Thursday Thermals - April 4, 2013

I have arrived - at 60 that is.
No anguished cries, no kicking and screaming, just a quiet transition into a new decade.
JohnWesley (1703-1791) asked his friends and fellow believers this question: "How goes it with your soul?" It is a question I often gently ask myself and today the answer is that I am well. I am content. I am at peace. A deep joy bathes my soul. And all is well, all manner of things are well.

I offer two pieces of writing today, neither one of them mine, but each one echoes my truth this day.
First a poem, written by Rev. Melissa Bowers, addressed to the women of my life, past and present. To be fair, there are a couple of men out there who have been of equal importance to me, and the words apply just as well to you guys!


Praise to the Women on my Journey 

To the women on my journey
     Who showed me the ways to go and ways not to go,
     Whose strength and compassion held up a torch of light
        and beckoned me to follow,
     Whose weakness and ignorance darkened the path and
        encouraged me to turn another way.

To the women on my journey
     Who showed me how to live and how not to live,
     Whose grace, success, and gratitude lifted me
        into the fullness of surrender to God,
     Whose bitterness, envy, and wasted gifts warned me
        away from the emptiness of self-will.

To the women on my journey
     Who showed me what I am and what I am not,
     Whose love, encouragement, and confidence held me
        tenderly and nudged me gently,
     Whose judgment, disappointment, and lack of faith called
        me to deeper levels of commitment and resolve.

To the women on my journey who taught me love by
        means of both darkness and light,

To these women I say bless you and thank you from the
        depths of my heart, for I have been healed and set free
          through your joy and through your sacrifice.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

This second piece was written by Katherine Tyler Scott (in “Women’s Uncommon Prayers” ©2000, Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, PA, pg. 3). I think I'll just let the words speak for themselves...


I am a Woman
born of God
I am a woman
born of love

I am caring and competent
vulnerable and powerful
seeking wholeness
physically, emotionally, and spiritually

I am a woman
reaching out to others
making a difference in myself
my family
community
and the world

I am empowering myself
to empower others

I am struggling to accept my anger
and use it to gain strength, confidence,
courage, and intimacy with others

I am a woman
who sees the interconnectedness of all human beings
who values the unique gifts of all

I am a woman who leads and follows
who accepts responsibility for myself
and the choices I make

Yes, I am a woman
who sees each day as a new beginning
a chance to grow in self, love, and service

I am a woman
born of God
I am a woman
born of love
And I can be
All that I am.

Thursday Thermals - March 21, 2013

Ready or not, here comes 60!

I've given some considerable thought to this impending transition over the past year, some of it has been rather melancholy (regrets, I've had a few...) but now as the last days are spiralling through the hourglass of a decade, it's time to get a grip. Whether I want it or not, in just 14 days I will leave my fifties behind. Like so many before me have wondered, I too wonder how I got here -- so fast!

Time is such a contrary companion. When I want it to go fast, it crawls. When I want it to slow down, it slams into hyperdrive, and it never stands still no matter how much I plead. So 60 will come right on schedule, of this I am sure. While it is an uncomfortable fact of life that many more years lie behind me than ahead of me, what those coming years will bring me, the details of what 60 and beyond hold for me, is a mystery.

I have learned that there are really only two reasons for doing anything -- love and fear. There's nothing wrong with fear, a healthy, rational fear of real things. The biggest, scariest real thing for me now is future health. It's not just a fly in the ointment, but often seems more on the scale of a velociraptor. My body has already betrayed me in small but undeniable, occasionally embarrassing, ways. So you won't find me mountain climbing, roller blading, snake charming, bungee jumping, or even doing something so risky as drinking a full glass of water before a half hour car ride. You will find me working out four times a week (Check this out: Four workouts better) and maintaining a very healthy diet. You will also find me in the company of the people I love, doing the things I love, in the places I love, and grateful for the love and life I am so privileged to experience.

Something else I've learned: life is not about perfection. It took some fifty years for this avowed perfectionist to learn this one, and I'm sure refresher courses will always be a part of my life. Life is about doing the best I can, enjoying each day as it comes. And at the end of the day, it's about being content with what I have done and what I have not done, so that I can look forward to a new day, new joys, new possibilities.

Easy? I doubt it. More likely it will be some of the hardest work I've ever done. So be it.
Get ready to upend the hourglass...
Here comes 60!