Blessings and Being

At times the Universal calendar perfectly aligns.  This past week we celebrated two major religious holidays, Easter and Passover.  Both celebrations are born from strife, pain and hardship and the each revel in renewal and rejuvenation.

 Personally, this week for me was both demanding and tiring. I traveled to Florida on Palm Sunday to my company’s annual trade show.  It is a very important and equally grueling few days.  Realizing that the show was scheduled during Holy Week I knew that I would be too exhausted to host the holiday.  Did I feel guilty?  Without a doubt I did. But I also have come to realize that you can only do what you can do.  My remaining twangs of guilt were dissolved when I heard that my parents were spending the holiday with my sister and her husband in Pennsylvania.

  Knowing that my parents had a place to celebrate the holiday I moved into the weekend exhausted from the demands of my work week, but thankful that I had two days to replenish my energy.

  Of course the best laid plans of mice and men usually go astray.  After a long peaceful walk on Saturday morning the balance of my day consisted of grocery shopping and cooking.  Chores.  Each task was necessary but all equally invasive upon my time.

  My plans for Sunday were focused and simple, take it easy.  Sleep as late as I wanted to, stay in my pajamas all day if that is what I desired and attend Easter service when I was ready. Then I was to cook a nice meal for my family.

  Saturday night, just before I was ready to head to bed I received a text message from my friend Kerry that said. “Hi Kathy, meeting Margaret outside of Torches for a 6:15 sunrise service.  Come if u can!”

  As soon as I read the message I knew that along the shoreline of the Hudson River was where I was going to welcome Easter morning, I set my alarm for 5:15 a.m. and headed to bed.  So much for sleeping in! It was now about being where you are called to be.  In my past I would have received that message and say to myself “I can’t do that.”  Now my response is, “There is no reason why I can’t do that.”  It is all about changing the dialog with yourself.  Don’t immediately impose roadblocks within your journey but rather open the space for growth to occur.

  To the surprise of my husband I arose before him, dressed grabbed my coffee and drove off within the dark stillness of the morning.  When I arrived at the river front I searched for my friend.  Within five minutes she arrived.  One thing that you have to understand about Kerry is that she speaks her truth and it comes directly from her heart. She is equally honest and comedic in her responses.  Usually Kerry is the brunt of her own jokes…..this was a wonderful lesson that I have learned from her. Simply, if you can’t laugh at yourself without abandon, who else can you really and truly laugh at with a clear understanding of circumstances? Always maintain a clear conscious and life will be good.

  When Kerry arrived I took my keys, left my pocketbook and phone behind and locked my car.  We were heading to an Easter morning service so I knew that my cell phone would not be welcomed.  As we made our way to the service area we spotted our friend Margaret.  After hugs and Easter greetings our overflowing hearts added warmth to the day and cut the chilly morning air.  A March Easter equals thirty degree mornings.

 As we stood in the dawning moments of Easter Sunday the sky above the river was speckled in pastel shades of light, blue, yellow and a fair pink were abundant.  The hues changed as the sun was rising.  The dark pastel pink turned to lighter shades.  I kept thinking of my phone/camera in the car.  As much as I wanted to run back to get it and capture the beauty of the sky, I didn’t want to interrupt the sacredness of the moment.  With the mighty Hudson River eerily still I knew that I needed to do the same.  Remain where I was and do not create a ripple. Ripples change the direction of the flow.

  The service was a mix of faiths and denominations but we were bound by a common bond, the sacredness of Mother Earth.  As each prayer, hymn and response was uttered the river, mountains and sky were staring back at us and saying, “Thank you for bearing witness.” It was a beautiful exchange of oneness and connection.

  I struggle to find the words that bring you to the place where I resided.  The feelings within a chapel are hard to describe and it is even more difficult when the windows are not constructed of stained glass, but rather an unobstructed view of a day evolving. It was pure bliss.

 As I walked away from the service centered, grounded and renewed I was grateful for the experience and overwhelmingly thankful to my friend for the invitation.  Without her prodding and if I chose to listen to the “cannot voice” versus my new found “why not” voice I would have slept through a glorious morning.

 After returning home for a bite to eat and a little rest I decided to go out for a walk.  The sun was no longer visible. The clouds replaced her presence.  But fresh air and a silent walk hold the keys to clarity.  On this day not only was clarity within reach but so were some beautiful images.

  In these last several months I have learned to listen to the “turn around” and the “go back” sounds, there are usually messages residing there.  On my walk I had my phone/camera and I captured these Easter messages and images.

A supported heart…

An angel…

Another heart….

Another angel…

A cross….

 A witness at the tomb….

A hallelujah along the road….

During my walk many thoughts crossed my mind.  I wondered about peace and why it eludes so many of us.  Why do we limit our expectations?  How come we rush through life and miss the simple moments of beauty?  So I began to craft my list of “Be’s” They may be, Be’s Belief’s, Breath’s or Beings….Here are a few of them.

  Be kind to others, but more importantly remember to be kind to yourself first.

 Believe that there are miracles around the corner and when they don’t arrive when you expect them know that this moment was not right.

 Be your best self each and every day.  When you give your all, your greatness will be seen.

 Breathe, take moments to breathe.  Each and every single breath is a gift, don’t squander it or take it for granted.

 Be yourself, because no one else can be you.

 Be aware of the strength and beauty that resides within you.  There will be times that you need to draw upon it, and you will be amazed at your resolve and resilience.

  Be strong and gentle.  An odd combination but when they reside in harmony they are a powerful combination.

  Simply……….and purely…….be…….. And breathe.

 When I returned from my walk I was renewed and was ready to commit my thought to paper.  I was going to post an Easter/Passover Blog.   First I figured I would get the meal underway so that I could free up my time to write. 

 Then the reminder from my daughter arrived.  The rough draft of her thesis was due at twelve p.m. on Monday and she had asked me to assist her in the editing process.  I promised and I would never consider reneging on such a commitment.  I knew that my plans for this post were waning.

  The sections of my daughter’s thesis began arriving.  Yes, I was anxious about my time.  I wanted to write this Easter blog and the hours of Easter Sunday were waning.  I did not have time to edit her paper and accomplish my goal. But then the same peaceful feeling that I experienced at the riverfront in the morning overtook me. Editing my daughter’s thesis was the primary task at hand.  As parents this is what we strive to do, be there when our children need us the most.  I began editing and I released my expectations of what I wanted versus what was to be. 

   For me the lesson became so very apparent. We tend to pigeon hole ourselves into a time frame.  I believed that I needed to post my Easter/Passover message on that day for it to be heard. In actuality so many people resonate with the feelings of a season on a designated day and that day only.  The real message of the holiday is to feel joy, renewal and resurrection throughout the year. These feelings are not designated for one specific day.  We are meant to carry them within us each and every day of our lives.  So you may be reading this a few days after the actual holiday, or it may be weeks, months or even years thereafter, but ask yourself am I carrying the Easter and Passover joy within my heart today, or have I put it back on the shelf and am awaiting to retrieve it next year?  

 Blessings to you my friends and remember the egg. It is the universal sign of Easter and is the ultimate symbol of new life and growth. I hope you have found your egg and are holding onto it. May joy and renewal be yours today and all of your tomorrows.

 

 

 

  And right before I posted these thoughts I realized that this was my fortieth blog post.  Ironically lent has forty days of sacrifice and strife leading up to the joys of Easter. A coincidence?  No, a message, yes.