Evening News

Last night I did something I hadn't done for a while. I watched the news. It's so easy to listen to the news and come up with a world that is filled with violence and politics. It reminded me of the period of time we lived in Australia, It was coming near the end of our time in the country and we were preparing to come back to the United States. But before we came home we sat with our other dear American friends and talked about the news from 'home'. The papers talked of a country where walking down the street was dangerous. There was violence everywhere and no one was safe. We debated just before we left if we should stay in Australia. But in the end we left Australia on Christmas Day and started our extended travel through the Sout Pacific.

I realized that in the last fifteen years since I was called to be a minister that I have not paid a great deal of attention to the news of the world. Instead I have been living in my ministerial world. It has been the classi 'be in the world but not of the world.'

This is the continual moving from the ego/comparison/judgement of the human side to the spiritual/love filled Divine side of the world. This has helped to provide balance and a foundation to a simpler place. Our biggest difficulty is that we are continually trying to figure it out. We forget figuring it out is not one of the requirements to be here. Our mind gets caught up and suddenly again we are in maze that has no ending. It has always been said that life is about the journey and not the destination.

So in the end I keep on trying to just simplify everything. It's like growing my produce in the backyard. As long as I have good dirt, fertilizer, and Mother Nature's help I will have bumper crops. So I am on planet Earth which provides all the spiritual I need. My life is filled with duka (human fertilizer) which helps me provide the food of thought. I notice that my stress level goes up when I try to figure it out. Sometimes I just have to say "STOP IT!" and let the flow be about slowing down and meditation and prayer. These are the sacred times of life.

So I learned a lesson last night and was so reminded about staying away from the news. It is filled about the train wreck they want to tell us about but there is so much more. So I will go this morning out into my back patio, turn on my bubble machine, and spend some time with my tomatoes and peppers and watch the hummingbirds as they feed away and yell at each other.

How' your morning today? Make this a day of going with the flow and allowing all else to fall awy to the side. Do what feeds your soul this morning. Enjoy yourself..............