Happy New Year every one. I love new beginnings. Don't you? I was at a meeting at noon today and our topic was new beginnings and starting with a clean slate. To have learned that the past, whether the memories are good or bad, needs to be left behind is empowering and freeing, at the same time. I used to drag all the baggage I could with me every where. I was bogged down by it and never managed to glean the message that was trying to get my attention in the moment. My life is much simpler now and my experience of peace is so much greater since having[...]
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Karen’s Musings
8 As children, most of us made a list of the things we wanted from Santa. I painstakingly wrote him a letter every year, in fact. Until grade three, at the top of my list was a doll, and not just an ordinary doll. I had poured over the Sear's catalogue for weeks looking at the details of each doll pictured, imagining her in my arms. My mother was careful to observe my final pick. Of course I never knew why. And what a surprise on Christmas morning that Santa had selected the very one I wanted. I had written sundry other things on the list too but n[...]
I love the holidays. I love the lights, the parties, the multiplicity of meetings where gratitude is the topic. I love opening cards and sending messages to loved ones. I even love wandering the stores where Christmas music is playing. I don't buy a lot of gifts any more. And I have requested none. Giving to charities rather than giving gifts to friends and family members who really have need for little is a far better way to spread some cheer I think. I don't know about your town but in Naples the need is greater this year than ever before. More fa[...]
I am not your typical shopper. I don't run to shop the day after Thanksgiving. However, don't get me wrong; I am not above a good bargain. I simply choose to wander the malls, leisurely, until something strikes my fancy. I will pay my visit before the holiday actually arrives, but in the meantime, I do believe there are many additional ways to spread the joy of the season. The first one, and the easiest I might add, is to look into the eyes, often very tired eyes, of the other travelers on my path. Acknowledge them with a smile. Every one is deserv[...]
I don't know who originally coined this simple little phrase but it certainly fits multiple occasions. Actually it's a great reminder that we can seldom affect change in any one else. We can model behavior we'd like to see. We can suggest a different course of action. We can even plead to be heard. But finally, "it is what it is." What others choose to do, how others choose to think, how others respond to us is up to them. Simply accepting what we can't change in people or situations is the clearest path to experiencing a peaceful moment. I crave peac[...]
I am constantly asked how I have managed to write so many books. And my honest response is, I don't know. I feel called to do what I am doing. I think the same is true for every one who is feeling fulfilled in their work. And if your work isn't giving you a sense of well-being, perhaps it's time to search your mind for that which you do feel a passion for. This isn't an easy search for some. We have all been "stuck" in a line of work at some period of our life. But I do think our lives have purpose regardless of what we are doing. It may sound trite b[...]
The news is replete with the conflicts between the many views on health care reform. And I think we are lucky to live in a country where people are allowed to express opposing viewpoints. Not every country is so lucky. Prisons around the world are full of people who dared to speak up. But I am concerned that we are forgetting how to have civil discourse on this and any number of issues. Talk radio is quick to speak loud, oftentimes untruthfully and carry "a big stick." We see it and hear much the same on television too. And who is being forgotten in a[...]
I have been extremely busy lately doing what I love doing; however, being "on the treadmill" without taking time to breathe, to rest, to pray, isn't healthy. For me or any one. For a number of week ends I have been on the road leading workshops, an activity that absolutely thrills me, filling me up with hope and spiritual connection. But I must retreat to the quiet space in my mind to reconvene a conversation with God as I understand him when I get home. It's in my walks, my meditations, my "conversations" while working on a book that I most easily access G[...]
It matters not which cable channel is your favorite, the hours are generally eaten up by loud bickering, with one side or the other insisting it has the solution to the topic under discussion. Whether it's health care, the war in the Middle East, or the economy, few seem to share an opinion that serves all of human kind. It's not that disagreement is bad. In fact, the best solution for any problem quite often results from the exchange of ideas, even when expressed heatedly. However, seeking to disagree for the sake of attention or "ratings" or when the well bei[...]
I was in Seattle at a conference when I heard that Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize. I was thrilled for him and our country. And then I began to hear a lot of grumbling from politicos on all sides. I was struck, once again, by the lack of civility we covet. Why would we not, why should we not, be happy for the honor offered to a man who is choosing to make a difference in how myriad cultures react to one another. Whether one is democrat or republican, and there were naysayers from both parties, it's time to lay aside our criticisms, I think, and seek,[...]