Wake Up for Advent!

Christine at Abbey of the Arts writes:

"I invite you to awaken right now – begin by breathing in the beauty of this very moment. Pause for just a moment and allow your breath to bring you to the present until it opens before you in all of its expansive grace. Consider taking on a practice for Advent of cultivating presence, of saying no to something you find draining to create a holy pause in the day so you might discover the poem written in a grain of sand.

"In your own life where have you fallen asleep? What are you awakening to? When you become present to this moment in time, what are the secret gifts you uncover hidden deep in your heart?"

Go and read the entire piece on Advent beginning here.

Black Friday

As Sherry wrote, I also did not participate in Black Friday shopping (unless you count going to our local supermarket HEB).

Usually our cat Gracie sleeps in the bathroom with the door closed, but someone let her out last night, so at 6 am this morning she was scratching repeatedly on the bedroom door. I briefly thought that I could go out shopping, but quickly went back to sleep.

I cooked a small (11 lb.) turkey today with stuffing, so we could have the fixings for turkey sandwiches. That's necessary with younger son BJ home and husband CB. Yesterday CB and I fixed the stuffing for the big brined turkey (which was delicous!) at AA and DC's house in Austin. Today I made half the amount for ours. As a novelty, I only cooked one bag of cranberries for our cranberry sauce--usually we have much, much more.

We had an enjoyable time at son DC and his wife AA's house in Austin. Here is a family picture taken in front of their house before the big meal:

BJ, Jan, CB, MJ, AA and DC

(Our daughters AE and KA stayed in Seattle, obviously.)

AA's brother took the family pictures, as we were trying to get one to send with our Christmas cards. Instead of this one, we chose one taken in the backyard.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving

"The Ibo in Nigeria have a proverb that says, 'It is the heart that gives; the fingers just let go.' Giving is something only the heart can do. And this is true not only of gift-giving, but of all forms of giving. There are three preeminent forms: giving up, thanksgiving, and forgiving. The heart knows that all belongs to all. And so, when we live from the heart, we are free to give up without fearful clinging. The heart is at home in belonging. And so, when we live from the heart, we celebrate the bond of mutual give-and-take through thanksgiving all we do. The heart fully affirms that all belong to all. And so, when we live from the heart, we forgive from the heart, from that center where offender and offended are one, where healing has its roots. Forgiving is the perfection of giving."

Steindl-Rast, David. Gratefulness, The Heart of Prayer. NY: Paulist Press, 1984. 200.

Small Things Challenge

Alleviate world poverty? Isn’t that impossible?

There is so much grinding poverty in the world – how could just one of us possibly make a difference? The reason it seems so impossible is that we tend to focus on the immense number of people suffering from poverty – and on how little we can do individually. So we give up trying.

But there are two points to remember when we think about global problems:

1. Every action counts;
2. We are not alone.

Taking action is like planting a seed. Watch this short video to see how small thing can become big: (Here’s a link to the video if you can’t see it below.)

Do you believe in evolution?

In February 2009, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a report "Darwin Debated: Religion vs. Evolution" from which this graph was copied. It is shocking to me that less than 50% of Americans believe in evolution.

I learned from a friend that I am a believer in Theistic Evolution. Here is a detailed chart comparing characteristics of evolution and creationism.

What is it?

A dear friend sent me a belated birthday present, which I opened this afternoon. I am not sure what it is. All I know is that it originally was a fork.

What do I say in my thank you note?

The only thing I can think of is that it could (?) be a holder for reading glasses. . . . The nice thing about the silver pattern is that it was the pattern of my mother's stainless steel flatware.

The (silly) Goose

The Goose

Do you want to know why I am alive today?
I will tell you.
Early on, during the food-shortage,
Some of us were miraculously presented
Each with a goose that laid a golden egg.
Myself, I killed the cackling thing and I ate it.
Alas, many and many of the other recipients
Died of gold-dust poisoning.

Muriel Spark

Spark, Muriel. "The Goose." Good Poems for Hard Times. Ed. Garrison Keillor. NY: Penguin, 2005. 14.

