Being present with a tender heart to all which is, taking care of all life, allow being vulnerable and connect with the light of His Love which is present in all which is. ✨❤️🙏
Preserve what is sacred to me? Try to treat the relationship or space as if it is the last day: with the other or in that space. Then I think I would treasure every second and ensure I honored the person/creature, or place.
Hard to do as I often move through life and take people and places for granted.
This is an interesting perspective, Cathie! I have thought about being grateful for people or objects or nature or my home, but I hadn’t quite thought about it as being grateful for the space I am in at the moment and treating it as if it is the last day in that space. Thank you.
Many things are sacred. Nature and open space come to mind immediately for me. One of the reasons I fell in love with Rhode Island is that they do not have high rise hotels and condos on the beaches. The beaches are kept pristine and walkable. not private. Land is donated and preserved for wild life. Communities will vote on building permits which will not be wanted in most cases.
My faith is also sacred to me and my choice of church has to feel right to me. A good connection with the community and all that it brings including the priest and music program.
I am glad to hear this about the Rhode Island beaches, Robin Ann. Kudos to the people and communities there who have worked to keep the beaches pristine, preserved for wild life, open to the public, and walkable. This little piece of good news brought a smile to the start of my day– thank you!
I’ve been to the Rhode Island beaches,
dear Robin Ann,
and loved walking down the beach to the bird sanctuary,
where they block off public access
when the birds are nesting . . .
such a lovely place to be.
My husband and I
used to go every year,
and then things changed. ♥
Everything
is sacred . . .
others can better express this knowledge
better than I.
I can help to preserve the sacred
by acknowledging its holiness,
by respecting it’s existence,
by revering its eternal beauty,
and by honoring what is sacred in me.
I can hold it tenderly
with awe and wonder . . .
I can give it room to grow,
room to love,
and space to spread its glory . . .
I can be a good steward of its wisdom and grace.
I can believe in my deepest soul
that this is where my salvation lies. ♥
I have come to the conclusion that everything is sacred. I am sacred. You are sacred. All of creation is sacred. We are all Life. Our problem is that as a species we don’t know it. “The enemy are us,” Someone famous once said but who it was escapes me.
I was perusing my Journals early this morning looking for a story I never found but I did come across a poem by Portia Nelson that highly influenced my own life. Why? Because until I read it, I didn’t realize how sacred my own life is. Let alone your life.
As today’s quote reminds us. There is nothing more real and more necessary than a relationship. My mentor use to say that we are here to integrate our insides and our outsides. Until we are willing to do that hard personal relationship work, we will not succeed in building the relationships with others needed to re-member (“re-al”-ize) the sacredness of Life itself. We’ll just keep walking down the same old street. Becoming more self aware and self accepting is vital to the world.
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson
Chapter 1
I walk down the street.
There is a deep whole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost…I am hopeless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep whole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall in…it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It’s my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
“We have met the enemy and he is us.” Walt Kelly coined this in his comic strip “Pogo”. I read it years ago and am glad you reminded me of it. I found this article on it https://library.osu.edu/site/40stories/2020/01/05/we-have-met-the-enemy/. I hadn’t realized he wrote it as the caption for a cartoon panel on pollution and the environmental devastation we create. Not taking care of the sacred indeed.
Thanks so much, Barb. I really enjoyed reading the link. I hope others will read it, too. There is a lesson in it for today’s cultural and political situation!
One thing that is sacred to me is an inner mental state of lovingkindnesss and compassion. Although I often don’t have that mental state, it is sacred to strive for it and the world needs it. It seems like by cultivating that mental state in myself as much as possible, it is helping to preserve that mental state in humanity at large. I can cultivate that state through meditation and pauses during the day. Also by opening myself to the suffering of the world rather than closing myself off and numbing myself. And taking action to promote the wellbeing of all and to oppose injustice. Finally, by immersing myself regularly in the writings, stories, and pictures of those luminous historical figures who have embodied lovingkindness and compassion.
First what is sacred to me?
