October 13

Many years ago, I found that this poem inspired me.  For some reason it came back to me yesterday and I looked it up.  Perhaps it will inspire you.....

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata

Read more: http://www.inspirational-short-stories.com/desiderata-poem.html#ixzz1afTTocUx
Lovely, inspiring products! Inspirational Short Stories products

October 12

I don't like living like this...
Always feeling behind,
Just trying to get through
Day by day.
But I hope that by planting
seeds of gratitude...
Love will blossom
and grow.

I am grateful that my life is so abundant
that I can be so busy.

I am grateful for my family.
I am grateful for my friends.
I am grateful for health, safety, and abundance.
I am grateful for the opportunities that mean that I
never have to feel stuck where I am....

Aloha,
Emily

September 28th

I'm having one of those moments.... where guilt about how long it has been since I last blogged nearly kept me from signing on tonight.  I feel like I have nothing to say, but again recognize that having nothing to say, but staying engaged in the process, is more important than having something profound to say everytime I show up here.

So... in the spirit of living love.... I supported my sister today to be brave.  I snuggled both of my children and made them laugh.  I showed genuine support to a client living on the edge.  I am working on developing more meaningful relationships.  I am working to get out of my own head and to offer better service to others. 

I am grateful for my newly painted family room which feels so comfortable and peaceful to me.  I am grateful for my husband who has spent countless hours completing this project.  I am grateful for a warm, safe bed to sleep in tonight.  I am grateful that my children are excited to go to school tomorrow.  I am grateful for a job which pays me well enough to live comfortably.  I am grateful that I can make a difference in people's lives.  I am grateful that it is fall, and so cool, and colourful.   I am grateful that I have friends who are worth missing when I can't spend the time that I want to spend with them.  I am grateful for my mom who called to encourage me tonight.

I am grateful that I embraced love tonight instead of hiding because I felt so much less than perfect. 

Aloha,
Emily

September 12th

Hello!!

Sorry it has been so long since my last blog, as I have had some big things happening in my life, and some limitations to my internet access.

In and around all those things, my mind keeps returning to the idea of living love, and I am excited to see that I believe this journey is already yielding positive results! Thank you to all of you who have provided feedback and are enjoying the journey as well.

Four things have struck me recently:

The first is the idea of being good “for” people, and not just being good “to” them.  I have noticed that there are many times when I have been nice or polite to someone, but withheld the truth in my heart because I didn’t want to hurt their feelings.  So, I have stayed superficial in my relationship or conversation with them, for fear that true expression of my feelings would result in rejection.  I am learning that being honest and loving is a hard road to walk, and I’m not always sure yet where the line is between speaking the truth in love, and just speaking my understanding of the truth because it serves another purpose.   I am learning…

The second is the idea of love being perfect.  It is not new that I would be hard on myself for being less than perfect, and so learning to live love has meant that I am learning to love myself and others in all of our mutual imperfection.  That is a hard row for me to hoe, since I have pretty high expectations of myself and others and can be quick to judgment.  I realized that I had developed the idea that learning to live love would help me to be more perfect…. DUH!  How ridiculous is that really?  I imagine that most people would already agree that only God’s Love is perfect, and I can’t imagine there being such a thing as perfect human love, given how imperfect we are as human beings. 

Thirdly, someone I love shared this with me, and I wanted to share it with you:

Center for Action and Contemplation <cac@cacradicalgrace.org>

BREATHING UNDER WATER: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps

We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.  ~ Step Five of the Twelve Steps As any good therapist will tell you, you cannot heal what you do not acknowledge, and what you do not consciously acknowledge will remain in control of you from within, festering and destroying you and those around you. When human beings “admit” to one another “the exact nature of their wrongs,” we invariably have a human and humanizing encounter that deeply enriches both sides—and even changes lives—often forever! It is no longer an exercise to achieve moral purity, or regain God’s love, but in fact a direct encounter with God’s love. It is not about punishing one side but liberating both sides. This is the way that God seduces us all into the economy of grace—by loving us in spite of ourselves in the very places where we cannot, or will not, or dare not love ourselves. God shocks and stuns us into love. God does not love us if we change; God loves us so that we can change. From Breathing Underwater: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, pp. 37, 39, 40-42

So – how profound is that??? I loved the last paragraph especially, and the timeliness of this article fit nicely with my musings about love being perfect.  The pursuit of perfection seems to be a personality trait for some of us, and a cultural overtone for the rest of us.  Imagine what the world would be like if we redirected all the resources we spend on the pursuit of perfection into the pursuit of living love instead?  Surely we would encounter love and God’s Love on a whole new level….

