Some Musings

Today we anticipated joining friends in a celebration. However, events of last evening and this morning (nausea, vomiting and dizziness) have made the trip an impossibility. As we lay in bed reflecting on our circumstance and greeting the day, some musings, that we decided to share with you, came to the fore.

1.) Kindness does not exist if suffering comes that we might learn from it. We don't believe that we are given suffering in order to learn something, in order to grow or to evolve. Suffering is just part of the reality of being human and living within an "incomplete creation." That is all! Who wants to live in a universe or with a god that would include violence as an aid for learning. Not us!

2.) Among other things, assaults that cause suffering in beautifully created and healthy bodies include experiences of extreme pain, extreme tiredness, and constant nausea; experiences that add brokenness and disconnection to an already hurting world.

3.) Simple acts of kindness from caring friends and family continuously fill depleting wells of aching souls.

4.) Hope often needs to be reconfigured in order to fit changing realities.

5.) When the road is cluttered with obstacles that block our way to hope's possibility, sometimes we are just grateful that we can find the road to hope.

6.) Hope has been found within the cradle of some words from Isaiah, "Do not be afraid. Behold, I am about to create a new thing." Already, in our lived experience, we know the power of these words through the presence of caring ones who willingly join us on our Emmaus walk and share our burdens so we might lift our heads to see new horizons.

7.) Positive energy, thoughts and prayers can be sustaining.

8.) Gratitude deepens for small things that often become larger in meaning.

9.) When one door shuts, often a crowbar and several friends are required to open another door.

10.) What does it take for us to arrive at hope? A listening ear; persistence; and refusal to stay in disappointment or be defined by our circumstances.