Category: Focus

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Immerse for Joy

I pause, notice kitty Barney, so relaxed, taking a snooze, and do something I have only done once since he got here; in fact, something I haven’t done much of at all since Mikey died. I stop and do a quick sketch, right in my journal. It’s funny, I could draw Mikey over and over and over. You said once, that is because I loved him so. So this sketch isn’t quite right, I am rusty, and Barney keeps moving. But I’ll get there, just like I did with Mikey. This was fun.

See? More Joy. Joy comes in noticing and immersing yourself. It’s what you do when you photograph–or write. You give attention.

So, how can I do this with chores, like vacuuming, say?

By noticing with every stroke, every sweep, how grateful you are for what surrounds you, the floor under your feet, each piece of furniture. Same with dusting. Allow yourself to linger a minute remembering some of the stories of the pieces you have decorating your home. Feel all over again the joy of acquiring each one–or, in the case of a family piece, some happy memory of the person it belonged to before you. You have many antiques from your mom; imagine their stories. If you cannot imagine their stories and have none of your own, then no matter their economic value, they have no heart-value to you, and it is time to let them go.

Really?

Of course. The key to loving your home, like loving anything else, is attention. You choose to pay attention to Barney, to signal to him agin and again that he is safe, and loved, and you are winning his love and his trust as a result

I do love him, Lord–even when he nips at me, I do love him.

Of course you do; that is who you are. And there is a big difference between what you are doing to bond with Barney and enduring abuse. No one is called to do that, because deliberate unkindness, or worse, is no part of My Nature or My Kingdom, and those are chains I would break, every time.

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Walk with Me

Lord, I have 15 minutes. Maybe 20. I have done everything except get quiet. I lay awake too long to begin, quiet. Lord?

You think you can’t hear Me in a “brainstorm.” Worse, you think I can’t hear you. When you cannot quiet your mind, I. Am. Still. Think about that. I Am Still. What if I cannot be still, cannot be still and know, you ask? Then look to Me, the Great I Am, the One Who Still Is, Who Is Always, Who Is Present, Who Is Both Active, and Still. Let My Peace penetrate your unknowing. Just walk with Me. You will find My companionship to be all you need today, to begin. To begin your day more centered, more grounded, more focused. Just walk with Me. Decide on a pace that lets you remember all you do know.

You are being Martha and neglecting Mary. Look up the verse. (I do that.) See what it says? I don’t scold Martha for being busy–which is what you always think. It is not the tMartha was busy, or that she had a lot that had to get done–which is what you say–it is that her attitude needed adjusting. And the best way to adjust attitude is to realign with Me, which is what Mary is doing in the story. It’s not about preferring one sister over the other. It is not even about sibling squabbles. It is about Martha being distracted, worried, and anxious or upset. Does this sound like anyone you know?

Okay, so there has to be a third way, for busy people. The story goes on to say only one thing is important.

Yes, and that is?

Oh, of course! Love! Love You, love others!

And–love yourself. Take care of yourself too–and living in a perpetual state of worry and distraction, even if you try to say it’s all about others, isn’t actually loving anybody. So, walk with Me. Let Me show you every day what your own “good part” is, what that looks like in the context of your work, your home, your family and friends, and the larger world.

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Peace and Protection

Lord, You have said before I can’t weave protection around those I love. But You can. So I am asking, again, in ways I didn’t necessarily feel before, for Your physical protection for them, for all of them. When I come to the end of me, I need to find You.

You always look for good. You always seek Me out. In another world, a fantasy-world, you would be the one spotting the Runes in the rocks, in the forest, off the trail. You would be the one hearing BirdSpeech, hearing RiverTalk. Those around you would see only pebbles, just leaves on the ground, and hear only chattering, only gurgles.

Your insistence on walking this way might annoy them. Likely they would call you crazy, or strange, or off. You might even be accused of being on the Wrong Side.

You have blazed a trail–your life–to My heart.

You have read the rocks and leaves, as your lyric says, of Me.

Because you have chosen this way of Peace, of Gentleness, you feel deeply the actions and choices of those around you who are not on this path.

Lord, it’s like that movie Avatar, when they bulldozed the Forest. That destruction. Where is the peace in that?

The Peace is in your own heart, beating in rhythm to My heart. Little One, others are choosing violence every day, violent games, violent movies, comedy based on put-downs and insults, sarcastic judging of others. Violent or angry people draw into their world what they focus on most.

Since you focus most on Peace, that is what you draw, from My Storehouse of Blessing, into your world. When Jesus warned about pearls before swine He was merely expressing, with a great sadness, a reality about swine life. As long as they remain in that mindset, they don’t see the blessings provided every day, and they will turn on those who see like you see.

Lord, when I hear about violence, on the news, say, I think about the victims, pray for them or their families, but dare I whisper this, I also ask that there is some kind of investigation that helps, really helps the attackers, because this kind of violence has to have been spawned somehow.

You are asking for Mercy with Justice. This is Who I Am. You are less interested in punishment for punishment’s sake and more interested that everyone involved be healed and made whole. Others may seek only retribution, out of a mindset that answers violence with a violent response. Remember My cry from the Cross when you need to remember My Heart: Father, forgive them…

Lord, I just realized something! I hope I can express it in words. If there is Peace, that in itself IS protection. I mean, in true peace, total peace, there is nothing to protect from, to shield against. It is like flipping a switch. Peace is its own world–the New World You speak of. Wow. Peace IS protection. Never thought about that. So when I pray for protection, I am really praying for peace. I love that. I love that. 

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One at a Time

Suddenly, I have so many need-to’s. My mind is trying to recall everything. Lord?

I brought the animals to Adam to name one at a time. They didn’t come en masse–that would have been overwhelming. You need to approach your to-do’s in the same way. Adam could never have named the giraffe if he’d been fretting over what to call the elephant. There is a place and time for Big Picture thinking and a time for the nitty-gritty details. You’ve had to bounce between the two, but for these next days, try to approach your tasks in the same way you were counseled to photograph in Florida–one bird at a time, rather than darting your focus from this bird to that bird to another bird. You will know when it’s time to switch to a wider angle perspective and consider the whole, but for this week, see each small task through before you begin to work on, or even think much about, the next one. That will help calm your darting thoughts. Not only will you feel calmer, you will actually get more done, with a greater sense of accomplishment. It’s not the way you usually approach a project. You usually try to juggle multiple pieces of its totality at once. Try this other way. You’ll be more productive and more serene. And yes, build in time to breathe! You can take mini-breaks as you finish a task. This is one of your issues–when you try to juggle and consider everything at once, you have the sense nothing is ever really finished, and you don’t let yourself stop, and rest, and enjoy a quiet moment. You also miss out on the satisfaction of accomplishment because your mind is already off and working on the next three things.

Gosh, God, it sounds so easy when You say it. So simple. But You’re right–it’s not how I think, not how I do things.

Remember, this isn’t a contest or a school day. This is your life, your beautiful, busy, multi-faceted life. Why not find ways to enjoy it more, in the actual doing and living of it?