Years add wisdom, difficulties build strength, love moves mountains, tears nourish growth, dreams reveal purpose, character buries superficiality...Truth IS.

Monday, April 30, 2012

"Live long and Prosper"




Good morning friends!

Just felt the need to jot something down on here.  Not really sure what I am gonna say...but there is an undercurrent  of appreciation, anticipation, and positive thinking going on here lately--so maybe this is part of it.

I had a rather profound epiphany yesterday as T.D. Jakes preached his sermon "Save the Scraps"...and although I had listened to it a couple of times...something jumped out at me last night.  He had been talking about the breaking of the bread (5 loaves) and the (2) fish....and WHERE the message really lies in that story.  When the people were getting angry with hunger and were going to leave...Jesus approaches the young boy with the 2 fish & 5 loaves of bread (which was obviously not enough to feed 5-thousand people) and He ASKED the boy "what do you have?"  The Bishop explains that miracles always begin with the recognition of what you HAVE and explains that until you can be thankful for something that is not enough, then what you do have cannot be multiplied into what is more than enough."  He also says that the message of the miracle contained within this story is in the BREAKING of the bread.   That which refuses to be broken refuses to be blessed.  It is the breaking of life that produces the blessing of life.  Then he says "I have noticed in my life that the most blessed people I have ever met in my life have gone through something that broke them."



This so hit home with me.  As a matter of fact...just 3 nights ago at work, I had been telling someone that I went from almost losing everything to having more than I've ever had.

I've recently gone through a total attitude adjustment--where I see everything as positively as I can.  When you are down to rubbing your last 2 nickles together and you have no idea where you are going to go from there or what you are going to do...and outside circumstance seems to want to hold you there...and you are considering doing something that it really not in your heart to do just because you feel like you HAVE to do SOMETHING...and an opportunity is offered to you, you begin to see things a lot differently.   I was very, very close to being completely broken...and probably the most broken I had ever been.  I grabbed onto that opportunity and held on to it as tightly as I could and was SO appreciative and grateful for it.  I developed a fierce loyalty to that which saved me from going further under...even though I knew that it really wasn't "enough" long-term, it at least got me out of the dark and I wasn't struggling financially anymore and I no longer felt FORCED to give up what little I had left, relocate, and start all over again somewhere else...when my heart was fighting to stay right here.  Everyday, I woke up and every night before I went to bed, I did so with a smile and a "thank you."

Before I knew it and totally out of the blue, yet another opportunity came knocking at my door---and you know something?  It was EXACTLY what I needed---the hours, the location, and the revenue.  This meant that I didn't have to leave the first opportunity, but could accept them both even though it meant that my "free-time" would be severely limited and I would be working VERY long stretches without a day off.  I sat back, looked at all that I had been through...all the "free-time" I had already had and how all that "free-time" threatened to take even MORE from me and I figured...ah, hell...who CARES about free time?  I will gladly give up some of that to keep that which is way more important to me....my life, here..in my home--with my kids, and eventual grand-babies...JUST like I had envisioned and dreamed.   I will have "enough" free time...it's not like I won't have any...and it is enough to definitely work with, so....today, I am blessed.  I am TIRED, a bit stressed....but I have learned how to govern my emotions...and stop allowing them to control me.  I look at what I am gaining...not what I am losing.  I look at how it all seemed to be timed PERFECTLY and know and understand that my life is mapped out for me and that everything I go through serves a bigger and more expansive purpose to my growth.  I take NOTHING for granted anymore and just because I have everything I need right now...it comes with the realization that as it came...it can also depart, so I am very careful to do right by it.  This is the most important lesson in humility ANYONE can learn & once you have been to the depths, you can never say with confidence that your SET in anything.

We are really guaranteed nothing, but I have found that if you learn to read deeper into things, recognize nuance, and become very good at assembling puzzles (lol)...you will, instead of getting flustered that you are having trouble putting the puzzle together, concentrate on the fact that YOU DO indeed have all of the pieces..and that they all do FIT somewhere.  Work with what you have, what you know, and pat yourself on the back for getting that far.  It makes the finished product all that more admirable and precious!!



"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."~Anne Bradstreet.


“Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.” (Psalm 35:27)

 “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:3)



"Genuine morality is preserved only in the school of adversity; a state of continuous prosperity may easily prove a quick sand to virtue."~Frederich von Shiller.  


 "Prosperity depends more on wanting what you have than having what you want.~Albert Geoffrey.


