Being "Present"

Hello from my heart to yours...

“We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, and then... for joy.” 

                                                              ~ Pema Chodron from When Things Fall Apart

On Monday morning, my house was burglarized... I was only gone 2 hours... I can't explain the feeling of walking into such needless destruction and disarray... as if a tornado ripped through each bedroom individually... what's gone is gone... after all, they were just things... mostly of sentimental value as I sold almost all my jewelry 3 years ago to pay for a fabulous trip to Italy... so, I'm not falling apart because of that... my grandmother's things can't be replaced.. my father's 100 year coin collection will probably be used in vending machines... oh well... I just feel beaten up and violated... some strangers touched my clothes and my bed sheets and even my make-up... but thank God, nothing happened to me or my child... only mentally, do we feel exhausted...

Yesterday, I attended a funeral service... those of you that have been with me a long time know how I like to go to memorial services and masses (not burials) .. I go for the living... to offer "presence" during their time of sorrow.. this is what I was taught... and so, as I partook of the mass for the mother of one of my Emmaus Sisters, I looked around and realized that there are a group of Emmaus Sisters that are always "present"... always the same familiar smiles coming together in companionship and love... 

Back in September, I wrote a blessing about being "present" for others.... again, about attending a service where the minister open with, "Thank you for being "present" ... your presence is a prayer offering for the family and friends showing them that they are not alone." I have never forgotten that.... so anyway... just as my thoughts drift from one thing to another in the blessings I write, so they do all day and the "presence" of my Sisters, triggered the thought of the robbery again....

When I got home, I called my siblings and my best friends... they kept me company on the phone while the police went through the rooms... in between phone calls, my yard guy and my neighbor sat with me in the patio... they were "present" for me... I had to go to a meeting so I left, worked, picked up my kid and came back.. all the while dreading the thought of having to clean up... when I arrived at my house, my sister-in-law was there waiting.. 30 minutes later, my aunt and uncle arrived, then, my brother, then another aunt, then my sister.. and all the while, my phone didn't stop.. calls, texts, emails.. all wanting to offer their "presence" ... or their home for us to spend the night... by 7:00 the rooms were back to a "decent" state... and there was no reason for me to "fall apart" .. I am blessed. I am loved... (Of course, that night, we slept in a locked room ...)

Anyway, life goes on and though it may "fall apart" one day, the next day it comes together again... and with another's "presence",  we heal.. and there is joy again...  so, I thank God that I am here... it could have been much worse... and I thank my Emmaus Sisters for reminding me (at the funeral service) about the importance of being "present"... it made me realize how many people are "present" for me and how blessed I am because of it.... 

It doesn't take much to be "present" for one another... all you have to do is remember that you are loved beyond measure and a cherished blessing to the world... We transform our lives and the lives of those around us simply by being "present." ...  It’s compassion in action..... thank you all for being "present" with me on this spiritual journey of blessing one another....

May your day be blessed with all things good,

I love you,

Elena

Success Stories

Hello from my heart to yours... 

"I write about people who sometime in their life have a vision or dream of something that should be accomplished and they go to work. 

"They are beaten over the head, knocked down, vilified, and for years they get nowhere. But every time they're knocked down they stand up. You cannot destroy these people. And at the end of their lives they've accomplished some modest part of what they set out to do."

— Clifford Irving

WE are these people... I write about all of US all the time.. but yesterday, a friend I have had for quite some time now, emailed me saying, "My inner voice is named Jeffrey. But he prefers to be called Jeff, and gets pretty upset if I don’t. And he’s very jealous of the other voices in my head."  lol... I was so cracking up... we proceeded to exchange a few "catch-up" emails about life and the kids... and then this quote popped up on Facebook and I immediately thought of him again... 

He hasn't had an "easy" life... he has definitely been beaten over the head, knocked down and vilified.. but he always stands back up... and though at times throughout the years, he has asked me to remove him from the blessings list because the message is of no use to him, he will email me later and say, "don't listen to me..I was depressed..put me back on" ... lol... he has raised his 3 children alone for the past 10 years... he has schlepped them from state to state to ensure that they see their mother whenever possible... he has a successful business in this horrible economy.. and I am proud to call this "character: friend... he has visions and dreams and sets out to accomplish them...  

Last year, a mile wide tornado went right through his city... from his house, you can see the hospital that was ripped apart... it was a scary time for him and his family... there is still debris everywhere, but the city is slowly recovering ... when I drove through Alabama last year, I saw remnants of this tornadoes destruction and let me tell you, even my boys had tears in their eyes... those of us who experienced Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Katrina know that it takes a long while to recover from these types of natural disasters.. financially, physically and emotionally... but we still stand back up and continue our life journey...  

