Monday, April 30, 2007

Monday, 30 April 2007 - Tears

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for the tears through which my heart says prayers, with which I cleanse my soul, for which my spirit writes a new poem.

Every man prays in his own language, and there is no language that God does not understand. ~Duke Ellington

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Sunday, 29 April 2007 - Summer day in April

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a summer day in April.

Unbelievable.

Last week, we endured yet another wintry storm complete with snow and 20 degree temperatures.

What a difference a few days can make.

Today, the official high in Colorado Springs was 81 degrees - the first time the temperature has reached at least 80 degrees this year. (Could be worse. In central Arizona, the temperature exceeded 100 degrees.)

Summer in April. Imagine that.

To celebrate the great weather, we headed to Red Rock Canyon for a glorious day of climbing.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Photo: Red Rock Canyon wears spring colors

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Saturday, 28 April 2007 - "You've Got Mail"

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for "You've Got Mail."

Nothing worth watching is airing on network television so it's movie time gain. Since I've been down in the dumps, I choose the romantic comedy, "You've Got Mail." This movie always lightens my mood ... at least for a few hours.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Friday, 27 April 2007 - One very happy dog

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for one very happy dog.

T is either laughing or yawning (take your pick). No matter the weather, time of day or state of the economy, T is one happy, contented canine who loves to pose for his mom.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Thursday, 26 April 2007 - Excellent prospects

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for excellent prospects.

Charles Dickens regularly described his protagonists' "prospects" - rating them poor through excellent based on the person's class standing in Victorian England.

I rate my current prospects in our challenging economy as "promising." Hopefully, they'll soon rise to "excellent" as I refine my get-a-great-job game plan and as my daily actions produce favorable results.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Photo: Daffodil buds always have excellent prospects.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 - One deep breath

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for one deep breath.

Darkness shrouds my judgment today. I could cry at will over how my life seems to be headed towards the nearest black hole. So, I'll shutter my imagination for a few hours, listen to New Age music and think about my garden.

One deep breath.
Some days, that's all it takes to wake me up.

My nostrils inhale one perfect portion of cold North Wind air.

Not icy enough to freeze my lungs, mind you.

It's spring, after all.

But the air is so cool that once the oxygen molecules
Move from my exterior to interior,
The significant temperature differential

Rouses my drowsy senses, jolting me back to reality.


One deep breath shunts my tears to Never, Neverland.

One deep breath plants my feet on the meandering yellow brick road to Oz.

One deep breath finds me lost in Wonderland with Alice.
One deep breath transports me to the Thousand Acre Wood where I'll have tea with Pooh and Piglet.


One deep breath.

I am still alive.

Even after everything.


For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - Happy Birthday, Mom!

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for my mother as she celebrates her 82nd birthday.

We turn not older with years, but newer every day.
~Emily Dickinson
You can only perceive real beauty in a person as they get older.
~Anouk Aimee

Mom's favorite lilac bushes are not yet in bloom, so I'll commemorate the occasion with another sunny yellow daffodil.

Happy, happy birthday, Mom!

For this wonderful blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Monday, 23 April 2007 - Continuity

Dear God:

Today, I am grateful for continuity.

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on. ~Robert Frost

Monday morning.
A new workweek begins.
The sun rises against a cloud-strewn sky.
Fog shrouds the foothills.
When I take T for his morning walk,
I wear a warm coat and gloves.
We pass the high school students waiting for the bus.
Despite the chill, the young men wear shorts and pullover sweatshirts bearing the name of their school or a favorite sports team.
The park is very quiet and still.
The birds, perhaps sobered by the approaching storm, aren't sharing their songs and prayers.
I yawn as T sniffs the junipers.
I really could have used an extra hour of sleep.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Photo: Daffodil bud

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Sunday, 22 April 2007 - Mother Earth

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for Mother Earth and all of her wonders.

There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew. ~Marshall McLuhan, 1964

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
~Native American Proverb

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money.
~Cree Indian Proverb

Take nothing but pictures.
Leave nothing but footprints.
Kill nothing but time.
~Motto, Baltimore Grotto (a caving society)

I am a practicing environmentalist, the liberal Democrat who picks up trash in the park and culvert while others look on. My neighbors and friends who belong to the other party would never, ever join me in my one-woman quest to clean up our neighborhood.

I've given up worrying about their opinions. What matters is what I do and the decisions I make.

Bottomline: I choose to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. I choose to live green.

