September

Spirit Garden Reflections

Enough for Today

Give us this day our daily bread.

-Matthew 6:11

Welcome to the Reflection for September!

We have crossed the threshold into the season of fall.  The days are getting shorter and the air is getting crisper.  The leaves are turning brilliant colours as the trees begin the process of turning their energy inward.

This shift of turning inward is happening within each of our own lives.  I find myself making the shift rather reluctantly this year.  I have enjoyed the long hours of being outdoors this summer and have had to entice myself indoors by lighting candles and drinking tea from my favorite mug while snuggled in a warm sweater.

This change in the seasons, as well as the changes we are experiencing in our world right now, has had me slowing down and pondering the place of living from enough.  It has me questioning where I am living in excess, over-extending my energy and inner reserves, as well as where I need to find ways to nurture and tend to my soul.

So this is where our theme for this month’s reflection arises.  It is an exploration of living from the place of enough, the place we often discover when we allow ourselves to settle into the ‘now’ moment.

May this Reflection offer you a pause in your day to consider what ‘enough’ feels like and looks like in your own life.

With warm blessings,
Kathy

Enough for Today

The audio file below offers a short reflection on walking with the Sacred and living from enough.  The audio is followed by a handout with some questions that are intended to help you journal your own thoughts and experiences around this theme.

Please print these out before you listen to the audio file. You are invited to pour yourself a cup of tea or coffee and take about 20 minutes to listen to the reflection and then answer the questions.  May this be a nourishing and replenishing time of some soul tending.

Reflection Questions

Please click on the button below to download the reflection questions to go along with the reflection on Enough for Today.

If comparison is the thief of joy,
then help me to not compare my life today to my life six months ago.
Help me find the joy in THIS day and to know that it is from you and that it is enough.

-Nadia Bolz-Weber

Spirit Garden Moments

Spirit Garden Moments offer a short pause in your day and an opportunity for reflection.  Below is a Spirit Garden Moment inspired by a moment of generosity and kindness from a stranger when going through the drive-through at Starbucks.  Enjoy!

Surprising Acts of Love

sun beams on rock shaped heart

The month of September has a way of showcasing the generosity of nature.  The stands at our local Farmer’s Markets are full to overflowing with produce.  I spent much of this past weekend standing in my kitchen, peeling and chopping vegetables to make a whole variety of soups to fill my freezer.

So, generosity has been on my mind these days and I wanted to share a little story with you.  It started off by receiving a Starbucks gift card in the mail from my mom.  It came with a little note about how much we both enjoy pumpkin lattes at this time of year.  Since we can’t be together right now, she sent the card so that my husband and I could have a little treat.

Last week, John and I decided to go through the drive-through at Starbucks so we could take a treat home and sit on our deck and have some time together.  When we got to the window to pay for our order, the Barrista told us that our bill had already been taken care of.  It turns out that the person in front of us paid for our order because the person in front of her had paid for her order.  She wanted to pass the kindness along to us.

John and I were so touched that a complete stranger paid for our order that we wanted to pass that feeling along, so we paid for the person behind us in line.

I cannot tell you how wonderful it felt to be the recipient of this act of kindness and then to pay it forward.  In these days of social distancing and ramped up anxiety because of Covid19, being a part of these small acts of generosity touched our hearts so deeply.

It has been a reminder that love is not just a feeling.  Love is conveyed through our actions.  Every kindness we offer, every act we do from a spirit of generosity lifts others up and feeds our own hearts.

Generosity begets generosity.

Generosity is built into all of creation.  When we act on it, we plant on-going seeds of love.

In times of uncertainty, like we are experiencing now, I have found the following words from Joan Chittister to be very helpful, she says:

“What breeds hopelessness is the failure to pursue the possible in the imperfect.”

These days of living through a pandemic give us ample opportunity to practice doing the possible in the midst of imperfect circumstances.

What is possible for you to do today to show love and kindness to yourself, to your friends, and to complete strangers?  How is it possible to live with a spirit of generosity?  How creative can we all get in sharing some love and kindness in these imperfect circumstances?

As this month continues to unfold and we transition to the season of fall, may you notice and be nourished by beauty, generosity and surprising acts of love.

A Song to Close Your Reflection

I leave you with this song, We Can be Kind by Nancy Lamott, may it touch your heart today.

leaves

In Closing

In the days to come, may you find yourself opening to breathe in the kindness of others, then breathe it back out, passing it forward to someone else.  Together, may we keep the breath of kindness moving.

With love,
Kathy

leaves
Kathy at the beach

Connect & Share

Please share any comments about the course in the comments below. Make sure to check out what others are posting and encourage each other!

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *