Celebrating Jake's 2nd Birthday

"Children FEEL life. They smell it, roll in it, run with it, see it all around them. On this day, do what you can to feel the world through the eyes of a child."

Boy, does this remind me of Jake, just hours before his 2nd birthday party. We are all so excited to share this special time with him and to learn how to FEEL the world through his eyes. And he has such happy, magical eyes.

The beauty of raindrops

I'm letting you know right up front that this is a relatively long one, in case you want to save it for a rainy day. :-)

Every so often the beauty of God's design and the synchronicity of our lives comes into clear focus. For example, there is a place in Florida where I go to get my soul replenished. It's the place where many of my dreams of being a Life Coach were born and nurtured. It's called Forever Spring Farm, and its the home of my dear friends, Bill & Claudia. I found them through their booklet, "Aligning With Universal Principles" (described below), which was given to me by a woman who I was supporting (and learning from) during her terminal illness and dying experience. She was the wife of a young man I worked with and cared deeply about. I hope he's out there listening, because I still do. I gave a more recent coaching client and friend this booklet as an expression of my love and support for him, at a time when he was not seeing his own beauty and power. As you can see below, those days are over. I celebrate your awakening, Wyndel, and marvel at the clarity of your vision, so beautifully reflected below. You have a great gift that I'm happy to share. And I also smile, Bill, remembering that amazing day when you suggested to me, while on a buggy ride behind Skeeter in the backwoods of your farm, that I had come into your life to "give your vision wings." What a profound honor and joy to carry you to others in my heart. I can’t wait to come back for my next visit. Maybe it’s time to bring Wyndel with me.


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Raindrops, by Wyndel Harvey

I was sitting in my vehicle in a park yesterday reading an intensely spiritual testimony titled "Aligning With Universal Principals" by William D. Parkhurst. My original plan was to sit on a bench and read but the weather was less than desirable.


About halfway through the short treatise a slow rain had started and persisted. At first I left the windows open enjoying the refreshing newness of the air. But small puddles formed and I began to get concerned that the collected water would damage the electrical systems in my SUV. Individually the specks of water were of no concern and the occasional stray that encountered my flesh was no real threat. But collectively the specks seemed to threaten my vehicle and make me uncomfortably wet.

I engaged in a small struggle to maintain a comfortable reading environment and not get too damp. I raised my windows in small increments hoping to find just the right balance of fresh air and protection. But no matter how much effort I put into this battle, the little buggers would navigate through the tiniest of cracks and come to rest to form ever-larger wet spots.

Somewhere along the way I gave up the struggle. I came to the conclusion that the struggle itself was a distraction. By devoting a large portion of my consciousness analyzing the frequency and inclination of the precipitation in a vain attempt to keep dry, I was preventing myself from the real purpose of this outing – spending time alone in God’s company. I let go.

A few pages later I read the following:

"I am more than a body. I am a spirit connected with all the awesome power of the Universe. The more I honor and appreciate the phenomenon of nature the more I appreciate myself and others."

Completely giving in to the message I leaned forward and quietly, serenely observed. I became aware of something – a message.

The raindrops originate from airy nothingness high above falling from the sky to earth as part of an endless cycle of birth and rebirth. I watched as the droplets landed on my windshield. Each drop would sit alone on the glass shaking but not moving - waiting.

Eventually another drop would land near connecting ever so slightly with one another. Slowly the two drops would become one and empowered by the union start to move.

Each of these newly formed drops would slowly begin a journey. Moving almost imperceptibly at first, each grouping would set off on a separate path towards a common destination.

I watched intrigued as the drops moved across the glass. There were an infinite number of possibilities being played out before my eyes. Some would take off instantly, gather speed, and quickly complete the path. Others would move slowly, almost purposely, stopping occasionally before continuing the journey. Still others would sit, holding firm, gathering a number of newcomers before setting off.

Amongst all this chaos I began to discern a pattern. No matter how each individual drop started, all would encounter others along way. Some droplets would gather strength from the encounter, joining, and then continuing on with greater strength. Others would plow a wide path gathering many others from all sides. Still there were a few that would magically navigate around the encounters keeping the same steady pace towards the destination. But all would have many encounters and all would leave a trail of tiny new droplets - seeds of rebirth - along the way.

As I watched this endless cyclical drama play out I began feel very comfortable in my skin. I felt a presence within - warmth - love. I understood and related to the raindrops. I got that each was part of a Universal Plan. They might take different paths, they might move at different speeds, they might enlist others, they might go it alone, but all ultimately were guided by a greater power according to an unfathomable plan

I also understood that I was observing a microcosm of a Universal theme. I looked past the windshield and saw growing puddles. Mentally stepping back I saw streams feed by the puddles. Still further back, I saw creeks feed by streams. I saw rivers flowing into lakes and bays. I saw great bodies of water moving in harmony with the Universal Plan. I saw water evaporate and rise to the skies to start the process all over again.

I am as a raindrop. I have been born from nothing to fall to earth. I move through my life according to a plan that I cannot understand but know exists. I am empowered by others and on my journey. I move with others, always growing in size and strength, always towards a common destination. I will be joined along the way by many and together we will move ever closer towards Universal harmony.

I will be reborn and start the journey anew.

I hear you Lord.

