Posts by Pat:
What do you have left?
I want to share a wonderful story told about the great violinist, Itzhak Perlman.
On Nov 18, 1995, in Lincoln Center in New York City, Perlman was ready to begin when suddenly one of his violin strings broke with a snap as sharp as a gun shot.
He could not hop up and run off the stage to get a new string or another violin. His polio-stricken legs would not permit that, so somehow he did the impossible.
He recast the music in his mind and played a virtuoso performance on a violin with three working strings.
After the cheering applause stopped, he quietly said, “You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.”
You know where I am going with this story!
The story reminds us that whether we still have everything going for us or not, within us we still have more capacity
- for life,
- for love,
- for learning,
- for leaving a legacy,
than we may have known.
As spiritual beings having a human experience, not only do we still have a great deal left, but we have even more to pull out from the gifts of the Spirit that have been given to us. We have new wisdoms, new beauty and new forms available to us.
Now that we start to think about them, we may well be surprised at what shows up.
There may be a whole lot more music left than we had imagined!
I believe it is our calling to discover our gifts and live each day
as aware,
as richly,
as lovingly as we can!
How about you?
Is there a promise of tomorrow?
Why is it that we see Christmas decorations before we can put away the Halloween reminders? And why is it that in the hours before the Thanksgiving feast many folks are making their shopping lists for the coming weekend? We’re always looking ahead to what’s next. Today doesn’t seem to be good enough. Yet there’s a […]
The Force Awakens?
Have you seen the trailer for the new Star Wars movie being released this month? The title, The Force Awakens, got my attention as I thought about the “Force” and the fact that it is already awake. It always has been and always will be. It is we who must awaken to the Force. […]
Lovin’ Life
We often need the reminder that gratitude is an attitude we carry with us throughout the day, not just in the few minutes we spend noting items in a gratitude journal and not just one day in November! How can we spread gratitude around as we enjoy our days? Three simple techniques are: learn the […]
To read or not to read…is that the question?
Don’t just go and stand in your library. That won’t make you a reader any more than standing in the garage will make you a car! The only way to get the benefits of reading is to buy a book-and then read it! Do you remember when I shared these less-than-ideal facts about reading? […]
The changing of “your” season?
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 Even the flu?! We are bombarded in our culture with information, immunization, medication, and expectation regarding the annual flu season. (And, yes, I got my shot!) We expect it every year, see lots of ads, compare symptoms… but instead, […]
Logic? What logic?
Well, did you “fall back” today? After all, it’s the end of Daylight Saving Time. I love this image and it’s questioning of our logical minds! How long is your blanket? Did we really gain an hour of daylight? Is it just an “mental” illusion, a trick we play on ourselves? Benjamin Franklin first thought […]
What day is today?
Does your mood depend on what day today is? Or does your day depend on your mood? Is it a “TGIF” or “hump” day? Is it delightful or dismal? How about telling yourself each morning as you get up that this is a: Marvelous (or miserable?) Monday, Terrific (or terrible?)Tuesday, Wonderful (or weary?) Wednesday, Tremendous […]
Is it art? You be the judge!
There is fascinating research saying that 98% of us test as highly creative at the age of five, and by age twenty-five, only 2% of us test that way. Since this is the month of Halloween, I’ve just started seeing photos of what are really creative jack-o-lanterns! Instead of the traditional faces that my sisters […]
Your life is a symphony…
Tuesday night was the opening concert of the Walla Walla Symphony for this season. And it was great with Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, and Leonard Bernstein as well as Stephen Beus’ piano playing! We can consider our lives as a symphony, knowing that before the first note is played, the composer has a purposeful vision for the result […]