Cambridge dictionary defines sacred as
– considered to be holy and deserving respect,
especially because of a connection with God.
Receiving Holy Communion, is sacred to me.
Lighting a candle with a sincere intention is sacred.
The rite of the Exposition of the Holy Eucharist is sacred
as is sitting in a chapel in the presence of the Eucharist.
Anytime I have a strong sense of the Spirit of God
within and around me is sacred.
The way for me to preserve these experiences of the sacred
is to practice them.
I think what is sacred has to do with feeling the presence of God.
It’s all about how an experience sits with me.
I think it boils down to practice. To help preserve what is sacred to me, I practice what is sacred, such as presence, gratefulness, self-compassion, self-reflection, and boundaries. Our bodies establish patterns to conserve energy, and the mind and body are one (as much as the organ inside my skull would like to protest that), so my practices shape how I interface with the world. When I find something outside of myself to protect, I can act in rhythm with the practices—presence, gratefulness, self-compassion etc. How I act to protect the sacred outside of myself is informed by my practice. I practice, I show up, things emerge, repeat.
Avril gave me an idea for a 2nd answer. That is to keep things where they belong. I have 3 communities: basketball, spirituality, and Vietnamese. I have my buddies for sports with basketball and football being my top 2, especially basketball. I go here for spirituality. Facebook is the best platform for my Vietnamese, because the majority of people around me who go there are Asians and older adults. I give a special shout out to her!
My path is sacred, and I preserve it by continuing to do the work. Always growing and learning, and being a kind light to all those I encounter. As my path widens, I hope I can help others remember their own divinity and find any healing they may need by sharing yoga with them.
Thank you all so much for the kind words regarding my anniversary yesterday! I would respond individually, but it’s my morning to work at the yoga studio. I truly appreciate you taking the time to wish us well and congrats… and YRAM – we went to an Italian restaurant to celebrate. The great thing about living in a bigger city is that there is a lot of food to choose from, and we love to eat! The food was really good and we were delighted to find they do live music on Thursdays, so it was fun!
Sunnypatti, the 1st line reminds me of NBA coach, Tom Thibodeau, who currently coaches for the New York Knicks. His trademark saying is “The magic is in the work.” This post is a prime example of that. We’ve also had relating questions here too. The guy hasn’t won a championship but has a track record of improving bad teams from the: Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, to New York Knicks. He’s an old school grinder in the modern NBA where everyone plays faster and shoots a bunch of 3s just like me being a traditionalist prioritizing well-being in an ever growing productive society. The Bulls and Wolves got worse for years after firing him, but the Wolves have at least recovered in 2021-22 when they made the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. Thibodeau was their coach in 2018 as well playing a part in helping them end their 14-year playoff drought at the time.
Since, like all of you many things are sacred to me, I’ll focus on one area—this community. I support this community by consistent participation on this page and on the community page. I also take many of the courses and I light candles regularly. Recently, I also became a consistent giver.
Avril, you just built on my answer, especially the last part when I talked about Joseph. Community helps with organization. Going on tangents is the last thing we need. It’s why I love having these questions. Jazz is my 2nd position after classical.
These questions are like chord patterns. Our answers are improvization. There’s a huge difference between that and creativity. The ladder is high risk high reward. We must know what we’re doing if we want to be creative.
You’ve mentioned before that you’re an ennielgram 7. I’ve become that too. It’s a fun ennielgram. I find that being disorganized is the biggest downside to this ennielgram. Again, there’s the power of community where different people come together. My weaknesses are your strengths. Same the other way around. We fill in each other’s holes and create something bigger than the sum of its parts.
Sparrow and Elizabeth, I know a song that doesn’t end. It just goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it they don’t know what it is. I know a song that doesn’t end…
Sean Coughlin and I have our zen meeting every Monday. He and I pick out 2 quarterly zen goals and a yearly 1 out of my 11 zen leadership principles piggybacking off of Phil Jackson. We’re now in Q2, the spring season. His yearly goal is to turn vision into reality. Mine is to trust my people which is the 1 I’ll be souly focusing on for this question. His Q2 goals are to stay ahead of the game and enjoying go-to interests citing work-play balance. This makes sense, because Ngoc, Sean, and me are in the 2nd quarters of our lives which is our prime being: 29, 32, and 33 all respectively. It’s a perfect time for balance and versitility. My Q2 zen goals are to stay ahead of the game like Sean and look beyond the surface.
