Presence Matters

May 17, 2012

I have just finished reading one of the most moving pieces I have ever read about the rich interconnections between species, in this case elephants and humans. Lawrence Anthony, known as “The Elephant Whisperer”, died March 2nd and this link chronicles the moving story of how wild elephants, whose lives he had saved years before, traveled many, many miles on their own to pay their respects at his home after his death. No one knows how they knew he had died. They stayed for almost 48 hours doing what they do when one of their own kind dies. They were clearly in mourning. Take five minutes and go to this link and be prepare to be moved, (as I was – will someone please pass me a tissue?)

May 16, 2012

Today we leave for my daughter’s graduation from college. My stomach is fluttering with the excitement of it all. She has been calling us for weeks with updates on this party and that additional reception. In the midst of all of this, I feel so blessed to have her as my daughter. She has worked hard for four years and this week is one of celebration and blessing.

And so, we are shifting gears. Our family does ‘hard work’ really well. We know how to set a worthy goal and go for it. We know how to plan, prepare, clean, build and present our final product to the world. This we do almost automatically.

It is now time to celebrate. This is a major life transition we are about to enter with her. I have a strange feeling of lightness and bubbly expectation in my heart. Many texts have been sent back and forth this week saying simply “WOOHOO!” And, I feel the edges of tears of joy I am sure to have this week. I am ready for it all. I am so proud of her. Let the celebration begin!

May 15, 2012

Standing at the window – peering out,
Puddles are everywhere,
And it has been raining off and on,
For almost twenty-four hours.

Everything is drenched,
No more rain spattered leaves,
They are washed completely clean,
And rewashed several more times.
No one in the forest has been overlooked.

Mother Nature we feel your blessing,
Drench us – we are all now dripping,
See that we are completely clean,
Nowhere untouched by your liquid bounty.

Like small children after a much needed long bath,
Standing naked beside the tub shivering,
Waiting to be enfolded in the warmth of a towel,
Perhaps the forest is now ready for the sun,
To return the balance of nature to a drier state.

May 14, 2012

Walking in gentle rain through a canopy of tall trees,
Dusty green ferns and plants growing on the forest floor,
Beginning to be spattered with clear drops from above
Slowly washing them clean.

Mother Nature is blessing us with the gift of warm rain,
My own face is being touched by her clear, gentle presence,
A drop here, then one there
Cleaning me as my footsteps continue down the path.

This rain is a sweet blessing,
Our world was getting dusty ,
The air filled with pollens of all kinds,
Carried on the dry breezes,
Creating coughs and sneezes,
So we were ready to be washed clean.

By tomorrow we will all be drenched,
Perhaps thinking – enough!
Running and ducking
From her warm rain blessing
And feeling slightly put upon.

But for now it is a sweet thing,
I welcome it and am thankful,
For all her blessings.

May 12, 2012

As the week closes I ran across this one last TED talk that inspired me in a whole new way. I hope your perceptual lens is opened as wide as mine was on this issue. Here is the link:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tonyjones/2012/03/16/the-best-ted-talk-ever/

Enjoy!

May 11, 2012

To complete this week of great TED talks and eating in a healthy manner, I found this TED talk by Jamie Oliver on the actual steps in the bigger picture of healthy eating in the United States today. He is very entertaining as he delivers a really important message about current trends in obesity and unhealthy eating. He then goes on to outline exactly how to make this happen. It is well worth the 20 minutes it takes to watch him deliver his message. Here is the link: http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html. Enjoy!

May 10, 2012

Every now and then a really, really funny video comes along. And this one, by Julia Sweeney as she tries to answer her eight year old daughter’s about sex, is one of the funniest I have seen in a long time. Here is the link - and enjoy!

May 9, 2012

This is a sweet, inspiring TEDx talk about gratitude done by Louie Schwartzberg. I first saw this one in a colleague’s talk at the Beyond the Dura Conference. When I discovered where he had gotten it this week, I was delighted. Now I get to share it with all of you. Here is the link. Sit back and be moved with gratitude for each day, for your body and capacity to be here now. And, enjoy!

May 8,2012

This week is all the best TEDx Talks that I could find and this one was done in Iowa by Dr. Terry Wahls who has/had MS (Multiple Sclerosis). What she has been able to do is truly astounding at one level and divinely simple at another level. It is a 20 minute talk, and well worth every minute of it. It builds on my blog post from last week about the article by Dr. Mark Hyman on how eating healthy does not ultimately cost more than eating cheap, processed, junk food. Here is the link - and, enjoy!

May 7, 2012

My good friend and colleague, Dr. Rachel Abrams has done a TEDx.com talk and I want to share it with all of you. She is a fine physician and I love her message. It is everything I teach and then some! It is a seven minute talk and well worth your time – here is the link. And, enjoy!