My Inspiration List

Not long ago I started developing a list of 101 things I'd like to have or experience in my life before I die. I've been reading Jack Canfield's book The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You are to Where You Want to Be.

At first, I thought, "No sweat. I've been thinking about what matters to me for ages." But as I wrote the numbers from 1 to 101 in my journal, I began to realize the magnitude of the task. As I continued to write entries-- in tangible language, with emotion and sense-specific words-- I recognized what a challenge of discovery this would be.

This choice I made to create "the" list started about a week ago. I am working backwards from 101. I'm currently at #71 even though I've written every single day. It may take longer than expected!

Still, I've already gathered valuable insights:

a) Each desire taps a very deep part of me. They are uniquely mine.

b) When I write down my desires, the specifics become clearer, details sharper.

c) Each goal written down is available, not just a fleeting thought. I've captured it!

c) Writing after I meditate/pray lets my soul and my inner spirit have their say.

AND IMPORTANTLY...

d) List-making REALLY brings out what inspires me and what matters most.

e) The further I go, the more I "bring to the surface" newer aspects of the still-developing me.

So, are you intrigued yet? If so, here are the basics (with due respect to Mr. Canfield. You can find more in his book and in his materials on The Success Principles website... He suggests writing just 90 items by the way.)

• Write down "30 things you want to do, 30 things you want to have, and 30 things you want to be before you die" (p. 28).
• Make each item tangible by your picturesque word choice or by adding photos, magazine pictures, drawings, artwork, etc...
• Add music or sounds or other things that stimulate your senses.
• Review your list often... Maybe list a time in your calendar to review it next?
• Rehearse it over and over again. Think about each item and experience it in your mind's eye and feel it in your heart.

I won't go into the psychology or the technical explanations about why this process works. Canfield explains that in plain language... so I encourage you to read his book.

Hopefully this idea inspires you! If that doesn't do it, set aside a couple hours to watch the movie The Bucket List. It's the Hollywood take on the same theme.

All the Best for Today and the Days/Months/Years Yet to Come... It's your choice how you want to live each day!

Orchids for Inspiration!

Think of an orchid. What comes to your mind?

I've always thought of orchids as inspiring and very special. They look fragile yet perfectly designed...with a kind of elegant refinement. For me, orchids have always been exotic, exquisite and classy... not your ordinary flower!

Orchids didn't grow in Western Pennsylvania where I grew up. Gardens there were filled with zinnias, daisies, and other easy-to-grow flowers. We only saw orchids in expensive corsages imported for Mother's Day.

The first orchid plants I ever saw up close were grown by a friend. She had multiple varieties and could recite all their botanical names! Her collection was stunning. She belonged to the local orchid society. I was inspired... Yet, I was also intimidated with the thought of trying to grow one-- let alone her ten or twelve!

My next exposure to live orchids was as a gift. I had gone to Trinidad, West Indies to teach and admired the orchids growing everywhere. Soon, my supervisor handed me an orchid bouquet and welcomed me to the island! I enjoyed that bouquet and the orchids outside my apartment. No wonder the orchids grew so well, I thought... Life here was slow and sweet. There was sun, warmth, and plenty of rain. All too soon, though, I had to leave... and that made me sad.

Years later, when I went on a trip to Hawaii, I saw more orchids. They were nothing short of magnificent. My attitude remained "look and enjoy but don't touch... and don't even begin to think about taking one home."

And yet, one day before we left to return to the mainland, I saw a collection of flower photographs offered at a reasonable price. My luggage soon contained professional quality photos of orchids and other tropical flowers. My surroundings would be filled with images of the tropics I love.

Apparently, I am not the only one inspired by orchids. Last week, I met Bill Strickland, the founder and chief energizer of the Manchester-Bidwell Corporation in Pittsburgh, PA. Bill believes you can Make the Impossible Possible. In my reading before the trip I learned that Bill, too, liked orchids. But, unlike me, he was determined

to grow them. He'd also decided that kids from the inner city with little hope for the future could be trained to grow orchids and to learn a marketable profession in the process!

