Yearly Archives

2022

Let us welcome this Night of Hope

Glimmers December 24, 2022

Dear Friends,

On this Christmas Eve, we await the birth of new life: in ourselves…our souls and hearts; in our relationships…with their connections and concerns; in this moment… of wonder and waiting. What does that look like for you?

The Christmas tale leads us into a profound story of hope that transcends cookies and presents, that aligns our intentions with all world religions, that renews our commitment to the path of Love. What does that feel like for you?

My prayer and words today are directed toward those of you who are struggling with the commercial chaos of Christmas. My heart reaches out to those whose own heart is broken through loss, misunderstanding, isolation, or disenfranchisement in the midst of the cultural expectations that surround us. How are you balancing your inner life with the splashy outer events in your world?

On this Christmas Eve, I offer Jan Richardson’s “Blessing of Hope,” as comfort and reminder. Our loving God walks with us in expectation and in disappointment, in joy and confusion. As we learn the ways of unitive consciousness, the gift of both/and teaches us to hold conflicting feelings alongside the gift of hope. May hope, indeed, be born on this night…on every night.  With love to you dear friends, Lisa

BLESSING OF HOPE

So we may know the hope that is not just for someday, but for this day – here, now, in this moments that opens to us:

hope not made of wishes but of substance, hope made of sinew and muscle and bone,

hope that has breath and a beating heart, hope that will not keep quiet and be polite,

hope that knows how to holler when it is called for, hope that knows how to sing when there seems little cause,

hope that raises us from the dead – not someday but this day, every day, again and again and again.

 

Notes from the road….

Glimmers November 24, 2022

Dear Friends,

I spent some time in the Land of Loss, recently. I joined 24 other souls in a sacred circle, we were present to the sadness, confusion, and emptiness that loss brings. I witnessed their courage as they told the losses that changed their lives. Together, we honored grief’s healing presence and allowed compassion to join the circle. I, once again, marveled at the human capacity to love again, even with loss in the room.

Friends, I am mindful that I’m sharing this with you on Thanksgiving Day 2022. Among you, and in the larger community, there are many who have difficulty feeling thankful today. Some carry Edna St Vincent Millay’s experience, “The absence of their presence is everywhere.” Others are isolated or rejected from family during a time when everyone else is at a warm family table. Some see expectations are not being met, so create their own holiday vibe – an alternative to the narrative on TV. And there are others…without a home, shamed, facing serious illness, incarcerated, hungry, addicted…humans all, yet do not fit into the Norman Rockwell scene that we all imagine.

My message to you is two-fold. First, those of us who carry a loss, of any kind, that is not recognized by others are “disenfranchised.” Our loss, and the subsequent grief, does not have the social support we seek – no cards or casseroles come our way and the loss has no expression. Secondly, our opportunity as the creative, loving adults that we are, is to enfranchise our loss, enfranchise our grief. If a loved one is missing – light a candle in his or her name or use a special bowl for your meal. Bring them into the room. If others are distancing themselves from your love, create new opportunities to express it – write to understand your feelings, commit to those in need for a day/evening, write a “thank you list” and identify the blessings, no matter how small, that are in your life.

Choose Love. As one who’s experienced being disenfranchised, you have learned the painful effects of dismissal, for whatever reason, from another. Choose Love. Add your energy to the plus side of human exchange. Choose Love. Even if its love for the blue sky, popcorn or heat that works. Choose Love. Let your heart participate in and be nourished by this remarkable human capacity. Both given and received, let Love’s flow remind you of your intrinsic worth and your ability to even be thankful.

I write this with a grateful heart. I am thankful for you, dear reader, on this Thanksgiving Day.

Lisa

In the quietness of now…

Glimmers November 4, 2022

Dear Friends,

“The geography of your destiny is always clearer to the eye of your soul than to the intentions and needs of your surface mind.”

This time of year finds the silky morning fog resting on grey lake water. I rest in silence, within the safety of no expectations, no images beyond the lamp post on the shoreline. The sun’s rise illuminates the blanket of white around me, gradual changes appear. My heart is stilled in the moment, the awakening of this new day is named Gentleness.

When the geography around me, and of my destiny as John O’Donohue describes it, can be seen with my soul-eyes, I’m invited into the present moment. Here… now… I sink into that which I cannot understand and yet, somehow, am filled with understanding.

My soul-eyes witnessed a group of wounded travelers, on a recent journey into the Land of Loss, as they too slowed down to the rhythms and intentions of deep movements. They allowed their Grief to guide and teach them. In their presence, I journeyed as well, honoring recent losses and deepening my trust in Love’s healing arc that moves through our human experience.

