Recently I was told a beautiful way to pray.  Quietly sit and remember all those who love you, bring to mind the beauty of nature, consider the miracle of life itself and be grounded within yourself.  Imagine roots going into the earth, anchoring you in this place we call home.  Then reach up to the heavens and feel grace surrounding you like the warmth of the sun.  Thus centered between heaven and earth, you are now ready to be a channel for God. Next lift up those you care about, those in need of healing, difficult situations in need of peace, and the unspoken intentions of your heart. 

Here comes the dangerous part.  Know when you pray from this sacred place, your words demand action.  It is easy to ask for what we want, but it is another thing to commit to potentially being part of the answer.  When you pray, God just might put you to work.  Are you listening?

Daring to pray,

April 11

Writing My Life’s Script.

The astute reader may discern a progression in my sharing from week to week.

• To be born is a gift – Recognizing I am the only me there will ever be for all eternity

• We are all in this together – In opening my heart to others, I find my truest sel

• Love always lasts – Life’s most cherished moments are wrapped in love and never die

Why is it, that the same eyes which instinctively perceive these deep truths at the beginning and end of life, can be so blind all the days between?  I’m discovering the real purpose of my sabbatical is to wake up to what’s already in front of me.  Each day I’m writing the script of my life.

So if I want to complete an Ironman when I’m 60 (in a mere 4 years) then I need to work on my daily fitness routine now. Thus the recently acquired trampoline.  (Future picture to be posted.)

If I want to retire one day in a community of friends, then I need to foster caring relationships at the dining room table on a regular basis.

If I hope to spend the next few decades with Patrick (10/10/2018 is our 20^th wedding anniversary), then it makes a difference how I greet him at the door tonight.

Every day, in a million ways big and small, I actually have the power to shape my life, if only I open my eyes.  

So what big change do you want to see in your life tomorrow? And what small step are you going to take today?

April 9 

My kids are my greatest teachers.

April 4

Love always lasts.

Last week, Patrick and I lived Holy Week as we watched Patrick’s dad transition from this life to the next.  Kathleen, Patrick’s sister commented on how this period paralleled waiting for the birth of a child.  The day after Easter, Bill Canavan, died at the age of 88 with his son Kevin by his side on the 25^th anniversary of his wife Jean Ann’s death.  The room was filled with music and much love. 

Recently I was told that the reason why the great spiritual teachers from all faiths are such joyous people is because they know one of life’s deepest truths.  We never lose that which we love.  Love just changes form but love always lasts.

So now we are living on this side of Easter.  A running friend is being married this week.  Another friend invited us to a baby shower.  And we will say goodbye to Bill.  I’m holding all these moments in my heart, grateful that love continues forever.

April 2

Clearing

by Martha Postlewaite

Do not try to save
the whole world
or do anything grandiose.
Instead, create
a clearing
in the dense forest
of your life
and wait there
patiently,
until the song
that is your life
falls into your own cupped hands
and you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know
how to give yourself
to this world
so worth of rescue.

March 28

We are all in this together.

This sabbatical has brought me to the most unexpected places.  I met real wolves while volunteering as a counselor at a wellness camp in Malibu.  Until 70,000 years ago, wolves were the dominant hunters on earth.  Humans took their place only after we developed the capacity to collaborate together.  We survive and thrive, not through competition, but most phenomenally when we share our gifts and talents for the benefit of the human family.

Paradoxically, when I start the day by myself in quiet meditation, I bring to heart the many people who come to mind.  I lift them up by name and write down their needs on little slips of paper.  After a while it gets sort of crowded in my meditation space, mystically speaking.  I’ve been doing this for weeks now.  The strangest part of it all is that I have no idea if my intentions effect the lives of others.  But I tell you more surprisingly is that I have been in the past few weeks.  Using the energy of my heart to serve others on a daily basis, is making me kinder and more open.  I’m happiest when I focus on others.  It is in giving that we receive.

Loving Kindness Meditation

I adapted this from Sharon Salzberg's book Real Happiness.

On an index card, I wrote out the following:

May I be filled with loving kindness.

May I be safe from inner and outer danger.

May I be well in body and mind.

May I be happy and at ease.

I then sit comfortably in a quiet place and reflectively apply the words to five groups:

1. I say the meditation for myself - realizing I need to love myself in order to have something to give to others.

2. I repeat the meditation but this time replace the word "I" with the name of someone I care about or promised to pray for.  I go through this name by name for each person on my heart.