Signing today....

Deeply humbled and divinely blessed <3

Monday, April 23, 2012

Filtering The Mind to Purify The Heart




Good morning friends!

We wake up this morning to some snow...and it is expected to keep snowing until we see a possible accumulation of 12 inches!!  Oh boy.  Mother Nature's last hurrah...I just only pray that my pretty wild flowers don't succumb to the cold...they are spreading so beautifully in my flower garden....and the array of color and texture and different sizes is just so pleasing to the eye.  I had even gotten out there and dug a 6" trench along my flower garden where I am placing some flat slate stone in a mosaic pattern along the entire length of it.  The idea at first was to build a 2-tiered wall, but I love how it looks remaining flush with the ground.  I will share a little story about those wild flowers for those who visit and haven't read posts from last spring.  You see, I had suffered a bit of financial hardship that didn't allow me to purchase the usual annual flowers I like to plant in my garden each year.  I usually will buy one or two perennials and then some annuals for the beautiful colors and to add depth.  My flower garden has become a place of solace for me.  I love digging in the dirt, turning the soil, and lovingly preparing my flowers' summer home.  I usually go ALL COLORFUL, try to get a little bit of every color I can find, but try to plant them in a manner where they play off of each other and create a bountiful bouquet of fullness, vibrancy, and beauty.  I have never viewed my interest in gardening as a hobby, nor mowing the lawn or weed trimming as a chore...but more to me...they are a labor of love.  Part of me "needs" to do it.  I often think, during the summer, after my garden is tended to, and my lawn is freshly mowed and the lilac trees are in bloom that people on my block must think me "strange"..as I will (on a daily basis) go outside, look at my garden, walk out to the sidewalk and look at my yard, and often times, I will take pictures.  I deeply appreciate nature's beauty and take pride in nurturing it along a bit and LOVE to look at what nature and I have created "together."  It makes me feel a part of it all.  This is very important to me.  So, last year, because of my temporary financial crisis, I was very saddened about not having the money to spend on my flowers.  If I try hard enough, I can actually conjure up those feelings...and if I had to describe them, the word that comes to mind is emptiness.  I thought, what am I going to do with myself if I cannot create this garden?

Taking you a step further back, I had admired in my next-door neighbor's yard every spring a bunch of "forget-me-nots" that spread further and further along the side of her home and had said.."I love those little blue flowers, I WANT some of those!"  They started off as one little bunch and spread to encompass the entire side of her home, and they were so intricate and beautiful, and yet, the blanket of them contrasted so beautifully with the green of the grass.  Well, one sunny spring day, I ventured out to my garden to take a look around and I could not believe my eyes.  There they were....these "forget-me-nots" sprouting up on both sides of the main entry of my home, along the crack of the first step of the stairs, and believe it or not, they were flanking each stair up to my entry (growing right out of the corners of the cement stairs).  My eyes then followed the cascade of them around the bottom stair into my garden where there I saw multiple bunches of these "pansy-appearing" wild flowers scattered throughout my garden.  There were solid white ones, variegated purple and yellow, lavender and white, solid deep purple, yellow and white, and blue and white.  They were each in a bunch approximately 4 inches in diameter everywhere throughout my garden.  I had never planted them and had never experienced them growing there before, but there they were!!

Being the person that I am, I immediately thanked God for this special gift.  I didn't touch these flowers, but turned the soil AROUND them and they all filled in nicely and bloomed the entire summer...and get this...THEY NEVER DIED during the winter neither.  They bloomed straight through the year.  I had taken pictures of them in December, January, and February---snow covered--and when the snow melted, there they were--just as colorful and beautiful as ever.  

The lesson I have learned from this (and many other experiences) is this:  GOD WILL GIVE YOU the desires of your HEART---not the desires of your mind or your body...but ONLY your heart.  When you endeavor to "contribute" to the beauty of HIS creation in any form, this power will be there right along side of you.  When the drive inside of you to take on a task seems to somehow be innately attached to something bigger than you inside of you, it WILL manifest.  This is the way of the most-high power and when we approach anything with love in our hearts and a way in which we can outwardly and creatively express that love...we become the "Ways and Means Committee" to that purpose.  