I believe that it is true of all of us here... I receive many emails asking for prayers and guidance and moral support... not because I am an expert in any of this, but I think it's because we are all connected to one another and don't want to stay down in our moments of despair... we are people of faith, hope and love in our hearts.. and even at our lowest moments, we know all we have to do is reach for another's outstretched hand... none of us want to fail... and none of us want others to fail either... we all desire to be "success stories"....and know people who are "success stories"... and if I knew each of your stories, I could write blessings about each of you for 1000+ days ... isn't that crazy wonderful?

Anyway, may we always be able to "stand up" .. may we be willing to pick ourselves up and start all over again.... if it helps, look to another's success story to get ideas and help... pray and meditate for yourselves and others... pray specifically for faith, hope and love... for as long as we have all these, we can never be destroyed... we are are loved beyond measure and cherished blessings to the world... remember to thank God for this love....

May your day be filled with all things good,

I love you,

Elena

Inner Voice

Hello from my heart to yours.....

"The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.....  Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone." 

                                                                                                        Mohandas Gandi

If you let it.. life will overtake you.... things will happen in your life and you will have no control.. you will simply "go with the flow"  and by doing so, you are allowing others to dictate your life... People love to tell others what to do.. parents, grandparents, spouses and friends give advice and you listen because they mean well.. and granted, sometimes they do have good advice, however, you have to strive to listen to yourself... that inner voice that speaks to YOU.... that inner voice that I believe is GOD... 

I know that not everyone on this blessing list calls him God.. and when I googled the different names for "God", I found too many to mention here... also, in my search I read something very interesting, and possibly what I may have been trying to say all along in the blessings... we live in a society that has many cultures and many religions and though we may not agree with everyone's beliefs, we should be tolerant and treat everyone with respect and love because all religions are equally valid since our path's all lead to God...  interesting right? Of course, as a Catholic, I am supposed to say that unless you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you will not be with saved in the end... hmmmm? but as a Catholic, I was, also, taught that God loves the whole world and so then, why wouldn't He save people of all religions and allow us to live His Kingdom as brothers and sisters?  I don't know... more and more, I am of the simple belief that: "LOVE is my religion".... 

Pay no mind to my tangent writing.......Soooooo way off what I was going to write about... and as my best friend would say to me right now... "Look, something shiny!"  lol

Anyway, I'm back from the reef... and to my belief that we all have a spiritual purpose and something to contribute to this life.. to be able to be the blessed people that we are destined to be, we need to be able to tap into that direct connection that we have with the most powerful force in the universe...God.  That "intuition" (as it is called) is our spiritual guide, but we have to listen... YOU have to listen to yourself... there is nothing outside of YOU, not family or friends, that can answer your questions better than that "little voice."

So ask the question.. pray and meditate about it... and then LISTEN... listen with an open mind and an open heart... be willing to wait patiently for the answer.... be willing to accept NO, too.... it's definitely hard, but as I continuously say... with faith, hope and love in your heart, all things are possible....

My affirmation for us today:

We are loved beyond measure and are blessed to hear the "little voice" of God...  Our minds and our hearts are open to receive all the answers that are rightfully ours in our Divine Right... We believe the answers that we receive... and therefore, we will become the blessed people we are destined to be..... Amen.

May your evening be blessed with all things fabulous,

With love,

Elena

50th Day

hello from my heart to yours.... 

I read a quote that cracked me, but didn't write it down completely, thinking I could just google it and it would pop up... considering that I haven't written in awhile, I found it so reflective of that.... it went something like.....

"It's hard to write when the world is moving.."

 ... one of the truest sentences I have ever read... I don't know what I've been up to lately, but I have been up to so much... and I have a lot to write about because everyday something fabulous happens in my life... and I say, "I'll write today." ..but the world moves again and I don't...

So, as I am sitting in the barber shop right now watching my daddy and son being swiveled around in the chairs... I am writing... I I have been wanting to write about this upcoming weekend because Jews and Christians alike are celebrating the "50th Day" ....

We will be celebrating Shauvot and Pentecost ... the 50th day since Passover and the 50th day since Easter...  and we are celebrating it on the same day... this doesn't happen often as both our religious calendars fluctuate.. this last "Spring Feast" is a moveable feast... and perhaps because I try to live my life as if it were a moveable feast (the way Hemingway describes it to mean "the memory of a splendid place or happening that continues to go with you for the rest of your life..") I find the fact that we are all celebrating this weekend so fabulous... since you all know I LOVE to connect all of us spiritually....

