Dear Reader:

I have come to realize that the beauty of flowers lies in their “hereness.” From the moment their bud opens revealing their own special individualized beauty…everything stops and we pay homage to that beauty….knowing it is only fleeting but still exquisite in the essence of its “hereness.”

As our spiritual maturity expands, we do begin to understand how (Falling Upward– Father Richard Rohr) ” the heartbreaks, disappointments, and first loves of life are actually stepping stones to the spiritual joys that the second half of life has in store for us.”

Rohr, in his award-winning book, discovers that our second half of spiritual life can best be described as ” bright sadness,” “sober happiness’ and a ” much deeper lightness.”   (some great oxymorons!)

1. The “bright sadness” and “sober happiness” discoveries don’t come from us being sad…but being so happily content that we want all our loved ones to be at the stage we are…  in our understanding of a happiness that has nothing to do with circumstance or situation. It makes us sad to see those we care about struggle, as we once did, to find this precious treasure.

2.  Life is much more spacious now…enlarged by our lifetime of experiences and relationships…we are like an expandable suitcase. We finally realize that just “being“… just being “here” “holds more than enough.”

3. If we know anything at this stage it is that we are all in this together…we are all connected. (what a great reaffirmation for me reading this…this statement is the one thing I am sure of in this world.)

4. We no longer have to be the center of attention, we are content just to be part of the dance.

5. Life is more participatory than assertive and there is no need for further self-definition. God knows and accepts us for who we are…our “hereness.” Our growing sense of infinity and spaciousness is no longer found just “out there” but we know it is “in here”…in each of us. (The inner and the outer have become one.)

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So until tomorrow…Let us strive to reach the wonderful stage of understanding that our relationship with God is where our happiness and “hereness” lies.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*We ask for prayers today for Anne’s sister, Nancy, who just completed her second chemo treatment (Anne just returned home, again, from Maine Tuesday…she and Nancy had a wonderful visit.)

We also ask for prayers for two young friends of Patty Knight who have both been diagnosed recently with breast cancer…Brandi Riggins and Nancy Hudson.

These are just some of the fantastic people we will be walking for on the 17th… and then there are the others, who no longer have a voice…so we must become their voice for them. Eliminate cancer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!