Perfecting a system...

Under the sink in the kitchen I have a system.  This is a system that I devised a long time ago to simplify the way I take care of waste in my house.  One is garbage, one is recycling and one is compost for the green bin.  Living alone I do not leave a huge footprint of waste but none the less I need a system. When I moved in here to share space with my son I brought with me all my systems.  The organized life that keeps me focused and on track.  My son just said this morning, as he tossed the empty cream carton in the blue bin, "Thanks mom this makes it easier!"

It is a simple system as you can see but a system none the less.  Where would we be without systems?  There are systems everywhere.  The problem arises when systems break down and no longer serve a purpose or become hurtful, or counter-productive to the very purpose they were created for.  It is then this system needs to be revisited.

Yesterday we had an uplifting and educational morning at church.  It was Aboriginal Sunday in the United Church of Canada and, with the St. Andrew's congregation I celebrated the Native Canadian.  It was uplifting and inspiring as Danielle, my daughter, told her story of her eight week stay in Winnipeg at the Inner City Mission .  She has raised over $7000 toward a van to transport children in a dangerous community and continues her work.  It is here in these educational places where we see the intentions of the early colonizers who put a system in place that went horribly wrong and it took 150 years for it to be corrected.  The system called "residential school system" was broken from the onset, but was not changed until great damage had been done and is still denied in some circles as being problematic.  For this, I ask the forgiveness of all those hurt by this system and ask to share time with the injured, hear their stories and honour the pain they have endured so I can begin to act and help with healing.  I will do that when I move to Bella Coola and begin ministry with this community.

The mending of bridges starts with a sincere apology and then changes in systems and actions.  I will do that.  I will go with a humble heart and ask the people I encounter to tell me their story.  I will listen and I will lament and mourn.  Then we will heal together.   Take a minute and listen to this short clip of song Sweetgrass and Candle (from the United Church in Canada Website) as you rest and nest in your space.  Think about the systems you have in place in your life.  Are there some that need revision?  What works for you?  Does your system bring you closer to the sacred and clear the way for you to see your own heart?  Are you reaching your own native roots?  Who are you?

The Creator is hovering, waiting for you to find your true and authentic self.  Breathing life into your life so you can find your way.  Rest in your native self and go where you are prompted.  Blessings on your journey this day and for all days forward.

Winds of Change ... a road less traveled!

This is a snap shot of a road I am being called to travel.  Carved out of the side of a mountain in order to connect isolated community with the rest of the country.  A gravelly, rough hewn trail beckoning my very soul.  Am I listening?  Can I hear the call?  At first I guffawed; "who me?" Really?  But the Holy Spirit was calling louder and louder as details began to unfold.  A symphony of wind-like sounds echoing in my heart and voila, I hear it.

Winds of change are all around us.  Just yesterday I fought the dust and debris dancing around in the high winds.  My hair product did me little good!  On second thought, it did exactly what it was created to do.  When the wind blew my hair willy-nilly it held it fast!  I felt wild and wind swept... it was fabulous.

This week is Pentecost in the life of the church.  A time when we read about ancient people writing about an ancient time when the winds of change came down upon them and life was never the same.  A time in the Hebrew scriptures when the writers tell about God messing with language and creating a babel and then a time in the early church when they better understood each other even though they were all from different places.  Canada is the Acts passage.  A diverse place where all peoples come together speaking different languages and enjoying personal culture while living in this land.  Aboriginal peoples welcoming the attempts at reconciliation, Muslims sharing prayer time, Jewish synagogues opening their doors and people who declare themselves "spiritual but not religious".   All those faithful to something within that is called spirit ... that which connects us to each other which is beyond ourselves and in-explainable.   What is it?  I believe it is a holy spirit which breathes life into our being.  That which we depend on for our very life; seven generations behind us and seven generations before ... a spirit that is suspended in time ....

(Photo by Michelle Breadner Robinson, Owen Sound Ontario)

So as you live life with some discomfort at times remember that the holy spirit is beckoning you to hear it and listen carefully.  The discomfort you feel may be due to heading in the wrong direction or imposed upon us by others (Michelle putting booties on her sweet little dog to keep her feet warm) or it may just be the winds of change in our lives which does not always feel comfortable at first!  

May the winds of change blow you in the direction of hope, peace and reconciliation.  May you breathe life into your dreams and hold them in high regard as you are called to be the best you can be.   Take that road, wear those booties trying to find your comfort zone, and embrace the style the holy spirit blows your way!  Blessings.... 

See through glass dimly

The events of the past couple of weeks has my head spinning and I know not where to turn.  Is there a deity that I should be praying to? I use the word "should" because many would suggest there is and many would suggest it is my place as a Christian to believe that the god that impregnated Mary and raised a boy into a man, only to fulfill the role of saviour/redeemer, is my evidence.  But in today's world there is so much evidence of so much evil I am fearful. I am trying to make sense of it all.   Can sense be made of any of it?

