"Our presence automatically liberates others."

Our Greatest Fear —Marianne Williamson

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

—Marianne Williamson

We live in a world that much to often judges us, or teaches us to judge ourselves by our looks, our material possessions, our work.  For many young people the experience of growing up and coming into their own is one that seems impossible.  For others it may seem to us like they have it all, and yet, to them the treadmill never stops, it is never enough, they are never enough.  

As people of faith we hear the words that Jesus taught us; "Love your neighbor as yourself." In the Episcopal Church, the faith community that I live in, we are taught that if we are able to love God with our whole hearts, minds and soul, that will lead and hopefully enable us, to love ourselves and then loving our neighbors will be intrinsic in that process.  

One of the wonderful things about a life of faith is that we are constantly growing and learning, hopefully.  I think there was a time in my younger years when I believed that if I lived into this discipline, or did my very best, that this would be a finite exercise.  Ah, the naiveté of youth.  Maybe it is only with age that we come to see the grace and blessing in loving God as never ending, never stagnate and  always growing.  

On this beautiful summer afternoon, know that you are loved beyond your wildest imaginings.  Know that living into the fullness of your light is a life time journey, and one that is never fully complete.  Know that there are those in your life that mirror back all the joy and light that is within you.  Recognize those in your midst that mirror back the darkness, and expose it to the light.  

You are the only 'You' out there.  Give God the most wonderful gift of all, rejoice and be very glad in it!!!

The Surprising Gift.

"By its very nature, contentment-the sense of having
 it all-can't be attained by achieving levels or goals set by others.  It also can't be attained if we don't know what it is for us, if we don't know what truly pleases us.  Such self-knowledge can be difficult to acquire in a world that places all its emphasis on appearances and status."

Having it All cannot happen without being content, and contentment is the essentials:

• Being comfortable in your own skin
• A sense of being your own person
• Truly feeling that being yourself is enough
• Not needing more than what you have
• Freedom from nagging desires 
• Freedom from anxieties

Contentment is not: 

• Satiation
• Happiness
• Personal achievement
• Fulfillment

Contentment, however, makes all of those things possible.  "

From:  "The Minimalist Woman's Guide to Having it All"  by Meg Wolfe

It is a dark, rainy morning.  I sit at a table in the apartment that I recently moved into.  We made the choice to move from the 4 bedroom house that we were renting, to downsize and reevaluate what we needed vs. what we wanted.  I must admit that this is radically new behavior for me.  Much of my life I have behaved as thought I thought that the more, the bigger, the happier.  I know that I am not alone and like many have gone through times when things were very sparse.  

Today I sit here with the awareness that living with much and living with little has brought me to this place.  Brought me to this place of knowing that with God's help neither is the answer.  That for me there is no specific answer, and I would argue that is true for all of us.  What I have come to know is that learning more about who I am, who I love, who loves me, and the work and passions in my life that give me joy need to be the determining factors in how my life looks.  

The last two months of my life have been spent giving cloths away to many different sources, recycling the many, and I mean many, different forms of technology(old computers, TVs, etc.), giving many car loads of perfectly good items to a place that raises money for the local hospital, and many, many, many trips to the local (wonderful) dump.  I will not bore you with the details of all I learned about where to recycle or redistribute your excess things, but I will tell you it can turn into a full time job.  The most amazing thing about doing it this way, as opposed to just moving it all again, is the real awareness of all the "stuff" you have.  How many vases does one couple need?  I'm not talking about family heirlooms, I"m talking about vases, just glass vases that sit on a shelf.  I just don't have fresh cut flowers that often.  

"A wonderful thing happens along the Minimalist path: you realize you've got enough mental and physical space to be yourself, that you are more that the sum total of your possessions, and you actually feel that you are enough in and of yourself.  That's a feeling akin to contentment."  Meg Wolfe

Settling in, clearing space, getting rid of boxes and piles will come with time.  But the gift that I have found under all these piles continues to be the most amazing surprise.  The gift of an increasing lightness, a gift of feeling more present in my skin, and the gift of not feeling trapped by my surroundings and my things.  God shows up in the most amazing and wonderful ways.  Sometimes we need to move things around to find the grace, the gifts that are there, waiting to be revealed.  

Gracious God, Thank you for the life I have today.  Thank you for food, clothing and shelter.  Thank you for the people in my life that I love and love me in return.  Thank you for those in my life that challenge me and enable me to grow.  Thank you for the many blessings in my life today, those I am aware of, and those I miss.  

Gracious God,  Help me remember that you are from which my life and joy comes.  Help me to remember that it is through you and the life that I am present in today,  that I come to know more and more who you need me to be.  

Gracious God, Help me to be the instrument you need me to be today.  Amen.