Hidden Beauty

How often have you driven from one place to another and when you arrive you have little recollection of the drive?  This happens so often because we fail to be present to the moment.  Hidden treasures are all around us.  Energy which is there and slips through our fingers, literally.  Beauty beyond that which we see.

Recently, I watched the movie "Collateral Beauty" and the focus of the title is buried in the movie only to be recognized when the movie concludes.  The premise is how there is collateral beauty buried in the pain and intensity of life.  Life's journey is not always easy and spiritual growth is found in finding beauty as we suffer grief.  Learning about self comes from the breakdown of the ego.  So many lessons and sometimes hard to see.

I take all my own photos so I can use them freely and never be worried about copyright or infringing on another's work.  Recently I was on a walk with a 90 year old woman and we were loving the flowers in her neighbourhood.  My favourite pictures are closeup's of flowers.  I took this picture of a beautiful bush all in her glory.  Today I used the photo ... As I was posting it I saw the beauty I had captured.  I saw the deep love of the divine there in the photo reminding me there is life around me all the time, if I simply stop look and see.   This beautiful creature is working away on my behalf and I captured the work being done.

As a child, parents always had the talk about "the birds and the bees" and I honestly do not know how this became linked with where babies come from and sex.  All I know is when I talk with my grandchildren I am going to tell them about the birds and the bees, and my story will be about finding the collateral beauty or the hidden beauty in our lives.

Blessings and love on this Sunday!  Come together, Come together in spirit and in song; the song of the buzzing bee!

Triathlon Completed! What's Next?

This aging adult is looking for challenges in life and does not fear to go where others are scared to turn.  I do this so I can walk into the darkness of change and return to guide others to challenge themselves.  In working with aging adults, I now regularly work with 90+ year old people.  Often they are smart and well versed and seeking community to keep active.  The FitMinds program sites one of the five areas for a healthy lifestyle as being "socialization".   This first critical area to a healthy lifestyle reminds a person to remain integrated in the community and to build a growing network of family and friends.  "Social Capital" is as important to a healthy lifestyle as is capital in real estate or investments.  This capital investment in your life brings about abundance as it grows and matures.

At the race yesterday we were threatened by a passing storm.  It was a time of community where anxious runners were waiting, feeling cold and wet, to get started.  The clouds hovered and threatened to chase people away and some caved into the threat.  Others moved together, in community, under a tree to ward off some of the pelting rain only to find warmth and friendship in each other.  I met two lovely women who we connected immediately. I am sad I did not have a pen and paper to get contact information.  That being said these women reminded me how valuable community and togetherness can be.

I was one of 24 participants in the 50 - 59 age group.  I came in 8th in my age group in just under an hour.  Fifty-nine minutes of challenging my body to perform and push it to the limit.  Fifty-nine minutes talking to myself, coaching and reminding myself that race day is the reward and not the prize.  It is a measurement of hard work and stamina.

So I did it!  A 2.5 km run then a 10 km bike ride followed by a second 2.5 km run.  There was to be a swim, however the threat of lightening caused this to be cancelled and replaced with the first run. Anything can happen on race day, just like anything can happen in life.

Barbara Brown Taylor's book, Learning to Walk in the Dark, is a good read for those seeking to venture into the unknown and move with stealth and finesse.  This book is one I return to often to remind myself to keep going, stay the course and know the final reward is a long and healthy life.

This aging adult fears not to look for challenges and will go where you fear to go.  I can walk with you if  you like and will come to your aid in the darkness.  Grief over life's losses begin with going into the dark and feeling that which is so important.  One must enter the fire and be challenged to come out stronger.

61 Isaiah Street, is a place where I live.  A place where the divine energy comes upon me and anoints me with love, heals my broken heart, liberates the prisoner in me, comforts me as I mourn, and gives me the oil of gladness along side of my tears.  For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and a garden brings its seeds to blossom, this divine energy brings shoots of hope and eternal understanding of goodness.

Be strong, come live with me at 61 Isaiah Street, won't you?

Little green sprout ....

A message from 11 Isaiah Street - Then a shoot will sprout from the stump, and from the deep roots, a branch will blossom.   The spirit of the divine will rest on you, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a sprit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and reverence for the source energy.

Today  I was training for the triathlon coming in two weeks and the day was grand for this work.  I was huffing and puffing after a 12.5 km ride on my bike and then was doing a 4 km wun (my term for combining walking and running).

I am in the country where the fields are a checker board of process. One particular field was turned over so neatly and layed flat, home for birds to pick at worms or upturned bugs.  I thought how beautiful this dirt field is.  As I looked closer it came to my attention it is not just a dirt field.  It is the vision of potential.  It represents all that is good in the world.

It represents the earth from which shoots of life come each year over and over again as the season turns. With closer inspection I could see there were small shoots of green coming from this field.

This field holds the capacity to produce more than its weight in goodness and profit.  Profit not in dollars, but in pride and food and worldly connection.  I had to stop there and be thankful for this day.

The rest of the wun was so beautiful and I honestly did not want it to end.  It is a perfect day and I am created in a perfect image where I can choose to believe in abundance and prosperity even in the face of what appears to be defeat.

As I hopped on the bike to ride the 12.5 kms back to my home it is with thanks I am taking this journey.  May Blessings abound in your life.