Speaking of Spirit

One of the things that I do to help myself keep my spirits high is to take photos. I became a photographer (taking and developing my own pictures) as a teen.  Since then, photography has been my "go to" art when I wanted to express myself or wanted to create something to share with others. As an adult, I incorporated my writing as well as quotes from others onto the pictures; thereby, creating inspirational pictures which I have uploaded to my Facebook page .   With the future still very uncertain, I thought I would post a few of my favorite pictures here.  May they inspire, comfort, and bring you hope. Blessings!

Love by Kathleen Grieg Mothering can take many forms. Each of us - male or female - can mother.  How can this be, you may ask?   Let's look at the verb form of the word - to mother. The late Old English meaning was, "that which has given birth to anything ."  Then, around 1863, it began to be used to mean, "to take care of, to act as a mother." During this pandemic, we have all been challenged to "act as a mother," to each other and to ourselves.  These actions are what a mother would do for her child - protect, nurture, encourage. We have been asked to protect each other from this virus. This means wearing masks, as well as making them for those who do not have any. Protection also means staying several feet away from people, staying home and keeping everything sanitized. Nurturing comes from our creative acts. For example, the ingenious posts we share on social media - group sing-a-longs, videos of social distance dancing, challenges t...

The world is going into the fifth month of life with COVID 19. In most places, isolation is the new way of life. Phrases like "social distancing" and "quarantine" have become the buzz words of 2020. These words sound ominous, but perhaps we aren't looking at this from the best point of view. Isolation comes from the Latin root for "island." When we think about it, every continent is its own island - huge land masses that are floating, literally, on the Earth's surface. If one is out on the sea, an island can be a respite or a curse, which is why so many lighthouses were built on islands.  Staying with the metaphor of the lighthouse for a minute, let us consider what life was like living as the caretaker of a lighthouse. This was an important position back in the days before automated lights and electricity. The lighthouse keeper had to literally light the lamp and keep the light in good working order. The keeper also saved lives when storms...

At the beginning of this year, I found my Word of the Year.  The word was, "visit."  I never, at the time, realized how I would need to rethink the meaning of this word. At first thought, back in January, I was prepared to "practice" visiting via traveling to see those I had not seen in a long time. Today, in the face of the COVID-19 virus, this isn't happening.  Rethinking "visiting," I have come to see that to visit is more than being a presence in a room with others. When I have visited this past week, it has been over the phone, through the internet, by means of old-fashioned letters, and texts. In addition, I have visited with those who have become fearful and anxious on social media. We have shared our fears, our joys, and our most recent realizations.  Love, as I have always known, is the great healer. Sharing Love, doing Loving acts, speaking Loving words, all have the power to push fear away and allow for healing to grow.   

This past week has been the most difficult many of us have ever experienced. We are worried and fearful because of the constant threat of the COVID virus. Yet, in the face of fear and uncertainty, there have been many acts of selflessness and compassion. As the writer of Matthew says above, can worrying give you anything more in life?  Worry does nothing more than sap us of energy - energy that could be used to help ourselves and others.  Being worry-free does not mean we do not care or that we are unaware. Rather, being worry-free is the realization that something needs our attention, that we might be uncertain of what to do, but whether alone or together, we will face the challenges ahead. A Prayer for Our Time Masterful Physician of Life,  we come to You in this time, when fear lingers, like hungry animals on the outskirts of the forest. We come to You in this time, when uncertainty blows, like an icy wind that paralyzes everything it touche...

 Bray Beach, Ireland (c) 2014 LMN “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”  ~ Charles Dickens ~ When Dickens penned these words over 150 years ago, he was writing of the world he knew. However, today, this iconic text speaks volumes about the state of things today.   In the past few days, many of us have seen or heard of the best and worst of humans, governments, and leaders. We have seen people fighting over rolls of toilet paper at one moment, only to turn and see young people delivering food to shut-ins and the elderly.  The Light and Dark of these days has been quite visible to all.  There is much Wisdom to be found, but also much foolishness.  Humankind has heard the Truth as well as the ...

Beginning tomorrow Christians around the world will observe 40 days of reflections, sacrifice and prayer. This is the holy season of Lent - the time prior to the Feast of Easter.  Traditionally, followers would give something up for Lent - candy, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. Over the years, what I have found is that "giving something up" isn't always what one would hope it would be. In addition, when people fail at their attempt to give up, they feel bad about themselves, which truly defeats the purpose of nurturing our spirits. Long ago, I began a tradition of "giving" during Lent.  Rather than looking at the cup half empty and giving up candy or something, I decided to be positive, to give to others - random acts of kindness. For example,  instead of buying that candy bar, one could put the money into a friend's pocket when he/she wasn't looking.  When my girls were young, we took the money spent on pizza and gave flowers anonymously to people in...