Thanksgiving

Today is an opportunity to look back over this year's days, weeks, and months. What are the highlights -- both the good and the bad not so good? If there was a scorecard, how would i fare? But life, thankfully, is not about points and scores. It is about doing the best we can, acknowledging unlimited grace, and growing in gratitude for all that we have.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

God of all blessings, the
source of all life,
giver of all grace.

We thank you for the gift of life:
for the breath
that sustains life,
for the food of this earth
that nurtures life,
for the love of family and friends
without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of creation:
for the beauty
that the eye can see,
for the joy
that the ear may hear,
for the unknown
that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder,
for the expanse of space
that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We thank you for setting us in communities:
for families
who nurture our becoming,
for friends
who love us by choice,
for companions at work,
who share our burdens and daily tasks,
for strangers
who welcome us into their midst,
for people from other lands
who call us to grow in understanding,
for children
who lighten our moments with delight,
for the unborn,
who offer us hope for the future.

We thank you for this day:
for life
and one more day to love,
for opportunity
and one more day to work for justice and peace,
for neighbors
and one more person to love
and by whom be loved,
for your grace
and one more experience of your presence,
for your promise:
to be with us,
to be our God,
and to give salvation.

For these, and all blessings,
we give you thanks, eternal, loving God,
through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

- Vienna Cobb Anderson

We'll Get There

Everything has a its own time. Mending takes time. Healing takes time. Some things just need to be left alone so that they become what they are supposed to become, by design. Just as when fruits are sweetest when they are left to ripen on their own.

I know of a late bloomer. But that is a misnomer. We mature blossom at just the right time. We evolve, transform, change into the highest version (hopefully) of ourselves when ripe.

Appreciate the process. 

God opens millions of flowers, without forcing the buds. It reminds us not to force anything, for things happen in the right time. 

- Unknown

Flowers Lift Our Spirits

"My momma told me there'll be days like this" goes one rocker's ditty. I get that sinking feeling every now and then and i have learned that such days are just part of life. We cannot anesthetize and pretend they are not there. There is no escaping them. 

We can learn from the artists whose very own spells of gloom served as grist for their greatest works. I take inspiration from the likes of Georgia O'Keeffe who is said to have battled lifelong melancholia. She transmuted the doldrums into beautifully arousing artwork, many of which are flowers as subject. 

Cheer someone up (even your self) today with a bouquet. Or paint yourself some flowers.

Flowers in the Water

Photo by Jan Messersmith

The water took everything away...your possessions, your work, your street, your town, your city, your friends, your family...your life. It is a sad, sad time. There are really no words enough to describe it. Its purpose or redeeming value is hard to find. I pray that you manage to hold on to hope.

Some years ago i have been there to Tacloban and made my way down south of your city, grateful to have stored in my memory of your city images of warmth, love, simplicity, and charm. I will hold on to that for you. 

And if i have the chance to be back there -- i will pay my respects... with flowers in the water.

Flowers Among the Rubble

I do not want to add to the noise that's out there -- about how slow or how inefficient is our government's response to the victims of the unimaginably horrific typhoon Yolanda. I must be careful to guard my heart and keep it focused on what is essential -- to lift a finger in whatever way to help, to cast prayers and not aspersions on anyone.

Viewed tv footage of a man who lost his home and loved ones cooking and sharing his meal with his neighbors.

For all that's been said and done, even in the direst of circumstances, goodness will triumph from it all. 

Flowers in The Ruins

These are some shots i took when we had a very quick touristy stop straight from the airport at the oft visited The Ruins in Talisay, Bacolod. I thought that the brave water lily blossoms made this a poignant scene. Where life, love and passion once stood, only a skeleton of what once was remains.

Just yesterday huge tremors shook the south and left centuries old churches in ruins... beautiful frescoes and murals now only a memory.

Yet the spirit, the indomitable spirit will blossom like stubborn flowers in the ruins.

Your Timely Detox

In the photos are the flowers of the Laurel Clock Vine. In the morning they open up to the world and when evening comes they tuck in their petals and bid everyone goodnight, following nature's rhythm and cycles. Such wisdom from the Creator of the whole universe.

There are set rhythms we should avoid tampering with...or turning upside down such as work and rest, being awake and sleeping, night and day.

Listen to your body. Rest if you must. Have some rang jeud tea.

In Malaysia, juice from crushed leaves of T. laurifolia are taken for menorrhagia, placed into the ear for deafness, and applied for poulticing cuts and boils (Burkill, 1966). In Thailand, leaves are used as an antipyretic, as well as an antidote for detoxifying poisons (Kanchanapoom et al., 2002). Several Thai herbal companies have started producing and exporting rang jeud tea (Chan & Lim, 2006). The tea has been claimed to be able to detoxify the harmful effects of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. (Wikipedia)

I used to think Ruffa was a weird name. Pronouncing it seemed like i was disappointed in something or someone was toxic to be around. Would you name your newborn daughter Thunbergia laurifolia? Laurie for short.

Sorry for the disjunction. A detox nap is in order.