Ngoc is busy with school for the end of the spring semester and her Vietnam trip right after that until towards the end of June for 6 weeks to spend time with her family and visit the baby she’s talked about in some of her posts. Knowing her so well alongside my past triggers being in the rear view mirror for the most part, I already know she’ll do the best to find quality time for me. This is exactly why I chose the yearly zen goal I chose. Working on my Vietnamese to move closer to my ancestry is 1 thing I’m doing right. Getting past the rebellion, guilt stages, and a track record of learning from my mistakes are factors I have going for me. This helps me adapt and receive care better from my ancestry. I know that family members and my mom’s friends will come up and ask me about missing Ngoc or why I didn’t go to Vietnam in a babyish tone.
You’re always a kid to your elders in Asian cultures. You can be a 30-year-old grown ass man and get kisses from and being held by older adults, especially women. I’ve experienced that. It felt embarrassing at the time. My appetite for power is still and will always exist, but I have better control of that being able to receive it as care.
Ngoc went to Vietnam for a month from early mid December of 2023 to early mid January of 2024. I had a bunch of family gatherings. Of course, I didn’t receive care well from the above. What I did right at the time were that I had the correct ideas advocating for people with autism and mental health, and my methods were friendly. Ultimately, it all came from a place of Paw Mu rebellion creating a distance with my ancestry to put simply.
I’ve said before that those who are comfortable in their own skin don’t need a system. Going back to the root applying the playbook Paw Mu left behind and retweeking it to fit me will help me in this setting. The systems are different, but the root is the same validating her statement of us being Asians. Vietnam and Burma are close countries in Asia. She’s like the Bulls Dynasty and I’m the Warriors dynasty led by Steve Kerr, Steph Curry, and Jimmy Butler. Applying her base for this situation mentioned above is like Asian sheft cooking Asian food.
I also have Joseph’s wisdom here to lean on based on some of his experiences being away from Cheryl temporarily. Substance problem aside, we clearly share the same base of being a loving husband. It’s obvious in how we address our wives. His “My lovely wife, Cheryl” is similar to “My Ngoc.”
Lately, I think it’s grace that makes us
push up through the soil of our lives
like the blades of a daffodil that may
take weeks to bloom, but at least
senses that first moment of softening
warmth in the earth, and slices through
old leaves to meet it. What a waste
a closed heart is,
Good 1, Michele. Not everything needs to be shared out in the open. Airring out our dirty laundry is the last thing needed. Sadly, that’s becoming too much of a commonplace these days, and it’s only getting worse. To be clear, I’m not excusing my judgemental side. I’m just telling it like I see it. We need more people like you. I wouldn’t talk about my autism and bipolar mania out of the blue.
Give yourself the gift of free bi-monthly inspiration including uplifting articles, diverse stories, supportive practices, videos, and more, delivered with heart to your inbox.
Being present with a tender heart to all which is, taking care of all life, allow being vulnerable and connect with the light of His Love which is present in all which is. ✨❤️🙏
Preserve what is sacred to me? Try to treat the relationship or space as if it is the last day: with the other or in that space. Then I think I would treasure every second and ensure I honored the person/creature, or place.
Hard to do as I often move through life and take people and places for granted.
This is an interesting perspective, Cathie! I have thought about being grateful for people or objects or nature or my home, but I hadn’t quite thought about it as being grateful for the space I am in at the moment and treating it as if it is the last day in that space. Thank you.
Many things are sacred. Nature and open space come to mind immediately for me. One of the reasons I fell in love with Rhode Island is that they do not have high rise hotels and condos on the beaches. The beaches are kept pristine and walkable. not private. Land is donated and preserved for wild life. Communities will vote on building permits which will not be wanted in most cases.
