OMEGA & ALPHA
OMEGA & ALPHA You may have read the title of this post and thought that I was going dyslexic. I’m not, I assure you. I know that the Greek symbols are usually read “Alpha and Omega” meaning “the beginning and end”. It’s a recurring symbol in religious life that represents spirituality and eternity. If you’ve been obligated to take (or know someone who has taken) the Camino Portuguese Route pilgrimage, you would know about the final attraction. At the end… Read More
Action, Clarity, Fear, Freedom, Gratitude, Hanging In There, Trust
LETTING GO VERSUS GIVING UP
“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” “But whatever happened to persistence, perseverance. Tenacity, or just plain CARING a lot? How do you stop caring??!?” Today’s blog is inspired by yesterday’s affirmation and the above response we got from it. It’s a question, a concept, sometimes a conundrum. It’s one I find myself facing all the time.… Read More
Clarity, Faith, Goodness, Guides, Mindfulness
GETTING HIGH ON COFFEE
Life lessons come in as many shapes and sizes as there are people. The opportunity to learn can be in church or at the park watching a young father with his children. Daddy referees are especially inventive. An argument over a toy settled quickly by a clever comment. ”I don’t want you fighting over the ball and I really don’t want you getting on those swings”. Classic reverse psychology, which leads, of course, to both toddlers heading for the… Read More
Forgiveness, Giving Back, Goodness, Gratitude, Hanging In There
GRATITUDE: LOST AND FOUND
Many years ago, I found myself at Disneyland under duress. Yeah, yeah, it’s the Happiest Place on Earth and I’m fortunate enough to live an hour away from it and it always made my son so happy when we went but this was just one of those rainy, dark Saturdays when the Happiest Place on MY Earth was the couch in the living room, a book and the dogs on my lap and “Dirty Dancing” on TV. Woe to Princess… Read More
Change, Courage, Hanging In There
THEN AND NOW
In honor of the winter Olympic games in Sochi we have a special guest blogger Tai Babilonia, who was a two time Olympian and World Pair Champion with her partner Randy Gardner. Tai has generously shared some of her feelings with us here at Gratitude and Trust. And boy are we grateful. Thank you Tai. A couple of weeks ago, I attended an event to celebrate 2014 Olympic athletes and cheer them on as they marched in the Sochi… Read More
Clarity, Faith, Gratitude, Guides
I DON’T UNDERSTAND
I don’t understand electricity. I use it anyway. Every day. My ignorance has little effect on the value of the voltage. Recently, on late night radio, I heard that a light bulb isn’t really a constant light. It’s something like 60 flashes Per second. We see it as a constant. I did a little research and found this. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/solar-at-home/2011/08/18/how-optical-illusions-can-build-a-better-bulb/ Okay. Got it. Not really. It’s fascinating but, a little above my pay grade. It’s information that sent me racing… Read More
Action, Happiness, Living Fully
A LIFE WELL LIVED
I don’t know if it’s my age, or just matters of circumstance, but I have been faced with what feels like more than the average number of deaths this last year. Close friends, not so close acquaintances, strangers who felt like I knew them, plus the disintegrating health of many older people in my immediate circle. Death and taxes, the only two things we can count on, the old saying goes. And indeed it is true. When I think about… Read More
Emotions, Mindfulness, Truth, Understanding
IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER?
It’s an expression we hear all the time. It usually has a “Don’t let it bother you” tacked on at the beginning or the end. You know, “Don’t let it bother you. In one ear and out the other.” The problem I have with this philosophy is not the letting go part. It’s not the not holding on to grudges, making more of what people say than perhaps they mean, attaching an importance to silly, hurtful or just lame… Read More
HOW COULD HE?
My name is Paul and I’m an alcoholic. Those words were the key to a new freedom and a new happiness for me. I gratefully accepting the help I was given by other recovering drunks and took them at their word when they told me I could never drink like other people. The wagon was the only reliable option. You’re taught that right away. Old Timer: “Fact. The first drink gets you drunk.” Newcomer: “Uh, okay. Whaddaya mean?” Old Timer:… Read More
WHOSE FAULT IS IT ANYWAY?
It would be hard to let the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman go without anymore mention on this site. Is it just me, or does anyone else find the amount of attention this is getting to be more than average? We do lose celebrities – sad but true. Some of natural causes and others as my husband says, of “misadventure.” PSH is not the first star to overdose. But perhaps he is the one with the most gravitas, the most… Read More