Worthiness: Part Deux

I shouldn't have been surprised when I happened into another serendipitous moment last week ... they just keep coming.

My delightful mother-in-law Marion called to invite me to a women's spiritual retreat April 30 - May 2 here in the hills of East San Diego county, at Whispering Winds { http://www.whisperingwinds.org/index.html } ... the same retreat that Mark and I will attend {separately} in October when we make our Cursillo  { http://www.cursillosd.org/ } retreat/s.

 {photo of Sycamore tree, Leo Carrillo State Park, CA - by me - December 2009}

I was really interested when she told me who the Retreat speaker / leader will be:  Sister Macrina Weiderkehr, O.S.B. who I read quite often in our daily "Living Faith" book ... { http://www.livingfaith.com/ } which is a "daily Catholic devotional".   And get this:  Sr. Macrina has a BLOG.  How could I not want to attend a Retreat with a Sister who blogs?  Really !!!   { http://macrina-underthesycamoretree.blogspot.com/ }

You may have read my last blog post, HUSTLING FOR WORTHINESS.  I hope you did, anyway.

So Marion invites me to this Retreat, I tell her I'd love to attend, and then I run upstairs to look at some of Sister's writings ... lo and behold, Sister Macrina's meditation for Sunday, March 14 ... A PARTY FOR THE UNWORTHY ... jumped out at me.   Worthiness?  Unworthy people?    Now that is just plain more than mere coincidence, don't you agree?

I'd like to "lift" that reading in its entirety here for you all to consider:

taken from LIVING FAITH, 2010:

A PARTY FOR THE UNWORTHY / March 14 / Fourth Sunday of Lent
" But now we must celebrate and rejoice ..."   Luke 15:32

Embarassing as it is to acknowledge this, I often feel like the Prodigal Son's older brother.  I completely understand his sentiments.  He was not able to rejoice over another's good fortune because he was focusing on whether the recipient of his father's love was truly deserving.  He was also wallowing in  his own imagined neglect:  I've been faithful all these years, and no one even noticed.  Poor me!   This gospel offers marvelous material for prayer and reflection for each of us.  Are we able to rejoice with another when because of some good gift they've received whether it be a material gift, a promotion or new opportunity, an affirmation or reward?  Or has our fountain of joy dried up because we are foundering in our own misery?  Look deep within your heart to see if there may be a bit of rejoicing you are withholding.  Practice being glad because of another's good fortune.

Oh most merciful One, teach me to throw a party for the unworthy, knowing that I may be the guest of honor.   ~~ Sr. Macrina Weiderkehr, O.S.B.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do we judge others to be "unworthy"?  Do we judge ourselves as being "unworthy" ??? 

Let's follow Christ's example and find EVERY ONE OF US ... worthy ... of our respect, our kindness, our generosity, our joy in their gifts ... let us be gentle with ourselves and others.

And by the way, when I also discovered that my most favorite art teacher, Chris Cozen, will be in town again on the exact same dates as the Retreat, I had a moment, a twinge, of  "oh, no, this can't be ..."   Until I realized that I most need to be at this women's spiritual retreat at this point in not just my life, but in my art-walk as well.   {but for those interested in taking the spot I would have filled at Chris' classes, you can visit Stamping Details at http://www.stampingdetails.com/ for class details; with my blessing!}

--  Davielle

MAKE MINE PINK

As we continue on through the month of OCTOBER, let's remember that it is, after all, BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH and let's do what we can to "think PINK" ...

I was reminded today as I cruised a website { www.candylights.net } that there's a great 'clearinghouse' for all things PINK and PINK-MINDED known as "Make Mine Pink" ... visit them here:

http://www.makeminepink.com/

"Girly Finds" is a Friday feature over at MAKE MINE PINK

So many delicious vendors to visit can be found there !!!

