teachings

LET NOTHING DISTURB YOU

January 6, day 6 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. It helps me to count out the days. It’s day 5 of the Positivity Challenge. Today’s assignment is to buy myself some flowers and if I can’t, paint some. It is another bitterly cold day. My tire pressures are on the low side despite being pumped up the other day. I rather not chance driving to the store and have a flat. I am too tired to take up the paint brush. And really I have many blooms already, live, painted and sewn. I do appreciate them. It is not necessary at all for me to do anything else but to give them my loving gaze and share them here.

I was going to reflect more on the pandemic and talk about what I learned about myself during this entire experience for my Unravel My Year workbook. I am not going to do that today. Nor am I going to make a pie crust. My excuse is mental and physical exhaustion. Too much news and talk about Covid. I’m up to my eyebrows with it. So no pandemic reflections today. The bitter cold is tiring physically. I woke up to -37℃ this morning. I felt it during the night, waking up 2-3 times before morning. Even though I was warm with enough covers, my body knew. Caroline Myss is right, we are all connected. What is in one is in the whole. I am in the universe and the universe is in me.

She is one of the people that I admire and go to for advice/information/instruction. I don’t know her personally. When I talk about seeking her out, I mean seeking out her teachings in books and online classes. She has many free resources on her website as well as on YouTube. I have bought a few of her books and online classes. I love her talks on Saint Teresa of Avila. I find so much comfort in St. Teresa’s prayer. These few words have the power to calm and sooth me. It’s a good way to close this post and day.

Let nothing disturb you,Let nothing frighten you,All things are passing away:God never changes.Patience obtains all thingsWhoever has God lacks nothing;God alone suffices.

DAY 30 UBC – THE SINGLE STEP

The Single Step

I’m having a second cup of tea on this grey misty morning. Trying to get my creative juices and blood flowing. I’m not a very exciting person, not the kind of woman who dances on table tops or jumps out of cakes. Are you? I’m having one of those mornings. My batteries are down to their last dregs. I feel like I’m grinding to a halt. BUT, I’ll just poke along, one step at a time. A journey of a thousand miles starts with the single step. That’s what my ancestors, Confucius and Lao Tzu taught among many other things. This is not a bad time to study their lives. Having lived in times before Christ, their teachings still stand the test of time today.

I made some progress during the morning. I did not just sit and stare. I dared to open up some kitchen drawers. What chaos! I almost closed them up again. It wouldn’t have helped because I knew what a mess they were. I can see them in my mind’s eye. I dug in and pulled everything out. Got out the hand vacuum and sucked up all those the loose tea leaves, sugar and what have yous. Then I sorted as best as I could, putting into appropriate baskets/containers, etc. And voilà! The drawers after the cleanup.

Now I’m waiting for supper. We’re late as usual. We’re busy retired people but I got my walk in. Late afternoon, early evening makes for a nice stroll around the neighbourhood. It is quiet, the world slowing down and the sky closing up for the day. It is a beautiful time of day.

I am not a fan of Halloween and trick and treatings but I do enjoy the effort people put into decorating their yards. We don’t have to do Halloween or any other occasion the same all the time when it’s not appropriate. Change is good. It exercises our brain and soul. Experiment and see what happens. Take the step.