Lastly, I am pleased that my goal to live love prevented me from raising my hand against my five year old son this week.  When he carelessly broke the window out of my car at a highly inopportune time, the first thought that went through my head was to beat the crap out of him.  I am not proud of the thought, but am proud of the courage that I had to walk away and deal with my anger in a more productive way.  Afterward, it led me to all sorts of contemplation about parenting with love.  To be honest, I had no idea how to effectively punish him.  He sat in time out, helped me to clean the mess, and to at least partially compensate for the $360 loss to the family finances, he will not be granted any special treats or gifts until Thanksgiving.  Any other ideas??? I am certainly open to them.  I foresee reading some parenting books in my future, and if anyone has some titles to recommend, I would be grateful.  My kids are both now school age, so a whole new world of parenting has begun.

My blog today is dedicated to my hubby who has loved me through 11 years of marriage as of this past weekend, and 14 ½ years total.  Thank you sweetie, I love youJ

Emily

August 30

How fitting... I just just learned that "aloha" actually has three meanings... do you already know what the third meaning is??? It is "love"....

From Wikipedia...

The word aloha derives from the Proto-Polynesian root *qarofa, and ultimately from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian.^[1][2] It has cognates in other Polynesian languages, such as Samoan alofa and Māori aroha, also meaning "love."
A folk etymology claims that it derives from a compound of the Hawaiian words alo meaning "presence", "front", "face", or "share"; and ha, meaning "breath of life" or "essence of life." Although alo does indeed mean "presence" etc., the word for breath is spelled with a macron or kahakō over the a (hā) whereas the word aloha does not have a long a.

Flower arrangement in Hilo, Hawaii, 1959

[edit] Usage

The use of the word as a greeting has been reconstructed to Proto-Polynesian.^[3] Before contact with the West, other words used for greeting included welina and anoai. Today, "aloha kakahiaka" is the phrase for "good morning." "Aloha ʻauinalā" means "good afternoon" and "aloha ahiahi" means "good evening." "Aloha kākou" is a common form of "welcome to all."
In modern Hawaiʻi, numerous businesses have aloha in their names, with more than 3 pages of listings in the Oʻahu phone book alone.

[edit] Trends

Recent trends are popularizing the term elsewhere in the United States. Popular entertainer, Broadway star and Hollywood actress Bette Midler, born in Honolulu, uses the greeting frequently in national appearances. The word was also used frequently in the 1968 and 2010 versions of the hit television drama Hawaii Five-0. In the influential 1982 film comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High the student, and surfer, Jeff Spicolli, Sean Penn, uses the greeting with the eccentric teacher Mr. Hand, Ray Walston, who had earlier made use of the greeting himself. The Aloha Spirit is a major concept in Lilo and Stitch, a very popular Disney series of movies and TV shows, set in Hawaiʻi. The drama series Lost, shot in Hawaiʻi, has a thank you note at the end of the credits saying "We thank the people of Hawaiʻi and their Aloha Spirit". Aloha is a term also used in the Nickelodeon program Rocket Power.
Arguably the most famous historical Hawaiian song, "Aloha ʻOe" was written by the last queen of Hawaii, Liliʻuokalani.
The term inspired the name of the ALOHA Protocol introduced in the 1970s by the University of Hawaii.
In Hawaii someone can be said to have or show aloha in the way they treat others; whether family, friend, neighbor or stranger.

Fascinating, that this word aloha means love - or literally in the presence of the essence or breath of life?  Is it not true that love really is the essence and breath of life?  What is a life without love? Sadly, in my work in corrections I see everyday what happens when people live a live devoid of love....

Do you ever get the feeling that some things are meant to be? That some things do not come into your life just by chance or coincidence?  The really interesting thing is that "aloha" has another meaning for me.  I am really hoping to earn a trip to Hawaii this February, and the only way that I am going to do that is by helping a whole bunch of people to have some really great experiences.  I am noticing that the more I get out of my own head, where I worry about how to get things done for me, the more I am able to see others and to be of better service to them.  It is awesome.  Could being more loving in my life actually take me to a place where I could experience that land where "aloha" was born? That would be really cool!
Today, I played some fun music and enjoyed some time with my kids and cooking dinner.  I was patient. I was relaxed.  I was busy, but I had fun.  I helped a couple of stressed people out to relax... I feel good. 
I am noticing that simple acts and simple choices start to add up to big changes and I love it. 
In the spirit of Aloha....
Emily

Comment Help

Hi Everyone. I am trying to make it easier for you all to leave comments.  Once you have signed into the blog, you should just be able to click on the blue link that shows how many comments have been left and a comment screen will now pop up.  You will type your comment, then choose your identity (ie your google account) and click on "publish comment".  I hope this makes it easier for you all. Thanks for your support and encouragement and love!

August 23

In memory of the Honorable Jack Layton:

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world." - Hon. Jack Layton.

Jack lived the soul of another favourite quote of mine from Margaret Mead:
"Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Never doubt.... every act could change the world for someone else.... Thank you Jack for being one of those people who persisted in making the world a better, and more just, place.