And as I visited my friend Karen Caterson's web pages this afternoon, I came across a book on her "bedside book stack" list, that I think must be worth sharing with you all {although I have to say, I have never thumbed thru this book in person, I SO trust Karen's review of it that I am going out on a limb here and sharing it with all of you} ...

Bright Side of the Road: A Spiritual Journey Through Breast Cancer

by Anne Marie Bennett

You can click here on this link to see the book via Amazon:

{ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1442173882/squarepegpeop-20 }

And if you have even one similar interest to me, you will likely enjoy Karen's writings over on her Square-Peg Reflections site:

http://squarepegpeople.typepad.com/squarepeg_reflections/

To tie Karen and her writings in to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I want to give a shout-out and a big "plug" to Karen's "CHOOSING ME: Finding Comfort, Joy and Beauty in the Me I am NOW". As Karen so poignantly asks: "Would you rather fly a copper kite in a thunderstorm than talk about (or even think about) body-image?" Oh, boy, could I relate to that! If you answered "yes!" to her clever question, this is a link you MUST visit:

http://squarepegpeople.typepad.com/choosing_me/

I personally have sent Karen a (very long) "testimonial" about her CHOOSING ME piece -- I have the CD right where I can listen to it when I take a bath, or am in the car and want to give my self-esteem and body-image self a serious TALKING TO !!! Karen deals with BODY IMAGE (eek!) issues in a caring, compassionate, humorous way that really made a world of difference to me.

If you take that thought process out just a tiny bit - not even much of a stretch - you will realize that women who are dealing with breast cancer are even more likely to have a "body image issue" at some point in their journey. Right? Let's take a moment to ponder that thought ... there are so many aspects of BREAST CANCER that I had never been made aware of, nor thought of, that I am facing right now as my dear friend Lori takes her own BC "walk", if you will. Treatment options, including surgery ... post-op treatment choices to be made, reconstruction options to consider, lifestyle alterations that can enhance (or detract from) one's personal healing process, etc.

SO many details, SO much to learn, SO much of that "unknown" that when one receives a diagnosis like "breast cancer", one is then forced to research and absorb and integrate into a life that will never after be quite the same ...

I have been blessed to have dear friends who were willing to share their experience with me: Lorraine, Melba, Marsha, Rita, Lori ... It is a GIFT to us all when these brave women SHARE THEIR STORY with others.

If you or a friend/loved one are in need of healing words ... please visit BONE SIGH ARTS, the site of talented and soulful TERRI ST. CLOUD ... { www.bonesigharts.com }

because we ALL matter ...

And one other amazing woman that gets a shout-out from me this Friday afternoon: author and shame researcher, DR. BRENE BROWN. She is a skilled speaker, who SPEAKS to "shame" issues and "self-esteem" issues ... you name it, if you can claim it, Brene can address it !!!

I found her "I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (but it isn't)" book {and readalong} to be immensely insightful and helpful earlier this year.

So ... lighting a candle for all women who are living with breast cancer, and in honor of those who are fighting the good fight (visit the Susan G. Komen Foundation website to help out), in memory of those who lost their breast cancer fight (sweet Lorraine, the beautiful Margerita, and the most brave Erika), and just so GRATEFUL to all those who care for those with breast cancer ...

And with a special "praise God!" for the most excellent news that my friend Lori received this week, post surgery ... all clear margins, no cancerous lymph nodes, and that a 'satellite' tumor was found during her mastectomy that would not have been found if they had done a lumpectomy instead. God is good, and His hand was all over her terrific outcome. PRAYER REQUESTS going out to all of you, please, for continued and perfect HEALING for Lori as she takes her next steps ...

I remain - humbled -

-- Davielle

Jen Lee on Being the Oldest Child

I give much thanks to author Dr. Brene Brown (she wrote I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (but it isn't) - you may recall that earlier this year, I did a 3-month "read-along" with Brene and I don't know, maybe 200 other individuals ... it was quite an adventure and I sure hope Brene does another web-based READ ALONG in the future, with any and all of her new works.