Our ego makes us ugly.  Want, want, want.  It drives us to always look for things outside to make us look better, feel better, live better.  It travels through time, finding fault with the past, complaining about now, and attempting to control our future.  It sees the beauty in things as just a means to an end in satisfying its constant, never-quenched craving for MORE.  It overlooks, under-values, and replaces everything--all the time.  It becomes addicted to physical manifestation of "presumed happiness."  Though sadly, none of it is real.  There is no permanent sense of well-being within the ego.  It is not structured that way.  It is structured to dwell on loss...and so....that is what the universe feeds it.  The universe knows nothing of loss or gain...fullness or emptiness...it just knows to GIVE.  What are you searching for?  

I have found that an attitude of gratitude...knowing what you have and being appreciative of it brings more prosperity with it.  What you speak and act into your life is what the universe gives you more of.  When ANYTHING is approached with a mindset of contribution, collaboration, and purity of intent, you will see and experience the immense power that is available to you.  

I want to share a quote that I recently read-- "I don't want you to save me, I want you to stand beside me while I save myself."  This quote has encrypted in it two messages...personal responsibility and contribution.  This asks NOTHING of the other but what the other is "willing to contribute" to the deeper desire that one has for oneself.  If you read the book of Job in the Bible...this quote could be used as a summary of the lesson outlined in that story.  God says to Job.."Then I will also confess unto thee that thine OWN right hand can save thee."

So maybe it is time for us all to do a little mind-filtering.  Get all that junk out of that water that clogs up the pipes that run between the heart and mind.  We weed our gardens, we mow our overgrown lawns, we shovel the snow from our entries and exists, we clean our car windows off to remove anything that may obstruct our vision.  We prune, trim, clean, declutter, scrub, polish all these THINGS...and I think we forget the "as it is in Heaven" part of our lives.  What about that part?  On earth as it is in heaven.  Instead of attempting to change ourselves to better fit in to the outside...how bout we concentrate on the INSIDE and manage those things around us to better fit that?  I guess I've always taken this perspective and lived by this ideology, even though there have been times where the ego has reared its ugly head in times of weakness (and we all have those times, don't we?)  Somehow, I always find myself back where I belong though.  Back on the right track.  

Sometimes I feel like all I do is clamor about here on this blog, in my book, and in conversation with people about the evidenced proof of the things I clamor about!  lol.  But there is truth in it, undeniable truth.  I am proof of it, I live it, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I do it for the same reasons I cherish those wildflowers in my flower bed.  It is meant to be this way...that is all.  I have a voice and I use it in many different creative ways.  I write with my voice, I work with my voice, I plant with my voice, I paint with my voice, I build with my voice, I dance with it, sing with it, walk with it and make a contribution with it.  This is all I need..and I am grateful to have so many ways to open to me to express it.  

Ram Dass explains the differences between faith and belief...though a lot of us use these two terms as if they are interchangeable.  He says that Belief is of the mind.  Faith is of the heart.  He also says that the past and the future are nothing but thoughts...that NOW is the only experience of God.  I've come to believe this wholeheartedly.  


"We're all just walking each other home."~Ram Dass.  


Namaste (I bow to you--the soul in me acknowledges and respects the soul in you.  I recognize your divine spark.)

Much love.




Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Research

Good morning everyone!!

I've been doing some major research and digging for information for my book and what I have found is beyond astonishing.

"I want to know God's thoughts, the rest are details."~Albert Einstein.

This quote sums up the subject matter I've been researching to a tee.  There are many people that have come and gone into and from this life and those who still walk among us who have a pretty tight grasp on what really goes on...underneath the facade.  I've delved into writings of poetry by Rumi, the ideas and theories of Albert Einstein, the peace-keeping missions of love and justice of Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King Jr., the central belief of Buddhism, Sufism, Judaism, Christianity, and the like...I've traveled through time with great philosophers and artists, Plato, Michelangelo, Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, Leo Buscaglia, studied the psycological profile and analysis of Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, and listened intently to words of Dr. Wayne Dyer, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and Deepak Chopra--who I deem to be our "modern day" truth seekers, knowers, and tellers.  There are MANY others to add to this list, though I am pressed for time this morning.

Below are some words that ruminate the truth:

"Every tree and plant in the meadow seemed to be dancing..those who averagize would see as fixed and still"~Rumi.

"The morning breeze has secrets to tell, don't go back to sleep."~Rumi.

"I have been often asked if I believe in God.  To that, I answer, I know, therefore, there is no need to believe"~Carl Jung.

"Every beauty which is seen here below by persons of perception resembles more than anything else that celestial source from which we all come."~Michelangelo.

