Moving Day!

Hello, and good-bye! My blog has moved! So if you're here because you had the old link, I hope you'll follow this one to the new location. See you there!

http://www.pamelasteadjones.com/

Pam

Full Moon, January 2010

The photo doesn't do it justice, but I'll post it anyway; because the Wolf Moon hung in the night sky, so close that I thought I could reach out and touch it. I tried, but it seemed that my expectations were a bit beyond my reach; so I just sat in its light on a brittle winter night and was drawn in by its beauty until the cold, alone, commanded my attention. I scurried in to warm myself by the fire and left the moon behind -- or so I thought. What has become apparent in the last 24 hours is that although I failed to touch the moon, the moon did not fail to touch me.

I've always been a lover of moonlight, but in recent years, my relationship with that mirror in the sky has changed and grown until our friendship has become an intimate one. I suppose this is why I would be drawn outdoors in ten-degree weather with the hope of taking a picture and capturing the moment. Since the picture seems inadequate, my only recourse is to use 1,000 words instead. Watch soon for my thousand words. I hope that, unlike the picture, they will let you see the beauty of the Wolf Moon, hanging in the winter sky.

Memoriam

This week has been a difficult one in our small community. A young teacher in Ivy's school suddenly was gone -- dying a week after being diagnosed with leukemia. These sorts of things shake folks all the way to their core. We don't expect young people just to die. And so his fellow teachers, with their own mortality staring them right in the face, took on the task of comforting their students. Kids on the brink of entering adulthood have such wild emotions on a normal day that the loss of a teacher -- the loss of their sense of immortality -- unleashes a torrent of grief that is like no other. On Thursday it would have been Mr. Bender's 35th birthday. The students, looking for a way to send birthday wishes, wore purple as a way of saying, "we remember." 'There is hope,' I thought, when I heard of this gesture. What a kind sort of thing for our children to do! And I thought of the people I've loved who have gone before me, and I remembered the lessons I've learned from their passing. It is not our job to do something for the people who die. That is beyond our scope. It is our job to go on living and to teach our children how to sing in spite of their sadness. Goodbye, Mr. Bender. Your students will sing, because they will remember how much you loved life.

Rain dancing

Be careful what you wish for!

Only a couple of days ago, I was saying to my friend, Eileen, that we hadn't had much rain or snow this winter. Well, we've had enough today to make up for months of dry weather! And here we are, still in January, and the temperature this morning was 57 degrees when I woke up at 5:30AM! What has me dancing in the rain? Well, for one thing, it's kind of nice to have a little break from the brittle cold of winter. And then there's that scent in the breeze. What is it? Spring! I know it's not here to stay, but there's just enough of the fresh smell of Spring today to remind us that winter won't last forever. So dance away! Let the wind blow! Celebrate the seasons that remind us of how life is always changing. Dance!

Walking

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle."

-- Thich Nhat Hanh

The Light of Winter

You hear people all the time talking about having SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). They miss the light of summer, and some fall into depression during the short days of winter. We tend to look for warmth and light in the outside world; and if that is our perspective, I suppose winter comes up short. The beauty of winter is that it sends us inward. If we can get beneath our own skin, our own flesh and blood, our own emotional response to life, we can find the place within that holds the Light that is our essence. The journey to access this light is much easier during the cold, dark days of winter. We are less distracted then than at more colorful times of the year. Take a break from the cold winter and find that place deep inside your own being. Let the Light radiate! Share warmth in your touch! Let light pour out through your eyes and in your words and bring hope to all you meet. Let your Light shine!

Dum Ditty Dum

That title is for my grandson, Oskar -- he knows the book.

Last night was an awesome drum circle sponsored by Lehigh Valley Drum Circle! There must have been 70+ people there, and all the funds from the circles (3 during the day) and auctions and raffles went to support Step By Step, a local agency that provides transitional and life skills services to young adults. How often do you get to have a great time and do some good all wrapped up in one package? My hands are still buzzing! Good times!

Compassion

Compassion

Came down

Landing softly

Like dew

Like a whisper

Of hope

That made

The land sparkle

In silence

And Peace.

Pamela Stead Jones 2010

Fourteen years ago today

Ivy Christina arrived on the planet! She landed between the blizzard and the snowstorm, and our lives have never been the same since that day. It's hard to believe that the time has flown by so quickly, and that tiny, helpless baby is now a beautiful young teen. We love you , Ivy -- you've changed our lives in so many ways! Happy Birthday!

Kindness

Kindness

Like falling rain

Brought life

To my soul.

Kindness

Like night breeze

Brought life

To my spirit.

Kindness

Like bread

Brought strength

To go on.

