Friday, August 16, 2013

We Are What We Pray

We are what we pray, said the guru.

So I thought about this for several minutes.

Don’t we all pray for the same things?

Peace. Healing. Prosperity. Love.

Are we not messengers of peace, healing, prosperity and love?

Often, I pray for more patience, more compassion, more wisdom.

Can I become what I pray for?

If we are what we pray, then, let me focus on my prayer as I focus on my inner being.

What we pray attention to will be lifted up.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Bittersweet Homecoming

For me, coming home is always bittersweet.

Whether I am away for a weekend or a few months, my travel creates a new picture portfolio so that when I return, my physical home feels different.

I came home on Tuesday to the familiar and busy streets of Dupont Circle and to the quiet coffee shop on the corner where they pipe in classical music and where I sit for hours undisturbed.

I came home to watch my next door neighbors and their adorable two-year-old daughter pack up all their belongings for an assignment in Tokyo. The cardboard boxes clogged up the hallway and my heart. Their proximity gave me comfort and morning friendship. I will miss their daily presence.

Paul, the all-weather postman, is retiring his letter bag after 45 years. He was my postman.

He knew who I was when he neatly and joyfully placed my magazines and bills into my small rectangular mailbox in the lobby. Who will serve me as well as he did?

Tomorrow they will put in new windows in my apartment so we can be more protected from the wind and the rains and even an intermittent hurricane.

Will I see better from the inside? Will my vision of home gain more clarity?

What will change? What will be different? What will remain the same?

How will I manage all these losses and transitions?


Bittersweetly.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Is Your Heart Open Enough?

Like a charm bracelet fastened to my wrist, I carry in my heart all the people who have loved me unconditionally. My heart expands with every friendship I create and with every community that welcomes me.

Still, I wonder if my heart is spacious enough to receive these quiet blessings.

Still, I wonder if my heart is elastic enough to form this outstretched chamber.

In spite of my doubts, I continue to add new friends and communities to my registry.

I trust my heart will open more than enough and more often than not.