Yesterday I had somewhat of a tough day.... actually a tough birthday.... I didn't hear a well-wishing peep from those I expected to hear from immediately. One ended up texting me later to ask what I was up to. I mentioned it was my birthday and the only words I got in response were an apprisal of the unseasonably cold weather conditions in his neck of the country.
Then the person who had invited me out for dinner materialized hours later than expected.... with a to-go box.... containing my dinner ...... though I'd long since eaten. He then darted off to go 'kick it' with his girlfriend whom he'd spent the better part of the day with. Evidently he had a to-go order to deliver to her as well.
Add to that the fact that I could not take myself out to do anything celebratory since i am due a great deal of backpay, the bulk of which I was promised I would receive yesterday..... Put it all together and it was easy to fall into the pouty poor poor pitiful me syndrome... which I did... despite knowing better.
And then....... then......
I got a text
from a friend in India of all places
wishing me a beautiful birthday.
A friend who I had no idea knew when my birthday was and whom I've been missing for quite awhile.
And then......
I was chatting with a friend on Facebook... when the birthday came up ... when he sent this reply, "Sorry I can't be there to spoil you".... I've never had anyone say anything like that to me before. It floored me. I have said that to a few people... and meant it... but to be on the receiving end was very humbling.
And then....
if that wasn't enough,
I received this message from a a friend I'd only recently been getting to know "You're remarkable, funny, brilliant and beyond beautiful. Beyond beyond! Happy Birthday, Joy!!! So happy to know fabulous you!"
And then....
I realized how fortunate I was... how the love I craved was there... I had just been looking in the wrong places, and wanting it from the wrong people.
And now....
I am a little bit wiser than I was earlier in the week... when I was younger :)
and I am grateful for the gifts of grace and kindness I received for my birthday -- gifts that will remain with me and mean more to me longer than any boxed item ever could, no matter how pretty the wrapping.
gratefully yours...
I dubbed this blog and its accompanying Facebook group LOVE 24/7. Not only do we all need love, but we need it at all times, and in a variety of ways. More and more, I am learning the value and importance of constancy and consistency.
Yesterday, out of the blue, I posted these words as a Facebook update: "To the sun... there is no night..... ever". I had no idea why I decided to post that, but it did get me pondering. We tend to think of the good in our lives as being cyclical and fluctuating. The axiom 'It's always darkest before the dawn', while meant to cheer and bolster one who is going through a rough patch, still includes the concept that the sun's light is not constant in your life. That things may be dark now but they are bound to get better.
But what if you lived at the center of that sun? Would you look out on a bleak canvas of blackness? Or would you see your rays going out in every direction, lighting everything they touch, and doing so constantly... 24/7. Now picture the same as it applies to the good and the love in your life. Just because you may not see the sun or good or love for a time does not mean they are not there, nor does it mean they have dimmed or diminished.
If your eyes are closed or you have ensconced yourself in a dark closet you may not be able to see the sun, let alone the wonderful things it is illuminating all around you. But the fortunate news is, it is all still there. You only need to get out of that closet or open your eyes.
The sun is there.
The good is there.
The love is there
24/7.
with light and love.....
The other day I wrote about that sweet viral occurrence known as the ripple effect.
Today I am thinking there is an even greater, lovelier, more powerful effect -- that of simultaneous good.
I was enjoying the proverbial 'reason for the season' by watching a touching video account of what things would've been like If Mary and Joseph Used Facebook.
It includes 'likes', the creation of groups, totally believable reactions from faux friends, geo-tracking... all the latest and greatest FB has to offer. While going with the flow of the video I was momentarily arrested by an entry about the famous shepherds that were quietly going about their business in the hills nearby. Joseph wrote "Some shepherds just showed up"... and then:
The idea that "they already knew" was what got me.
HOW did they know?
How could they know?
If we go with the idea of the ripple effect then someone must have witnessed or heard about Jesus' birth first-hand and told someone else who told someone else until the news traveled along a line of communication to the shepherds. But this was not the case. They got the message, the "good news" straight from the source, from the Divine Love that was there on the scene orchestrating the entire event and keeping the babe safe from the bustling environment of the "inn" that Joseph and Mary were turned away from.
I realized this kind of cause and effect has great implications when it comes to our lives and economy. Elementary economic theory indicates that their is a trickle down effect when money stops flowing somewhere. If your boss does not pay you, you can't pay your gardener who can't pay his plumber who can't pay his babysitter who can't pay her bills.... a downward spiral scenario we are confronted with daily.
But what if we are not dependent on others who are dependent on others? What if we get our information and news straight from the source and are dependent only on the report that comes to us from Divine Love?
When our thought is open and calm, free from the clamor of society's distractions... as was the shepherds'.... then we can tune in and hear the angel's song assuring us of glory, peace on earth and goodwill toward men.... and we can start living out from that premise, that standpoint of good news, and expect peace of mind and goodwill toward us. And soon, every day can feel like Christmas.