Tears of appreciation

"More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones."

-- St. Teresa of Avila

Man, do I get this line. Ever since I asked God to show me the work He wanted me to do and to guide me in doing it, He has been all over me with both opportunity and instruction. The people and situations He has guided me to have been so amazingly meaningful and synchronous, and the surging river of experiences leaves me weepy with both appreciation and awe. There are so many committed, courageous people out there who I am so proud to know and serve, and whose contributions to me are so immense. The whole thing leaves me speechless. Well, ... almost. :-)

Experiencing abundance

"No human being, no individual, no entity can ever find peace and inner fulfillment, joy, wholeness, security and his intrinsic genius with which he uniquely contributes to creation unless he can be dedicated to a cause outside himself. This...is something you ought to clearly understand and use as yet another signpost to where you are... Only when you can truly give to creation of your unique contribution in a selfless spirit can you also feel entitled to receive, to be fulfilled, to have abundance in all ways."

-- Eva Pierrakos

This notion is striking me as so powerfully true and visible these days, as God is proving again and again in showing people that the single-minded pursuit of abundance and wealth is not it. It is not that abundance and wealth are bad things, because He wants these for us and promises them to us, but we only get to actually experience them when we are "truly giving to creation of our unique contribution in a selfless spirit." No matter how much money we make when money and security is our primary aim, it will never be enough to give us the experience of abundance and wealth. And no matter how much money we make when we give ourselves completely to our assigned role in His work, we will always experience it as great abundance and wealth.

Celebrating our ability to help each other

"There is, in fact, no limit to the benefits which human beings may bestow upon each other by the highest exertion of there caring, diligence, and skill."

-- Winston Churchill

This is the theme of Sunday, yesterday, today, and tomorrow in my world, on this particular field trip to Austin, where I am revelling in the beauty and power of friends getting together to help and support each other. It is the most awesome experience and one of life's greatest joys. I want to thank J.A., R.A., M.C., J.F., R.K., K.L., E.M., D.M., T.N., M.P., B.S., and S.S. for their participation in this magic with me on this trip.

Be aware of what is openly available

"Get to know two things about a man - how he goes about earning his money and how he chooses to spend it - and you have the clue to his true character, for you have a searchlight that shows up the innermost recesses of his soul. You know all you need to know about his standards, his motives, his driving desires, his real religion."

-- Robert J. McCracken

I make it a practice, starting with myself, to ignore people's rhetoric about their beliefs and simply observe their actions and the circumstances they create around themselves. It tells everything about a person's true beliefs.

Choose, cause, have, celebrate change

"Whatever you choose to have for yourself, give freely to others. If you choose to be more happy, cause more happiness for others. If you choose to be prosperous, cause prosperity for others. If you choose more love in your life, cause others to have more love in theirs. ... Give what you most want to have so that you can see it."

-- Neale Donald Walsch

First I found the above quote and wrote it down. It was consistent with the natural optimist in me - the believer in positive self-responsibility. Then Anne and I stretched out on the couch on a Saturday afternoon and watched the movie, "Pay It Forward," and I heard the line below and wrote it down. It made me cry and hurt. It captured my painful experience of reaching out to several families over the last few weeks and finding what seemed like "people giving up":

Trevor McKinney: "I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way they are -- even if they're bad -- to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they do, everybody loses."

The two of these quotes together represent the full yang and the yin on the subject for me - the polar opposites of the same whole - the spectrum of my emotions in the pursuit of helping people. They struck me as natural bookends - opposite of each other in one way, exactly the same in another, and both profoundly real and true - all that is.

Back to the future

"If you think there is no direct and inescapable relationship between personal integrity and a healthy, prosperous society, you simply haven't studied human history. It is no surprise that America became a 'great nation,' because it was built upon a trust in something higher than one's own selfishness. It was guided by a map of honor, faith in God, trust, freedom, law and order. These values resulted in a love, or at least a respect for every individual...our fellow humans.

Most recent values in America seem to be: acquire as much money as fast as you can with no regard as to the methodology; urgently and violently fight for economic advantage, power over others, territory, and above all 'security.' It is no wonder many of our leaders have become unethical, immoral, dishonest, or duplicitous. Historical and political philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, said it best when he wrote at the very beginning of our national life, 'America is great because America is good. If America ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.' Indeed, the same can be said of any individual.

In order to comfortably move in life, we have to have internal values, live in a culture where we are aware of society's principles, and let our personal and social ethics guide us through life as safely as we can. Some of these values include: honoring all life in its myriad forms; loving ourselves and others; communicating honestly out of respect for self and others; generosity of heart and material; mutual support; a belief in the 'basic goodness' of humans; a desire to understand and expand awareness; freedom coupled with true justice;
service to mankind. These are the 'ethics' of our founders. Can we incorporate these principles and pass them along to our offspring? If we do not, fear and chaos will indeed become the legacy of each individual American as well as that of our American culture."

-- Lloyd Thomas

What can I say, I really admire this man. He is a beacon in this world. He is calling us forth as leaders of ourselves and in every role in our lives. There is so much we can do, in fact must do, right here and now, inside our own marriages, families, businesses, and neighborhoods, to answer his call, regardless of what's going on in the bigger world. How can we even think about changing the world, if we can't change ourselves?