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Mistakes? I’ve made a few.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

mistakes

So you’ve made some mistakes. Maybe lots of mistakes. Maybe the same mistakes over and over.

So what?

Welcome to the club. The club of people who’ve made mistakes. A club that, if we’re being honest, embraces all of humankind since its inception.

Maybe it’s time to stop beating yourself up about the mistakes you’ve made. Maybe it’s time to let yourself try again. Maybe, and this one is perhaps the most difficult, maybe it’s time to stop pretending that you haven’t made mistakes. That’s one mask that will just get too heavy to wear for much longer.

So you’ve made mistakes. The trick is to learn from them and to, hopefully, make different mistakes next time. And to learn from those, too. And so on.

 

Welcome the wind.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

 

windhair

It’s too easy to forget that we are of this earth. Our agendas and business suits disguise us. Our tasks distract us.

But we are sensuous beings, of the earth and for the earth. We, like the tree frog, are part of creation. How lovely it is to remember that, to appreciate our moment of life in the grand scheme of things, to feel the wind in our hair and the grass under our feet. To drink deep of this moment when we are here.

We are here.

Thanks for the memories.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

splashgoodbye

Loss is hard. Whether it is of a spouse, a child, a friend, or a pet. We carry a hole with us where that loved one was. But when we sit and consider that relationship and dwell on the things about it for which we are grateful, the loss hurts a bit less.

Smiles replace tears. Warm memories flood our senses. Laughter surprises us. We remember ways we’ve grown or blossomed because of that relationship. Gratitude replaces hurt or anger or grief.

We remember that, yes, we had to say goodbye, but how lucky we were to say hello.

Our hearts start to heal.

Heart to heart.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

intimacy

It’s not about the sex. If you listen to the radio or watch television or go to the movies or read the news or see an ad or pretty much interact with the world in any way, you might deduce it’s about the sex. We are bombarded with songs, stories, movies, advertisements, news stories about sex, rarely about love, less still about intimacy. But it’s not about that.

It is about being naked though:

c6ad830352ea0983a920a35995dba2b6

How many people are painfully lonely in this world because they are afraid to share their real selves even in their closest relationships?

How can we build intimacy? Probably more trust, more honesty, more respect, and less fear, less suspicion, less division. Intimacy can be built with others in any of our relationships, no matter age, race, gender, nationality, or other differences  if we come to those relationships with honesty, integrity, and respect. More intimate relationships provide people safe harbor and make the world a less menacing place.

Of course, the foundation for it all is trust and respect. Think of all the wonderful relationships that can blossom in a garden of trust and respect!

And yet it remains.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

 

hiddenClouds, night, and eclipses can hide the sun, and yet it remains. Lies, denial, and ignorance can obscure the truth, and yet it remains. We are foolish to believe that things change because we lie about them.

The truth will out.

It always does.

August high.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

August

August marks the end of summer and the beginning of another school year. It is as good a time as any to ask yourself–

Where are you going?

Are you progressing?

What vision do you have for the months to come?

Months turn into years turn into decades turn into a lifetime. Pausing periodically to make sure you’re on the right path is always a good idea.

Love them anyway.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

anyway

People are complex. They can be hateful, vile, untrustworthy, destructive, and yet God loves them. The people doing the worst things in the world challenge us to reach into ever deeper places in our hearts to pull out compassion and love. Yes, even for them. Even for those acting in the most depraved ways, for don’t they need love the most? Haven’t they, perhaps, been the most starved for love in their lives?

The quote above is similar to this one attributed to Mother Teresa:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

            If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

            If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

           If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.

            What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.  Create anyway.

            If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.

            The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.

         Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.

         In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.

It is different, though, in some interesting ways that seem particularly applicable to the world these days:

The Paradoxical Commandments

by Dr. Kent M. Keith

  1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
    Love them anyway.
  2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
    Do good anyway.
  3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
    Succeed anyway.
  4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
    Do good anyway.
  5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
    Be honest and frank anyway.
  6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
    Think big anyway.
  7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
    Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
  8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
    Build anyway.
  9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
    Help people anyway.
  10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
    Give the world the best you have anyway.

© 1968, 2001 Kent M. Keith

The point in both, of course, is that we each have an inner compass. We each are called to be different from the crowd. To be trustworthy and loving, patient and peaceful, kind and helpful. It doesn’t matter what everyone else might be doing,

Give the world the best you have anyway.

Knock out punch.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

wantittobe

There is one opponent who will beat you every time: reality. No matter how you might want to characterize, ignore, explain away, deny, or pretend, reality won’t be the one to budge.

You must bend.

We waste our time longing for realities that don’t exist or pretending things are somehow different than they are. This is true whether we’re talking about relationships, our past, or the weather.

When we can look at our circumstances clear-eyed, then we can figure out how best to proceed.

Is it I, Lord?

Posted on by Shari Swanson

isiti

In tumultuous times, who will speak for peace, for love, for our common humanity? Who will seek to soothe rather than rile? Who will hold people close rather than shove them away? Who will model a better way? Is it you?

Please watch this lovely video and ponder in your heart how you might sow kindness where there is division, love where there is hate, hope where there is despair.

 

Here I am Lord

I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin,
My hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear My light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them,
My hand will save
Finest bread I will provide,
Till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give My life to them,
Whom shall I send?

Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.

What difference can you make?

Posted on by Shari Swanson

streetsweeper

Are you making a difference in other people’s lives? Sometimes we feel that our lives, jobs, gifts, opportunities are too small to make a big difference. But consider the amazing difference made by this school bus driver who crocheted a personalized toy for each of her kids.

We all can make a difference. We don’t need tons of money or an impressive job or skill.

We just need caring hearts.