Smiles and handshaking when the 19 year old "Boston Marathon Bombing" suspect was apprehended.  Our society takes solace and comfort in this capture.  Are we safe?  I believe the next story on the heels of this tragedy tells us we place our comfort in the wrong places.  Before the ink is even dry on the arrest documents or the handcuffs cleared of the young man's sweat, there is a diabolical plan uncovered.  Two more arrests which tell of an alleged plan to derail a VIA train.

This is the bridge... where the plan would play out!

Through the smoky glass we see a man....

"Do we see through the glass dimly" as Paul suggests?  In this passage Paul is suggesting without love he has nothing and is nothing.  Where is this love in our world today?  I have compassion for the victims of the bombing and those who were injured or simply frightened by the actions of these two young men at the marathon.  I fear for those who would lay out a plan to derail a train to make a point.  I would not want to be in the role as a police or government who is held hostage while the masses look to them for "justice".  What is justice?  Who wins when we rejoice to the news one man is killed and another apprehended for actions such as these.  Are we so shallow and empty that we cannot see that this is not "justice"?  How is it we cannot see that the media feeds our fears and the authorities strive to satisfy those who are screaming "crucify him".  

My friend is grieving the death of his wife ... she died of cancer.  Years from now he will look back and only then be aware of the horrors of what was going on around him as he is drowning in his grief.  I remember basking in the joy of new motherhood while the Chernobyl disaster was unfolding on April 26, 1986.  I remember grieving and crying on my 50th birthday because I had buried my mother the day before.  In our own world we must find peace and harmony.  I believe we must turn off social media, television, radio and newspapers and look within to find the hope we need to keep from offing ourselves.  I believe today is the day to rebel against mass action against one 19 year old boy and I believe today is the day we reclaim what it means to be faithful.  Not faithful to a god that has been instrumented by ancient texts and not faithful to what other humans tell us to believe but faithful to that which is the synergy of Mother Earth and the Universe Story  ; a 14 billion year old story that by far supersedes our hunger for immediate satiation of our needs.  This is the god I choose to believe will make things right.  This is the peace I witness in my heart.  This universe will correct itself and will seek justice for all the wrongs.  My job is simply to find deep guttural love for all the bad and the good in this life and attempt to seek "justice" for every living creature.  

Earth Day

As we link divine wholeness to our lives we connect through the ground under our feet.  I am trying to unfold my wings and everyday I am challenged by my own distrust of the world.  I will find myself in Mother Earth and in my grounding to the land.

Today we honour the Earth!  The ground of our being and our home.  As I read the Cosmic Story this morning in worship we will honour the great garden of our lives.  The wonder of nature is amazing and we can see that through this short video.  What does it mean to be in touch with the Earth?  Grounded in the sacred with our feet planted firmly in the dirt.

Take time to find yourself in this day ... smile at the sunshine, watch a bird as it floats in mid-air, watch for the goodness through your child's eye.  Find the blessing in living and share it with those you love!

Heavy rain in the forecast...

There are heavy rains forecast for today... rains that will wash away the bleakness of winter and feed the roots of the spring abundance.  The temperatures are beginning to creep up and a sure sign of spring is the return of the people who migrate south for the winter months.  I was out this morning with my son's dog and I could hear the birds.  It was before the sun was up, very early, 6:00 AM and it was a lovely time of day.  It reminds me that each day we begin again and have a new day with no mistakes in it!  Can I do better today than I did yesterday?  Not that yesterday was not good but each day I want to be a better person, find greater things to do, change people's lives and encourage those who are struggling.  This is my work helping others find the sacred and be the best they can be.

Most recently I found a very good picture on Facebook.  I captured it and kept it in my "good message" folder and shared it with the congregation at Sunday morning worship.  I find it speaks to my heart and keeps me focused on living in the moment:

I try to live in the moment and let the rest fall away.  Taking the time to smell spring in the air this morning was a great way to begin my day.  Even though I had to scoop up after my son's dog (I am not fond of dogs but am helping out right now so it is part of the job) I took the time to listen to nature and smell spring in the air.  CBC radio reminds me there will be great rain in the next 24 hours and I ponder how Mother Earth will be cleansed of the salt and sand, remnants of winter.

I am reading Parker Palmer's "Let your life speak" http://www.amazon.ca/Let-Your-Life-Speak-Listening/dp/0787947350 and am loving his philosophy.  He reminds me to listen to my life and hear my vocation which is my inner voice directing my work.  I am encouraged to listen to my "true self" which for Palmer, "when violated, will always resist us, sometimes at great cost, holding our lives in check until we honour its truth" (pg. 4).  This to me is god.  Our inner voice which calls to us for relationship and beckons us to be the best we can be.  That was the Jesus story.  Come to god and you will find yourself.  Authentic self and trust in what is beyond ourselves.