Friday Five: Thanksgiving Thoughts

The Cure

Lying around all day
with some strange new deep blue
weekend funk, I'm not really asleep
when my sister calls
to say she's just hung up
from talking with Aunt Bertha
who is 89 and ill but managing
to take care of Uncle Frank
who is completely bed ridden.
Aunt Bert says
it's snowing there in Arkansas,
on Catfish Lane, and she hasn't been
able to walk out to their mailbox.
She's been suffering
from a bad case of the mulleygrubs.
The cure for the mulleygrubs,
she tells my sister,
is to get up and bake a cake.
If that doesn't do it, put on a red dress.

--Ginger Andrews (from Hurricane Sisters)

So this Friday before Thanksgiving, think about Aunt Bert and how she'll celebrate Thanksgiving! And how about YOU?

1. What is your cure for the "mulleygrubs"?
Eat some chocolate. Think of the ABC's of gratitude. Sometimes visiting blogging friends helps!

2. Where will you be for Thanksgiving?
This will be our second Thanksgiving spent in Austin, which is a 4 1/2 hour drive north of Corpus Christi. Son DC and wife AA are again hosting us at their house. Her family will be there and ours will be there, except for daughters AE and KA who live in Seattle. And son BJ will also bring his Brittany spaniel Troy who is much too active for DC and AA's bulldog Sampson. (Pictures of pets here.)

3. What foods will be served? Which are traditional for your family?
Our family traditions mix with AA's family's. Turkey, of course; CB and I are making the stuffing on Thanksgiving morning. I don't think there will be sweet potatoes; instead mashed potatoes and gravy. DC insists upon a green jello salad, which surprises me, but is a tradition from my mother. I am also baking a pecan pie and am not sure that pumpkin will be served or not.

I always enjoy this traditional meal for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I'll be cooking it for Christmas. Then it's usually turkey, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, green jello, broccoli, and rolls. Lots of carbs!

4. How do you feel about Thanksgiving as a holiday?
For me, it is mostly an eating day--and a cooking day. When the kids were growing up, we would always go and see a movie while the turkey was cooking, but that stopped last year when I wasn't cooking the turkey. If we had lived closer to extended family members, it would have been more of a big family event, but we have always lived away. For the Aggies of the family (DC, AA, and BJ), there is the big football game between Texas A&M University versus the University of Texas.

5. In this season of Thanksgiving, what are you grateful for?
I am glad that most of my family will be with us for Thanksgiving. I am glad our family is healthy and stays connected.

BONUS: Describe Aunt Bert's Thanksgiving.
I hope the snow has stopped for Aunt Bertha and that her neighbors will bring over dinner for her and her bedridden husband. Aunt Bertha will wear her red dress again and offer them some cake and pecan pie (in Arkansas, of course!). Aunt Bert loves to bake.

Today is God

In the beginning was God,
Today is God,
Tomorrow will be God.
Who can make an image of God?
He has no body.
He is the word which comes out of your mouth.
That word! It is no more,
It is past, and still it lives!
So is God.

~~Pygmy

Tutu, Desmond. An African Prayer Book. NY: Doubleday, 1995. 8.

Queer Bible Commentary

A friend who is a minister at the Metropolitan Community Church loaned me her copy of The Queer Bible Commentary. I dislike the adjective "Queer" in the title and might never have looked at it if CL had not talked about it and/or lent it to me. I am impressed by the scholarship in this book. It is interesting and informative.

The book cover is by modern icon writer Robert Lentz.

The Day

When the Day Came
by Kabir

English version by Andrew Harvey

When the Day came –
The Day I had lived and died for –
The Day that is not in any calendar –
Clouds heavy with love
Showered me with wild abundance.
Inside me, my soul was drenched.
Around me, even the desert grew green.

This is from Poetry Chaikhana, where you may subscribe to a daily email.

Tired Tuesday

I feel kind of like this hedgehog in the fog--bleary and tired. I had three church meetings today, which lasted for 2 + 3 + 2 = 7 hours. I am not a meeting person; but to be honest five of those hours were two classes. I'm just tired, maybe because I took benadryl a few hours ago. . . .

