Summer Solstice 2008

The Summer Solstice is the time when the sun is in its glory in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the longest day of the year and the shortest night. The summer solstice falls on June 21st or 22nd every year. In terms of the position of the sun relative to Earth, the summer solstice in eastern US is at 7:59 p.m. Historically, the summer solstice was called Midsummer because it occurs about halfway through the European growing season.

Midsummer Night had a focus for lovers and nature, the forest and the perception of magic in the shortest night of the year. It was a time for a maiden to discover her future husband’s identity. It was a time of bonfires and celebration. Maidens decorated their hair with flowers and young men jumped through the flames. It was a joyous time with firelight on all the hills and peaks of England. Dancing and music and gaiety were the order of the day and night.

Linking people to the land and the stars, solstice celebrations are often considered to be pagan. Certainly they have pagan roots, as we all do. It is a grand time to celebrate the season of summer and reflect on growth within ourselves and growth around us.

Christians celebrate the solstice too, particularly in agrarian societies. We plant seeds in soil and nurture them to provide us with food and sustenance. You do not have to be pagan to celebrate the solstice. God made Earth and sun and set our planet into orbit. The solstice is a day of special notice in the annual cycle of planetary movement.

Listen to the gifts of Creation all around you. Give thanks with a grateful heart that you are able to celebrate and appreciate God’s bounty. Be mindful of the slight changes in the wind and temperature. Notice life in abundance. Take time and pay special attention to how the day feels and notice the night as it comes around you. Cherish the moment and be thankful.

The Summer Solstice is an excellent time to pay attention to harmony and healing in your life. It is a time to nurture the seeds we have planted in our souls. What seeds in your spirit are coming to full season now? Are you mindful of the abundance of energy around you?

A Summer Solstice Prayer
God of Creation, let the light of
this Summer Solstice glow in our
hearts and homes.

Bless our hearts and
minds with creativity and fire our
imaginations.

We give thanks for gardens that nourish
us.

We pray the fires of compassion and
creation will eliminate hunger and
poverty, war and hatred.

Let the light of the Solstice stir us to
enthusiastic and healing responses to all
around us.

Grant comfort where it is needed.

Grant peace to all of creation.

May we embrace the fire of God’s passion and allow the light
around us to become the light within us

As we share the love of God with all the people of creation.

The Christ of the Cosmos shines throughout all the
universe and we give thanks.

AMEN June, 2008, bydpb

Remembering Tim Russert

This is a year to really THINK. And to have REAL conversations.
How often we rally 'round the latest gossip of the day instead of
allowing ourselved to fully participate in the discussion or the thought
process.

Too often do we see reporters and journalists presenting "sound bytes" or
tiny clips of trivia linked to celebrities instead of doing real
reporting or journalism. Instead of engaging disenfranchised guests and
LISTENING to them through the interview process.

Yes, the world will feel the loss of Tim Russert, even if they live
in a far away place that has never heard of him. I link this blog
title to Joan Chittister's post at NCR because she says more about him
and covers the issue really well, as always. Thanks, Joan for your insights
again. and again. and again.

Thanks Tim. Forever. Condolences to all of the family and all who mourn his death.

When one suffers, we all do

Rain and floods, crop destruction, life disruption all are part of the midwest.

Open your hearts to the people who live there and their families who wait to hear from them.

Open your hearts to the rescuers who work long hours and days to relieve their suffering.

And then remember there are floods and earthquakes all across the world. Who thinks of China or Iceland in the course of everyday life? The people who live there. And we do even for a moment when a natural disaster happens.

Send them prayers of peace in their hearts as they struggle with rebuilding their lives.

Ears at Peace

Just a few posts ago, I mentioned tinnitus, or ringing in your ears. As a preface to peace on the inside leading to peaceful actions on the outside.

Today just a short note.

Details are found at On and Off the Wall if you want to follow along.

Suffice it to say. My ears are much better than I ever imagined since the treatment at the Shea Clinic in Memphis. My hearing has more clarity and even tests out better on the audiology report. I acknowledge this is a PROCESS, not a one time fix-it.

But I also celebrate progress and the ability to think clearly for longer periods of time. I give thanks for this growing internal peace all day everyday.

When this began, there were no treatments available to remedy tinnitus. The prevailing thought was "Too bad, you'll just have to learn to live with it." And Live With It I did for a long time. Now the prevailing thought regarding treatment is to teach people HOW to live with it. And research is focussed on finding causes and cures.

Meanwhile, in Memphis, there stands a surgeon who seeks remedial action for patients now, not twenty years from now. And he has been treating people with success with these techniques for more than 15 years.

I am grateful. People ask me if I am resentful because all of this time I did not know about this procedure. No. I may wish it were different but I am not resentful. My life has been blessed in many ways despite the challenges of severe tinnitus. And perhaps the need to listen "through" the sound has helped me become who I am today with the courage to stand up and express what is important. Be Peace and Do Justice. Live Simply.

I thank God for the guidance and support I had to get me to and through the operations. Both ears are much improved. I need ask for nothing more.

You see, some of that peace has already been growing in a climate of noise and now it has the opportunity to blossom. I can only be thankful.

You might appreciate my newsletter on being thankful. Think Thanks.
An attitude of gratitude supports success.