Faith

Posted by: vkwspirit / Category:

There is much to be said about Faith.  Where does it come from? How to you "get it"? What's the purpose of Faith?  And, of course, as the current population of the world would say, "What's in it for me?"  Well, "Faith is the substance of things not seen," according to the Holy scriptures, so it is not something tangible we can "see." However, it is very visible if you look at the lives of those that have it.  When Faith is present in a life, you see less worry, more contentment, more resiliency and most certainly more peacefulness.  There is no way to avoid stress in life.  Even if you lived under a rock, chances are someone could mindlessly kick it or pick it up and there you would be exposed to life and all it's events.  Yep, life is a nondiscriminatory experience.  It does not matter who you are, how much money you have, whether you are male or female, or what your ethnicity, it finds you wherever you reside.  So, how can having Faith help in life?  Very simply, Faith gives us Hope, it gives us a light by which to find our way in the dark times we experience.  And while it would be "nice" to only live in the light all the time, we would not grow if we only experienced one aspect of life. We would never know what light was if we did not experience the dark nights of the soul.  So Faith is a gift we are offered to help us find our way.  Wouldn't it be grand if humans had the Faith the rest of the world possesses?  A tree does not fret about life, nor do the birds or animal kingdom.  They waste no words complaining and pointing fingers, they simply reach for the heavens, stand firmly on Earth Mother and keep the Faith, that in the next season all will be in perfect balance.  Think of what we could learn from the Faith of a Tree, or our family pet, or the stars that continue to reside in the night sky.  I cannot imagine living on this planet without Faith.  It helps me know, without a shadow of a doubt, that everything will rebalanced and more stable very soon.  Until then, I am comforted knowing something more divine is managing the affairs of the world!  Thank Creator for Faith!  It helps me stay out of the way for the divine to do the work; all I need do is keep the Faith so others may see the benefits it brings.


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Not Caring

Posted by: vkwspirit / Category:

When I first heard the teaching of not caring for people, I thought, "how selfish!"; then I learned more about what that really means.  According to the origin of the word "care", it means to "carry the burden."  So, in essence, to not care about someone is to have the utmost respect for them.  Whatever does that mean?  If you consider for a moment, that everything you have become is based on the experiences you have confronted.  We are all shaped by our experiences, when confronted with various situations, we have choices to make as to what we will do with the situation.  Every day we make dozens of choices as to what to do, say or think, and each one we decide gives us a consequence.  Hopefully, as we mature, we consider those consequences before taking action, rather then reacting to life.  If each of us are to grow, we need to take the time to consider how we became the person we are, then take responsibility for our choices and use that information when making new decisions.  As we do this we learn to respect ourselves and others as we carefully consider our actions.  IF we really respect our friends and family, we will know they are capable of making their own decisions and will learn more quickly if they make their own choices.  The tricky part is wanting to help those we love to have a "happy" life by making all the "right" choices, so we all too often quickly volunteer our advice.  Consider carefully that if we do this, we really are saying to the other person, "since you do not know how to take care of yourself, I will do it for you." And we all know how that works out, if the consequences are not what the person hoped for, guess who gets blamed!  So, consider showing respect to those in your life by "not carrying their burdens" and honoring they will grow in wisdom as they choose for themselves.  After all, don't we all have enough decisions to make in our own lives without getting involved in someone else's?  If you don't perhaps you could write a book so the rest of us could learn from you how to not have so many decisions to make!  So what can you do to help those you love?  You pray for them, you listen to their words, remind them you know they are capable of making a good choice, and you look in the mirror at your own life.  Is there something in your life you can do to support their life?  Chances are the answer to that is "yes." Now, instead of carrying their burden, take care of what is in front of you. 


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Sleepless in Martinsville

Posted by: vkwspirit / Category:

Maybe I went to bed too early, maybe it's the humidity and warmth, or perhaps I simply need to put another entry on the blog.  Sleep is something I have been blessed with.  I know people who rarely get a good night's sleep, and gratefully, that is not true for me.  Generally when I cannot sleep there is something on my mind.  Since January, there have been many nights I have awaken for no apparent reason and if I get up, there is generally some point of clarity that reveals itself.  Must be the stillness of the night that opens an avenue that leads to discovering something the mind cannot hear during the busyness of day.  Even the birds sleep at night; it is very still where I live and I am grateful for the quietness.  My heart seems to speak to me more clearly in the middle of the night, or perhaps it is simply the lack of distractions that makes it appear that way.  Either way, I love the quietness of the night when only a hum can be heard in my ears, it is a great reminder that my heart does have a voice--gratefully, it is a sweet one that loves to sing to me.  I am grateful to know that in the stillness of night my heart connects to the divine and reminds me how precious and loved we all are.  Certainly makes waking up most rewarding! Now for some comforting sleepytime tea, then back to bed!