Sometimes life forecasts heavy rain and we need to welcome it in order to bloom, blossom and grow spiritually.  Rest in yourself to find wholeness and love yourself and your god first ... the rest will fall into place.

Yogyakarta pictures from June 2012.  Taken by C. Breadner.

Food for the moment or for a lifetime?

This morning I am heading out for the day and know I need to prepare supper, the evening meal.  Supper is what my mother and father ate at 5:30 pm everyday.  Dinner was at noon and often consisted of roast beef, potatoes and gravy flanked with vegetables.  A hearty meal to sustain the farmer mid-point in their day.  Milking was a morning chore and the balance of the day was spent working the farm so that the milking task was supported.  All chores centred around a whole.  The kitchen was very much a part of this whole.  Meals were sustain-ance for the hard working folk involved in farm life.  In summer fresh produce was grown, "blanched" and then frozen for future use.  Root cellars were filled with root vegetables and cold rooms were home to preserves and canned items.  What happened?

This morning I am heading out for the day and know I need to prepare for supper, the evening meal.  I have people depending on me as part of my partnership to prepare food.  It is the team effort I am living right now.  A team effort that is spiritual, physical, mental and emotional.  All important parts of the whole.  I was on Facebook and saw this picture:

Looks good but is not practical for supper for a growing family and I don't have the time or the ingredients.  Instead, I took an onion and cut it up.  Then out of the freezer I pulled a lovely roast loin of pork that I bought on sale for $8.23 which is lean and low fat.  I placed the frozen piece of meat on the cut up onion in the bottom of the crock pot which was once my mothers.  I cut up two potatoes, half of a sweet potato, one third of a turnip and two carrots.  I added two cups of chicken juice (broth) and two cups of water, a little salt and pepper and put on the lid.  I turned on the crock pot to high to get a start while I shower and prepare to leave for the day.  Before I go I will reduce to low this less than $10 collection of food which is ready to cook for the day and know when my family comes home in my absence tonight there will be a hot, healthy meal ready to serve.  All in all this preparation took me less than 15 minutes.  A divine meal full of love in less than 15 minutes.  A sacred time for my family to know I love them even when I am not here.  A low cost and low fat meal taught to me by my farm wife mother.

Often we seek the decadence of the chocolate lasagna only to find emptiness and a sugar high.  Often we seek love in the foods that are not a healthy choice.  Our soul needs food for a lifetime not just to satisfy our momentary cravings.  Family is where we grow and learn to be present to our spirit.  In our fast paced, fast food world we loose touch with the person who takes the time to work part of the puzzle which is so important.  The role of love through food preparation and feeding ourselves the love of supporting partners and family members.  The chores of our mothers and grandmothers were of the utmost importance to family life.  On the farm everyone worked together to survive.  Start your own farm .... support your family and be in relationship with the divine role of food for the soul.   Get back to basics and find more than you realize you have lost!

  

Are we Easter people?

As Holy week unfolds and life's challenges face us do we really understand what it was that Jesus faced?  He paraded into Jerusalem to shouts of praise and accolades.  He was on top of the world.  But something was amiss.  He understood that this could turn on a dime and, because we read the book, we know it does.  He is on top one day and the next, crucified for the same reason.  Crucified because he spoke the truth.   Have you lived through anything like this?  Have you been the chosen one at work, given a gold watch only to be downsized right out of a job?  Have you been the apple of someone's eye, only to be served with divorce papers?  Have you spoken up against injustice only to find your friends cross the street when they see you coming?  Are you an Easter person?  Do you realize that in order to stand for what is right, something has to die?

Jesus died that day a long time ago.  The gospels are each writer's account of what transpired after his death.  He was critical to the people as they picked up the pieces and moved on.  Some denied knowing him, some ran and locked themselves in a room, others simply went back to being oppressed by the Romans and their law.  People mourned his death because he was a great man.  But he was also divine.  He was the essence of God in the flesh.  He was the speaker of the house of God and love prevailed through him with passion.  When we talk about the passion of the Christ it is with it we can move mountains and stand forever.

Our world is a broken place.  A place where CBC radio repeats over and over how the Toronto mayor was ejected from a party for poor behaviour when the important news, how hundreds are hungry and homeless in that same city, is never mentioned.  Shootings of young men make headlines regularly while the mothers cry out in pain.  Jesus was the voice trying to bring people back to what is sacred.  Jesus is the voice reminding us of what we are to do.  Jesus may have died that day but he lives on in the hearts of all Christians and is calling for justice.  Stand in peace with our brothers and sisters; in faith and trust hold hands with Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, and all faithful because Jesus wants us to.  Be a Christian and welcome all faiths to your table.