While visiting, I saw that vision brought to life. The orchid sign "A Legacy of Inspiration" is found at the entrance to the greenhouses. For Strickland's kids, the orchids represent new possibilities, new promises of what the future can hold. After I got back home and saw that photo I started thinking...Perhaps the orchids could be a legacy of inspiration for me?

So this morning, I headed to a local nursery...The same one I've visited for inspiration when I miss the islands. This time though, I planned to bring one of the orchids home. How hard could it be to grow one anyway? My close friend in Raleigh had managed to move an orchid from state to state as her family moved. If she could do it why couldn't I?

Perhaps all along I had some misconceptions about orchids...The woman at the greenhouse, told me that orchids are easy-to-grow and don't take a lot of fuss as long as you know what they like (indirect light, not much water, and definitely no "wet feet"!) So, it was settled. I picked out a beautiful orchid and headed home.

Having that orchid sit in my sunroom gives me a certain satisfaction.

I recognize that my wrong assumptions about orchids- and other things?- are created by me. But I also realize that I can grow beyond what seemed impossible in the past. Now I have my own "Legacy of Inspiration", an orchid that lives right here in North Carolina with me!

Sunday Reflections

It's Sunday and I'm taking some time to reflect. Typically, Sunday has been a day to rest, reconnect with family and friends, attend a service, and well... just chill! (lol. It's not nearly as chilly in North Carolina as places that are now buried in two feet of snow... Alas, that brings back memories of my Pennsylvania youth and a few frosty winters in Wisconsin!)

Today though, my thoughts are focused mainly on spirituality and the sacred. I've been on a long, winding journey of discovery and learning, putting my spiritual beliefs together, taking them apart again, and acting on them as best I can. Looking back, it's easy to see that this journey has shaped my life and formed the person I really am.

I've gradually come to understand that a relationship and deep connection with God is far more important than a church or synagogue or mosque, more expansive than religion. Don't get me wrong, I continually read and try to learn about God and to live in ways that are consistent with what I "get" of the teachings of Jesus. Those relationships give me solid footing and I must return often. I've also found out that it's important to meet with others that seek to know more, so I attend religious services and participate within that spiritual "homebase." Our shared times can give us connections, renewal, different perspectives, rituals, common prayer, joyous experiences, and so much more. I don't want to underrate the power or necessity of that!

My life has also led me on spiritual quests of discovery and greater awareness. I've been blessed to see many sacred places... near and far. God often shows up in the beauty of a mountain waterfall, in a rainbow, in a field of flowers. Or in the eyes of a child or the smile of someone that cares. There are many ways to "know" when one seeks God.

But, I want more. My consistent wish is to relate and deeply connect to others, including those who have a rich spiritual history and passions different than mine. So, I "reach in to reach out"... and, increasingly, read books that challenge me to think, have more conversations with others/myself/God, ask more questions, and live more fully into what I am learning...into what God is showing me...

One of my most recent reads is The Faith Club, a book about three women- a Christian, a Muslim, and a Jew- and their journey to learn about different faiths and each other. It's a fascinating book and helped me fill in the pieces of my understanding. I needed that! The book also offers a tool for developing a local Faith Club. I'm still thinking on that one...

Similarly, I have been inspired by Mitch Albom's book Have a Little Faith. That book is about a man's search for meaning when he is given an unusual request: an elderly rabbi asks him to deliver his eulogy. This book also moves between faiths as the author weaves the storyline between Christian and Jewish faiths, African-American and white worlds, and impoverished and well-to-do lifestyles.

My hopes and prayers have been reinvigorated by this reading and my on-going search. My life and work has deepened. My teaching increasingly encourages students to step outside the classroom to make connections between "book learning" and "real life experiences", which tend to lead them/us into new possibilities... That's heady, life altering stuff. It's also very humbling...There is so much that can and must be done. The journey continues.