Kindness

Like wealth

Overflowed

In my wake.

Pamela Stead Jones 2010

For the Beauty of the Earth!

Simple Acts

I've just returned from the grocery store, where the bagger asked me, "paper or plastic." I answered, "paper," because the walk from the car seems awfully long over snow and ice. It's easier on my arthritic fingers to hold a bag underneath than to let it hang on my cold hands. "I have a bit of a walk to the house," I told her.

As I was leaving, a woman I've never met approached me. "Are you walking home? she asked, "I can give you a ride." A simple act -- one I've done myself in the past -- but on a cold day it would have meant the world to someone without a car.

Random...kind...and action. So simple, yet so powerful.

Kindness on You Tube -- Please watch this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_ovJFLJHk

Constant Kindness

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.”

-- Albert Schweitzer

Welcome Winter

It's that time of year again -- you know, the one where my southern family all taunt me about their warmer weather and try to entice me to move closer to them. I always answer that I would miss the change of seasons; and this is true. What I fail to do is to explain why it is that I would miss winter. I'm no more fond of below-zero wind chills than any of my thin-blooded kin; and I've actually been known to complain when the temperatures drop and I'm required to wear a coat. Those winter sensations are not on my list of things I would miss if I lived in a balmier climate. What I would miss is the wonderful part of winter that is born of my reaction to the cold. Winter sends me inside -- not only inside my house where I can stay warm, but also inside myself where I can find the quiet, hibernating part of my soul that seeks renewal in the dim light of winter. As the fresh green of Spring and the warm joy of Summer growth and the fire of Autumn suddenly become stark and white and quiet, a special kind of silence calls me to turn my attention inward and see myself clearly.

Another Resolution

I came upon this quotation recently:

"A kind deed a day, like little drops of rain, Makes a mighty ocean and a gracious nation."
-- Lin Hsiu Nei

These simple, yet powerful words have me thinking. How might we change the world if instead of changing what it is that we do, we changed the way we do it? Suppose that our resolution for 2010 and the years to come were to do all that we do in kindness? Suppose that we also made it a study to recognize the kindness we see in others? Could we possibly add enough drops of rain to fill a peaceful sea?

First Story of 2010 -- Inspired by the Blue Moon -- 12/31/2009

Reflection on Moonlight

At the time of Creation, the Light shone in every corner of every part of the universe; and so it was that the whole of existence came to be. Each creature was fashioned to see itself and to show itself in a particular form, but all in their essence were Light. And the Earth became Mother to all who lived there, sustaining and providing for her children. And man, with his ability to think and reason, became responsible for loving his mother and seeing that she was treated with respect. When harmony had been planted, the Light said to the man,

“Now you will live in abundance and peace. Although you won’t see me again with your eyes, you will learn to look deep within yourself and find the light that dwells in your soul. Let it illuminate your path and enlighten your mind so that your choices will be those that bring you joy. Your desire will determine the world that will grow from the seeds I have sown.”

And the man felt important and his pride made him blind to the spirit that connected him with all of Creation. No longer could he see the Light that lived within him, and soon he became afraid.

“Don’t leave us,” he cried to the Light, “we will fail if we need to decide our own fate.”

“Trust,” the Light answered. “Trust yourself because you trust me. Be what I have created you to be.”

And the Light, in its infinite wisdom, retreated; but always it remained in each creature it had shone into existence.

In the heavens, above the Earth and reaching farther than the eye could see, the Light spoke to two other beings, two heavenly bodies placed near the Earth so that they could be seen from below.

“Sol,” he called out to the larger of the two, “I have made you to shine so that even in my absence the creatures of Earth will have warmth and energy and enough light to allow them to grow and to live and to work. Your warmth will encourage the small seeds to sprout as they lie in the womb of their mother, the Earth. You will set into motion the magical ways that will make the plants grow and bring food to all creatures. They will dance in your light and delight in your warmth, and your name will be ‘sun,’ because they will think you are my son. I will fill you with my light, and you will transform it so that Earth will have energy to provide for her children.”

Sol swelled with pride as he turned toward the Light, taking in all that he could contain. When the Light had completely saturated him, Sol placed himself above the earth, feeling very important indeed! He began to shine; and as he did, the light within him worked at consuming his pride and self-importance, and Sol became quite hot. So great was his pride that as the light burned it away, a new supply would appear.

‘I have chosen well,’ thought the Light, ‘his pride will allow him to burn for eternity. Never will Earth be barren and cold.’ But the Light knew the sun might easily burn a hole in the Earth on the side where he sat. So the Light gave the Earth a spin, and Earth began to turn slowly, one turn per day, and the heat of the sun never rested in the same place long enough to scorch the land below. Life on Earth flourished and each day brought new creation.

