Meditative Answering

Meditative Answering
Consider how hard it is to change yourself, then understand what little chance you've got in changing others.

Below the Surface~Finding Deep Strength


We have all have times in our lives when we think we don’t have the strength to carry on. You do, and you can.

We've all faced moments in our lives when the pressure mounts beyond what we feel we can handle, and we find ourselves thinking that we do not have the strength to carry on. Sometimes we have just gotten through a major obstacle or illness only to find another one waiting for us the moment we finally catch our breath. Sometimes we endure one loss after another, wondering when we will get a break from life’s travails. It does not seem fair or right that life should demand more of us when we feel we have given all we can, but sometimes this is the way life works.


When we look back on our lives, we see that we have survived many trials and surmounted many obstacles, often to our own amazement. In each of those instances, we had to break through our ideas about how much we can handle and go deeper into our hidden reserves. The thought that we do not have the strength to handle what is before us can be likened to the hard surface of a frozen lake. It appears to be an impenetrable fact, but when we break through it, we find that a deep well of energy and inspiration was trapped beneath that icy barrier the whole time. Sometimes we break through by cutting a hole into our resistance with our willpower, and sometimes we melt the ice with compassion for our predicament and ourselves. Either way, each time we break through, we reach a new understanding of the strength we store within ourselves.


When we find ourselves up against that frozen barrier of thinking we cannot handle our situation, we may find that the kindest choice is to love ourselves and our resistance too. We can simply accept that we are overwhelmed, exhausted, and stretched, and we can offer ourselves loving kindness and compassion. If we can extend to ourselves the unconditional warmth of a mother’s love, before we know it, the ice will begin to break.

Shameless Sharing



Last year I went to San Fran to give my talents a whirl....I most likely would have done better than I did if I did not make the choice to place all my faith and trust in a buddy of mine that has...or hopefully had and may have since changed and lost his controlling ways. You cannot control a force of nature, and everyone of us on this planet IS a force of nature, even if one finds such a thought hard to comprehend, and one thing I learned in my 3 week experience.......is that many of the agents down there truly care to see a 20 minute video of ones talents. But not just 20 edited minutes, they asked for 20 minutes of very little edited footage in front of an audience, and ANY back round music that plays during ones show must be of original score or proof of permission. So I have been working on some musical pieces for shows I vision myself doing, and on the note....HAHAHAHHAAHAHHAAA, here is a few rough pieces that I care to share for those who may care to listen.



5 Lessons in Life

I love it when my dear friends pass heart warming emails to me, it almost seems like the timing is predestined....such as today. Here I am scrambling around to take care of all these important details for a gig I will be doing promoting Cirque Du Soleil, the pay will SO greatly help me as will the re-connection with my stilts and a craft I hold dear. This email came to me when I found myself sliding into a dark abyss of unhappiness from exhaustion, and this what turned me around.



1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady. 

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student And had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:
"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the 
Cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
Dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?
I handed in my paper, leaving the last question
Blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if 
The last question would count toward our quiz grade.
"Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers,
You will meet many people.  All are significant.. They
Deserve your attention and care, even if all you do 
Is smile and say hello."
I've never forgotten that lesson.. I also learned her
Name was Dorothy. 

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain.

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride.


Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. 

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's, the man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.
A special note was attached and it read:

"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits, then you came along. 

Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's' bedside just before he passed away...God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Nat King Cole

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table, a waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?"
he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
 
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. 
"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins.
"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away, the boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. 

 
  
When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table.  There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,were two nickels and five pennies.
 
You see, he couldn't  have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip. 
(Man do I SO know where this boy was at, I have lived in those shoes even now as an adult!)

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in our path. 

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway, then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.  Some of the Kings wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.  
Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did
anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables, upon approaching the boulder the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.
  
The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.


5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts.


Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.  
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying,  "Yes I'll do it if it will save her."  
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.




He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.
(Something I would definitely do for all 4 of my sisters, no pun intended, but in a heart beat! I question myself as if they would do the same for me? But with that thought aside I decided to end this all the very way it did in the actual.)
Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching.
NOW more than ever... Please ...Pass It On...you never know how or when you'll be paid!