Beloved Beings

 A year ago today, we had to say the final goodbye to our precious little dog, Shamus. He was a sweet and devoted friend for 13 trips around the sun and no one will ever convince me that our dear animal companions don't have souls. Shamus had deep beautiful brown eyes, silky white and reddish brown fur  and a loving, trustful, empathic nature. His greatest joy was just to spend time with us, doing the things we loved, like hikes and car rides, road trips and family visits.

I grieved his loss as powerfully as I had close family members, as if a part of my heart had been ripped out and was open and raw. This may sound odd to anyone who hasn't deeply loved an animal, but many will understand that special bond. 

The question of whether our animal friends have a soul, whether their spirits live on, is open to debate, but I feel in my heart that some part of them continues. If we look at the issue biblically, it's obvious that God cherishes all his creatures, great and small, from the birds in the air to the whales in the sea. The bible also makes reference to the breath of life, or "spirit", being in animals as it is in humans. Hindus believe that humans can be reincarnated as animals and vice versa. So who's to say for sure?

Perhaps being loved by a human elevates the spiritual status of an animal friend: they observe us closely and want to be more like us. 

I recently watched a documentary on Netflix called "The Hidden Lives of Pets" that shows animals of all kinds doing amazingly human like things: dancing; communicating via buttons and buzzers; consoling humans who are suffering; etc. It's fascinating to begin to understand that animals of all kinds are sentient beings that express love and other emotions and are capable of helping us in so many ways.

I am so very thankful for the time that we had with our dear friend Shamus and he will always hold a special place in my heart. Maybe one day, when I feel ready to open myself up to the joy and pain of pet ownership, I will welcome a new beautiful being into my life.

Here Comes the Sun

The sun made an appearance yesterday, which somehow transformed the frigid cold of winter into a more bearable season. In this part of the country, come January, we begin to feel like underground moles, unaccustomed to the light, since it's been gray for so long. January, which in recent years has become a month of loss and pain for me, seems more hopeful when I see those rays of sunshine.

It reminds me of the Beatles song:

Here comes the sun
Doo doo doo doo
Here comes the sun and I say
It's alright

Little darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here...

Here comes the sun
Doo doo doo doo
Here comes the sun and I say
It's alright

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here...

Tom and I recently returned from visiting our daughter and her family in sunny New Mexico, where, even in the winter cold, the sun shines reliably almost everyday. We were thankful to be able to visit for our granddaughter's 6th birthday, and Leila's sunny smiles added some special sparkles to the beautiful weather.

Coming back home to snowy weather and gray days this past week, however, made me think about how easy it is to take sunshine and blue skies for granted when you see them all the time, as my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter do. Here in Rochester, when we have a sunny day in the dead of winter, it seems like a wonderful gift and we run outside to greet its warmth, excited and grateful.

I guess many aspects of life are like that; too easy to take for granted when you have them all the time. Family, a warm home, plenty of food to eat, our five senses, freedom, sunshine and nature, to name just a few. I'm sure it's easy to think of more. No matter what our circumstances are, whether we are experiencing pain or joy, there is always something beautiful and hopeful.

That's where gratitude comes in, being thankful for the good things that each moment brings. As I gazed outside at the lovely snow, brilliantly sparkling, and then moved to sit in front of the fireplace, so cozy and warm, my heart filled with light and a quiet voice whispered;
"all will be well". The winter will pass and spring will come with its light and new growth to give us strength and hope.The gray-white world will pass into greenness and life will come again.

 Thank you, thank you, thank you God!

 

True Peace Requires Action

     True peace sometimes requires disruptive change. Although we often think of peace in terms of maintaining the status quo:  "keeping the peace", or not "ruffling feathers", I don't believe that we should ever remain complacent in the face of injustice. If Martin Luther King Jr. had "kept the peace" and remained complacent towards the unjust laws that prevailed at the time, or if Rosa Parks had been obedient and given up her seat on the bus just because of the color of her skin in order to avoid conflict, necessary changes may not have come about.

  Today, as we honor Martin Luther King Jr., I would like to take a few moments to reflect on the values he embraced and lived out through powerful acts of non-violent, peaceful protest. He knew that there cannot be true peace as long as all men and women are not treated equally, with dignity and respect. In a speech delivered in Montgomery, Alabama on March 25, 1965, he said: "We must come to see that at the end we seek a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience." He recognized that he was not living in peaceful times, but that the ideals of peace, love and respect for all must be held in one’s heart and be the catalyst for the change that will bring us closer to this vision of society.

      

This morning, please pray that each one of us would hold these ideals in our heart and do whatever is in our power to bring our world into alignment with them...changing what needs to be changed, keeping the vision of Martin Luther King alive in a still imperfect world.

 “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” –
MLK, August 19,1967

Ring the Bells

 

"The birds they sang at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what has passed away
or what is yet to be..

  Ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in..."

 

These lyrics from the Leonard Cohen song "Anthem" came to mind this morning when I asked for a message and they seem perfect for today. What better time than New Years Day to remind ourselves to "start again" and "ring the bells" to celebrate whatever light gets through the cracks in the fabric of our lives.

No matter where we are, whether going through a period of abundance and joy or a time of difficulty and challenge, it's important to allow the light to shine through our imperfect vessels, knowing that we are always living in a state of grace and wonder, no matter our circumstances.

There is always cause for celebration, if only for the little things, if only for what we have left at whatever point we are. There is always good, there is always joy, even in the midst of an imperfect world full of imperfect people.

None of us will ever be perfect as long as we are alive in human bodies. We will never have a "perfect offering", but we can give thanks for what we do have and offer what we are able, to God and to whomever is in our circle of influence. We can offer prayers for this imperfect world, holding its pain for a moment and then releasing it to the One who transforms it into goodness.