My faith is also sacred to me and my choice of church has to feel right to me. A good connection with the community and all that it brings including the priest and music program.
I am glad to hear this about the Rhode Island beaches, Robin Ann. Kudos to the people and communities there who have worked to keep the beaches pristine, preserved for wild life, open to the public, and walkable. This little piece of good news brought a smile to the start of my day– thank you!
I’ve been to the Rhode Island beaches,
dear Robin Ann,
and loved walking down the beach to the bird sanctuary,
where they block off public access
when the birds are nesting . . .
such a lovely place to be.
My husband and I
used to go every year,
and then things changed. ♥
Did you happen to go to Sachuest Point Sparrow? One of my favorite spots in Middletown RI
No,
dear Robin Ann . . .
I went to Misquamicut beach and southwest
to the bird sanctuary.
Pretty area also!
Everything
is sacred . . .
others can better express this knowledge
better than I.
I can help to preserve the sacred
by acknowledging its holiness,
by respecting it’s existence,
by revering its eternal beauty,
and by honoring what is sacred in me.
I can hold it tenderly
with awe and wonder . . .
I can give it room to grow,
room to love,
and space to spread its glory . . .
I can be a good steward of its wisdom and grace.
I can believe in my deepest soul
that this is where my salvation lies. ♥
Beautifully said, Sparrow!
Thank you,
dear Elizabeth . . .
I feel passionately about this. ♥
Everything seems sacred and precious.
I try to preserve some sense of the sacred, through practice and by action. Catching myself when I stray. Over and over again.
Yes,
dear Charlie . . .
I too,
see it as a constant mantra. ♥
I have come to the conclusion that everything is sacred. I am sacred. You are sacred. All of creation is sacred. We are all Life. Our problem is that as a species we don’t know it. “The enemy are us,” Someone famous once said but who it was escapes me.
I was perusing my Journals early this morning looking for a story I never found but I did come across a poem by Portia Nelson that highly influenced my own life. Why? Because until I read it, I didn’t realize how sacred my own life is. Let alone your life.
As today’s quote reminds us. There is nothing more real and more necessary than a relationship. My mentor use to say that we are here to integrate our insides and our outsides. Until we are willing to do that hard personal relationship work, we will not succeed in building the relationships with others needed to re-member (“re-al”-ize) the sacredness of Life itself. We’ll just keep walking down the same old street. Becoming more self aware and self accepting is vital to the world.
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson
Chapter 1
I walk down the street.
There is a deep whole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost…I am hopeless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep whole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall in…it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It’s my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down another street.
“We have met the enemy and he is us.” Walt Kelly coined this in his comic strip “Pogo”. I read it years ago and am glad you reminded me of it. I found this article on it https://library.osu.edu/site/40stories/2020/01/05/we-have-met-the-enemy/. I hadn’t realized he wrote it as the caption for a cartoon panel on pollution and the environmental devastation we create. Not taking care of the sacred indeed.
Thanks so much, Barb. I really enjoyed reading the link. I hope others will read it, too. There is a lesson in it for today’s cultural and political situation!
Another comment is to madly focus on what works.
I believe this as well,
Beautifully said,
dear Carol . . .
everything,
everything and everyone
is sacred. ♥
One thing that is sacred to me is an inner mental state of lovingkindnesss and compassion. Although I often don’t have that mental state, it is sacred to strive for it and the world needs it. It seems like by cultivating that mental state in myself as much as possible, it is helping to preserve that mental state in humanity at large. I can cultivate that state through meditation and pauses during the day. Also by opening myself to the suffering of the world rather than closing myself off and numbing myself. And taking action to promote the wellbeing of all and to oppose injustice. Finally, by immersing myself regularly in the writings, stories, and pictures of those luminous historical figures who have embodied lovingkindness and compassion.
Taking care of our mental state is so important, along with allowing that care to ripple out into our world. Thank you, Elizabeth.
Yes,
dear Elizabeth,
the world needs acknowledgement of the sacred. ♥
Beautifully said. Thank you
I didn’t find a way into this question for myself and I love your answer. Thank you.
