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Spring is on the way. I have noticed the tulips on the
south side of my house are starting to come up and
the trees are starting to bud. I love this time of year.
Everyday is a reaffirmation of life as the plants begin to
grow and turn green.
Did you try to observe
the total lunar
eclipse last month? I did. I was outside with my
binoculars watching the event. It started a bit hazy, but
I could still see the shadow crossing the moon at
about 7 PM. I went out about 20 minutes later and I
could not even tell where the moon was. Much to my
dismay the weather report was correct and it was a
cloudy night. Finally at 8, when the eclipse was
suppose to be full, I gave up and decided there was
no point in checking anymore.
I was up early
the next morning and walked to the end of the driveway
to get the paper. And there, just above the mountains,
was a beautiful full moon, the very same moon I had
been unable to see just nine hours before!
How quickly circumstances can change for
all of us. Life continues to take us in different
directions when we least expect it. And in
my life, I have decided to take a break from Soul Food
until September at least. I will continue to send out the
newsletter. I will also be sending out a survey in the
next couple of weeks. I hope you will take the time to
respond. In the mean time, I am going to be building
my practice, becoming a better singer, learning piano
and enjoying life. I hope you will also do those things
you enjoy most.
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Let Your Light Shine and Others Will Shine Too.
Lessons From a Movie.
For a recent family movie night, we watched
Akeelah and the Bee, a fabulous movie about
an eleven year old girl with a gift and love for spelling.
At first, she doesn't want to acknowledge her gift.
There are too many other things going on in her life.
Her mother is supporting the family after the death of
her father and her brother is in a gang. But as she
learns to honor her gift, she finds love and support
she didn't know she had.
I was struck by a
quote in the movie. This quote has been attributed to
both Nelson Mandela and Marianne Williamson, but I
have never heard the whole thing before. It goes like
this:
Our deepest fear is not that we
are
inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful
beyond measure. We ask ourselves, who am I to be
brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous. Actually,
who are you not to be? We were born to make
manifest the glory of God that's within us. And as we
let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other
people permission to do the same.
What
would happen if we made manifest the glory of God
within us? Would that glory rub off on other people?
Would we live in peace and harmony with those who
looked differently or believed differently? Would we
care about our environment and stop global
warming? Would we cherish all life? I believe
embracing our power and the God within us would
change everything. It would change the world. And
then what a wonderful place it would be.
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Taking Risks.
Lessons From Football.
As you may know I am from Wisconsin, and that
means I am a Packer fan. On March 6, Brett Farve,
arguably the greatest quarterback to play the game,
decided to retire after 17 years and one of his best
seasons. He holds seven NFL records:
- Passing yards at 61,655
- Passing attempts at 8,758
- Pass completions at 5,377
- Touchdown passes at 442
- Career wins at 160
- Career starts at 255, 275 including playoff
games
- AND INTERCEPTIONS at 288
What?? 288 interceptions? Yep, that's
right. If Farve thought he could get the football to
Donald Driver, Robert Brooks or Antonio Freeman, he
threw it. Sometimes the football found an opposing
player. When he threw an interception, most of the
time Farve laughed at himself and shook his head. To
him football was fun and there is no other player who
had more fun playing football.
What would
have happened if Farve hadn't thrown all those
interceptions? I don't think he would have set all those
records. He dared to take a risk, which is what made
him great. And he had fun doing it. If we want to be
great at our chosen endeavor, we must take a risk.
What if we fail? That's okay, because the more you
risks you take the more you learn and the more you
succeed. And don't forget to have fun and laugh at
yourself. Beating yourself up will only bring you down.
Will another quarterback top Farve, like Farve
topped Marino and Elway? Maybe, but only if he is will
to take risks and throw those interceptions.
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Grace and Peace,
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