Joyful Wrecks: Reflections on living...

Few Words that say so much

I don't know the title of this little prayer/poem but I love it. Thanks to my dear friend Patrica Ryan Madson for sending it to me, along with a few others by Nancy Gibbs Richard.This is from a collection called, A Small Steadying Sail of Love. It seems to me that these words are grace-filled and from the heart. I felt them as a blessing. Perhaps you will too.

 

 

In this time of waiting

And not knowing

How things will unfold

May you find a pool of calm

A place of peace and rest

Deep within your soul.

 

 

And thanks to Lydia for the photo she took in Austria this fall, while waiting for the harvest.

 

 

 

Awareness, Teamwork and the Pink Glove Dance

I often don't like these productions but I really enjoyed this one from a hospital in Portland Oregon. Not only did they make the entire hospital aware of breast cancer but by the looks of things they boosted morale and improved team spirit.

I hope you enjoy the Pink Glove Dance.

Have a lovely week-end. Trudy

Ever Widening Circles

This week-end we spent a lot of time with an old acquaintance-Rabbi Rami Shapiro. It all started when I read an ad in the paper that Rabbi Rami was coming to Calgary, invited by the Wisdom Centre, and partnering with Temple B’nai Tikvah, the Anglican Parish of Christ Church and others.

 

Since Rami is a bright light on my spiritual screen, and I had not seen him for 18 years or so,  I was delighted. I immediately signed up along with 174 other people to attend his one day workshop on the Sacred Art of Loving Kindness: an interfaith exploration of compassion. And what a rollicking day it was. Not only were we inspired, enlightened, educated and entertained our immune systems got boosted with all of the laughing. Quite frankly, Rami is a delight. And not only that, he is wonderfully irreverent. Not in a cynical way but in a joyful mix of intelligence, wisdom, open mindedness, truthfulness,  and absolute compassion for the human condition.  If you think I loved the day, you are right.

 

Probably my favourite thing among many that I took away was the idea of being a “trim-tab.” Rami had studied with Buckminster Fuller and had learned about trim tabs from him. In fact when Fuller died his epitaph reads simply TRIM TAB.

 

So what does that mean? “A trim tab is the tiny, trailing part of a ship's rudder. Slight pressure on the trim tab moves the rudder, which in turn directs the ship. We are all trim tabs, tiny pivots affecting the overall direction of humanity. As Fuller advised, it is time to take a long view. Zoom out, look at where we've been and where we might be going. See it? Now choose your path and act accordingly.”

 

As Rami said, “you don’t have to turn the weight of civilization, but you can be a trim tab and be part of the turning.”

 

The other very special aspect of the week-end was attending our first Shabbat Supper, which was memorable and delicious, prepared by friends and followed by going to their Temple B’nai Tikvah for Shabbat Services. A first for both Gottfried and me and such a special occasion to experience as guests. I loved everything about it.

This week-end was filled with freshness, learning and laughter. Just what the Doctor ordered. Thanks to Debbie, Steve and Rabbi Rami along with all the others who made the whole thing possible.

 

As always, Trudy

PS: Below is a little more info about Rami.

 

Rabbi Rami Shapiro

Rabbi Rami Shapiro is an award winning author, poet, essayist, and educator whose poems have been anthologized in over a dozen volumes, and whose prayers are used in prayer books around the world. Rami received rabbinical ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and holds doctoral degrees in both Jewish studies and divinity.

A congregational Rabbi for 20 years, Rabbi Shapiro currently teaches Religious Studies at Middle Tennessee State University, and directs One River, a not-for-profit educational foundation devoted to building community through contemplative conversation. Rami writes a regular column for Spirituality and Health Magazine called Roadside Assistance on Your Spiritual Journey. His most recent books are The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness, The Divine Feminine, and Ethics of the Sages

A Blessing

I found this blessing at Callanish Society, a non-profit organization in Vancouver providing retreats for people living with cancer and their families. It appears, per their website, that they have adapted it from Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA.

We give thanks for places of simplicity and peace.
May we find such places in ourselves.
We give thanks for places of freedom and beauty.
May we find such places in ourselves.
We give thanks for places of refuge and love.
May we find such places in ourselves.
May we begin to mend the outer world
According to the truth of our inner life.

Charter For Compassion

You may want to join in, if you haven't already, to view the launch on November 12th of the Charter For Compassion.  You can watch a preview on the site and when it is launched you can view sites all over the world, where people of all religions and no religions are taking part in this event. Charter for Compassion

Seems like a good idea to me.

November 11 Remembrance Day and JWS

 

 

I have been thinking of all those who have died in the service of their countries and it saddens me that these acts of service have required the deaths of so many people, especially young people. My prayer is that we can come to settle our differences without war and one day we will remember those who will bring us to a new way of resolving conflict. A pipe dream?  Maybe. But since what we are currently doing isn’t working well, we can always hope for a better way.