  

Anyway, when God gave the Jewish people the Torah, they became servants of God.... the birth of a nation committed to God.. .. I read that Shavuot is the wedding anniversary of the Jewish people and the Torah is the marriage certificate between the Jews and God... 

 After Jesus went up to heaven, the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost.... when the disciples received the gift, they became witnesses for Christ.... the birth of the church... a birth certificate for those who choose to be born in the Spirit... 

 Jews celebrated a joyous harvest on Shavuot...

Christians celebrated a harvest of newborn souls on Pentecost...

And so... here we are after 50 Holy days...united as brothers and sisters of one God... following the same Commandments... (or at least trying to)... praying and meditating by ourselves and with one another... because we are all loved beyond measure and are cherished blessings to the world... 

and so, I say to all my Jewish friends... Happy Anniversary... 

and, I say to all my Christian friends... Happy Birthday...

May your weekend be blessed with an abundance of love... I miss you all and love you very much... 

Elena

Lay Down Your Burden

Hello from my heart to yours...

"Lay down your burden... I will carry you
I will carry you my child, my child..."
                                                                                                                     Amy Grant, "Carry You"

We all know the feeling of walking through life as if we are carrying the huge burden of our worries and stresses on our backs and shoulders, struggling to keep moving forward. There is no real way to move freely and fluidly in such a situation, and we are all longing to lay our burdens down... by imagining that it would be possible to do such a thing can be enough to elicit a sigh of relief and a feeling of lightness. 

Tonight the Catholics begin the Easter Triduum... it begins with the Chrism Mass, whereby the bishop blesses the Holy Oils.. the chrism, oil of the sick and oil of catechumens.. and we celebrate the Last Supper of Jesus... where he gave us the "reason" why we attend mass on Sundays when He said, "Do this in remembrance of Me"... the Triduum continues through to Resurrection Sunday.. we recall the passion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus... 

Tomorrow night, my Jewish friends celebrate Passover, whereby they recall the story of the Exodus... when God helped the children of Israel escape slavery in Egypt by inflicting 10 plagues.. the 10th and worst plague was the slaughter of the first-born.. the Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb, and upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes... 

I thought that these Holy days would be a perfect time to lay our burdens down at the feet of God.. releasing ourselves from that which we cannot handle on our own... after all, that is what Jesus did when He accepted his role as the Son of God... knowing that He would be betrayed and die on a cross... and after all, that is what the Israelites did when they did as instructed by God so that they could be free... and had they not laid their burdens down, then the story would have been written differently and the Church may not have been born...  

I did not study theology or religions... I only know what I have acquired by growing up with both, Catholic and Jewish friends.. by celebrating both OUR holidays and feasts.. and I am fascinated by the connection we have as children of one God... I am not the smartest girl or the most capable or the hardest working, but I believe that I cannot single-handedly cope with all the worries that I take on in my life... and thankfully, I do know that humans are not designed to do so... our well-being depends upon our ability to hand over that which we can no longer carry by ourselves... letting it go and letting God....

Let us begin this weekend right now... visualize yourself carrying your burdens to the feet of God.... sit with your eyes closed and envision an all powerful, supremely comforting being in what ever form that takes for you, standing at the end of a road.... see yourself carrying a large sack, box, or other container and imagine that all your worries are inside it.... watch as you make your way to the God of your imagination, and lay your baggage down at His feet.... allow yourself to feel the lightness and relief of this action, express your gratitude, and surrender. You will be amazed by how this simple meditation can liberate you from a burden you were never meant to carry... 

We are here... all God's children .... all loved beyond measure and cherished blessings to the world... love one another and hold each other's hands through life... have faith and hope in God, yourselves and one another... lay down your burdens and move forward... spring is the time of renewal.. renew yourselves ... pray and meditate and be in God's grace always... 

May your Passover and Easter weekend be blessed with all things light,

I love you and love being your sister in God's eyes...

Elena

New Worlds & Easter/Passover Connection

Hello from my heart to yours....

 

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world not possibly born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."   Anais Nin

I know I keep writing about all the new friends I continue to make... and maybe, in actuality they fall under the "acquaintances I have affection for" list because we may not actually be "friends" .. you know, the kind where we spend time together on a weekly basis or even monthly for that matter... but then again, the definition of "friends" is.. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard... and so, I suppose then, that I actually do have many "friends".. for I do feel attached to so many people.. even if I never see them or share a meal with them.. even if our friendship is only through facebook or email... I have great affection for so many people.... 