The sky is clearing, the lake offers a reflection of the trees – some naked, but not all – and a small band of mist floats across the water. I’m reminded of another resource for travel directions, Carrie Newcomer’s, “Abide.” She sings:

Let us ponder the unknown,
What is hidden and what’s whole,     
And finally learn to travel,               
At the speed of our own souls.

In the Land of Loss, and in life, we follow the pace and rhythms of soul-traveling. Sometimes we pay attention, sometimes not, sometimes we have no choice.  A discovery, in these new horizons, is the consistent, gentle reminder that Love accompanies us all along the way. As Carrie describes it:

Stay awake with me and we’ll listen more intently, 

to something wordless and remaining, sure and ever-changing.

in the quietness of now….

With affection, fellow travelers,

Lisa

 

Finding my Wings

Glimmers October 21, 2022

Dear Friends,

Do you remember your childhood Hallowe’en costumes? Do have images in mind of that unusual, but fun holiday, from “back in the day?” I have clear memories of our children’s costumes or ours as a young married couple, but my childhood canvas is empty. So, partly to remedy that and partly to just have a little fun, I found myself some butterfly wings and went for a walk!

October invites such playfulness, right? Off we went to our nearby walking and biking trail, my husband generously adjusting my wings, and together we enjoyed the beautiful changes that Fall brings to New England. I wasn’t dependent on anyone’s approval, but was certainly aware of choosing a unique outfit for the trail! Somehow, the invitation to experience a little silliness, “just because,” led the way as we held hands and stepped into Fall’s witness of transformation.

Friends, there is something wonderful about recapturing the spirit of childhood, about inhabiting butterfly wings and flying out into the world. As I walked, sometimes skipped, through the maze of colors and light, I felt a certain freedom inside....

I, like the leaves, trust the changes around and inside of me, even the ones I cannot control. I, like the natural world that surrounds me, surrender to the Creator’s hand. In this moment of awareness, I understand unconditional love in a new way, from the inside out.

I recommend putting on some butterfly wings or any bit of paint or costume that alters your outside, sending a signal to your inside that she is O.K. It’s never too late for that reminder, never too late to reclaim lost parts and welcome them into who God created us to be.

With gratitude,

Lisa

 

A Time of Transformation

Glimmers October 5, 2022

 

“Come, little leaves,” said the Wind one day, “Come to the meadows with me and play.
Put on your dresses of red and gold; For Summer is past, and the days grow cold.”
George Cooper

Dear Friends,

Hello October! You arrive and everything changes – clothes, menus, decorations, setting on the thermostat. It’s not just external changes, though. There seems to be a call to go inward as the seasons turn, doesn’t there?

I’ve been exploring the idea of “pilgrimage” in my world. My husband and I took a 20 day trip to the West coast, mostly Washington with a little visit to California. Instead of walking, I was in a comfortable car. Instead of meeting strangers along the way, I encountered friends, cousins, his siblings/nieces/nephews and our sons, who traveled to join us. Some visits were over lunch or a cup of coffee, others lasted 3-4 days. We came home tired, yes, but full of love. Each encounter was “gift” and most carried multiple layers within them. My pilgrimage was not to a beloved shrine, though we did finally see Mt Rainier. It was not to a foreign land, though some of the feelings I had were new and unexpected. 

A general definition of pilgrimage is “a journey to a sacred place.” My pilgrimage was a journey inward to feelings and memories, sacred indeed. Author Janelle Cepero speaks of the “call to pilgrimage” and says, “You have no choice. You have to answer.” One of the first stops was my mother’s grave. I was able to sit with her on the anniversary of her death, 48 years ago, and bring her with me as I traveled more deeply into the love of family. Cepero continues, “Some pilgrims go the direct route, right to the center of the holy of the holies, directly to the heart of the matter. Others take a more indirect route, circling around the outside of the sacred place, transforming the physical journey into a spiritual path of contemplation.”

My journey, much like my life, followed that indirect route, seeking experiences and encounters on a contemplative path. I’ve often seen my heart’s movement like the cat that circles around and around a cushion before settling down to rest. It seems my soul needs warmth and reassurance to trust the call, to rest in a pocket of ease. I return home wrapped in my mother’s love, this pilgrim’s heart opened “to discover what you were desperately searching for has always been and always will be within.” 

Hello, little Leaves! Thank you for teaching me to sway and dance with the Wind. Thank you for sharing your beauty and path of Surrender. Let us treasure what was, savor what is and welcome what will be….together, in the mystery of our created world, in the arms of our Creator.

with love, Lisa

 

A new day – a new way

Glimmers September 1, 2022

“Life goes on without your planning.”