3. I repeat the meditation for someone neutral in my life.  It could be for the cashier at the grocery store, the neighbor across the street, or someone I see regularly whose name I don't even know.  This reminds me that everyone who crosses my path touches my life is someway even if I don't recognize it.

4. I repeat the meditation for a difficult person in my life like someone who hurt me, a family member with whom I've had a fight, etc.

5. Finally, replace the word "I" with the word "all" as a reminder that we are all in this together.

I just started a 7 week online course called the Power of Awareness.

Jack Kornfield, one of the instructors, provides the following guidance on Lovingkindness:

https://jackkornfield.com/meditation-lovingkindness/

March 22

To be born is to be chosen...

I read this in the book "To Bless the Space Between Us" by John O'Donohue.  The complete sentence reads "To be born is to be chosen. To be created and come to birth is to be blessed."  "To be born is to be chosen. There is something special that each of us has to do in the world.  If someone else could do it, they would be here and not us.  One of the fascinating questions is to decipher what one's destiny is.  At the heart of each destiny is hidden a unique calling.  What is it you are called to do?'

This beautifully sums up why I am on sabbatical.  There's something more that I am called to do.  O'Donohue's book includes a prayer for a new beginning.  It poetically captures the journey I've begun.

For a New Beginning

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming,

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,

Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,

Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,

Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,

And out you stepped onto new ground,

Your eyes young again with energy and dream,

A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

The first half of the year I'm training with the cycle team and the second half I'll train with the marathon team.

August 19, 2018 - Covered Bridges Classic - Metric Century

Our bike team is called the Noodles.  It's a long story, if you ever join me for a training ride or run, I'll tell it to you.

On a Sunday in the middle of August 19, I'll ride 65 miles with my TNT bike friends through Amish country in Lancaster, PA.

January 12-13, 2019 - Walt Disney World Marathon & Half Marathon

  My friend Roger made this marathon debut at the Boston Marathon in 2018.  After a snowy training run together in Andover, MA, we agreed to sign up for a sunny Florida race.  Cat and Pat, Roger's daughter and son-in-law, will join us as well.  Now I just have to decide if I'm doing the full marathon, the half marathon, or both.  Fortunately, I have half a year to decide and train.

May 20 - Capitol Hill Classic 10K

In a week swamped with rain, Sunday was the one sunny day.  It was a great day for a run.

I finished in under an hour so I was happy with my results.

This was the 5th time I ran this favorite local 10K.

2018   57:36   (9:17 pace)

2015   55:39  (8:57 pace)

2014   58:20  (9:23 pace)

2013   59:49  (9:37 pace)

2012   52:14  (8:24 pace)

April 18 - I love my trampoline.

April 8 - Boston Marathon Training Run

Roger is a close family friend.  He is cantoring for Patrick's Dad's funeral mass and also happens to be training for the Boston Marathon.  A week from Monday, Roger makes his marathon debut.  This morning we ran 8 miles through Andover.  I like to think I've trained for the Boston Marathon even if I never actually run it.

PS Roger successfully completed the Boston Marathon on April 16.  It proved to be the wettest, coldest, rainiest race day in 30 years.  Way to go Roger!

March 28

Garlic and Cilantro Soup with Chickpeas (Açorda a Alentejana)

Christopher Kimball

20 minutes

This soup, with its fragrant, bright green broth, is our take on Portuguese açorda a alentejana. Soft-cooked eggs are a perfect garnish that also turn the soup into a complete meal. To soft-cook eggs, bring 2 cups water to a simmer in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Add the eggs, cover and steam over medium for 7 minutes. Immediately transfer to ice water to stop the cooking.

Don't skimp on the olive oil in this soup. The croutons absorb oil as they toast and the broth takes on a rich, creamy texture when the pesto is stirred in.

4 Servings 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped

1/2 ounce Parmesan cheese, finely grated (¼ cup), plus more to serve

1 jalapeño chili, stemmed and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika, divided, plus more to serve

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

5 ounces rustic bread (such as ciabatta), sliced ½ inch thick and torn into bite-size pieces (about 2 cups)

8 medium garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 1/2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth

2 15½-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

4 soft-cooked eggs, peeled (see note)

March 21

Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Crema

Click on photo for link to full recipe.

The shrimp and cabbage are 0 SPs in Weight Watchers. I substituted non-fat Greek yogurt for 0 SPs.  Avocado Oil has 4 SPs per Tablespoon but that is spread over 8 servings.  I used guacamole instead of fresh avocado (1 SP per Tablespoon) and extra thin Mission corn tortillas (3 SPs for 2 tortillas) so my two taco dinner came in at around 5 SPs. Delicious