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Mother's Day

Posted by: vkwspirit / Category:

I do not know when Mother's Day first became an annual holiday, nor do I know if our country is the only one that celebrates this occasion.  What I do know is how nice it is to notice people taking the time to remember their Mother.  Whether your Mother was kind and compassionate, or strict and stern, the job of being a Mother is not an easy one.  Stop for a moment and consider what courage and strength it takes to be a Mother.  From the time you conceive the child until you die, you are on call 24-7.  Of course, once your child leaves home, there is less responsibility; however, if they need something, it is generally the Mother they call.  Perhaps it is because a child lies at his/her Mother's belly for nine months that creates that bond, or maybe it is simply because she's the one most available the first few years of a child's life.  What is most obvious is the love a child has for his/her Mother is generally hard to break, regardless what they relationship has been.  When push comes to shove and life gets really difficult, it is Mom most of us want.  And Mom comes in many shapes and forms: biological, adopted, grandmother, Aunt, are among the most common.  However, what a child is really yearning for is the heart-felt love that most generally comes from the one we first encountered.  It is that love we all seek that keeps us forever willing to open our hearts to another.  Whether our hearts get broken, or filled with hope, rarely do humans stop searching for that unconditional love.  As Mother's Day is celebrated, take a few moments to ask yourself, if you have the love in your heart to open it to someone else?  Are you willing to ask for what you want and give from your own heart?  Every human being wants to be seen and loved, and whether your Mother gave that to you or not, there is always an opportunity to give and receive heart-felt love to another person.  With so many people searching for love, surely you can take the time to give someone a hug, speak a kind word, or simply give them a smile.  It just may be precisely what their heart and yours needs.


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Chaos

Posted by: vkwspirit / Category:

It is 3:00 a.m. and sleep alludes me; thoughts of current situations in my family are playing in my head.  So, I did my usual "routine" for clearing my mind and attempted to return to bed.  No luck; my thoughts kept ruminating over recent news flashes a family member told me.  I continue to pray for my loved ones knowing Creator has a grander scale of healing tools by which to assist humans then my brain can even begin to imagine.  I am grateful for Sleepytime Tea and the ability to know if I take an action I move toward what I want to create and therefore, away from trying to figure out how to "fix" someone else's situation.  My children have taught me how to stay out of their business and respect them enough they have the tools to confront whatever situation they bring into their life.  My job when they were young was to teach them how to find solutions and know within themselves they have the answers they need.  Now, it is my job to be there to listen and remind them of those truths.  It is much more empowering to help someone find their own wisdom within then to be the "saviour" who has all the answers. 
So here I am making my way through the chaos of life's situations by writing down my thoughts and feelings.  It is a different generation than I grew up in when there were not so many choices, so much exposure to what everyone else is doing in their life.  Indeed, there is constant chaos brought about by the actions of others most of us really have no dealings with, except through the media.  Still, we can be pulled into their life's dramas simply by turning on the TV or Internet.  It boggles my mind how people can choose to watch these "reality" shows; like life does not bring us enough in our own families.  It has been said, "misery loves company" and that most certainly fits today's society.  I suppose there is comfort in knowing others have the same difficulties as we do.  Through the chaos of life's situations we do find strength; just seems to me that strength can come through looking over our shoulder at how we have made choices, listening to our elders talk about how they adjusted to changes in life, and gleaning the wisdom of discernment through their insights rather than actually experiencing it ourselves.  I am grateful to have been taught to think before doing something.  Even though doing this was a way to make certain we didn't embarrass our parents, or offend God in some way, it still gave me the opportunity to stop and think about possible consequences.  By doing this it was easier to take responsibility for my actions, rather then blame someone else.  A rather novel idea in today's world; however, certainly one that would lead to less chaos in life. 
It all comes down to what each person chooses for his/her life.  If you are reading this, you now have no excuse for not taking responsibility for your choices--you have been told how to stop and think first. What I know is chaos can bring positive changes to one's life, IF we learn from the experiences.  However, if we are continually confronting chaos, there is something we are missing in the experience or we would not keep repeating it. 
So, for this moment, I will complete this entry, finish my tea, turn off the computer and return to a very good sleep.  I am grateful there is a Creator in charge of helping those who ask for assistance...it makes my life so much simpler!


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Grandfather

Posted by: vkwspirit / Category:

Native teachings refer to the sun as "Grandfather" and the moon as "Grandmother."  What I know living in the mid-west is we are most grateful for his recent "appearance."  We know the universe knows precise what is needed to keep our Earth Mother in balance, and heaven knows it has had to work overtime to meet those needs; especially considering most humans pay little attention to her!  We have been blessed with much rain, and the vivid greens bare witness to the lushness brought forth from the abundance.  While most of us truly enjoy the beauty, we also need to see our Grandfather's face!  The warmth he brings stirs our bodies and souls as we eagerly wait for the warmth of summer.  I am grateful Creator knows precisely what Earth Mother needs, and I trust when enough water has been stored, we will once again feel the warmth brought from the presence our Grandfather. 


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