So today, I re-visited Brene's website ( www.ordinarycourage.com ) to get a bit caught up with what's happening in her world, and I was treated to a very special interview that Brene did with New Yorker JEN LEE ... who is a most gifted storyteller.

You might also recall that at some point or another, I have blogged about Jen Lee's CD; it's called SOLSTICE: Stories of Dark into Light. It's fabulous. So here I am, a fan already of the amazing Jen, and this interview and the VIDEO CLIP that Brene offered up, was a real treat.

See for yourself, but as Brene noted to us on her site ...
Before you start - they cut off the very first line and last line. The first line is, "As an oldest child..." The last line is, "the whole world seems to be made of china, and the people in it of some frail, fragile glass."

http://vimeo.com/5176499

So, what did you think?! I might not be an oldest child, but I am married to an oldest son (with just one older sibling, his sister; and 7 younger sibs that followed) ... so I could totally see the truth in what Jen tells us in this story. It pulled at my heartstrings.

Our stories are POWERFUL, friends, just powerful. What I really liked in the interview that Brene held with Jen was when Jen said that her writing keeps her "true" ... To read the interview, click here to go right to it: http://www.ordinarycourage.com/

-- Davielle

TGIF: Trust, Gratitude, Inspiration FRIDAY

I visited Brene Brown's ORDINARY COURAGE web / blog page this morning, but it must be too early yet for her weekly TGIF (Trust,Gratitude, Inspiration Friday)posting. So I decided I would just go ahead and post my TGIF musings here, on my own.

If you've never visited Brene's site, you owe it to yourself if you care at all about ... life, motherhood, shame resilience, parenting issues, etc etc etc. She's full of life & light, love & hope & encouragement for us all. www.ordinarycourage.com

Me, today, I am ...

TRUST: I am trusting that I have made the right choice in rheumatologists. It's not my way to seek a second opinion; I've always trusted my physicians, but as I get older, and as I seek clearer answers, it was suggested to me by an amazing, heart-full doctor friend, that I do just that: seek a 2nd opinion, not just from my rheumatologist, but from my neurologist. So I have done that. I am happy with my new docs, and am hopeful about our new direction.

GRATITUDE: I am grateful that I am in a position to HAVE the choice ... of physicians, of care, of medications, of hospital and lab and radiology and testing facilities ... that I do have. Many in our very own country go without health care at all. I am truly fortunate to be in this position. I am MOST grateful for my husband, Mark, who provides so well for our family ...

INSPIRATION: I am inspired by those who MAKE ART EVERY DAY. Or almost every day. It is my desire, it is my goal, it is my wish -- to be like that. {all I have to do is get beyond the mental and real voices - yes, others do say things to discourage me - that tell me "you can't make art unless your house is all in order", or "you can't make art, because you have too many other tasks to do first", or "you can't make art all the time, because you just aren't that good".) ART every day ... should be PRESCRIBED to any and all who seek it and need it and love it ... like I do ... and/or who could use ART TIME to heal.

So ... "QUIET, voices. I am going to make art today. And Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. And after that ... as OFTEN as I possibly can, and I am promising myself that I will MAKE ART a priority."

I wish you all a beautiful Friday, and a beautiful weekend ...

Davielle

{photo is of a bottle I was washing out; when the bubbles got caught inside, I just had to photograph it}

JAM wings it's way to NEW YORK

Yes, that's right ... I am parting with a lovely little jar of our homemade Apricot Jam ... and it's soon going to be winging it's way to NEW YORK.

I can hardly believe it ... coast-to-coast for my little gem!

During the read-along earlier this year with author BRENE BROWN, and her amazing "I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (but it isn't)" book, I made several friends ... fellow sojourners on a similar path at this point in our lives. Thank you, Brene, for bringing so many of us together in friendship.

So ... this first jar of jam is heading to Corin ...

