a tangible way rather than pass it off as a spiritual issue.
So.... adversity is part of everyones life-- JCers and non JCers. Happiness and Joy is part of everyones life, as is sorrow and loss. JCers dont have more blessings or less cursings as neither do non JCers...
SOOO again i ask...whats the point?

So the arrogance of assuming one knows what another needs spiritually bothers me and the feeling that prayer is simply the best one can offer and that way one can avoid getting messily involved with anothers life..after all we DO have things to do!!!!!

Thats the things that bother me. Arrogance and No compassion that DOES something.

I believe when we do leave this life we will know the reasons for our adversity and our sorrows and we will Smile and say...Oh yeah now I see why this happened and I needed THAT experience to move into a newer understanding of compassion or understanding of my place in the human condition. Adversity IS that which teaches us LOVE.

Leave JC out of it..there is NO point to offering him as a panacea for lifes hardships--but chicken soup might be!!!!!

Day of the Dead celebration

Was awesome as usual!! Every year a local art gallery does this very elaborate Day of the Dead celebration. Alters are set up all over the place, candles lit, skeletons are everywhere and good food and music. People set up their alters to their loved ones or even celebrities or events where many died.
I stopped in front of one that showed a girl of about 4 years old-- blonde and cute as a button and a very beautiful alter. Nothing about how she died or when--just a visual memory of her.
As i stood there a woman came up to me and said...this is my daughter. I said it is a beautiful alter and I know she feels it. I asked if she would like to share about her daughters death...she teared up and said she was 32 and committed suicide 7 years ago. By now of course I am tearing up and I hug her and just hold that sacred space for her to share with me her story. I was honored for her to tell me and I am glad i was there at that moment for her and for me.
Someone sharing a painful part of life is an honor we dont often stand still for..we are all in such a hurry that stopping and breathing and honoring someone else is not something we do often. She told me how healing making this alter had been and how grateful she was that she was able to do this. Healing is a long process no matter the circumstance. So often people tell us after a few weeks to just get over it already...and yet for those who have felt loss, it is just not that easy. Grief comes and goes, strikes at odd times when a memory comes in and still is a visceral feeling in the heart. Over time it is less and less but do we or should we even really "get over it"? Death or loss is hard but it is also what can shape us and mold us and help us have more compassion for those around us. How we get over it is our own personal path and none can tell us how to do it. None can know how long we will take to heal and process.
It is a journey of alone.

I am grateful to this women for her story and I know her daughter felt the love.

Crossroads of life

I suppose if life stops giving me crossroads I will know its over. Hecate is the goddess of crossroads..standing there with her hounds reminding me there are choices to be made. And they are made with my thoughts or not--and there isnt always a right one but the one that is right for now. I believe all choices lead to the same place but the ride is different. How we choose the scenic road is often not even conscious. We think its the easier path or the one everyone thinks we should do, or the "right" one by our own beliefs. We are guilted into decisions or forced to accept others idea of what is best for us. People seem to think they know what everyone else needs on a spiritual level. Yet how can anyone know what is best for another? Adversity Is part of life and we all need it to change and grow and evolve into ourselves-- to say someone needs to find GOD or go to church or any other solution to skip the adversity is the height of arrogance. Just let someone alone..let them figure out the crossroads and which way is the way to go. Life is about the experience and the scenery it takes as we sally forth and those we meet and those who touch our hearts.