Hope's so....

The marvelous thing about hope is...that it is ever-replenishing. "Hope springs eternal" may be a cliche, but it is an apt aphorism. Hope has a way of renewing and sustaining faith. Perhaps they are cut from the same cloth? Hope is rooted more in desire and faith is rooted more in commitment. Hope looks for a certain outcome, faith accepts any outcome. It may seem, then, like we should favor faith over hope. Yet hope has its place in our lives. We are human, and we are prone to desiring...outcomes, mostly. So maybe hope is a stepping stone to faith. When we hope, we open ourselves to the possibility of faith. Surely we can arrive to faith without going through hope. Many times, though, hope helps us get through the moment. We cling to hope, because we have not let go of desire, of a certain outcome. Hope helps us survive our humanness. When we have hope, we can know that we are alive. Faith sees our hope , and calls out to it. Does hope answer, saying, yes, I am coming to you, faith? Does hope carry us to the faith that brings us home? Is that why, even when faith seems impossible, there is always hope?

Fireworks in the Distance

We watched fireworks from the condo window last night. They were in the distance, so their impact was...muted somewhat. They were beautiful, and some were breathtaking.
It seemed appropriate, somehow, given our life circumstances. We've taken a step back from our ongoing lives, living in a bubble of slow time and quiet activities. We are in our native country, but we don't reside here. As the celebrations went on around us, we were observers more than participants.
So,  fireworks...in the distance... were perfect. We sat in the darkness, each with our own perspective on the event. It was memorable not for the excitement of the near, but for the peacefulness of the faraway.

Goodbye to Chiswick

In a few days, we'll be saying goodbye to our (temporary) adopted hometown. It's been a wonderful year and a half (give or take), and we take with us many sweet memories. I know the road ahead looks promising, and we still don't know exactly what is around the next bend. Still, it's good to stop a moment and reflect on this era. When we moved here, we  didn't know what to expect in many ways. There were certainly many surprises, and most of them were delightful! Time will fade the memory of the less sweet episodes. Knowing what I now know, I think I can move forward into the unknown, assured that the next home will also be presenting us with moments of discovery and more memories to treasure.

Everyone adores me anyway

Every morning a "Note from the Universe" arrives to my inbox. They are almost without fail spot-on. Here's today's:

How adventurous would life be, Meredith, if you were "challenge free"? If you had the perfect body, perfect self-esteem, everyone adored you, and you won the lottery every Sunday?

Not.

Now what if, painful as they may temporarily be, you could choose a life during which challenges might arise whenever your thinking needed expansion, on the sole condition that every one of them could be overcome no matter how daunting they may at first seem?

Everything makes you more,
    The Universe

P.S. Besides, Meredith, everyone adores you anyway. 

How shocking! What a radical idea! Everyone adores me anyway. If you were to proclaim that, people might think you are being egotistical. There is something about adoration that says the object of adoration should either be young and innocent, or perhaps old and venerable. But there is a separateness implied in adoration. You might even say to adore is to idealize in some way.

I dare to say that we could all stand to adore each other more. Also, we could all stand to make adoration of each other a way to build community, to validate our essential oneness, even.

As we adore each other, despite any flaws or conflicts, we help each other to become more adorable.

Because really, what we are talking about is being lovable.

It's a tad more acceptable to say, "I am lovable" than to say, "I am adorable." Either way, the truth is that we are all that. Yes, even the ones who don't seem to be so. 

Therefore, today I say: Everyone adores me anyway. Even though I am flawed. Even though I don't get it right all the time. Even though I feel fear, or stress, or anxiety, or anger. 

The catch is, I aspire to adore. And I aim to adore all. 

P.S. I had been focusing on all the challenges that lay ahead of me in the coming months. This Note from the Universe helped me see that in a different light. Transitions can help us to open our minds. To grow and to go with the flow! 

Bird's Eye View

My next challenge shall be to move from being an observer to being a visionary.


Piece of cake, right?

Ultimate Dog Tease

May 11, 2011 Wednesday Hodgepodge

The link to From This Side of the Pond is to the left....

1. How many times in your life have you moved house?

Not counting a couple of times when I was too young to remember, and a few temporary places during college, I've moved sixteen times! I'd never counted before. Wow! And it's about to be 17 next month, when we move from London to Switzerland.

2. What subject would you study if you had a year to devote to it?

Probably something to do with hospice, as over and over in my life I have felt drawn to working in this area.

3. What in this world breaks your heart?

When Fear crowds out Love.

4. What is one item that symbolizes the times in which we live? Why?

The smartphone, because you hold the entire world in your hand.

5. Share a favorite bumper sticker or t-shirt slogan.

"Don't Believe Everything You Think"

6. How do you like your spaghetti?

Cooked! :-)

7. What is one piece of advice you would give a recent, or soon to be recent, graduate?

Now, your real education can begin. Follow your dreams, and don't hold back. 

Work hard, but don't let life's joys pass you by in the process.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I can't get this song out of my head!