Anyway, I know we can all agree that it is difficult to do this... to "play" with our friends all the time.. we all work and may be busy with our children and families... maybe we are just comfortable with the people we already share our lives with and really don't care to have more people in our lives... however, if we stop and greet each new person we meet as a potential "new friend", we may find that they bring to us a whole new world full of new adventures, new dreams, new hopes and new love.... and in turn, we would be blessing them with a whole new world as well.

Spring lends itself to making new friends... maybe because it is the season in which flowers bloom.. baby birds crack out of their shells... caterpillars become butterflies... or maybe it's because it is the season in which the new worlds in religion arose... all with God in common.... Every year I like to write about the connection we have with all the people of the world... and during Holy Week, I would like to give you a quick summary of our connection....

In Judaism, the people celebrate the beginning of the biblical year with two of the three pilgrimage festivals, Passover and Pentecost (Shavuot)... In Christianity, the believers celebrate Easter and Pentecost.  Our religious worlds are connected through Pentecost (Fiftieth Day)... 

On Passover, the Jewish people were freed from their enslavement to Pharoah; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.

On Easter, the Christian people were given the gift of eternal life in Heaven; on Pentecost they were given the Holy Spirit, thus creating the Holy Trinity and the Birthday of the Church.

... these holidays are always celebrated in the Spring.... making Spring the season of new hope and renewal for all who have faith in our one God...

So.... this Spring, let us reflect on that... let us attempt to make maybe one "new" friend... let us re-connect with an "old" friend and make them "new" again... I guarantee that your heart will rejoice...  it's a lovely life and as my friend Rod said, "We should be nicer to each other... we're all we've got.." Share your world with others and be willing to go into someone else's world... You'll love the new and wonderful worlds that you create for one another... I know I do.....

Remember to be as good as Spring itself for you are loved beyond measure and a cherished blessing to the world and to me... 

May your day be blessed with all things good,

Elena

Two Wolves

Hello from my heart to yours....

A Cherokee Legend

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

I have always loved that story... my sweet friend posted it on my wall on the eve of my boys' departure without realizing what a perfect story it is to share with them... they are gone once again to continue their life adventure... their "summer" visit was like a tornado and Giorgio and I are still recovering from the turmoil.. the rooms are upside down and we don't even know where to begin, but we'll get it done, I guess.. 

Their visit was "interesting" ... they truly are hilarious teenage boys.. the way they interact with one another is worthy of video-taping for a reality show.. their views and opinions are very different, and as I watched them fight and run after each other and lock each other out of the house and throw spears and shoot airsoft bb's at each other, I thought "OMG.. they are evil wolves" ... lol... but they aren't really, because 5 minutes after all the chaos, I would go to the room to check on the silence and they would be playing the PS3 and look at me like I was the crazy one... 

Anyway, I wanted to give them the Cherokee story as something to think about for their journey abroad, but in the last minute chaos, it didn't happen... so I'm writing it here because even though they don't always read my blessings (they say I'm the "hippiest" mother they know), they have confessed that when they miss me, they do go through their emails and read them randomly... and so I believe that they'll read it when they need it.. and that makes my heart smile...

We all have these two wolves inside of us... yes.. we DO .. and it's hard enough as adults to have control over which wolf we are going to feed.. imagine how much harder it is for a child or a teenager.. there are so many outside influences that can sway their ways.. so many things they don't understand or know how to react to and deal with yet.. and most of the time, young people just want to satisfy their hunger instantly and do not stop to think of the repercussions of "instant gratification" especially if the "bad" wolf is being fed... certainly we don't want to think that they are intentionally feeding that wolf, which is why, even though I believe Gibran when he wrote, "Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself."  .. I, also, believe that as parents, it is our responsibility to guide them and help them understand which wolf to feed... of course, this is best done by example... so if we live our lives as the blessed people God intends us to be.. then, the lesson shouldn't be so difficult...

I could go on and on here... after all, we all know both types of wolves... and maybe, we have even been both types of wolves at some point in our lives.. but as long as we have faith, hope and love in our hearts, and we remember that we are loved beyond measure always, I believe that, by default, only the good wolf will be fed... 

May you never have to really "fight" to feed the good wolf.. may the love and light in your heart keep the good wolf fed and satisfied always... you are a cherished blessing to the world...

May your weekend be blessed with all things good.... Namaste... 

Elena

p.s. I love you both my adventurous "good" wolves... Asalaam Alaikum.. I carry your hearts... Arrivederci ... xo