"We fear to know the fearsome and unsavory aspects of ourselves, but we fear even more to know the godlike in ourselves."~Abraham Maslow.



You can find my favorite quotes from MLK Jr., Mother Theresa, and Albert Einstein right on my page.  


"We are no longer puppets being manipulated by outside powerful forces; we become the powerful force ourselves."~Leo Buscaglia.


And finally, a very interesting concept from a man named Richard Brodie who has written a book entitled Virus of the Mind, which is a scientific approach to the conditioning of the mind.  He uses the term "meme" to describe viruses of the mind..that work very similarly to viruses of the body...only this study is not done upon mass...it is a study of the formless that is related to epigenetics (which is the study of how our DNA CAN indeed be changed by thought and mindset).  The mind viruses work in much the same way as biological and physiological viruses and exhibit the same three qualities as follows:  1.  They duplicate.  2.  They infiltrate.  3.  They spread.  All scientific principle for those who cannot grasp spiritual concept.  Very interesting reading to be sure and very validatory for someone like me.  These viruses manifest themselves in excuses and habitual pattern.  


Lao Tsu said:  "When you correct your mind, everything else will fall into place."


Finally, when you release you preconceptions, your habitual mind, and stop making excuses and laying blame, dormant forces, faculties, and talents come alive.  Things that you once thought inaccessible chase YOU.  You begin to live in synchronicity, serendipity and that which you believed in and dreamed of manifests.  


That which is nonexistent, we create.  That which stays nonexistant is not significantly desired.  


Peace.







Monday, April 9, 2012

The Proper Alignment

Good Morning Everyone!!

Tis the day after Easter and it is sunny, green, and beautiful outside...though it looks a bit windy and it isn't as warm as it looks out there.  Sometimes looks are deceiving and of course, I could imagine it were warmer and milder...and it sort of would be in a way, right?

I woke up this morning with a source of inspiration (much like I do every day) if I listen.  Today, the message I got was one about "worry."...what it is and what it is not.  I hurried, logged on to my Facebook page, and posted it (as I wanted to share it with others, while at the same time, documenting it, so I wouldn't forget it.)  Here it is:  "Worry has neither the power to predict or change, and the more you do anything, the better you get at it..so what exactly does worry perfect---nothing but the art of it. Dream instead, for this holds within it the power to predict AND change...and the art of THAT is evidenced in everything around you. "  If it weren't for dreams, there would be no idea, if it weren't for idea, there would be no desire, with no desire, there would be no movement, and if weren't for movement...what we would have is WORRY.  


The very wise words of a very wise man--"Align your desire with spirit.  When you do this, you ask yourself 'what do I offer to this desire?  Thoughts, feelings, and behavior that match the desire---nothing happens until something moves.  When you passionately believe in that which does not exist, you CREATE it.  That which is nonexistent has not been significantly desired."~Dr. Wayne Dyer.  


These words were VERY powerful to me and even challenged my mind to delve a bit further into the main idea of consciousness expansion.  No one has to tell me that I have an expansive mind...I already know this, but sometimes, I would WORRY about it--try to tone it down a bit, or hide it altogether..  I used to think that because I thought, talked, and acted in this manner of such expanse that somehow, others would look upon me as if I thought I was better than them, smarter than them, or "holier than thou."  Not anymore.  I am who I am and I am this way for a reason--no amount of worry changes it.  


As I began to dive deeper into these thoughts shared by Dr. Dyer, I asked myself  "how do we know that even our biggest dreams, desires, and wishes that come in specific periods of our lives aren't something we already KNOW are going to happen in that particular season of our life...but they are "hidden and disguised" as dreams, wishes, and desires?"  Let me give you some "for instances":  At the age of 8 years old, I had already had fixed in my mind what kind of mother I was going to be WHEN I had children.  Certainly, at 8 years old, my children did not yet EXIST, motherhood for me did not EXIST but lo and behold, 13 years later, 18 years later, and 20 years later..I was the mother of 3...and YES, those ideas of what kind of mother I would be did indeed come to fruition.  I also had always wanted to live in an OLD house.  I was especially drawn to "Victorian" homes with the ginger bread appearance outside and the high ceilings and large rooms inside adorned with beautifully carved woodwork..it was the character of these "old" homes that I was attracted to.  I even remember after having my 3 kids, saying to my husband "Our single-level, 3 bedroom ranch house is getting just a smidge too small, how bout we look for a larger home---and YES, my sights were set on a Victorian and my love for this style of home was made known to everyone.  However, that never happened while in that marriage...and I actually left that marriage because MY dreams never mattered.  Years later, I would find myself living in my Victorian home with the high ceilings and large rooms, but not really realizing how it really wasn't "sought to be this way" but just "happened to be so."  In other words, I wasn't out there "scouting" Vics...I was just looking for an affordable home to make my own.  