First what is sacred to me?
Cambridge dictionary defines sacred as
– considered to be holy and deserving respect,
especially because of a connection with God.
Receiving Holy Communion, is sacred to me.
Lighting a candle with a sincere intention is sacred.
The rite of the Exposition of the Holy Eucharist is sacred
as is sitting in a chapel in the presence of the Eucharist.
Anytime I have a strong sense of the Spirit of God
within and around me is sacred.
The way for me to preserve these experiences of the sacred
is to practice them.
I think what is sacred has to do with feeling the presence of God.
It’s all about how an experience sits with me.
I think it boils down to practice. To help preserve what is sacred to me, I practice what is sacred, such as presence, gratefulness, self-compassion, self-reflection, and boundaries. Our bodies establish patterns to conserve energy, and the mind and body are one (as much as the organ inside my skull would like to protest that), so my practices shape how I interface with the world. When I find something outside of myself to protect, I can act in rhythm with the practices—presence, gratefulness, self-compassion etc. How I act to protect the sacred outside of myself is informed by my practice. I practice, I show up, things emerge, repeat.
Avril gave me an idea for a 2nd answer. That is to keep things where they belong. I have 3 communities: basketball, spirituality, and Vietnamese. I have my buddies for sports with basketball and football being my top 2, especially basketball. I go here for spirituality. Facebook is the best platform for my Vietnamese, because the majority of people around me who go there are Asians and older adults. I give a special shout out to her!
My path is sacred, and I preserve it by continuing to do the work. Always growing and learning, and being a kind light to all those I encounter. As my path widens, I hope I can help others remember their own divinity and find any healing they may need by sharing yoga with them.
Thank you all so much for the kind words regarding my anniversary yesterday! I would respond individually, but it’s my morning to work at the yoga studio. I truly appreciate you taking the time to wish us well and congrats… and YRAM – we went to an Italian restaurant to celebrate. The great thing about living in a bigger city is that there is a lot of food to choose from, and we love to eat! The food was really good and we were delighted to find they do live music on Thursdays, so it was fun!
Happy Friday, all!
“Being a kind light”: I love this. Thank you.
🙂
Sunnypatti, the 1st line reminds me of NBA coach, Tom Thibodeau, who currently coaches for the New York Knicks. His trademark saying is “The magic is in the work.” This post is a prime example of that. We’ve also had relating questions here too. The guy hasn’t won a championship but has a track record of improving bad teams from the: Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, to New York Knicks. He’s an old school grinder in the modern NBA where everyone plays faster and shoots a bunch of 3s just like me being a traditionalist prioritizing well-being in an ever growing productive society. The Bulls and Wolves got worse for years after firing him, but the Wolves have at least recovered in 2021-22 when they made the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. Thibodeau was their coach in 2018 as well playing a part in helping them end their 14-year playoff drought at the time.
The magic is indeed in the work! And I appreciate your love of basketball.
Since, like all of you many things are sacred to me, I’ll focus on one area—this community. I support this community by consistent participation on this page and on the community page. I also take many of the courses and I light candles regularly. Recently, I also became a consistent giver.
Avril, you just built on my answer, especially the last part when I talked about Joseph. Community helps with organization. Going on tangents is the last thing we need. It’s why I love having these questions. Jazz is my 2nd position after classical.
These questions are like chord patterns. Our answers are improvization. There’s a huge difference between that and creativity. The ladder is high risk high reward. We must know what we’re doing if we want to be creative.
You’ve mentioned before that you’re an ennielgram 7. I’ve become that too. It’s a fun ennielgram. I find that being disorganized is the biggest downside to this ennielgram. Again, there’s the power of community where different people come together. My weaknesses are your strengths. Same the other way around. We fill in each other’s holes and create something bigger than the sum of its parts.
“These questions are like chord patterns. Our answers are improvisation.”
Something to think about,
dear Loc. ♥
Loc Tran– “These questions are like chord patterns. Our answers are improvization.” — I like it!
