This too shall pass…

Here’s a common question, usually filled with trepidation; “Which would you like first, the good news or the bad news?” This was the question the Universe posed to me last week, but it didn’t wait for my reply, it gave me the bad news first.

I had known for a time that my computer was ailing, but when it overheated and shut itself off I knew I had no choice; it needed some professional help.

And rather than take the time to research and check out computer repair shops nearby, I instead  followed my impatient and impetuous nature, loaded up my computer in the nice travel case I have for it and went to the first computer service store that was open on a Saturday.

The man there seemed nice enough and explained what he would do to fix my computer, promising it would be like brand new! But I ignored the warning bells of my intuition clanging, as I paid for the costly service and signed a paper stating “no guarantee”. I just wanted my computer back to normal, and soon!

And of course my intuition was right, as I was soon to find out after getting my computer home, still full of spits and sputters, and once again overheating to the point of shutdown. So now it was on to phase two of how to get my computer back on track.

This time I listened to the little but very loud voice in my head and went to the computer repair shop that I should have gone to in the first place, the one I didn’t take the time to wait for because they were closed on Saturdays. And to make a long story short, I was able to easily get my computer fixed for a reasonable fee and it is better than brand new. Finally, some good news!

But wait, not so fast, I had one more little bout of “how well can you handle another challenge” from the Universe. This other problem came to light as I sat with lots of computer-free time on my hands.

Something or someone told me that I should probably try on the dress I had planned to wear for my son’s upcoming wedding in a month. Yes perhaps a good idea, why not just make sure it still fits because the last time I tried it on was last year. And I knew I had gained some weight but what a surprise when my “new” body did not fit well at all into this dress, oh dear. More bad news, now I have to go dress shopping!

Now for many women, this would not be construed as a bad thing, having to go shop for a pretty dress. But for me, I see clothes as a bit of a necessary evil, and have as few clothes as possible. I do not enjoy the clothes shopping experience one little bit, and honestly my favorite clothing store is Goodwill, where I discover lots of great finds in my price range – cheap!

And here’s the good news part of this story. At the “upscale” Goodwill in downtown Portland I managed to find a lovely and elegant black dress, Ann Taylor, that fits me and looks good on me – for $25! Good news, good news! And a sigh of relief that I don’t have to go to the mall.

I look back now on the computer ordeal and the dress ordeal, and see how it is that we need to have things go a bit out of kilter at times. We need to let the Universe play its “good news, bad news” game with us, or else how do we test our mettle here? I have to say that through it all I focused very hard on all the things going right in my life, and I saw so much to be thankful for. These things that happened to me were minor in the grand scheme of things, merely annoyances no matter how much my ego wanted to throw a tantrum. I stayed calm and emotionally balanced, and lo and behold it all came to pass as lots of good news in the end.

Flowers at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in Portland, Oregon

 

 

 

Reaching through

I’ve heard it said that as young children we are easily able to reach through to the unseen, our young hearts and minds not clouded over by the ego and rationality. But until I spent some recent time with my two and a half month old grandson, I had not actually witnessed the little ones communing with those in spirit.

I first saw my grandson, Deegan, trying to talk and reach out in his baby way to unseen beings as he lay on his changing table, my daughter changing his diaper. His big blue eyes were obviously focused on something or someone we could not see, and he cooed and talked in babyspeak, as if he were having a conversation with someone! His little arms reached out too, trying to touch a presence my daughter and I just could not see. She made a comment about Deegan’s behavior, saying how he is so fascinated by the curtain and the ceiling fan, explaining away what I knew in my heart was really a lovely communing with those he had recently left behind at Home.

I know that my dear daughter and son-in-law are not quite on the same page as I am with angels and such, so I kept my thoughts to myself. They are such loving parents with Deegan but they are still steeped in the old ways of the 3D world where the ego rules, and I truly believe their son is a crystal child who has come to be in this family and show everyone what living from love and the soul is all about.

I had many lovely opportunities to witness Deegan reaching through to those in spirit, and it never failed to delight me. And in taking notice of this and feeling their spirit presence myself, I am reassured that my grandson is well taken care of from those on Earth and at Home.

My grandson Deegan, reaching through the veil

 

I see the light! (or I try to anyway)

The God in me is loving the God in you. I worked with a woman who used to utter that phrase at various times, never quite getting it, and to me it sounded like one of those Zen koans that I never understood either. I was much too insecure at the time to ask her what it meant, but for some reason it has stayed with me through the years.

Now that I have a bit more spiritual knowledge and know the difference between the ego-self and the soul, I finally understand that cryptic phrase! It has now become a practice for me, to strive to see the light of the soul, the God in each person I encounter on this earth. But it is not always so easy to maintain this practice.

Walking past the homeless person, pushing a grocery cart that has become their home, my first thoughts are “they don’t look nice, they don’t smell nice, and where is their light of God?” Oh how the ego likes to judge, in such a superficial way. But if I tell my ego to quiet down and let my soul do the talking, I can envision a beautiful light inside this seemingly disheveled being, whose outer light has dimmed a bit. It reminds me of words I’ve read that say the most highly advanced soul is oftentimes disguised as a human being with the most challenging of circumstances, not always so pretty.

And then there are the button-pushers, those we connect with here in our lives that for whatever reason make us want to pull our hair out! How can we see their shining light when all we see is darkness when we are with them? For me it helps to remember that sometimes when we are scared or in pain, we lash out at those trying to help us, much like a wounded animal will do. It’s difficult for any of us to shine when we are hurting. And from a spiritual sense, those button-pushers really are our greatest teachers. From them we learn how to look past the outer and learn to see the inner, and reach for the soulful action that is forgiveness.

This practice of seeing and loving the God in all of us becomes a practice of compassion, one that our greatest spiritual teachers throughout time have tried to teach us. A simple shift in how we view others and connect with them can start a chain reaction of peace and understanding, as we tell our blind-sighted egos to step aside, and start seeing one another with the eyes of our souls.