Earth Day, every day.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Photos: Red Rock Canyon (a great day for rock climbing!)
top: Geese in duck pond
bottom: T enjoys the sunshine and fresh air while we climb.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Saturday, 21 April 2007 - Wild violets

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for wild violets.

I adore the wild violets that grow in the front yard. Despite the difficult growing conditions, they return year after year. I admire their resiliency and determination to truly bloom where they're planted (a lesson for me).

I find them in unlikely places: in the seam that separates the cement gutter from the street's asphalt (top photo), around the wooden mailbox post (bottom photo), along the crack in the driveway.

Wild violets. They're mere presence makes a garden.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Friday, 20 April 2007 - Remembrances

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for remembrances.

A day of memorials.
The hours drain our emotions.
An ordeal most difficult for those who lost loved ones.
Yet, still uneasy for me, someone who simply watches and listens.
Tears, flowing freely, won't bring them back.
Memories, some vivid, some blurred, may soothe heartaches.
Columbine.
Virginia Tech.
I won't forget.
I promise.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Thursday, 19 April 2007 - Songs, dances and smiles

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for songs, dances and smiles.

Earth, ourselves,
breathe and awaken,
leaves are stirring,
all things moving,
new day coming,
life renewing.
~Pawnee prayer

Our resident pair of robins sing merrily as they dig for worms in the garden. The picture-perfect daffodils dance, their golden crowns swaying with the slightest breeze. And, I am trying to smile as I wrestle with my continuing burdens: a heavy heart and an emptiness inside that resists filling.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Wednesday, 18 April 2007 - Lights

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for lights at the end of long, dark tunnels.

It is the wind and the rain, O God, the cold and the storm that make this earth of Thine to blossom and bear its fruit. So in our lives it is storm and stress and hurt and suffering that make real men and women bring the world's work to its highest perfection. Let us learn then in these growing years to respect the harder, sterner aspect of life together with its joy and laughter, and to weave them all into the great web which hangs holy to the Lord. ~W.E.B. Du Bois

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Tuesday, 17 April 2007 - A time to mourn

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a time to mourn.

Gone - flitted away,
Taken the stars from the night and the sun

From the day!

Gone, and a cloud in my heart.

~Alfred Tennyson

32 individuals with lives, dreams and passions as real as mine.
32 smiles, thankfully preserved in photographs.
32 stories that reveal one's hopes, fears and joys.
32 souls lost through senseless violence - here one second, gone the next.
32 questions that end with "Why?" - leading to more questions and few answers.
32 candles lit on a mild spring evening on a college campus in Virginia.
One glowing light for each heart that beat for the last time
On April 16, 2007.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Monday, 16 April 2007 - Light that follows darkness

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for light that follows darkness. Surely, it will. Surely, it must.

My thoughts and prayers rest with the Virginia Tech students, faculty, staff and their families.

All powerlessness stems from failure to understand this point: The key to empowerment, personal and collective, is the understanding that, although darkness stalks the light, the light will always reassert itself. No matter what is happening, the universe is invested in healing. Night is followed by morning. Crucifixion is followed by Resurrection. God always has the final say.
~Marianne Williamson

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Sunday, 15 April 2007 - Tax refund

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for an income tax refund.

Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a refund from the IRS, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. ~Author unknown, from a Washington Post word contest

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Photos: Top: Wild violets proliferate in the front yard.
Bottom: T patiently stands in the front yard garden while I take photos. He says it's boring!

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Saturday, 14 April 2007 - A gardening day

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a gardening day.

New seed
is faithful.
It roots deepest
in the places
that are
most empty.
~Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.
from The Ultimate Faith

Sunshine. Clear blues skies. A slight breeze. Temperatures in the 50s. No doubt about where you'll find me this afternoon. I'm working in my garden.

Front yard. So much to do. Weeding and clearing the garden of unwanted debris. Pruning the larger shrubs and raking the wet, matted mulch to aerate the soil. Taking inventory of the plants that survived the winter and noting those that have not yet returned to life. Admiring the daffodils.

Backyard. Planting the rest of the lupine seeds I collected last summer. Not in the main gardens, however. But in the emptiest of places.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.



Friday, April 13, 2007

Friday, 13 April 2007 - A safe commute

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a safe commute.

I have an appointment with a new client at 3:15 PM. I'm worried that the weather will turn nasty, rendering me helpless on an icy, messy road (although I really like the Camry, I'm missing Mrs. Jeep's 4-wheel drive capabilities).

