photo from istockphoto

There are many spiritual lessons we can learn from anything we experience  in life.  I got inspiration for this topic from watering my flowers this morning.

How caring for our garden is a great metaphor for living an amazing spiritual life…..

1.  In order for your flowers to really blossom, you have to care for them everyday.
Do the flowers have enough water?  Do they need fertilizer?  Do they need to be weeded?  What is the condition of the soil?  What about pests and diseases?   Are they getting too much sun or not enough?  

To really blossom as a person, you have to put some time into nurturing  and caring for your spirit.   Whether it is prayer, spiritual practices or some type of meditation – cultivate this everyday.  Think of yourself as a spiritual being dressed with a human body, not the other way around.  Absorb yourself in Divine reality and move from that place.  Let  the Divine be the foundation for your day.  It takes both inner reflection and outer action to beautify ourselves and rise to our potential.

2.  The external conditions will always change.
When you look at flowers, they are in complete surrender to what God has for them, whether it is the rain, the heat, the cold or pests.

There will always be difficulties in life.  We grow from facing our challenges and walking through them.   Adversity shows you who you really are.  When we feel we are completely sufficed by Divine in any given situation, we can then respond beautifully to whatever we are facing. 

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“Life is a journey sometimes walked in light, sometimes in shadow.”

This is a short story from
KEEP GOING
The Art of Perseverance
by Joseph M. Marshall III

 This is a wonderful story about facing our fears.    The author sets the story of a wise grandfather ( Old Hawk) talking to his grandson (Jeremy) saying, “We are all afraid of something.  But that shouldn’t stop us from going on every day.  We should not always walk in fear of the shadow while we are in the light.  It is certain we will not know when or how the difficult and bad times will come, but if we accept that they will come, then they are easier to face when they do.
“And always remember that anything that causes the shadow is smaller than the source of the light.”

To further illustrate shadows and sunshine the grandfather tells a story of two travelers. (more…)

Sammy photo by Safa Sheehan

1. Joy!

My dog Sammy, a 4 year old Lab/Golden Retriever mix, wakes me up every morning with a tail that wags around in circles, like a helicopter ready to take off.  His ears move up and down, his eyes are wide open, his nostrils are flaring as he waits with anticipation of my response.  Whether it is the slightest movement to show him I am awake or I say the word, “breakfast” he then washes my face with a lot of kisses, gleefully jumps off the bed, grabs a toy and dances around me as we walk to the kitchen or go outside.  He is happy to  just be awake and start his day.

2. Wonderment.
No matter how many times my dog has walked the same path, it is new to him.  Everything is important and beautiful to him.  I would liken it to a child looking at everything with amazement and innocence that sometimes we adults tend to take for granted.

3. Live Simply.
Eat. Sleep. Poop. Play.  Need I say more.

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