Sparrow and Elizabeth, I know a song that doesn’t end. It just goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it they don’t know what it is. I know a song that doesn’t end…
Sean Coughlin and I have our zen meeting every Monday. He and I pick out 2 quarterly zen goals and a yearly 1 out of my 11 zen leadership principles piggybacking off of Phil Jackson. We’re now in Q2, the spring season. His yearly goal is to turn vision into reality. Mine is to trust my people which is the 1 I’ll be souly focusing on for this question. His Q2 goals are to stay ahead of the game and enjoying go-to interests citing work-play balance. This makes sense, because Ngoc, Sean, and me are in the 2nd quarters of our lives which is our prime being: 29, 32, and 33 all respectively. It’s a perfect time for balance and versitility. My Q2 zen goals are to stay ahead of the game like Sean and look beyond the surface.
Ngoc is busy with school for the end of the spring semester and her Vietnam trip right after that until towards the end of June for 6 weeks to spend time with her family and visit the baby she’s talked about in some of her posts. Knowing her so well alongside my past triggers being in the rear view mirror for the most part, I already know she’ll do the best to find quality time for me. This is exactly why I chose the yearly zen goal I chose. Working on my Vietnamese to move closer to my ancestry is 1 thing I’m doing right. Getting past the rebellion, guilt stages, and a track record of learning from my mistakes are factors I have going for me. This helps me adapt and receive care better from my ancestry. I know that family members and my mom’s friends will come up and ask me about missing Ngoc or why I didn’t go to Vietnam in a babyish tone.
You’re always a kid to your elders in Asian cultures. You can be a 30-year-old grown ass man and get kisses from and being held by older adults, especially women. I’ve experienced that. It felt embarrassing at the time. My appetite for power is still and will always exist, but I have better control of that being able to receive it as care.
Ngoc went to Vietnam for a month from early mid December of 2023 to early mid January of 2024. I had a bunch of family gatherings. Of course, I didn’t receive care well from the above. What I did right at the time were that I had the correct ideas advocating for people with autism and mental health, and my methods were friendly. Ultimately, it all came from a place of Paw Mu rebellion creating a distance with my ancestry to put simply.
I’ve said before that those who are comfortable in their own skin don’t need a system. Going back to the root applying the playbook Paw Mu left behind and retweeking it to fit me will help me in this setting. The systems are different, but the root is the same validating her statement of us being Asians. Vietnam and Burma are close countries in Asia. She’s like the Bulls Dynasty and I’m the Warriors dynasty led by Steve Kerr, Steph Curry, and Jimmy Butler. Applying her base for this situation mentioned above is like Asian sheft cooking Asian food.
I also have Joseph’s wisdom here to lean on based on some of his experiences being away from Cheryl temporarily. Substance problem aside, we clearly share the same base of being a loving husband. It’s obvious in how we address our wives. His “My lovely wife, Cheryl” is similar to “My Ngoc.”
What is sacred to me is preserved in my mind and memories.
TGIF!
It’s World Poetry Day Barb!
Thanks for the reminder, Michele! I’ll share a new poem from James Crews, one of my favorites. https://mailchi.mp/5c6acdfb2063/weekly-pause-grace-makes-us?e=4660b7819e
An excerpt from “Grace”:
Lately, I think it’s grace that makes us
push up through the soil of our lives
like the blades of a daffodil that may
take weeks to bloom, but at least
senses that first moment of softening
warmth in the earth, and slices through
old leaves to meet it. What a waste
a closed heart is,
Thank you Barb – I really liked that poem and it was a good visual too.
”What a waste
a closed heart is.”
Agreed.
What a beautiful poem,
dear Barb. ♥
Good 1, Michele. Not everything needs to be shared out in the open. Airring out our dirty laundry is the last thing needed. Sadly, that’s becoming too much of a commonplace these days, and it’s only getting worse. To be clear, I’m not excusing my judgemental side. I’m just telling it like I see it. We need more people like you. I wouldn’t talk about my autism and bipolar mania out of the blue.
Thank you Loc.
No problem, Michele.