And if I get an address from sweet Karen ... she'll get one, too !!!

This is so darn fun; I can't believe it. I think I'm now a JAM & PRESERVE convert. {shhh ... please don't tell my Church ...}

With a happy sigh of contentment, that we can share our gifts with one another ...

-- Davielle

What's Happened to Customer Service? IT COULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH Customer BEHAVIOR. Read on.

I am SO in agreement with Brene Brown on this point, folks.

If you are someone who TALKS ON YOUR CELL PHONE while you are ... at the pharmacy or grocery store, while you are in line at the bank, while you are CONDUCTING A TRANSACTION OF ANY KIND, ANYWHERE -- you better not read any more here. Just stop.

Because it's a full endorsement of every single thing that Brene included in her blog post today.

from Brene's post:

Buber wrote, “When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.”

Just what do you think is "surging" between you and the other human being you are meant to be interacting with if you DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT. If you DO NOT HANG UP THAT PHONE. If you IGNORE THAT OTHER PERSON. Hmmm?

Click on this link to read Brene's blogpost about the matter. I am behind her 100,000%.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=92240854141&h=WURT5&u=uam5z&ref=nf

-- Davielle

How to Treat a Friendship

"I do not wish to treat friendship daintily, but with the roughest courage. When they are real, they are not glass threads or frost work, but the solidest thing we know."



... Ralph Waldo Emerson



I was recently 'introduced' to not only the blank journal designed by Jen Lee of New York, through my read-along with Dr. Brene Brown ... Brene also introduced us all to this amazing collection of short stories by Jen. Because I was so taken with the journal Jen had put together for people to write and discover themselves in, I placed my order for this gem of a CD right away. It is the best $10 I have ever spent on a recording, bar none.

Anyone who knows me, knows that is saying a lot, because I am a lifelong lover of music, and I have quite eclectic musical taste and quite an extensive collection.

But "books on tape" never appealed to me (I find that I can't stay 'involved' - my mind wanders when I am listening to a story out loud, so I read voraciously instead). But these SHORT stories captured me from the first word.

The CD is short, short enough to keep my attention span. But more than capturing my attention, Jen and her six soulful stories - they captured my essence. They captured my thoughts. They captured my interest. I'm held captive by the words!

“Solstice: Stories of Light in the Dark” is a collection of six short stories that are poetic and poignant. They engage and inspire, weaving a tapestry of the theme presented in the first track:
“We are all connected—even in the night.”

Blending stories with sound effects and music, “Solstice: Stories of Light in the Dark” brings to life a new kind of myth for the digital world.



You can visit Jen's site at this link, and see what you think:

http://jenlee.net/index.php/solstice-stories-of-light-in-the-dark-3/

While it may not be for everyone, it sure 'works' for me.

-- Davielle

I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (but it isn't) - read-along hits the newswires!

The READ-ALONG I've been doing with Dr. Brene Brown and her masterful I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (but it isn't) book has hit the newswires ...

HERE:

http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/551619/

and here:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/print/article/272463

Check it out !!!

-- Davielle

WHEN YOU HUNGER and THIRST from Sarah Ban Breathnach (Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy)

I came across the entry for April 14 today and it resonated with me .... I think, no, I am sure, because of the work I am doing / processing in the Read-Along with Dr. Brene Brown:

I THOUGHT I WAS JUST ME (but it isn't) - which can be found here: http://www.ordinarycourage.com/

So we're into Chapter Four, and for this week's podcast, Brene had a special guest visitor/speaker on the 'cast - author Katherine Center, who wrote THE BRIGHT SIDE OF DISASTER and her new EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL.

We're looking at areas where we get pulled into "what's wrong with me? why can't I be perfect like so-and-so" -- for some, it's in the area of motherhood. For others, it's in the area of body image. For others, it's career - education - religion - married life. Whatever it is that sucks you in and makes you feel LESS THAN, it bears a closer look so that you can HEAL that part of your world that is causing you pain & discomfort.