There is SO much truth in these words...and yet, I am so consumed with thoughts of "already knowing" and how this is God's way.  Hidden secrets, working from the end, and wouldn't this lend some sort of credibility to why we experience Deja Vu?  We already know...and these precise moments of Deja Vu aren't necessarily the FOCUS of the experience...in other words, there is no stellar message contained within that experience that we should concentrate on because usually, Deja Vu happens during the most mundane of times and activities...I think it is a hint...God's way of "planting" an idea so that we might get off our tuppies and dig a little deeper...I think that in ANYTHING we plan, we match our intention with the proper thoughts, feelings, and actions....that what was meant to unfold will...just exactly the way it is planned.  This is probably God's way of making us think it was all our idea and that we did it all on our own...because reallly, if EVERYTHING were given to us, then we would take for granted it would continue to be given, we would stop working for it and never appreciate it.  How amazing the way each of our destiny's are set up and carried out and brings truth to "That which is nonexistant has not been significantly desired."  You have to WANT it bad enough--and you will find that you receive your rewards and gifts when what YOU desire is also what you desire for another...in other words...when you want it for someone else.  I wrote a post not too long ago about the reason why I am writing my book...this post is a prime example of aligning my desire with spirit...so now, I have no reason NOT to believe that I wasn't meant to write it, that it WILL be published, sold, and read.


Worry never enters in anymore.  It is a waste of mind-time...it produces nothing.  I look at my dreams a little differently now, and instead of "worrying" about reasons why they "may not" come true, I look back at my life and KNOW that any idea that has stuck with me for a long time has ALWAYS manifested. 


So pretty much, I know that I am going to finish my book and get it published...that the intent will be realized,  that I will meet OPRAH and I WILL go to Italy and Greece.  I don't know in which order, but I really don't care...I just know that I have carried these "dreams" with me for a very long time, and I have put motion to them...and they WILL happen, because it is destined to be so.  


No worries...just "dreams" of pure intent.  


My alphabet starts with this letter called yuzz.  It's the letter I use to spell yuzz-a-ma-tuzz.  You'll be sort of surprised what there is to be found once you go beyond 'Z' and start poking around!  ~Dr. Seuss.


They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.  ~Edgar Allan Poe, "Eleonora"


When you are describing,
A shape, or sound, or tint;
Don't state the matter plainly,
But put it in a hint;
And learn to look at all things,
With a sort of mental squint.
~Lewis Carroll


The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the source of all true art and science.  He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.  ~Albert Einstein


Good day to all.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

"What you do for the least of these, you do unto me."



It is the day after Good Friday and the day prior to Easter Sunday. This is probably the most important day on the Christian calendar. For me, it has probably been the most memorable period of my life. I don't know if it has anything to do with a certain space in time, dates on a calendar, though my propensity is to believe it probably doesn't. I instead believe that there are no accidents and everything that is meant to happen, just happens...right on time, regardless of it's place on any of our "time-keeping mechanisms." I incorporated this song by Jason Mraz, as I have heard it play on Sirius Radio at work quite a bit lately, and every time I hear it, it strikes me, commands my attention, and I quietly sit down (as it always seems to play during a time when there is no one else in the room but me), I listen, and it stirs my heart, speaks my soul, and is a very beautiful tribute to fate and destiny...and our responsibility as a spirit having a human experience to reach out to our brothers and sisters and create unity of purpose with them....PEACE, LOVE, SANCTUARY. Although the video attached to this, in the end shows a couple coming together...I believe it to show just one aspect of this message...but the GLOBAL message is in the stars reflected in the girls eyes. One by one, we reach out to touch a multitude.

I have had so many priceless and wonderful things culminate in my life lately--all of which just sort of hit all at once, but unlike chaos...these "all at once" happenings bring with them understanding and peace. They awaken compassion, kindness, and appreciation to the point of no measure.

