Seeds for Sanctuary

I [Heart] Peace

There is a famous quote by Thomas Paine about his realization that the obstacles he was waiting to clear actually being his life. I remember when I too had the same realization: that waiting for my life to be perfect was going to be a loooooonnnnnngggggg wait.

Oh well. What if my life were good enough right at that moment? Right the way it was? And the way it would become if I kept showing up? And choosing? Truthfully, the good enough realization was a huge relief.

That’s why I like what Johann Wolfgang von Goethe says in this quote.

“If we examine every stage of our lives, we find that from our first breath to our last we are under the constraint of circumstances. And yet we still possess the greatest of all freedoms, the power of developing our innermost selves in harmony with the moral order of the Universe, and so winning peace at heart whatever obstacles we meet.”

The thing I like best about what he says is that we have the power. We don’t earn it. We don’t develop it. We have it the minute we realize we have it.

Then we make a choice to develop our innermost selves. This is independent of anyone else at all. No approvals or permissions needed. Maybe some inner forgiveness for not getting it sooner that this is an inside job, but so what? We get it when we get it and not before.

Then once we use our power and develop harmony, we win! I love this. I like to win. I like it when we all win. I like win/win even better than any other kind. We win. What do we win?

Peace at heart.

A gratifying, grace-ifying, internal only experience.

This is why I [heart] peace.

Visiting

Many years ago I had a spiritual teacher who had known me most of my life. I won’t tell you her name here but I learned a boatload from the way she lived her life.

She lived off the grid in the mountains of Arizona. She never bought anything on credit. She taught me every good thing I know about prosperity. She was a remarkable healer—her treatment cured me of an incurable disease once upon a time in six weeks.

But the thing I remember most about her was what she called visiting.

When this woman asked you how you were, she a/ wanted to know (or else she wouldn’t have asked) and b/ listened till you told her.

I was reminded of her this weekend when dear friends of ours came to stay with us outside Boston because they had an academic reunion here, the Educational Capital of the United States.

We were completely glad to have them come to stay, and the coolest thing was, they had a place to come where they were completely comfortable. If someone needed a nap, they took a nap. If someone needed a private chat, we arranged it. If someone needed dinner, we figured it out.

It was an effortless dance. One of us would move, the others would compensate. It was simple and beautiful, and it reminded me of my teacher because all of us were able to visit, engage and share where we really are in our lives.

There was time.

There was space.

There was interest.

It was like being held in a loose, comforting hug all weekend. And it reminded me so clearly of my wonderful teacher. She was a tiny powerhouse and it’s partially because of her that I teach what and the way I do.

She went visiting every Sunday—to the sick, to one friend or another, to family.

She’d visit.

She’d engage.

She’d share.

No one ever received a visit from my teacher without a lessening of stress, a lightening of burden, an encouraging word. That’s the kind of weekend we had, and it made me miss her, and vow to be more like her.

For R. G.

Television Interview

Is it only me or do other people stress out when they have to drive to places they don’t know? I don’t think it’s just me. Anyway …

I have to go to Waltham today to be interviewed for Visions’ new television show. I got the information I needed last night on where I needed to be and I put it into Mapquest to Get Directions. I find that sometimes my anxiety about driving in uncharted territory is mitigated if I have a visual on how to get there.

Okay, got the route. Wow, it’s complicated! I have to go way north or way south of where I’m going, make two U-turns because of One-Way Streets, and then who knows what all else. I printed the three pages with attendant clues, suggestions, gas stations and restaurants. Argh. TMI.

So then this morning, sitting on the porch watching the rain pour out of the sky [I really don’t like to drive in the rain, and especially not to places I’ve never been], I put the address into my iPhone. She gave me three choices on how to get there! FWIW, none of them identical to Mapquest!!! Argh. How to go? I looked at the lists of instructions for all three routes. I made the maps bigger and smaller so I could see where I’d have to go. I think I know how I’m getting there.

But if I turn on our talking GPS, who we call Minerv (as in Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts—because she’s been there so long, she knows where everything is), she might tell me a whole different way to go based on the construction patterns in Boston!

At least I’ve done my make-up for television because I know how to do that! I think I know what I’m wearing … or close enough. Now I just have to get there for 2 PM and be ready to chat with a dear friend and physician, Wendie Trubow, who is hosting the show.

When we spoke on the phone about the interview, I learned we’d tape for an hour but the show would end up a half hour, and that she was really looking forward to hearing my story about how I ended up doing what I do. So often when Wendie and I connect, we’re working together on a particular task rather than just spending time together.

I’ll write the rest of this post when I get back … stay tuned.

Oh wow, once I got there, and what a zoo that was, it was a blast!

Dr. Wendie Trubow, the host of the show, is a truly gifted listener. We talked nonstop for an hour and even the crew paid attention (the test of a good interview).

So, way cool, and I’ll let you know when it’s up on Public Access and YouTube.