Prayer from Nan Merrill's "Peace Planet"

The prayer in Nan Merrill's Peace Planet: Light for Our World that I am praying for today is specifically for Burundi, which touches me since I just read Tracy Kidder's latest book, Strength in What Remains. That is about a refugee from Burundi who is now a medical student in the US; what an amazing story of strength and resilience.

But this is also a prayer for our world:

If planetary peace seems
beyond our reach, recall:
Miracles are natural when
we rely on the Source of All
to carry our burdens with us.
Then, even peace is possible.

We are asking,
May
Miracles
flourish on Earth.

"Snow Cake"

Since I recommitted with nablopomo.com to blog every day in November, I have to post something. So I will recommend a movie I already suggested on Facebook: Snow Cake.

The movie is so good that I've bought it. The acting is excellent, especially with Sigourney Weaver playing an autistic woman.

Here is the story line (from here):

"Alex Hughes, an ex-convict, is on a road trip to Winnipeg to see an old friend. Along the way, he meets the annoying, but vivacious, Vivienne Freeman who manages to bum a ride with him. Just as he begins to warm to this eccentric girl, Alex's vehicle is in a serious automobile accident that kills Vivienne. After his meeting with the police, Alex decides to speak with Vivienne's mother. Upon arrival at her home, Alex discovers that the mother, Linda, is a highly functional autistic woman who convinces him to stay long to take out the garbage the day after the funeral he agrees to arrange. In those few days, Alex discovers new friends and learns more about the uniqueness of Linda even as he struggles to come to terms with his own grief."

Silence and duct tape?

This struck me as funny this morning. I remember how my dad would fix things with duct tape, even holding his suitcase together when locks wouldn't work! I look at those memories fondly now, while at the time I felt critical and frustrated.

Friday Five: Friday the 13th!

Sophia writes for RevGalBlogPals:

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή) (meaning Friday), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς) (meaning thirteen), attached to phobía (φοβία) (meaning fear). The term triskaidekaphobia derives from the Greek words "tris", meaning 'three', "kai", meaning 'and', and "deka", meaning 'ten'. the whole word means three and ten. The word was derived in 1911 and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953. (Wikipedia)

With thanks to my dear spouse TechnoGuy for the great suggestion, it's a Friday the 13th Friday Five!

1. How is this Friday the 13th looking for you?
A friend I have not seen for several months is taking me out to lunch to celebrate my birthday from two weeks ago.

2. Have you ever had anything unlucky happen on Friday the 13th?
No

3. Did your family of origin embrace or scorn superstitions?
My family just thought the superstitions were funny.

4. Are there any unique or amusing ones from your family, region, or ethnic background?
The only story, which I tend to believe is true, is about a ghost visiting my mother's aunt when she was young. Aunt Lally was my grandmother's younger sister. While they still lived in Scotland, she and her mother talked about people returning after they died and the mother told Aunt Lally that people would be too frightened and so that did not occur often. The story goes that after her mother died, Aunt Lally was awakened one night by the appearance of her mother and screamed. Then her mother said, "I told you so."

5. Do you love or hate horror movies like "Friday the 13th"?
I HATE horror movies and avoid them at all costs.

Our hungry yellow dogs

"Sufis speak of their nafs, or the false self that takes the place of the soul. Somewhat more complicated than the concept of the ego, the nafs refers to all that is in ourselves which has become an object for others or for ourselves. It is our visible self, the tangible, public aspect of a personality. It is what we see when we look at ourselves, it is what we present to others to be seen by them. It is what stands in the way of our oneness with others, with ourselves, with the Divine. The nafs in each of us has a life of its own, logical, powerful, real. Sometimes the Sufis describe it as a hungry yellow dog that stays begging at our side until we learn to drive it away."

Carse, James P. Breakfast at the Victory: Mysticism of Ordinary Experience. San Francisco: Harper, 1994. 114.

THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION

Watch the video!