Alas, today's time for my reminiscing is over... It's time for other forms of renewal. It's Sunday after all and that's what I do. But, dear readers before you also move on, I encourage you to pause to look at my photo of a sacred space in France, Mont St. Michel. And, visit your own sacred spaces, if only in your mind's eye. Reflections are important, grounding, renewing... I'd like to encourage you to a little time today for that.

Let me end with a powerful prayer that blesses me even on the most hectic days! Hopefully, it will bring inspiration, love and light in your life, too...

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you,
May God give you grace never to sell yourself short,
Grace to risk something big for something good,
Grace to remember that the world is now too dangerous
for anything but truth; and too small for anything but love.
So, may God take your minds and think through them,
May God take your lips and speak through them,
May God take your hearts and set them on fire.
May God lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

A Cup of Tea, or 2, or 3!

Something as simple as preparing and drinking a cup of tea can be important!

Cultures all around the world seem to know this. The Japanese High Tea ceremony is filled with ritual and proper ways to prepare and share tea... Preparation can't be hurried... There are no shortcuts. Having a High Tea isn't just about drinking a liquid; it's about the whole experience- something very special.

Tea is also known for being important to the British. My friend, Kay, always gave detailed instructions as to the proper way to prepare tea. It was pretty complicated to get everything ready to serve tea and cookies. Kay seemed to be able to tell when it the kettle hadn't boiled OR when the cup and teapot weren't heated properly with scalding water before being filled with tea. And one had to use a fabric "tea cozy" to keep the whole brew steamy and ready to use. Of course, the cookies all needed to be beautifully, artfully arranged on a plate. Whew! It was a challenge to get all those details right, but I loved the drinking and cookie-eating part. :-)

My fascination with teas and tea drinking started very long ago. When I was a girl, tea drinking was a major family ritual. We often sat and drank tea together... And, if there was some kind of family emergency, the first thing that happened was that somebody put the kettle on! Once the tea was poured into cups, we'd all gather around the kitchen table to sort out the details, talk about the possibilities, and come to a group consensus about what to do. Somehow, the soothing conversation along with the mellow tea always made things better.

Interestingly, in 2006 a book was published called Three Cups of Tea...The theme concerned an important set of rituals surrounding tea in Pakistan and nearby lands. There, just like in Japan and Great Britain, there is a well-established protocol. (See http://www.threecupsoftea.com )

Despite my lifelong love of tea and my elaborate set of tea experiences, it wasn't until I read Three Cups of Tea that the aha! moment came. Three cups of tea was all about building relationships... connecting with others... recognizing and honoring one another.

Truth is, that's the same message I learned implicitly as a girl with my family meeting around the kitchen table. Tea drinking had an unwritten script (especially at tough times): "We're all in this together... and together we'll get through it."

So, it's no small wonder that, I love tea and all it symbolizes. I've always dreamed of having a huge teapot collection. Teapots can be pretty or exotic or just plain functional. Still, I haven't gotten all those teapots collected yet; mainly because I never could figure out where I'd keep them! But alas, at any hour, you will find at least a dozen different varieties of tea in my pantry. And family members seem to know that I will never object if they send me more! (For the last two Christmases, I've received gifts of tea and tea-related supplies.) I've got green teas, black teas, herbal teas, and an assortment of both the teabag and loose tea varieties. They all have a place of honor in my kitchen pantry... a whole shelf to themselves.

Tea is special... a way to soothe the soul and connect with others, even when one drinks solo because the memories of other tea-drinking times come seeping through. For me, tea is always a way to be inspired and renewed. There is never a bad time to drink tea choic. Indeed, I think I'll go put the kettle on and head to the pantry to see what variety appeals fits! Forgive me, Julia, but for me it's Bon Appe-tea!