Ponderings #16

                                                  Everyday Spirituality

Dear fellow travelers,

Thank you for coming on this journey with me.

I have heard from you, concerning situations and challenges on finances, relationships, health, work issues, and in many other areas. I have at one time or another, also had challenges in many of these areas.

We are all unique individuals, who are also creative beings. I know we all have our own life styles, perspectives and beliefs.

I have read that to change a situation, we must change the perspective or belief behind it, to allow us to be open to solutions.

I had an ah ha! moment with a profound, to me, experiential (an activity in which everyone in the group participates). It culminated in endless solutions, and I often go back to that exercise when I feel blocked, knowing "there is a solution".

It was an exercise at a regional management work seminar, to promote the concept to of giving our employees their work assignments with the due date, and then to allow them to complete the tasks in their own creative styles.

It was a demonstration to show how people do have their own unique ways to reach their goal. It taught me more than that.

The experiential was:

At one end of the ballroom there were targets attached to the wall. Each target had an agenda on "Why do you work" written on it such as: "money", "benefits", "security","work itself", "prestige", etc.

About 200 of us were at the other end of the ballroom behind a white line.

We were one at a time to go the other end of the ballroom and touch the target which represented our attitude.

The catch was: we each had to go in a different way.!!! Now Really.

I think I actually stopped breathing, I could think of only about three ways to go; walk, skip and run. My mind went blank. I just had to be one of the first to go, because there could not possible be 200 or so ways.

Actually there were. The more ways people created to go, the more ways there were; some danced, walked backward, jumped, did circles, summersaults, and each one could be done in reverse. It was amazing to me.

The creative ideas were endless!! The solutions were endless!!

For me I learned more than to let go and allow people to be creative, I learned how many ways to solve an initial challenge there could be. "endless", I just need to be open, take off my blinders and allow the unlimited abundant solutions to pour in.

We are all unique beings with access to more creative ideas than we can ever humanly imagine. There is no "lack", lack is only in our closed awareness.

We are unlimited abundant in all ways. Believe It!!!

I could sign off here but I have an interesting story to tell of how one solution manifested.

This obviously would not be every ones, but this did happen.

A few years ago, a friend, who said she was "on a fixed income", wanted to move to a retirement community and at that moment didn't have the resources to move. She was open to all possibilities and looking for solutions.

In the same time period her ex husband transitioned, to her shock, he deliberately or unintentionally hadn't changed his beneficiary on a very old insurance policy. Yes, she inherited a very large sum of money.

She moved!!

Now, again this is probably not the solution for everyone.

We just need to be open to all possibilities.

Are you open?

Do you believe there are endless solutions?

Just pondering,

Linda Patton, RScP, ENTC

Ponderings #15

Dear fellow travelers,

Thank you again for your responses.

This pondering was intense for me to write, because it involves friends I feel great empathy for.

I have two friends and a cousin, whose lives have taken them on journeys to places they probably never dreamed they would be on at this time last year. All of these journeys are health related.

I do have much training on my thought processes in these areas, and I know its not mine to decide or to understand the reasons "why". I know the highest and best for them. but I admit I got really "angry" last week, deciding what I thought was "unfair" for them. These beautiful lovely lights having these challenging paths.

I know the medical community witnesses these situations everyday and in my life at times, I certainly have also.

I believe my recent "upset" was having a culmination of information about these three friends at one time and the fact I admire and care so much about all of them.

When I volunteered at a cancer wellness center, the women I encountered seem to all have a positive, upbeat attitude. They felt they had learned a lot from their illnesses.

They learned to first take care of themselves; to live for the moment, and to be grateful for everyday.

Sunday, my cousin, who is this beautiful, vibrate, upbeat, witty and caring person, talked opening about her journey since last August. With her permission, she said I could write about her.

Her journey began with a seizure, quickly, thru many tests, a brain mass was uncovered. She had the operation but all the tumor couldn't be removed and it had tentacles going further into her brain. It was benign, but could cause the loss of many skills. She was treated as a cancer patient. She had six weeks, 5 days a week of radiation. She described the treatments to us.

Her last treatment was last week.

She told me, she feels she was chosen to have this happen to her, for whatever reason. And what she found out about herself is: that she is stronger than she ever knew she was, she is grateful for every day and she is grateful she still has her cognitive abilities, even thru her right side has slight feeling problems, and she still has minor seizures. She knows some of the tumor remains. The radiation was to reduce the size. She participates in a blog called " It's just benign". and I'm sure she is a great inspiration to many. She certainly is to me. When she was asked by the staff if she wanted medicine before her treatments, she said, "No, I will put myself in a peaceful place". and on her last day of her treatments, she took cookies to the staffs on all the floors she had been on.

Now, is this an earth angel??

My other two friends have different journeys but are to me also an inspiration of courage and strength. and they demonstrate this great courage to all the people around them.

A memory came up from many years ago from someone else who inspired me. She was an older co-worker who just had had her first and only baby, and she had had a difficult pregnancy. Her day old baby had been rushed by helicopter to another hospital for emergency heart surgery.

On my drive to the hospital to see her, I remember I was breathing deep all the way there. "What was I possibly going to say to her, beyond the usual things one says?"

As my experiences seem to be, she gave me the pep talk. "I had so many issues while I was pregnant, God will not take my baby away now."

She was right. Her baby lived!!!!!!!!!!! I saw them both a year ago, many years older and looking good!

Life is hills and valleys, and it is my job to live everyday, as I learn constantly from my friends, with gratitude, gratefulness and joy. I have so much to be grateful for. We all do, even if it is difficult some times to know it, or feel it, there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. Look deep and the more you will see, and then the more you will see!!

ALWAYS.

Living in gratitude, for the people I am fortunate to know and all the great gifts I have. You are one of them, and for this I say thank you.

What are you grateful for?

Just pondering,

Linda P RScP, ENTC

http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com.