Uphill idealist

Image found at Life. The Tate Unveils The Alternative Christmas Tree LONDON - DECEMBER 3: A woman looks at Tate Britain's Christmas tree dressed by sculptor Richard Wentworth on December 3, 2004 in London, England. The traditional Norwegian Spruce tree is decorated with broken halves of plates and strings of dimmed domestic light bulbs also text panels on the base of the tree describe the histories of the tree's four elements: the light bulb, the plate, the Christmas tree and the plinth. There is so much preparation, anticipation and excitement in the days just before Christmas. Even adults become giddy with moments of child-like joy and frivolity, at least I know I do. I feel its effects in the holiday songs I find myself humming, in the flutter of joy in my heart, and in the smile plastered across my face as I sat down to share Christmas Eve dinner with this years entourage. I had been touched and filled with a healthy dose of the Christmas spirit. The faces around my table m...

It's that time of year that the days and nights begin to blur with a holiday buzz of activity. There are programs to go to, carols to be sung, cookies to be baked, presents to be wrapped (if they've been purchased yet.:)) and always one more thing to add to the to do list. A chorus of a favorite worship song of mine has been running through my mind all week... "Be still and know He, know He is holy. Be still and know he is God. " (Click on the title to hear the song, if you like.) Even in the midst of all the extra work and bustle, is it possible to be still in spirit? Sometimes I need to simplify, or be satisfied to do tasks in a few steps instead of in all one setting. Sometimes I need to say no instead of yes. Sometimes I need to take a deep breath and reflect upon the sweetness of days recently past. In these ways, I'm more still in spirit and less harried. Where have you felt the bustle in this last week, and where have you experienced a sweet stillness? In ...

It's been and eventful week in my neck of the woods. I was in charge of organizing and getting a crew to decorate a Christmas Parade Float for our city's annual Christmas Parade, I'm continuing the work on a the large mural project and getting close to wrapping it up, and it was my son's 13th birthday. Sleeping with bread is one way for me to look back and count the small joys or bread of life and see the bounty that I'd often time miss. If if glazed over the small joys, I'd spend most of my time recalling and retelling about the times of feeling overwhelmed, overwrought, or frustrated. There are times in this last week that I began to feel lost in the dark and creepy woods, like Hansel and Gretel from that childhood storybook. Like Hansel and Gretel, I have to get beyond the easy fix of candy houses and daydreams and move to the place of leaving a following the bread crumbs of sustenance that are scattered throughout my life. In this last week especially, I cou...

This piece written by Mark Twain, was the focus of today's vignette for The Writer's Almanac for November 30th, 2009. I love the artful blend of this excerpt that follows because it captures the sleepy restfulness of the small town, and the jarring excitement of what new thing is soon coming down the river. On this second day of Advent, it is a time of expectation and waiting. If we allow it, Advent can also be a time of rest in preparation for the joy and light of Christmas to arrive. So on this Monday of expectation and waiting, what moments of the last week made you feel most alive? What ones made you feel most drained of life? Do you sense something new and exciting stirring in your heart? Is there something that needs to be released to the churning river waters so that the next step in the journey can be freely made? As you read this short piece by Mark Twain, let the mighty Mississippi roll around in your heart. We never know for sure what a wade in the water can stir ...