Hello to you. Some plans have materialized for tomorrow morning so I figured I would write to you tonight so I can take my time!
This mornings sermon given by Pastor Jason really resonated with me. The subject that he talked about was difficult love. He wanted us to draw a line and divide it in two. Then he asked us to write down the name of a person we love the most on one side and the name of the person we feel the least for on the other side. He said chances are the person we love the most is the most like ourselves in most every way and the person we love the least is very different from ourselves. All through our lives we have gravitated towards those who were most like ourselves. As adults many of us still do this. It’s easy to love those that love us back. Thankfully God doesn’t conditionally love us!
I have always been an odd ball or outsider. I always gravitated to others living on the margins of society….an observer…..loner. When I was on active duty in the Air Force I was exposed to people of many cultures and regardless of our many differences we had a mission in common. We learned to work together and agree to disagree about things. I have worked with homeless people and talked to veterans out in the street…. approached the types of people most everyone else passes by or “ doesn’t see.” I care about these people often regarded as difficult to love. I try to see people with my heart and find the good in such people. It can be really difficult especially if you are polar opposites on most everything! I have people close to me that don’t share my views on things but don’t hold it against me or I them. It’s good and healthy to have different perspectives and share them – it helps us widen our mindscapes and we grow as people….that’s what I think anyways!
What comes to my mind is that love is the bridge between different worlds.
This morning I got to talk and pray with a couple of my neighbors. One of them is working with others to include clergy to try and help a woman who is living in very unhealthy conditions. This woman is finally accepting help but resisted for a long time. An example of someone difficult to love! The other neighbor asked me to take a couple pictures for her for some friends and showed me the beautiful orange irises that had just opened up. She’s kind of digging the color orange too lol. She knew that orange is the color associated with the lower back (sacral chakra).
Doing all this I got to know her better. Turns out she has dedicated her yard and all the work she puts into it to victims of human trafficking! Isn’t that beautiful? An active, perpetual prayer in flowers for victims. We talked about how crazy the world is and I mentioned my mantra about not overly focusing on the doings of others. She said she used to be very co-dependent which I can relate to. She said my mantra sounded a lot like one of The Four Agreements. I had to look this up when I got home! So glad I did! I really love message exchanges:
Only a couple happy snaps from the afternoon walk. I saw the healthcare worker as Link and I were leaving the spot by the canal we love. I encouraged her to just take a moment by the water to catch her breath on her walk home. Today I was imagining sitting in the stream out back of where my Aunt and Uncle used to live in Idaho City – waterways are so therapeutic for the spirit:
https://youtu.be/OU4AeKju81I – Super Recovery and Healing Frequency Whole Body Regeneration (I like music like this when I am hurting or trying to still my mind)
https://youtu.be/UJZxtO9XNno – Gentle Stream Sounds
To be 