(whew) Turns out that the storm is a no-show so all's well for my impending commute across town.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Thursday, 12 April 2007 - A "no computer" day

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a "no computer" day.

I am not using the computer for the next 24 hours. I am answering a challenge set by members of a Yahoo! group that espouses a greener, simpler lifestyle.

So, what am I going to do instead of reading emails, checking news headlines, shopping and essentially wasting time?

I will take T for his favorite hike in Red Rock Canyon (the weather service predicts snow so I'll wear a heavy jacket, warm hat and gloves). When I return home, I will scribble (yes, my handwriting is that bad) in a paper journal using a favorite but seldom used Cross pen, sew a top in a pale purple knit fabric (organic cotton with lycra) for my warm weather wardrobe, knit (the lacy shawl for my mother's birthday gift is nearly done), read a few more chapters of The Poisonwood Bible, make Irish oatmeal with toasted slivered almonds and dried cherries for lunch and gingery butternut squash soup for dinner, start spring cleaning ... in other words, all the stuff I used to do before "being online" was a primary activity.

So, here I go ... signing off for at least a day.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 - A sunny, spring day

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a sunny spring day that precedes winter's next visit.

Winter is long in this climate
and spring--a matter of a few days
only,--a flower or two picked
from mud or from among wet leaves
or at best against treacherous
bitterness of wind, and sky shining
teasingly, then closing in black
and sudden, wtih fierce jaws.

~William Carlos Williams
from March, part I

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.


Photo: Daffodil, front yard
Observation: When daffodils sing in their pitch-perfect voices, I'm sure they prefer light opera - the ones with stories and characters that make people smile, even laugh. I'm thinking Offenbach (Tales of Hoffman) or Gilbert and Sullivan.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Tuesday, 10 April 2007 - One fine finch family

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for one fine finch family.

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life.
~John Burroughs

(sigh) It's already April 10. The "for rent" sign still hangs near one primo nesting site - the Christmas wreath hanging on our front door. For the past three years, finch families have successfully built nests and raised their families in this sheltered location.

One potential tenant surveyed the property early this morning (see photo featuring Mr. Finch atop the left pine tree). T and I reminded him that there's still time to build a cozy nest, lay eggs and raise a family. The rent is free and we're very accommodating landlords. In fact, until the fledglings leave the nest, we stop using the front door altogether.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Monday, 09 April 2007 - Reminder to live deliberately

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a reminder to live deliberately.

If you have one hour of air
and many hours to go,
you must breathe slowly.

If you have one arm's length

and many things to care for,
you must give freely.

If you have one chance to know God

and many doubts, you must
set your heart on fire.

We are blessed.
Each day is a chance.
We have two arms.
Fear wastes air.

~Mark Nepo, Freefall


For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Sunday, 08 April 2007 - Hope and faith

Easter greetings from cold and snowy Colorado Springs.

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for Easter's message of hope and faith.

Easter is not a time for groping through dusty, musty tomes or tombs to disprove spontaneous generation or even to prove life eternal. It is a day to fan the ashes of dead hope, a day to banish doubts and seek the slopes where the sun is rising, to revel in the faith which transports us out of ourselves and the dead past into the vast and inviting unknown. ~Author unknown, as quoted in the Lewiston Tribune

The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world. Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice. But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice. ~Henry Knox Sherrill

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Saturday, 07 April 2007 - A back-to-normal household

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a back-to-normal household.

We've been watching our neighbors' dog all week. T is a bit edgy, tired of sharing his toys and our attention. Cabin fever is partly to blame - the cold, snowy weather meant no long walks yesterday and this morning.

Anyway, it's evening and we're back to normal now. One dog and his parents in a household designed to support him and him alone.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Friday, 06 April 2007 - Redemption and hope

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for redemption and hope.


Souls move on, but in their wake, human spirits rise up and renew their courage, their gratitude, their hope. It is nothing short of a miracle.
~Karen M. Jones, founder, www.benevolentplanet.com

On this Good Friday, I am assessing two things: my selfish ways (i.e., my pride manifest through the ugly side of a must-be-in-control perfectionist personality) and my sacrifices (i.e., the selfless setting aside of my needs and desires in order to do things important to others).
Not a pretty picture.

I know that the world does not revolve around me. Never has and never will. Morning follows night regardless of my attitudes, motives, actions, wants, needs and exercise plan. But, in my very tiny corner of the Universe, what I think and do matters to me and those who reside within my circle of influence.