 

The other truth is that today I am mostly remembering our friend John W Stephure, whose Birthday is November 11^th.  Had he not died in June, we would have all been celebrating his 59^th this evening.

 

So today I am especially thinking of his beloved wife Meredith and his children whose loss is simply beyond words. And I’m thinking of John’s brothers and sister and families and the “nephers” as he loved to call Joy’s four boys.

 

And so it is. A loved one deeply and sorely missed.

 

I understand the story the Buddha  told  of the grieving mother and the mustard seed. When a mother loses her only son, she takes his body to the Buddha to find a cure. The Buddha asks her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a family that has never lost a child, husband, parent or friend. When the mother is unable to find such a house in her village, she realizes that death is common to all.

 

The head gets the story but the heart still weeps. And so my thoughts are with the Stephures everyday but today I just want to say how much we miss this dear friend and honourable man who was in particular your beloved husband and father and brother.

 

A toast to John with thanks and appreciation and love, T&G

 

PS And of course all of us who knew John can never forget that laugh.He continually broke up an International Conference on Morita Therapy at UBC. Everyone wanted to be at John's table because of all the fun.

 

"Family, Faith, Friends and Fun." John's Four Fs.

 

Don't Go It Alone

Aristotle said that in order for people to become virtuous, we need role models—others who have developed their capacities for courage, self-control, wisdom, and justice. We may emphasize different sets of virtues or ideas about what makes a proper role model, but ... as we are all connected and interdependent, none of us can do it all on our own.

Acknowledging this dependency is the first step of real emotional work within relationships. Our ambivalence about our own needs and dependency gets stirred up in all kinds of relationships. We cannot escape our feelings and needs and desires if we are going to be in relationships with others. To be in relationships is to feel our vulnerability in relation to other people who are unpredictable, and in circumstances that are intrinsically uncontrollable and unreliable. - Barry Magid, "No Gain," Tricycle Summer 2008

And so it goes. Who wants to be vulnerable? Who wants to deal with unpredictability? Who wants to be needy? Surely not me. And probably not many of you. But this is the stuff of relationships. And we were made for it. I wish us all good luck.   Trudy

 

20 Years Ago: Fall of Berlin Wall had significant impact on SA

 

Nov 9, 2009 11:49 PM | By The Herald Editorial

 

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The Herald Editorial: The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 is a reminder of the impact of that tumultuous event on this country. Among other things, it contributed significantly to the creation of a climate for the release of jailed ANC leader Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, and one in which negotiations could take place leading to the adoption of an interim constitution, the advent of democracy through universal elections in April 1994 and the election of South Africa’s first black president.

 

We never know the ripple effects for good or ill, at the time things happen. And it is seldom either or. It is true on the public stage and in our private lives. And 20 years goes by in a heartbeat. The fall of the Berlin Wall was a significant symbol of change in my lifetime. May the next twenty years bring peace and compassion to our troubled world. As always, T

 

PS domino photo courtesy of Istock and orchid courtesy of Gottfried

 

Through Leaves Over Bridges- for Gottfried

I have been gone for awhile (metaphorically) and now I’m back. Life sometimes hits us with a wave and while we are getting our footing we get bashed about by another. And, all the time this is happening, it is hard to remember that we are still carried, on the currents of a blessed life.

 

As for me, it has been hard to find my footing this latter half of 2009. I seem to go one step ahead and two steps back and even though it will never all come together by design, it does come together and then it falls apart and then it comes together again. Maybe that is the design. Maybe that is life. Not for all, but certainly for me.

 

And then there is Gottfried. Caregiver personified, who found himself in dire straits this summer and sought refuge in the mountains. Human suffering. Human fraility. Human resilience. Sometimes it seems like the world pretends none of this happens and yet it happens to most of us-all of us, sometime or other.

 

And here we are, still standing.

 

 

Today is Gottfried’s namesday. In Austria, as in many Catholic countries, babies are named after one of the saints so there are calendars that show the birthdates of the saint whose name you carry.

 

November 8th is the day for Gottfried-whose name means God’s peace. An old fashioned name and an old fashioned meaning. In Austria, “namenstag” used to be a bigger celebration than your Birthday although like many traditions it is slipping away, but not in our house.

 

This Sunday the sky was blue, the air was crisp, and the leaves were rustling. We got to spend three hours out doors walking along the river and maybe for the first time in awhile there was a gentle awakening of peace.  Perhaps it was Gottfried’s saint putting in some extra effort on our behalf. Perhaps it was recognizing that even though the world is full of suffering and how can we possibly complain of anything-the truth is that we are warm, vulnerable humans and sometimes our hearts get broken and stoicism isn’t the only answer. Sometimes we need to grieve our losses before we can move on.

 

And so I will once again do some scribbling. What does that mean? Not sure.  But my true, blue mantra from Pema - start where you are.

 

With appreciation for all that love and goodness that keeps us going.

 

And Gottfried, Happy Names Day. With love, Trudy