The first thing I would like to share with you is how I found myself awakening between 3-4 a.m. very frequently, seemingly in mid-conversation, or with vivid thoughts in my head or poignant words on my tongue. My first thought was "I think I am going crazy", but deeper within, I knew something bigger and more purposeful than that was happening. I also have found that I write in the morning...in the quiet, when I am alone, with no threat of disruption. I find it very hard to go to work, come home, and sit down at my computer to write. It has to be the first thing I do each day, or it doesn't get done. I've always called the morning "my time" and what flows from my hands to the computer screen is effortless, as if it is writing itself, and this is how I know it is not my ego that is driving. I have often said that if I feel I am reaching for something to say or concentrating too much on a point to convey...it is not coming from the proper source, and I will walk away. I KNOW and FEEL the difference. Just recently, I had been exposed to some of the work of a great poet named Rumi. This quote is going to wrap up this first message I share with you today..."The morning breeze has secrets to tell you--do not go back to sleep."~Rumi. You see, I am NOT going crazy. I am tapping into the "creative source", the Creator's energy.

Now yesterday, because of the immensity of self-realization I have experienced lately and the interconnectedness I have been feeling with EVERYTHING, I had thoughts of wanting to do something for the needy in my community--maybe sponsor a meal at the restaurant I work for (which I would pay for) for the people who regularly visit the local soup kitchen. I felt as if I would like to "treat" them to a nice restaurant atmosphere with their families, serve them, and make a special occasion of it for them. It was a thought among many of how I could reach out and give back. At work last night, an older single gentleman came into the restaurant. He appeared a bit disheveled and his personal appearance was unkempt, and I noticed that he had some difficulty with expressing himself. In our brief conversation, it became VERY apparent to me that his greatest concern was the cost of his meal. After I had explained to him the cost of his meal, what was included in the price and what the price would be after tax, he ordered the meal. I then asked him if he would like something to drink. He said "I would love a cup of coffee...but, how much is it?" When I replied with the cost, he then said "Okay, just bring me a glass of water please." I felt such a pull to just BUY this man's meal for him...but I had in my mind that I could very well damage this man's dignity by jumping to the conclusion that he "needed my charity"...so I brought him instead...a hot cup of coffee with his water and said "This is on me..Happy Easter!" As the dining room got busier and I had acquired more tables, I would stop by, top off his coffee and exchange a few words with him. He said "Listen, I just want to let you know that I am going to go outside to have a cigarette BUT I will be right back to finish my meal...well, not RIGHT back, but I will be back" and because I was so busy, I didn't even make the connection to "a patron should not leave the establishment without first paying for his/her meal." and said "Okay." As I approached the waitress station, it hit me (yet another of my OWN conclusions)..."he is going to bolt and not pay for his meal at all." And then I immediately thought...well, if he does, I will pay for it FOR HIM, that's all. No big deal. I had already figured my "services" would be free and that there would be no tip involved and I didn't care about that. I felt led in some way to reach out to him without damaging his dignity...and this actually was the PERFECT scenario...or so I thought. He came back, sat down, finished his meal...just as he said he was going to. I picked up his dishes, cleared the mess from his table, poured him one last cup of fresh coffee and delivered his check to him...minus the charge for the coffee. I thanked him and wished him well. About 15 minutes later, I just happened to be in the dining room as he was approaching the register, so I cashed him out. I told him his total, he grabbed his wallet out of his pocket, opened it up, and inside was a WAD of cash...from which he plucked out a crispy $20 bill. Now his bill was $11.83..I gave him the $.27, 3 ones and a five. He gave me back the 3 ones, got into his wallet and gave me another one and wished me a good night and Happy Easter. SO MANY LESSONS in this encounter...the first of which is the very title of this post.

I could not help but walk away thinking...this was a test...a test of MY INTEGRITY...it HAD to be...and I think by all intent and purpose, I passed that test. Although, I learned some lessons about myself and my foolish nature to "think I know." Things are not always how they appear, but if I approach ANYTHING or ANYONE in unselfish kindness with consideration and respect for their dignity at the same time...it sort of erases the lines that are drawn by my nature to jump to "conclusions." So now, I don't know who or what I was dealing with--though this is the first thought in my mind: "Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing, some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as though you yourselves were suffering."~Hebrews 13:1-3.

My Easter message to you all. And this song...I dedicate to all of humanity. "I won't give up on US...even if the skies get rough, I'm giving you ALL MY LOVE...I'm still looking up."

All my love,
Raina