I have been getting hit with a growing amount of spam and whatever you call those invaders of peaceful space. It has gotten quite irritating, so I am creating a new blog. I will start posting on the new blog tomorrow.
You can find me at KristenMagisSoulEmbodied
Namaste to all fellow journeyers!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
My Friend, My Inspiration
My dear friend and sister rejoiced in telling me
of her latest feat in eating 'on a dime'.
She can make a complete meal for
her boyfriend and herself for $2.80.
I was only able to accomplish that when
I was living in Viet Nam where the
cost of living is far below that of the US.
For the feat of eating in the most healthy way she can discover,
I love my friend.
For the daily accomplishment of living in her car,
I love my friend.
For getting up every day to face another challenge,
I love my friend.
I rejoice in knowing her, in having the opportunity
to share some small part of life with her,
to learn from her the wisdom-born-of-poverty.
She inspires me to remember gratitude for
all that I am fortunate to have, and to question
whether I really, really need all that other stuff.
And, she makes me smile,
deep in my soul.
I thank you, God, for Michelle.
Bless her this night and all the nights
to come.
of her latest feat in eating 'on a dime'.
She can make a complete meal for
her boyfriend and herself for $2.80.
I was only able to accomplish that when
I was living in Viet Nam where the
cost of living is far below that of the US.
For the feat of eating in the most healthy way she can discover,
I love my friend.
For the daily accomplishment of living in her car,
I love my friend.
For getting up every day to face another challenge,
I love my friend.
I rejoice in knowing her, in having the opportunity
to share some small part of life with her,
to learn from her the wisdom-born-of-poverty.
She inspires me to remember gratitude for
all that I am fortunate to have, and to question
whether I really, really need all that other stuff.
And, she makes me smile,
deep in my soul.
I thank you, God, for Michelle.
Bless her this night and all the nights
to come.
Abundance Mindset
I'm contemplating the scarcity versus abundance mindsets.
If we believe in abundance, we are in concert with nature.
For, nature is all about abundance!
In fact, for nature to thrive, there must be abundance.
There must be abundance in diversity, or Requisite Variety.
Put in human terms, we need people of all colors, races,
politics, beliefs, experiences...to thrive as a species.
Also, there must be abundance in likeness, or Redundancy.
Again, in human terms, we need people who have similar
talents and gifts. We need to offer them together,
not in competition, but in co-operation and collaboration.
We become rich in the sharing of these gifts,
both diverse and similar. And never, never
do the gifts of another detract from or devalue
our own gifts!
Like love that expands exponentially as we love more,
so too, the gifts we offer back to life multiply the benefits
recieved by all, including ourselves.
So, look for diversity in the people around you.
Celebrate, learn from, and support that diversity.
Look for the similarity in the people around you.
Celebrate, learn from, and support that similarity.
There is never too little, only more and more
as we share of ourselves and accept the offering of others.
Namaste
If we believe in abundance, we are in concert with nature.
For, nature is all about abundance!
In fact, for nature to thrive, there must be abundance.
There must be abundance in diversity, or Requisite Variety.
Put in human terms, we need people of all colors, races,
politics, beliefs, experiences...to thrive as a species.
Also, there must be abundance in likeness, or Redundancy.
Again, in human terms, we need people who have similar
talents and gifts. We need to offer them together,
not in competition, but in co-operation and collaboration.
We become rich in the sharing of these gifts,
both diverse and similar. And never, never
do the gifts of another detract from or devalue
our own gifts!
Like love that expands exponentially as we love more,
so too, the gifts we offer back to life multiply the benefits
recieved by all, including ourselves.
So, look for diversity in the people around you.
Celebrate, learn from, and support that diversity.
Look for the similarity in the people around you.
Celebrate, learn from, and support that similarity.
There is never too little, only more and more
as we share of ourselves and accept the offering of others.
Namaste
Blessed by the Creator
Of the manifold gifts that my father gave to me,
one that grows in significance as years pass
is best described through a little story.
Around age 15, and in the full throes of
differentiating my self from my parents,
I threw out my chest and found my strongest voice.
Then, I marched up to my father,
that gentle, wise, compassionate man.
Before I could be melted by his loving eyes,
I boldly, and probably somewhat awkwardly,
declared, 'I don't believe in God!'
Holding my breath and readying for a parlay,
I awaited my father's response.
He looked at me in one long moment.
Then, he smiled and said, 'OK.'
That was it?! Stunned, I turned to retreat.
'OK? OK??? OK???'
I had just denounced the single most important thing
in my father's life, and all he said was, 'OK???'
I don't remember how long it took me to recover
from this most unexpected act of my sage/father.
But, keeping to form was critical at that stage of my development,
so I regrouped and initiated a series of assaults on what
I considered to be the fallibilities of religion and faith and God.
At every turn, my father listened carefully and responded with
compassion, wisdom and love...and no small amount of patience!
