Walking The Journey

The family gathered, cooked, ate, enjoyed the Thanksgiving dinner, enjoyed time together, took naps, and relaxed.  The three guys build a huge fire, flames surpassing 20 feet, pine trees burning as the sun went down, the heat warming the cold New York air.  Three woman sat inside, watching the television, comfortable inside from the cool temperatures in the darkness of outside.  Watching the flames, feeling the heat, being outside, it just felt good.  Sitting inside, watching the guys in the cold of darkness, outlined buy the flames of the fire, they felt happy to be inside.  Different views to same situation and different definitions of being content and happy. As we move closer to the end of an old year and the beginning of a new year, we all sit at different places in life.  Our perceptions of where we are and our desires of where we want to be become more profound. Sometimes the struggle in becoming motivated to make the changes we need in life to liv...

Have you ever walked through life oblivious of your surroundings, such as arriving home from work not really remembering the drive, being so absorbed in your own head that you were on “autopilot”? While walking in the woods or enjoying nature from my back deck, which is really just the neighbors trees and the beauty of the sky, I can often become unaware of what’s occurring around me, until my senses are jarred. This is a common practice for those of us who meditate or practice mindfulness, being in the exact moment of time, void of the past and future. In the change process of life, being oblivious to the effect of problems in life is referred to as pre-contemplation, or in a state of denial. When we are in this state, we often view the problems in our lives as not a problem. Being in this stage is feeling complacent in our current state or believing that we have no control over the behavior. Being in this state, we sometimes don’t understand how the problem is affecting our lives or...

Listening to Christmas music, the song, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas”, plays and as I look out the window, it is cold, but I won’t say it’s looking a lot like Christmas.   The skies are blue and very clear, not a snow cloud in sight.   But then again, just because I view Christmas time as a soothing blanket of snow doesn’t necessary mean the next person sees Christmas the same.   Change is much like the holidays, we see it differently, yet we see it just the same.   Some of us see change as huge and challenging, others see change as exciting and worthy, while others see change as fearful and scary.   How we see change is probably motivated by our experiences and the views of those who still whisper silently in our ears, scripting our belief systems and views.   Change entails many factors, and I suppose the first is to recognize the need for change.   To recognize is begin to see that change is necessary, or at least desire...

Time continues to move forward, much as the colors of the fall trees continue to brighten, fade, and leave the safety of their branch homes, covering the ground, preparing for the winter.   With a new year comes a new spring and new growth, from that which passed before, from the activities of the winter, from the changing seasons and climate of the environment.   The cycle of the seasons comes to an end in winter and begins again in spring. We’re much like the cycles of the seasons.   We are born, we rely on the warmth and sustenance of our mother, the protection of our father, and the support of our family.   We grew from child to teen, discovering the self of who we are created to be.   Growth moves us forward into adulthood, and eventually, we grow old, and we too return to where we came.   The cycle of life comes to an end on this planet and begins again in our immortal state with God. Along the way, we make choices in our lives, all in an effort to g...