November 23--Love is the Only Thing

Let us love, since that is all our hearts were made for.  --St. Therese de Lisieux

    There are myriad people and circumstances in the world today that are really challenging both my willingness and my ability to love. I think nasty thoughts, and I don't like them, for they serve no purpose other than to bring me down. The negativity can feel like being stuck in quicksand. 

    So I turn my focus to what I can love. I love my family and friends, my work, and my home. I love to garden, swim, golf, travel, crochet, and nap. Practicing love enables me to expand it, maybe even just a bit toward those I find difficult to love. It makes my heart feel better, doing what it is made for. 

    Leta

  

November 22--Full-time Kind

Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.  --Henry James

    Well said. Much distress in our world could be eliminated if we all agreed to make it our mission to be kind, all the time. 

    Leta

November 21--Why We Do What We Do

One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.  --Lewis Carroll

    Well, yes and no. It is extraordinarily rewarding to be of service to others. That could be caring for one's family, volunteering, having a career in service work, or practicing intentional acts of kindness. Doing for others without expectation of praise or reward is quite the high standard of worthwhile giving. 

    Speaking from personal experience, doing for others can get way out of hand into the realm of people-pleasing. These actions are not so much motivated by love as by the desire to keep the recipient happy and get him/her to like me. People-pleasing tends to be done from a position of low self-esteem and can lead to resentment. It makes for messy, unbalanced relationships.

    It's worthwhile to look carefully at one's motivation in doing for others. 

        Leta

November 20--Love Eternally Expanding

This is a deep, permanent human condition, this need to be loved and to love. 
--Annie Proulx

    I believe we come from love and ultimately transition back to love. It is the complete and total essence of what we are as spiritual beings. Coming into human form is an opportunity for us to practice love with other humans. With love as our essence, it is only natural that we are driven by it, to give and receive it. While progress may seem painfully slow, I believe the human race is continually moving toward a more loving, caring, compassionate way of being in relationship with each other and our planet home. Truly our survival is at stake. Loving cooperation is a much better alternative than aggression, competition, domination, and violence. 

    I choose love.

        Leta

November 19--All Kinds of Beauty

Beauty is a light in the heart.  --Kahlil Gibran

    We are blessed with all kinds of beauty. I have been fortunate to enjoy many varieties in my 65 years and travels around our magnificent planet. There is great art which we see in museums, my favorite places so far being the Art Institute in Chicago and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The most beautiful work of art I have ever seen is the statue of David by Michelangelo in Florence, Italy. It is mesmerizing in its perfection and definitely lights up my heart. 

    The natural beauty of planet Earth is astounding in its variety--the Rocky Mountains, the Flint Hills' rolling prairie, our national parks, Niagara Falls, Tuscany, the fjords of Norway, tropical beaches, my home state of Pennsylvania--infinite possibilities. One could easily spend a lifetime devoted to exploring the beauty of our home sphere. 

    Then there is the beauty within each and every single human being, no matter how an individual may look or behave. Spirit is within each of us, and Spirit is only beauty. Each one of us has that Spirit-given light in the heart. 

    Finally I consider the beauty of daily life--living simply, in integrity, enjoying one's activities and relationships, and caring for oneself and others. My husband and I are currently creating beauty in our garage. Yes, you read that correctly. In the all-events-cancelled 2020, we had finally become so desperate for something to do that we have tackled the garage. We've lived in our house for 35 years, and the garage walls have been unfinished the entire time. My husband proposed the idea of fixing it up to be a semi-outdoor hanging place where we can be "outside" in the wintertime and get some fresh air. The prospect of a much-needed clearing in the garage and shed made me game to tackle the project. A trunk-load of stuff went to the hazardous waste collection site. Lots of trash has been carried off by Ballinger Trash Service. Remaining items have been reorganized into smaller spaces. My husband will soon have a more organized and well-lit work space to do his bicycle maintenance projects. So far, the back wall is painted bright green and the side walls are blue. It is beautiful and the sense of accomplishment does light up our hearts. I'm most excited about the blank wall space we now have where I can hang my barn quilts or other pieces of art. We have comfy chairs to relax in and enjoy our efforts. 

    Beauty truly is everywhere--let us open our eyes and hearts.

        Leta

November 18--In Love

What is done in love is done well. --Vincent Van Gogh

    I think of the many things I love to do: swimming, gardening, golfing, traveling, painting, crocheting, learning, coaching, teaching, tax prep (yes!), writing, organizing, and bringing people together. I feel like I do all those well, with one exception: golfing. I love to play, but it's usually not done so well. I regularly say that my enthusiasm makes up for my lack of skill. 😉😉

    I own a lot of "Life is Good" clothing. It's my favorite to wear. On each garment is a small patch that says, "Do what you love. Love what you do." Each of us operating in love is good for all!

        Leta

Life is Good "Family Tree" shirt

November 17--A Tribute

A good heart is better than all the heads in the world.  --Edward Bulwer-Lytton

    Today would have been the 79th birthday of my sister-in-law, Mary Ellen Miller. She made her transition in 2015 after living many years with Alzheimer's disease. It was a very sad life ending for a magnificent woman with an incredibly good heart. 

    Mary Ellen came into our family at a young age. She grew up in New York, and came each summer as a young child to live with my aunt and uncle through the Fresh Air program. Via Google, I see that this program, founded in 1877, still operates today. The program slogan is "Because a summer can last a lifetime." That certainly proved true for Mary Ellen. It was through these summertime visits that she met my brother Ken. They married in 1965 when I was nine years old. I was thrilled with my new sister-in-law. The marriage was not smooth and easy, however, as Mary Ellen was Catholic and my family was Lutheran. This was such a "bone of contention" back then that Mary Ellen agreed to become a Lutheran to keep the peace. 

    Soon my nephew Kevin was born, followed by three sisters, Cheryl, Judith and Kelly, over the course of seven years. Their family lived at most 12 miles from us, so I spent a lot of time with them, helping Mary Ellen with the kids, and thus beginning my mothering training. With my own home life deteriorating for myriad reasons, being with Mary Ellen and the children was an enormously welcome respite. I could talk with Mary Ellen about things that I didn't feel I could discuss with my parents. I trusted her. She was a saint in my eyes, especially being able to put up with my nasty, volatile and demanding brother. 

    When the children were quite young, Mary Ellen loaded all four into their VW Beetle and drove from central Pennsylvania to Oklahoma to visit her sister. That they all returned home alive is proof of her sainthood. 

    As a young child, I had a favorite blanket, a pale green, quilted, baby-size, satin thing that I slept with covering my pillow. It grew full of holes with time, but I loved it no less. My mom, frustrated at its ugly condition, threw it away several times, and each time I rescued it from the trash. It was a security blanket that I desperately needed given my deteriorating home life. Determined to get it away from me, my mom finally burned it. Trust me--all hell broke loose. Mary Ellen, good heart that she was, recognized my need for some sort of replacement, and gave me Ted Bear (photo below). He is a stuffed koala bear who has been with me ever since, more than five decades. He's a little worn, but still full of love. Every time I look at him, I think of Mary Ellen. Given that my mother died when I was only 23, Mary Ellen filled the role of mother for me for many years to come. What a saving grace, teacher and friend she was!

    I dearly hope you have someone with such a good heart in your life. Please let them know how much you appreciate him or her!

    Leta

    

Ted Bear