Help from all manner of sources…

Dearest friends,

The last few days have been a bit of a blur.

A welcome, if unexpected, visit from my sister who found herself stranded in the Atlanta airport with all her worldly goods on the way to Louisiana while she was trying to get to Indiana. (A story which I suspect will get funnier over time!)

This on top of a visit to the eye doctor to get my glasses prescription tuned up a bit. The new glasses are indeed in the works. And the need for another appointment as, in this moment, it seems likely that I have glaucoma in my left eye.

Between calendar issues and insurance issues, this is a development that’s eating up more time than I have!

Progress on some fronts.

Backsliding on others.

More than the usual amount of free-floating anxiety about some not-quite-resolved shifting career issues in our family and the sudden realization of how much I, who have never considered myself a very visual person, really value my vision.

Both the intuitive, alchemical kind and the eyesight kind!

Help has appeared from all manner of sources.

Dinner out at The Corner Pub which is our little version of Cheers! where everybody does know our names. They’re also graciously willing to accommodate my tendency to revise their menu! (If you’re in the neighborhood, the new roasted broccoli is fabulous.) And they do the dishes.

The presence of Red Thread sisters in my life who are “hugging and tugging” for me even now.

The stack of what Bill refers to as my “thumb-sucking books” which, in this case, has me back in the midst of the magnificent UNTIE THE STRONG WOMAN  by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. (Which is, in my experience, sustenance for pretty much everything.)

And some new input in my process.

As I mentioned recently, I’ve become part of a Facebook group created to help send rosaries to refugees on the US/Mexican border and, as the group has evolved, to praying novenas for the families living through the tragedy of separation and for drastic changes in US immigration policies.

Now, before I go on, let me say two pretty important things.

Prayer beads were decidedly not a part of my education in a Presbyterian seminary. I learned lots of wondrous and useful things there. Rosaries were not among them. “Always being Reformed” was, however, among them and this is me, doing that.

And, you are welcome and valued here, whatever faith tradition/s you may identify with, even if that’s none at all. Whatever our varied beliefs and chosen myths, whatever our metaphors and practices, we’re all really just trying to help move the world closer to a place of kindness and justice. A place of fierce compassion. (Well, most of us!)

So, with all that rumbling in my head, and with thanks to lots of teachers along the way, the Anglican Rosary pictured above appeared in my mailbox on Saturday. Amazon, eBay, and Etsy are all sources for similar items.

Then came the issue of what to do with it. There are lots of suggestions and directions out there if you google something like Praying the Rosary.

All of that, combined with Dr. Estes’ Prayer for Traveling the Mother Road, in UNTIE THE STRONG WOMAN, brought “my” version of words to pray in bringing my beads to life.

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If it fits for you, I’m thrilled to share. (And you can share this post as well, even if getting it here was a major tech-y challenge for me!)

If it inspires you, in any way that feels true… to pray, meditate, help your kids and grandkids learn, work, vote, or whatever you do, toward that place of kindness and justice, I’m honored.

And if you need more information, just click on any of the pretty colored links, above, for some good starts. Or, reply below, message me on Facebook… Sue Boardman Author, email me, etc. and I’ll come as close as I’m able to shining some light.

For now, I hear a big canvas and a lot of orange paint calling my name. There’s a lot of hope in that, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[https://www.facebook.com/groups/2143874129190005/] Rosary group

“Half Fun & Full Serious!”

I have long been a fan of Garry Trudeau’s Doonesbury cartoons.

In addition to his ironic humor, I’m starting to think he may be a contemporary prophet, or a Dreamer in the way that Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes writes of them.

One of my favorite characters has always been my colleague in ministry, The Rev. Will B. Dunn.

Here’s my recollection of one of Will’s more memorable moments…

Our friend is on his knees in his front yard, black suit and hat and all. He is asking God to send him a sign about whether he should run for President. 

In the next frame, reminiscent of Moses, a bush in his yard bursts into flames, bringing a message along the lines of, “Don’t do it!” 

What does Will do?

He grabs a fire extinguisher and puts out the sign!

This may be the proof text for the old adage: Be careful what you pray for. You might get it!

And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you’re wondering what dragged this particular story out of the dustier reaches of my brain just now.

Well, it’s like this.

My world feels full of signs.

Summer in Atlanta is no place for burning bushes so my signs are appearing in the form of dreams and sudden inspirations.

The sense of puzzle pieces falling into place.

And an unexpected event or two dragging lots of change along.

If we’re being honest, there’s a tiny part of me that’s tempted to reach for a fire extinguisher!

And there’s a lot more of me that’s feeling excited about the future as it’s beginning to come into focus.

I feel inspired. And intentional.

I’m beginning to have language for where I’m heading.

Here’s a hint…

There’s lots more stardust soup to come!

For now, I’m also aware of the old therapists’ notion that change is always stressful, even when it’s change that we have, at some level of awareness, hoped and longed for.

Which brings us to the issue of what my fabulous, talented friend, SARK would refer to as radical self-care.

Only you know what that might mean for you but, just in case you might be dealing with change or stress or even a whole box full of mental puzzle pieces, here are some examples of what it looks like for me.

  • Compassion.
  • Sleep. (Or, at the very least, space for peaceful rest.) Complete with clean sheets, favorite jammies, and, perhaps, a bit of meditation music playing very quietly in the background. Lots of experts would recommend no “screens” for an hour before bedtime. It has something to do with blue light.
  • Gentle movement. Qigong, yoga, walking, even dancing, whatever works for you. If it happens to be an alternate arm and leg kind of movement (like walking and swinging your arms) so much the better.
  • Good food. Fresh. Minimally processed. Minimal caffeine, sugar, and artificial sweeteners. You get the drift!
  • Someone to talk to. The very process of putting language to our experience helps us to organize it and discover new things about it. And, if you want to just be heard, witnessed, ask. Strategies may need to wait for later! Journaling works, too.
  • Space for creativity. Color. Quilt. Knit. Paint. Write. Cook something new. Make soup. And listen…

Signposts to the future are all around us if we just let go of the fire extinguishers!

 

 

Sue Boardman, Certified Intentional Creativity®
Color of Woman Teacher & Coach