Harbors of Grace
June 7, 2015
Harbors of Grace
by Molly Davis
A dear friend is moving to a town in Maryland named Havre de Grace….Harbor of Grace. It is a perfectly named town for her new home, as she is a grandmother raising one of her beloved granddaughters who, without the need for any shared details, has found in her grandmother’s love and devotion, a harbor of grace in which to live for a few short years. As a card I recently read said, “A ship in a harbor is safe. But that is not what ships are made for.”…..We are not meant to live in the safe waters of a harbor forever either. But, we all have need of shelter in our storms. Ours is to know when to seek the safety of a harbor, and when to provide that for someone else in need.
My best friend Kristine’s almost 90 year old momma, Darlene, passed away yesterday. During the days and hours and moments before she left us, harbors of grace showed up everywhere. Read the rest of this entry »
A Tender Heart…
February 24, 2011
There are COMMON THREADS that connect us as human beings. We often can’t see them or find them, UNTIL we are willing to expose our own.
Being vulnerable can be terrifying. We’ve all presented our vulnerable selves at one time or another and been met with judgment and ridicule. Next time we considered being vulnerable we paused a bit, predicted the outcome. Then maybe chose to withhold…protecting ourselves and sheltering our tenderness.
The ability to be vulnerable again often comes from having held on to too much pain …simply no more room. Or, “we’re mad as hell and we aren’t gonna take it any longer.” Or, the knowledge that we are part of a mighty whole and that sharing our soft spots might help someone else to exercise their strengths.
Today I am so moved by a dear friend who did just that. She used her own unfathomable grief to shed light on the darkness that so many carry. Her vulnerability allowed others to know that they are not alone, that their pain and loss matter. By telling her story she brought gentleness and celebration where there can often be secrets and denial.
A common thread thoughtfully exposed connects us as human beings, therefore connecting us to our own humanity.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO SIT DOWN FOR THIS ONE
The Experience of a Moment
July 11, 2010
the simple magic of insignificant details
http://blog..com/
The Essence of Understanding
April 14, 2010
“When we are mindful, we notice that another person suffers. The other person may be a husband, a wife, or a child. If one person suffers, that person needs to talk to someone in order to get relief. We have to offer our presence, and we have to listen deeply to the other person who is suffering. That is the practice of love–deep listening. But if we are full of anger, irritation, and prejudices, we don’t have the capacity to listen deeply to the people we love. If people we love cannot communicate with us, then they will suffer more. Learning how to listen deeply is our responsibility. We are motivated by the desire to relieve suffering. That is why we listen. We need to listen with all our heart, without intention to judge, condemn, or criticize. And if we listen in that way for one hour, we are practicing true love. We don’t have to say anything; we just need to listen. “The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves “inside the skin” of the other. When we are in contact with another’s suffering, a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means literally “to suffer with.” –Thich Nhat Hanh
T
hank you Quma Learning & Dennis Deaton
Morning Offering
April 14, 2010
And waste my heart on fear no more.”
poem by John O’Donohue
The Elk Ate My Ivy
March 25, 2010
It was a full moon…so much moon light that night looked like day.
We were watching some horror(ish) thing on t.v. , so my skin was crawling a bit anyway. Out of the corner of my eye, just beyond the window, I saw movement. Holy Creepers! First reaction to fear?…punch the husband. He hadn’t noticed, but agreed to take a look.
There were at least 100! The size of horses on steroids. They moved out from the shadows of the pine forest towards the house; like The Bloods moving in on The Crips. Step by step, without a sound, they surrounded the house. LITERALLY.
We turned off all the lights to get a better view…eventually daring to open a window so we could listen to the power of the masses destroying our yard, garden, hedges of ivy…the occasional slurp from the pond. Massive beasts daring to dine on the hours and hours of our gardening labor.
IT WAS MORE THAN WORTH IT…I can’t begin to tell you the power that these animals have. They stayed for several hours, munching their way through acres of new spring growth. This morning, it looks like a thousand tiny bombs went off in the yard. Not a green sprig in sight. The hub and I decided that it was like a free pruning service and that everything will probably come back bigger and stronger…thanks in addition to all that free fertilizer they left behind.
They came, they ate, they pooped!…Kind of like a family Thanksgiving.
The moral of the story? Sometimes the things we cultivate serve a completely different purpose than what we intended. Let go and look for the gift.
YOU BRING TO THE WORLD WHAT NO ONE ELSE CAN
March 18, 2010
LOOK TODAY FOR THE SMILES REFLECTED BACK AT YOU…LISTEN TODAY FOR THE MUSIC THAT DELIGHTS YOU…GIVE TODAY TO SOMEONE IN NEED…LOVE TODAY EXPECTING NOTHING IN RETURN…
PROOF THAT NO ONE LOOKS, LISTENS, GIVES OR LOVES AS YOU DO IN THE MOMENTS OF YOUR VERY UNIQUE LIFE.
OPEN YOUR EYES
March 16, 2010
matters that matter women’s retreat
March 15, 2010
Linda and Jack...the perfect man!
Home-made apple pie and lots of smiles
Molly and Jack...the perfect man!
Judy of Guler and Linda of the Harbor
Our own Volcanologist...the handsome Tom of the Mountains
Jean and Candy in the SUNSHINE
Linda and Judy, sisters
Cindy at Peace
who is that woman hugging my husband?
Gathered Our Courage Together
Anna: light and spirt
The girls mixing glue stick and soup...huh oh!
Speed scrabble...endless possibilities
The MATTERS THAT MATTER W OMEN’S RETREAT. A room filled with courageous, bright, authentic women. We ate, we danced, we drank good wine & coffee (as promised), we laughed, we cried, we drummed, we napped, we created, we learned from one another, we loved with all of our hearts and souls. Women gloriously being women. Could it get any better? Well maybe if Amy Ferris (Marrying George Clooney) could have been there!
An Excerpt From ‘Women Who Run With Wolves’
February 6, 2010
By Clarissa Pinkiola Estes Best selling author of Women Who Run With the Wolves
“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale. One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these—to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.”
Endless Possibility
February 6, 2010
Have you ever had a creative idea that fills you to overflowing? The idea surges through you like melted chocolate on a gigantic hot fudge Sunday. With it the voice of possibility…This is it! I am going to be the first, the successful, the famous, the only, the ONE! No sooner are you filled to the brim with possibilities than another voice starts to whisper…Who do you think you are? You will never make any money. What will your friends and family say when you fail?
Why is it that the whisper usually beats out all those possibilities? Most of us back off, kill the idea and go about business as usual.
But then, every once in a while, there is a creative idea that will not be whispered into oblivion. It insists on capturing a glimpse at the light of day. If it can just capture those first rays of light then maybe it will start to grow.
We are stepping over our fear, tuning out that incessant whisper and exploring a couple of endless possibilities. Amazing how alive you feel when creative ideas are nudged forward.
What creative idea do you have that is waiting for a little light?
Matters That Matter ® 