Can I do better?
Yes.
Do I want to do better?
Yes, I do.

Of course, during the Easter season, the lesson du jour focuses on messages of redemption and hope.


For me, it's knowing that each morning I awaken with a proverbial clean slate:

+ My "needs improvement" grades mercifully wiped from my official transcript.

+ Yesterday's wrongs and negativity, forgiven.

+ The score, now an even 0-0, invites me to hit a grand slam for the home team
+ And my precious dreams, still intact and as bold as ever.

Yes, it
is nothing short of a miracle.

For this blessing, I am grateful.


Amen.


Thursday, April 05, 2007

Thursday, 05 April 2007 - Setting a good example

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for my belief in the power of setting a good example. Someone, often an impressionable child, may be watching me.

God, protect us from and keep us from being
Hypocrites
Experts
Attention huggers
Blamers and complainers
Snake oil salespeople
Takers and just talkers
Lone Rangers
Excuse makers
Fair weather workers
Braggers
Magic bullet seekers and sellers and
Quitters.

God, send us and help us to be
Righteous warriors
Moral guerrillas
Scut workers
Nitty-gritty doers
Detail tenders
Long-distance runners
Energetic tryers
Risk takers
Sharers
Team players
Organizers and mobilizers and
Servant leaders,
to save our children.

~Marian Wright Edelman

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Wednesday, 04 April 2007 - A gardener's simple faith

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a gardener's simple faith.

Live in simple faith ...
Just as this trusting cherry
flowers, fades and falls
~Issa (1763-1828)

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Tuesday, 03 April 2007 - Everyday reverence

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for everyday reverence.

Reverence is a gentle virtue;
it is also strong.
Reverence is a tender virtue;
it is also tough.
Reverence is a patient virtue;
it is also persistent.
Reverence bears no ill will toward others;
it is able to bear the ill will of others when necessary.
Reverence is a virtue that prepares us well to belong to one another;
it reaches out to those who have given messages of not wishing to belong.
When we approach others with gentle reverence, we bring gifts and share theirs with us.
~Paula Ripple from "Growing Strong at Broken Places"

The dictionary defines reverence as "a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe, veneration ... derived from Latin, reverentia: respect, fear, awe."

As a child, I had misplaced reverence for intimidating buildings like churches, museums and shops filled with expensive china and fragile blown glass objects. My parents' constant "don't touch" admonitions gave these structures and their contents a false holiness.

As an adult, I've developed a fresh reverence for everyday things that I might otherwise take for granted. Right now, I am thinking of many things including:
  • The clearest, bluest skies - picture postcard perfect
  • A snowcapped Pikes Peak looming over the city
  • Early spring daffodils and irises that decorate the garden
  • Scores of new leaf buds on the viburnum, scrub oak and lilacs
  • Masses of seedlings sprouting in their tiny pots
  • Warm, southerly breezes that herald kite-flying weather
  • Early morning bird symphonies that enliven my routine walks with T
Of course, I still have reverence when I enter a church (but now I understand that I revere God, not the building). I am, however, merely wary when I wander museums and browse upscale china shops. Always the obedient child, I look but do not touch.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Photo: Two sunny, yellow daffodils in front yard garden - first of the season


Monday, April 02, 2007

Monday, 02 April 2007 - The end of March Madness

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for the end of March Madness.

Saturday night, my UCLA Bruins lost their semifinal game, a highly touted rematch with the Florida Gators in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Consequently, I had little personal interest in tonight's final between Florida and Ohio State. Still, I'm glad that Florida won.

Now, our lives can can return to normal - at least until cycling's Giro d'Italia begins in May.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Sunday, 01 April 2007 - No fools day

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for a "no fools day."

I fasted the news today. Did not want to pollute my thoughts with the fools and their exploits that dominate the newswires.

Ahhhhh.

No Huffington Post, Alternet, or Yahoo! News.

No TV talk shows (I rarely watch but my husband likes to listen to the talking heads).

No NPR Sunday (I missed the Puzzle segment - I guess that one time won't hurt me).

Instead, while I sew tops and a dress for my spring wardrobe, I listen to a few favorite CDs: Steve Halpern's Charkra Suite, Mark O'Conner (retrospective CD) and Chant.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Photo: Lupine plant in front yard garden (I like the way each cupped leaf cluster holds one large dewdrop).