Dear Friends,

These words were offered to me today as the morning came into fullness. Sweet sparrow sang her daily greeting, insects chirped to life in response to the sun’s arrival, a family of squirrels danced in the grass and ran up the tree trunks….and I, witness to it all, opened my eyes to this new day. I watched the congregation of geese, multiple sets of goslings now alongside their parents, glide across the lake, surprisingly silent. And as I write this to you, our sweet bunny hopped through the yard on her way to the next adventure on this first day of September.

I receive these gentle reminders that life, indeed, goes on without my planning.

This is not to say that I’m not a good planner! I’ve been known to create moments and events that require keeping track of lots of details and of coordinating many moving parts. At the same time, I have created a framework around an experience of shared worship and then, let go, trusting the flow of love. Life, and the sacred thread that wraps around it, definitely goes on without my hand in the mix. The arrival of this lesson on this day invites me into a deeper trust in Love’s presence. It aligns with the ongoing movements in my personal story that are filled with healing and hope.

I share this story with you, my companions on the journey, because I suspect that all of us get caught in the desire to control the circumstances and people in our lives. Many of us plan and then get rattled when our plans are disrupted. Many of us turn to planning and control to defend ourselves against long-ago wounds that reverberate in our current life. And many of us, hopefully, learn to say “yes” to the great mystery of Love that is present right here and right now. Let us open our hands, together. Let us cultivate trust, together.  Enjoy these lyrics from a long-ago favorite song, composer unknown:

“With open hands, we reach to you, our heart await to be made new.

Peace, like the empty skies above us, is shining with light.

Breath, like our incense rise to greet you, day in our night.

All we know now, will pass away, and Love alone will ever stay.”

with love, Lisa

Growing Pains

Glimmers August 8, 2022

Dear Friends,

An unexpected phone call, a plan’s “rearrangement,” the weather, a detour sign – all, and many more, are examples of the need for an inner adjustment. We accommodate these small demands in daily life, some days better than others. In fact, our ease with change reflects some of our temperament, our history, our maturity, right? I can say this about myself and am guessing it might be true about you, too. Our practice of accommodation is also influenced by the repeated demands of change, isn’t it? If, let’s say, a vacation plan gets turned around, flights are cancelled, luggage lost – we become weary with the situation. Our patience is strained at the exact time when more patience is needed!

In my last Glimmer, I spoke of change and the growth it often demands. Many of you responded with thoughts about “growing pains,” do you remember those? I recall the term being used to describe the physical aches from young bodies growing, muscles and bones getting longer, bigger, stronger. But, of course, growing pains happen in our emotional and spiritual lives, as well. Here I am at 72, body changing yes, but the demand for growing really lands in my heart. The lessons of loss, of all sorts, continue and that internal process of adjustment becomes a pathway of growing.

“I’m so glad to find a way to love again.” I remember hearing these words at Sr Mary Fahey’s funeral. She was quoted saying them in response to a difficult person or situation. Her heart’s desire, “to love,” was the guiding light in her life, and as we know, circumstances can challenge that goal. Loss, difference, rejection, misunderstanding, betrayal – all part of our human experience – and yet, as a “lover,” I seek the path of reconciliation. I desire to love again, and again, and again. Before you misunderstand my proclamation, know that I fail miserably, that I forget to include myself in that goal, and that I often get caught in my own neediness.

These are my recent growing pains, this is where my heart is being stretched out into new shapes, new ways of holding the life I am living. And this is where I learn about love.

with affection, Lisa

Morning Light

Glimmers August 2, 2022

Dear Friends,

After a couple adventures, I’ve returned to the land of lost socks and gardening decisions.

I return home with a heart stretched open, to hold the reality of the world I am living in. Gratitude has arrived and She is shining her light all around me. My heart and I say yes, we will participate in the journey of a soul-full life. The invitation is too precious….

The socks and garden pots speak, I slow down. This is my life and, in this moment,  I am experiencing it as a blessing:

an active awareness of “the More”

a kiss of the Divine

a Deepening that calls us home.