Now the Light called to another of his children.

“Luna, I have a task for you as well.”

Luna approached the Light humbly, amazed that she, too, might be given a position of importance in the heavens.

“What is it that you would have me do?” she asked the Light.

“Take this,” the Light answered, and it handed her a large mirror. “Hold it steadily,” said the Light. “You will stay far from Sol, on the dark side of the Earth, and watch over Creation as it sleeps.”

Luna took the mirror and held it in front of her, and the Light shone on it and its rays were bounced to the Earth below. Luna felt a bit sad. She had seen her brother, the Sun, grow mighty and powerful as he was filled with the Light; but the mirror she held sent the Light away from her. She didn’t grow warm or bright or powerful. She didn’t understand. Luna loved the Light, and she knew that the Light loved her; but her job seemed trivial compared to that of the sun. He made people dance and gave the Earth life, and all she did was sit alone in the dark never owning any light at all. The mirror suddenly felt heavy in Luna’s hands and her heart felt heavy, too. She began to weep silently, and her tears fell like a whisper from the heavens and landed as a fog and rested on the Earth below.

The next morning, the Light shone on Luna.

“Look at the Earth,” the Light directed.

Luna looked down, and at the edge where the night met the day, she could see the grass glisten in the light of the rising sun.

“Have you been crying?” asked the Light.

“Maybe just a little,” Luna replied. And she hid her face from the Light.

“Don’t look away,” the Light said, “Tell me why your tears lie on the Earth.”

“I’m sorry,” Luna began, “it’s just that Sol has such an important job, and when you called on me, I thought my job would be important, too. Instead, I sit here and hold a mirror. Your light never even touches me. I’m all alone and forgotten in the sky, with only the stars to keep me company. This isn’t what I expected at all.”

“Do you trust me?” asked the Light.

“Of course I do,” replied Luna.

“Then hold the mirror,” the Light told her, “but this time look beyond it and let your heart see the Earth below.”

And the Light moved away, leaving Luna on her own once again, holding her mirror in the quiet night sky. She wanted to feel ashamed; but she knew that the Light didn’t judge her, so she pushed the shame aside and let it evaporate into the darkness all around her. Luna sat alone in the deep, silent sky; and as she held her mirror, she looked past it to the land below. No longer did she feel sad, for her trust in the Light gave her new resolve. With the eyes of her heart, Luna looked past the stars, through the clouds, and all the way to the surface of the land. There, in the darkness, she saw a young woman sitting alone. The woman gazed up at Luna’s mirror, and the voice of her own heart spoke,

“Oh, Moon, you are the only one I can talk to this night. The whole world is sleeping, and only I am awake. The Sun has gone to bed for the night, and there is no light to warm and reassure me. My child is ill, and I am afraid. I feel so lost in the dark of night, and the Light seems far away.”

The young woman began to cry as she sat alone in the deep, still night. Luna heard her cries and heard the words of her heart.

‘Oh, my,’ thought Luna, ‘that woman feels just as I did when my sadness made me forget that the Light is always with me.’

Luna steadied the mirror she held and purposefully aimed its beam directly at the young woman. As the Light bathed the young woman with its loving rays, Luna became aware that her own tears were falling once again. This time it was not her own sadness that gave birth to tears. It was the memory of sadness and the recognizing of another’s emotion as being like her own. The tears that fell from Luna’s eyes were the tears of a young woman she never had met but whose heart she recognized because of the light that lived in both of them.

It was at this moment that Compassion was born; and it fell silently, like a whisper from the heavens, and landed on the woman and on all the Earth below. As she looked toward the place where the dark of night met the light of the sunrise, Luna could see her tears of compassion sparkling like diamonds through the night. It was at this moment that Luna understood with humility the importance of her purpose in holding a mirror in the vast darkness of the night sky. As she bounced the pure Light of Creation in the Earth’s darkest hour, Hope landed in the heart of each creature it touched, bringing them Peace and reminding them of the Light that resided deep in their souls. And the Light looked down on the dewy morning, watching the sun burn away the tears of the night, and saw that it was good.

And so it is that the Sun continues to send his warmth and life-giving energy through the daily sacrifice of his own self-importance and pride. And so it is that the humble Moon stands aside, defers to the Light, and holds firmly the mirror that delivers Hope and Light even in the world’s darkest night.

ã Pamela Stead Jones 2010

New Year's Resolutions

Welcome to 2010.

The day of resolutions is past, and it's time to follow through on them. January 2, 2010 will mark the beginning of my adventure in the world of blogging. I hope you'll visit whenever you like and I welcome your comments and feedback on my ideas.

Pamela Stead Jones