OMG – Has it really been almost two years??

I don’t know what made me look at my blog today, but when I did I was shocked to see I haven’t posted anything since September 2021! I have certainly been busy these past two years, but I failed to realize that I hadn’t been keeping up here. What can I tell you about these past two years that would help you on YOUR journey to wholeness?

I turned 70 in May of 2022. From March of 2022 until now, I have been engaged in what I consider to be the biggest emotional and spiritual growth spurt of my life. Brené Brown once said: “One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.” That quote has inspired me to start writing a book to tell my story.

Over the past twelve years, I have had two books inside me longing to come out, but I have not had the discipline to actually sit down and write them to completion. I’m really good at starting projects, but not so good at sticking with them until they are done! The first book was prompted by me learning that the words “heal”, “whole”, and “holy” all come from the same root word – the Old English word “hal.” (Working title: Heal, Whole, Holy.) That is also the reason my business name is “Wholly Education” – a play on those words. The second book was about how we seem to only grow when pain pushes us to do so. (Working title: Growing Pains.) The book I am working on now will include components of those two books in them.

In future blogs, I will be sharing my continuing saga of “Turning 70 – My Journey to Wholeness.” I invite you to come along for the ride with me!

Letting Go

I belong to a virtual Unitarian Universalist congregation known as the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF). On one of the groups I belong to affiliated with CLF, I posted my new journey on non-attachment. One of the other members posted back “Cue Frozen theme…” and I was taken aback that the whole theme of non-attachment could be so simply reduced to letting go. Why had I never connected this before myself?  I don’t know. So my spiritual practice is now largely revolving around the “simple” act of letting go, which is nowhere as simple as it would seem to be.

In the process, however, I have found myself feeling lighter as I abandon more and more of the needless baggage I have been carrying around. I am sure that at some point, some of this baggage may have served me. The trick is to figure out if it is still serving me now. And much of it does not. In fact, carrying it around does me more harm than good. In lightening my load, I am finding there are new paths opening up to me that I was unable to see before. In talking to a friend yesterday, I commented, “I wonder if there is a connection to being enlightened and feeling lighter. After all, the word lighten is contained in the word enlighten.” That is my next project – to research the etymology of both words.

Comments are greatly appreciated as I travel this journey. It is more fun with companions and I will certainly learn more if you chime in with your thoughts and experiences. Thank you!

Non-Attachment

For the upcoming year I have chosen to reflect on what non-attachment means to me. I have been drawn to Buddhist thought in the past, but I have never made it part of my spiritual practice. I recently joined the Church of the Larger Fellowship, a virtual Unitarian Universalist congregation. One of its many Facebook pages/groups is called CLF Coffee Hour. Someone posts almost daily the question, “How is your spiritual practice today?” Having that reminder has made me very aware of how important a spiritual practice is. Another one of the CLF groups is doing a “word of the year” to work on. So that’s where “non-attachment” comes in – I have chosen it to be my word of the year.

At this point, I have come as far as determining that non-attachment for me should be more about outcomes rather than people or things. It will be quite the journey to discover the balance between appropriate attachment and non-attachment. I may have to pull out and dust off some old books from my library. I’m sure I will be writing more as my journey continues.

Voting as a Spiritual Practice

With the upcoming elections right around the corner, I would like to take the opportunity to urge everyone to VOTE! It may not seem like voting is a spiritual practice, but when we cast our vote, we are helping to create community. That can certainly be a spiritual practice.

I just cane across an article that goes more in depth on this topic. I hope you will take the time to read it and I hope you will VOTE next Tuesday!!

Read more…

The Lake as My Spiritual Practice

If you’ve ever seen my Facebook, you will know that I am a little bit (OK, a LOT) obsessive about taking pictures of Cayuga Lake, the lake on which I reside. I recently joined a Facebook group where every day we are asked to post how our spiritual practice is going. After posting for several days that I was enjoying the lake, it finally dawned on me that this IS my spiritual practice and that is why it is so important to me to live where I live. The water is calming and peaceful, even when the wind is blowing and there are waves, or when the geese are honking. I love to watch the changes the lake goes through not only from season to season, but even during the course of the day – look at how it changes! These were all taken yesterday when I had the pleasure of spending the whole day at home. The first picture is at sunrise around 7:30 AM. The next three pictures are around 1:00 PM. The next picture is around 4:30 PM and the last picture is sunset around 6:30 PM. I love how the sunset turns the lake pink. I will leave you with this Jacques Yves Cousteau quote: “We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.”

Monday Musing

This is a very late Monday post. I arrived home (in Seneca Falls) from Rochester just in time to see a beautiful double rainbow. I took pictures, but they do not do justice to the beauty I saw. I love rainbows (who doesn’t?).  They just make me feel like there is a power greater than ourselves out there. I have nothing more to say.

Monday Musing

This is what I wake up to look at every morning (well, except for when I spend the night away from home like I did last night). This is Cayuga Lake. I love my lake. It makes me feel at peace and one with nature. I could sit and stare at it for hours if I had no other activities in my life, but I do have things to do. So I take pictures frequently so I can look at my lake when I’m not there. It is almost as relaxing. I honestly don’t know why I am so attracted to this lake, but I sure do love living here.

Oh well, back to work.

Elimination and Letting Go

It’s funny how the things we care about change as we age. Last time I talked about my teeth and how excited I am to be getting more teeth in my mouth again to replace the ones I’ve lost. Today I am sharing how my bowel movements have inspired a metaphor for life –  letting go!

Yes, it might not be something we talk about normally, but it is certainly a normal bodily function and I think it makes a great metaphor. What is all of life about anyway except keeping a healthy balance between taking in, digesting, and letting go (or eliminating), whether we are talking about physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually.

So I have been having fantastic bowel movements this past week. I guess I am at a point in my life where I have learned to let go. At least, that’s the story I’m going with!

How about you? How are your letting go habits? Are they working for you? Are you maintaining a healthy balance between taking things in and letting them go?

I Love You, Cayuga Lake!

I love living on the lake. I love waking up every morning and seeing this view when I look out my living room window. I am so happy I made the decision to move here almost two years ago now. I really feel like I am living my dream, even when other things in my life might not be going the way I planned or want them to, when I look out over the lake. I love watching the cycles,how it changes during the day, during the week, during the year. I have no idea why it makes me feel so good, although I have read that there have been studies done that show this feeling is real. I don’t need studies to tell me how good it feels. I’m here living it! I love you, Cayuga Lake!

Monday Musing

Four Generations of Females!

Jennie’s Non-Profit Organization

Me playing the piano

Beautiful Cayuga Lake

I woke up this morning feeling like my life is perfect. I live on a beautiful lake which makes me feel like I am living in heaven. I have wonderful loving and supportive people in my life; friends and all of my various families of blood and choice. I have enough money coming in to pay the bills and I make that money doing what I love and enjoy. I have projects to work on that bring me pleasure as well as leave me feeling fulfilled and worthwhile. I am so grateful for everything in my life that allows me to feel this way. I wish I could wake up every morning feeling like this. The only thing that would make life more perfect would be if I get kick my alcohol addiction. I guess there is always room for improvement.

So how about you? What in your life are you grateful for that makes your life perfect? What areas need improving? Leave a comment. I love your feedback!