Uphill idealist

Some days seem lined with words like, "Joy" and "Hope", but then there are the days that surround us with calls, conversations, and unspoken chats that long for "Mitleid-Help". Mitleid- Help for what is going wrong. Mitleid-Help to meet an impossible deadline. Mitleid-Help from ears to hear the story we long to tell. Mitleid-Help to share in when things get a little crazy. The call for "Mitleid-Help" does more than ask for our time and energy. These calls ask for who we are to show up, to stand up and give ourselves to the other. This is not pity, for pity only makes the distance between people grow. These calls are not one sided. They are reciprocal. They are not demands. "Mitleid-Help" is a request to be with the other - and the other to be with us. Mitleid-Help for me. Mitleid- Help for you. Help is the "Mitleid" - the compassion, that brings us together so that all can be held secure, no matter how craz...

Years ago, I had the pleasure to meet Beth Whitney when attending an Youth Ministry Forum at Princeton Seminary. Our conversation started over mutual compliments over headbands, scarves or some such nominal thing. While conversations like this don't often go past the day they happen, this one lived on. We live far apart. We work in different fields. But thanks to social networking and the strong relationships built with the Youth Ministry Institute's Cohort - we are still connected. Beth is an amazing musician as well as a friend, mom, spouse and human being. Today she shared a new video and song focused on the space for worry in life.  These words cut me to the quick... "If I fall...keep my picture on the wall." We all worry. But we also have people who hold us - and our pictures close. I'm thankful to know Beth and that our first conversation over pretty accessories was more important than we realized. I'll keep your picture on the wall, ...

This a photo of my friend Pat Moser who created amazing pumpkin sculptures for years in spite of living with MS. (To view more of his "Grumpkins" click here .) Pat lived life in "Joy!" and challenged so many others to joyful living as well.  Just after I shared Pat's philosophy of "Joy" on Sunday morning, I came across a reusable cup at Starbucks that was for sale. It simply said the word, "JOY". While "JOY" is not something that erases the difficulty of life, it is something to carry (like my cup) to all aspects of living. "JOY" is, to me, the freedom to live knowing that God is always with me, understanding me, and patient with me in my failings. Living in "JOY" allows me to move into the sadness and grief that is a part of life -  Because I'm not alone in it. (Or are you.) While Pat passed away in 2010, his challenge to living in "JOY" remains today and every day. For all the challeng...

Seven months between meetings. Over Jasmine tea. Wondering how life can be so different. How did all this come to be? Some areas have moved forward. Some have moved back. There is peace knowing - that someone greater than me picks up my slack. Seven months in the future. I hope there will be Jasmine tea. But most of all I know that... You always are carrying me. October 2015 Copyright T.L. Eastman

From winding roads... To sun-shimmering mornings. From apples red as red can be, to beagles' happy to sniff a tree. To skies looking gloomy and threatening snow, and wood fit for wild things to grow... Autumn days are here. Sit near. Grab a good book. Happiness awaits if only you take a look.

Unforeseen circumstances cause people to be literally stuck. Unexpected travel snafus, debit card ooopsies and distances too far to fix face-to-face or in the nick of time. In those moments, there are many unseen disasters that can happen. Nothing, it seems, can budge the stuck. For reasons I can't explain these hiccups that can turn into terrible things happen. Some circumstances leave stuck chaos... but others open a window for grace to enter. Tonight for my son stuck in Midtown , grace came walking by. She saw a need and softened a heart to help - and planted a seed for hope to grow. Where self and darkness could have won; light and kindness made it's way. Thank you Jessica from the Midtown Hilton. Your random act of service and kindness was a blessing deeper and wider than the miles that my college freshman son and I are apart. Your were the bridge we so needed tonight. Thank you Jessica, for your amazing grace.

My daily reader (Simple Abundance)   had something to teach me about 'Ecopsycology' today. According to the author, Psychologists that embrace " ecopsychology believe that deepening our emotional ties to nature is vital to our well-being as the close personal bonds we pursue with family and friends. When we follow our instincts to leave the city for a weekend in the country, garden in the early morning...visit a zoo... we are responding positively to psychological and physiological urges to connect for survival." (Simple Abundance, Oct 16 entry)  In August of this year, I relocated to a more urban area than I've lived for twenty years, but thankfully where I live is surround by a considerable amount of green space. My living room also connects me to the outside world by a small terrace that looks out onto a green courtyard...this morning I noticed the sweep of fallen yellow leaves dusting its corners. This small change and contrast to the green delighted my ...