Some folks place “blessing” in a religious realm, but for me, there’s more.  John O’Donohue is quoted in this wonderful article saying, “Blessing is a more robust and grounded presence.” I am so grateful to have socks and a place to lose them! In the morning light, the garden awakens – each petal smiles hello, vines join me in the expanse of this new day, and I listen. Blessings appear, arrive, descend, are…

I return to you, dear friends. My spirit settles down and listens for the oriole’s call and the mourning dove’s coo. The heron’s prehistoric form rises into the sky and the squirrels continue their dance. My heart responds to the dawn of this new day and says, yes, I will embrace the life before me and, at the same time,  I will pray for the concerns of the world. I cannot turn away from weeping brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, startling fires and consequent destruction in California, global political discussions rooted in fear and the need for power. How do I cope?  I respond to the challenges in my little life with love. I get honest, grieve losses as changes happen and, ultimately, grow. I respond to the call of love we all are hearing, and I keep going.

I’m on the lookout for blessings and the morning light is a place to start, besides thinking of each of you, of course.

peace, Lisa

 

 

 

 

Is it just me?

Glimmers July 12, 2022

 

Dear Friends,

Last night I attended a concert alongside the Connecticut River. It was a perfect night – relaxation and low humidity, sky resting in shades of blue and pink, breeze off the river tossing my hair, and great music dipping into my heart and soul. Christine Ohlman affirmed my desire to “jump right in to the deep end of the river of love, love, love.”

The space outside the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT was packed with people! People wearing hats, summer colors, and smiles. Lots and lots of smiles! Many stayed in the their seats, but many others moved their bodies to the music – up near the band or in the small spaces between their chairs. Children ran around, dancing too, joining the adults in a celebration of life. When I wasn’t dancing, rare but occasional, I looked at the faces around me. I watched people talk and hug, sit and stare, all absorbed in the moment, and I wondered, “Is it just me, or is something different here?” “Are the colors brighter? The music more poignant? Our hearts a little softer?”

We’re all different. You. Me. The lady in the lime green caftan, the guy swinging his partner around with abandon, the young mom moving her little one in time with the music. We’re all different this July of 2022. Our shared experience in the last two years has changed our understanding of life, of innocence, of loss. Just as after the death of a loved one, our lives are not returning to “normal.” We are forever changed, transformed, by the losses and associated grief while living through a pandemic and time of social unrest.

So what is my response? Friends, I am acknowledging the reality of this sea change in my life on Earth. I’m accepting the demands it makes on me, am riding the waves of “adjustment,” but I am not without resources.  I dance. When I dance, my whole body moves to the music – catches the rhythm, slides with the groove, sings the anthem of life. I listen. I listen for wisdom from friends, like Christine, who are traveling these times with me. I listen to the symphony of birds outside my window. I know Love, I am gifted by time with loved ones – we are nourished and changed for the better.

My heart extends to unnamed people around me because it isn’t just me, it’s all of us. Our human family. Let’s choose love as often as we can, life is too precious to miss.

I wanna be baptized, let’s go there! 

Down in the river of love….

Join me? much love, Lisa

“We’re all just walking each other home.”

Glimmers June 15, 2022

 

“We’re all just walking each other home.” Ram Dass

Dear Friends,

It’s been an interesting time here at Lake Beseck, awareness speaks as Spring moves toward Summer and makes me smile. My recent experience on a retreat team at Mercy by the Sea nourished this gift of awareness as I sat with 6 women each day, listening to their hearts. Each told stories, I was present to my own, and the Divine was holding us all in Mystery and Love. When one steps into a time of retreat, there is a surrender to the experience and a trust in God’s care. These sacred days become a passageway into an unknown, yet holy place. We travelers rest in a different layer of understanding and receive nourishment for the transition back into our lives. It’s a very private, personal experience and, at the same time, a collective one as souls sit with each other in a silent dining room, honoring one another’s prayer.

“We’re all just walking each other home,” we say with our eyes during the week and through our hugs on the last day. This humble prayer speaks of trust and love, patience and hope. “We’re all just walking each other home,” a reminder of a Directed Retreat and, for me, a response to the great, shared passageway into the Unknown of Post-Covid, Post-George Floyd, Post-January 6, Post-Invasion of Ukraine. “We’re all just walking each other home” speaks of our humanity, our compassion, our shared desire for peace, it is an invitation to see our traveling companions, brothers and sisters all, with love in our eyes.

You have been in my heart, friends, in these weeks since my last Glimmer. While I often share what is happening in my own little world, I also pray for you and your unique stories as we all navigate the complexities of our shared world and contemporary times. Our connection, across miles and experiences, transcends our individuality and, at the same time, highlights the brilliant light that each of us offers. Our connection, grounded in our shared humanity, invites us to put on good walking shoes, gather the needed resources, and indeed, accept the call to companion one another as best we can. It’s a privilege to be a part of your journey.

Did you know that true love asks for nothing?
Her acceptance is the way we pay
Did you know that life has given love a guarantee?
To last through forever and another day

Peace, Lisa