Through this journey, I learned so many things and traveled so far.
The lessons from this sojourn with my father some 40 years-ago
stay with me today, shape my perspectives, fortify me with hope,
and remind me that it is okay to question and challenge.
For, through that questioning and challenging,
we delve into our souls to find the answers therein, to find God therein.
All our lives, at any moment, this gift is ours to open.
And, it is given us with compassion, wisdom, love
and all the patience in the universe.
For our growth into self is a sacred journey,
one that is blessed by the Creator of all.
one that grows in significance as years pass
is best described through a little story.
Around age 15, and in the full throes of
differentiating my self from my parents,
I threw out my chest and found my strongest voice.
Then, I marched up to my father,
that gentle, wise, compassionate man.
Before I could be melted by his loving eyes,
I boldly, and probably somewhat awkwardly,
declared, 'I don't believe in God!'
Holding my breath and readying for a parlay,
I awaited my father's response.
He looked at me in one long moment.
Then, he smiled and said, 'OK.'
That was it?! Stunned, I turned to retreat.
'OK? OK??? OK???'
I had just denounced the single most important thing
in my father's life, and all he said was, 'OK???'
I don't remember how long it took me to recover
from this most unexpected act of my sage/father.
But, keeping to form was critical at that stage of my development,
so I regrouped and initiated a series of assaults on what
I considered to be the fallibilities of religion and faith and God.
At every turn, my father listened carefully and responded with
compassion, wisdom and love...and no small amount of patience!
Through this journey, I learned so many things and traveled so far.
The lessons from this sojourn with my father some 40 years-ago
stay with me today, shape my perspectives, fortify me with hope,
and remind me that it is okay to question and challenge.
For, through that questioning and challenging,
we delve into our souls to find the answers therein, to find God therein.
All our lives, at any moment, this gift is ours to open.
And, it is given us with compassion, wisdom, love
and all the patience in the universe.
For our growth into self is a sacred journey,
one that is blessed by the Creator of all.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Caffeine Confusion
It was that second cup of coffee,
the one I so wanted, but
really didn't need!
Armed with caffeine-infused blood
and sleep deprivation, I consider
my options for this fall morning...
run several miles,
feel the caffeine shake my body,
endeavor to capture, on page, one of
the many thoughts ripping through my brain,
think about the homework I was gonna do
but now can't sit long enough to approach...
It was that second cup of java.
It's always that second cup of java.
the one I so wanted, but
really didn't need!
Armed with caffeine-infused blood
and sleep deprivation, I consider
my options for this fall morning...
run several miles,
feel the caffeine shake my body,
endeavor to capture, on page, one of
the many thoughts ripping through my brain,
think about the homework I was gonna do
but now can't sit long enough to approach...
It was that second cup of java.
It's always that second cup of java.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Health and Homelessness...NOT
As the cold morning air vitalizes my sleepy mind,
my body shivers, remembering the warmth of my bed and blanket.
So, after a steaming hot cup of coffee, I make a warm bowl of cereal.
My body rejoices in the waking up, grateful for food, warmth and security.
And, then I remember my friend who is homeless.
She woke up to a chill this morning as well, in the back of her van.
She has no source of heat to make coffee or warm cereal,
and ironically, the food stamps do not purchase warmed food.
So, cold and stiff from another night slept in the back of her van,
she is faced with a choice...eat something cold and uncooked or buy fastfood.
'Why fastfood?!' I wonder. 'That's so unhealthy!'
Yet, in my arrogance-born-of-plenty, I missed a fundamental fact.
The only way she can get warm food is to purchase it with her own money.
And the only food she can afford to buy is dirt cheap, namely, fast food.
So, as I ate my warm, nutritious cereal and sipped on my Vietnamese java,
my friend sat in a fastfood parking lot with her cholesteral-ridden, fatty,
vitiamin-deficient breakfast meal and a cup of darkened water called coffee.
my body shivers, remembering the warmth of my bed and blanket.
So, after a steaming hot cup of coffee, I make a warm bowl of cereal.
My body rejoices in the waking up, grateful for food, warmth and security.
And, then I remember my friend who is homeless.
She woke up to a chill this morning as well, in the back of her van.
She has no source of heat to make coffee or warm cereal,
and ironically, the food stamps do not purchase warmed food.
So, cold and stiff from another night slept in the back of her van,
she is faced with a choice...eat something cold and uncooked or buy fastfood.
'Why fastfood?!' I wonder. 'That's so unhealthy!'
Yet, in my arrogance-born-of-plenty, I missed a fundamental fact.
The only way she can get warm food is to purchase it with her own money.
And the only food she can afford to buy is dirt cheap, namely, fast food.
So, as I ate my warm, nutritious cereal and sipped on my Vietnamese java,
my friend sat in a fastfood parking lot with her cholesteral-ridden, fatty,
vitiamin-deficient breakfast meal and a cup of darkened water called coffee.
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