But let me get back on track.

What I turned to in SIMPLE ABUNDANCE: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy (April 14 entry) is this:

WHEN YOU HUNGER AND THIRST
'The body must be nourished, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We're spiritually starved in this culture -- not underfed but undernourished."
-- Carol Hornig

WOW. Then Sarah goes on to say ...

"Many women, including myself, swallow life in an attempt to keep it manageable. I mean this literally and figuratively. Whenever we're anxious, worried, nervous, or depressed, without thinking, we instinctively swallow food and drink in order to push away the uncomfortable negative experience we're feeling in our guts. We hunger and thirst, but it's not for a bowl of ice cream or a glass of wine. It's for inner peace and deeper connection."

HOLY COW. This is what hit me the hardest - what she says above. Talk about getting into my head!

Sarah goes on ....

"Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist, believed that alcoholism was a sacred disease. M. Scott Peck relates in his book Further Along The Road Less Traveled how it occurred to Jung "that it was perhaps no accident that we traditionally referred to alcoholic drinks as spirits, and that perhaps alcoholics were people who had a greater thirst for the spirit than others, that perhaps alcoholism was a spiritual disorder or better yet, a spiritual condition." I believe this is also true about compulsive overeating, which is the addiction of choice for many women. We have such a passionate appetite for life, we just don't know what we truly need to satisfy our insatiable cravings for Wholeness."

WOW again. An 'insatiable craving for Wholeness.' That's powerful stuff.

more from Sarah:

"When I first became aware that when I 'swallowed' life I was really hungry and thirsty for joy and serenity, it was a turning point for me in learning self-nurturance. Finally, I understood that I wasn't underfed but spiritually undernourished. I realized I could go within and ask my soul - my authentic self - what I needed. 'How can I care for you at this moment? How can I love you? What is it you truly need?'

The next time you reach to put something in your mouth, take one minute to focus your awareness on what you're doing before you do it. ARE YOU EATING BECAUSE YOU ARE PHYSICALLY HUNGRY, or anxious? If you're anxious, a walk around the block instead of into the kitchen would be better for you and more loving. At the end of the day, are you pouring yourself a glass of wine out of habit in order to signal that it's time to relax? Instead, why not take a few sips of delicious fruit flavored mineral water as you prepare dinner, and enjoy the wine WITH your meal? Learn to create ceremonies of personal pleasure that can nourish your deeper longings. As you nurture your spirit with kindness, your physical cravings will loosen their grip.

Realize today that you hunger and thirst for a reason. Ask your authentic self to reveal your deeper needs, so that Spirit can quench and satisfy your parched and ravenous soul."

WHOA. Sarah hit my nail RIGHT on the head.

Her work is fresh and perfect no matter how many times I visit and re-visit it.

-- DAH

I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (but it isn't)

So I'm wandering thru blog-land this afternoon, taking a look at what other participants have posted for their BSM (that's Best Shot Monday) image, and I stumbled upon this ...

Long story, made as short as I can make it:

Artist KELLY RAE ROBERTS has long featured a "button" on her blog and website to this book by Brene' Brown, and I've never made the time to delve into it any further. But today, on Tracey Clark's blogsite, the gal who introduced me to BSM (again, that's BEST SHOT MONDAY), I found a very in-my-face entry. Tracey, thank God, put it out there that she's participating in a Read-Along, and being the voracious reader (and obviously, blogger/writer) that I am, I had to take a look at what that was all about.

So there you have it - my Full Circle story. I'm on my way to pick up my own copy of I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (but it isn't) by author Brene' Brown ... for anyone not living within spitting distance of a Barnes and Noble, like I do, visit this link to buy it through Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1592403352/wwwbrenebrown-20

I hope plenty more like-minded invidivuals join us on this Read-Along.

Gotta sign off now -- time's a wasting!

-- Davielle