Friday, May 29, 2009

It's a Miracle!

Miracles surround us every day. You might even say we do not even exist apart from miracles. Our very essence is a miracle. We would do well to stop discounting this very basic fact. When we take the time to marvel over the idea that we ARE a miracle, we can stop LOOKING for miracles. Looking for miracles is like trying to see the air. If ever we do see air, it is only because it is mixed in with something else, like mist or smoke, etc. It is the same with miracles. What we see when we think we are experiencing a miracle is really that something else that is mixed in. The miracle itself was already there.
Today I sing of miracles. Today I breathe in miracles. Today I radiate miracles. Today I am a miracle.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Love is life's song

We tend to think of love as something we give or receive, or as something we want or need. Yet love is so much more, and so much less, than that. Love simply is. It is all around us and in us. We are love personified. There is no escaping love. We can deny it, justify it, and objectify it. But the truth remains: Love is.
Whenever we are feeling a lack of love, or a lack of ability to either give or allow in love, we can help ourselves by seeing that the lack itself is not the love. Love always waits for us at the other end of our self-doubt and struggle. Love keeps on singing life's song, always and forever. It is up to us to pitch in and sing along.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Chiaroscuro


Chiaroscuro (Italian for light - dark) is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark. A more obscure (!) definition is the quality of being veiled or partly in shadow.

We have a tendency to either focus too much on, or to attempt to deny, the darker parts of our selves. When we dwell on the shadows, we can even become quite down on ourselves. By the same token, if we try to ignore the darker aspects of ourselves, they have a way of rearing up to remind us of their existence.

Perhaps there is another way. If we borrow from the artist's way the concept of chiaroscuro, we can begin to see that the interplay of light and dark in our selves and our lives can create a beauty of its own. If we look only at one or the other, instead of keeping them both in our sights, we lose an essential perspective. If we look at the contrast of light and dark in relation to each other, we can begin to appreciate the worth of all of our experiences.