When life deals you a challenge you have to make it a positive, learning experience. Unemployment in a stagnant economy can be very frustrating. Searching for jobs that just aren't there. Watching businesses close, employed friends working long, stressful hours to cover the jobs cut from their workplace, and politicians living like kings showing they know how to make proclamations, but not jobs. There is so much to push us into a deep, self eroding depression. But as we travel through this difficult time we must realize that the clock is ticking on our life. It's not a stopwatch that can be paused for time to re-adjust. As the minutes, hours and days pass, we need watch the clock and continue our journey.
While I must admit I do suffer bouts of depression and frustration, I also experience a great deal of growth and inspiration. Tightening the budget of the unemployment check has helped me to sharpen my creative shopping, meal planning and entertaining skills. I don't have the excuse of too many hours at work to stop me from doing volunteer work, attend mass and use the gifts God gave me to inspire and encourage others.
As I search for employment I am guided by the job I do today. I am always on the clock. My boss is very hands on and is always there if I need help. He is forgiving when I slack off and appreciative when I give that extra effort. And I offer myself for those added difficult projects. Though I don't receive a weekly paycheck for this 24/7 career position, I do receive full benefits of spiritual growth and nurturing and a afterlife pension of eternal peace and happiness. It's a long term commitment and investment.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
When God Hands Me His Paintbrush
After witnessing the beauty of raindrops on turning leaves. Having watched as a dramatic cluster of cold, grey clouds gave way to cracks of bright orange evening sunbeams. I viewed the art of God's imagination with the usual awe. Later, when I have exhausted my energy and pulled up the blanket, and my head slowly sinks into my pillow, I drift off to God's studio where He hands me His paintbrush.
As my pulse beats slow and steady and my body goes into temporary shut down, I take God's paintbrush and create from what I know. People, memories, and my imagination converge on my nighttime canvas. With a stroke of the brush I display my fears and anxieties. I add details of humor and irony to give a more pleasant nature. Colors swirl to create a mix of reality and fantasy. Places are represented by the emotion I recall, not by the reality of their layout or location. Furiously I paint. Until God sees a finished masterpiece.
As morning breaks I hand back the paintbrush. If I am satisfied with my creation, it is framed and hung in my waking memory. If I am not, it is quickly painted over in a whitewash and left on the easel for another session. I can't help but wonder if my afterlife will begin in God's studio. A blank canvas to be created out of the memory of all that I will have learned and experienced in life. In the meantime, I will enjoy the creative process. And try to do justice as I study with the Master.
As my pulse beats slow and steady and my body goes into temporary shut down, I take God's paintbrush and create from what I know. People, memories, and my imagination converge on my nighttime canvas. With a stroke of the brush I display my fears and anxieties. I add details of humor and irony to give a more pleasant nature. Colors swirl to create a mix of reality and fantasy. Places are represented by the emotion I recall, not by the reality of their layout or location. Furiously I paint. Until God sees a finished masterpiece.
As morning breaks I hand back the paintbrush. If I am satisfied with my creation, it is framed and hung in my waking memory. If I am not, it is quickly painted over in a whitewash and left on the easel for another session. I can't help but wonder if my afterlife will begin in God's studio. A blank canvas to be created out of the memory of all that I will have learned and experienced in life. In the meantime, I will enjoy the creative process. And try to do justice as I study with the Master.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Loving Autumn
The trees are beginning to lose their green as the days grow shorter and the temperature falls. Wildlife is everywhere, gathering their stash for the coming winter. My garden is pushing out the last fruits of my labor. A warm blanket is comforting on a cool Fall evening.
I love Autumn. To me it is the wise old season that follows the life giving spring and the fast and productive summer. Autumn is the time to look back at the previous seasons and to let nature prepare for the cold death of winter. After battling wildlife and elements in the Summer, Autumn allows me to surrender to the inevitability of my garden's demise. I still search for that last juicy tomato, or that squash that is now golden and ready for harvest. They may be far and few, but they are savored for their rarity and tenacity to survive.
The 'Autumn' years of life are much the same. I appreciate the wisdom I gather from those whose youthful greenery has faded and been replaced by a brilliant silver. I seek the last fruits of a labor made through years of knowledge gathering from those who look back on their golden Summers and youthful Springs. As they prepare for the cold, dark Winter, we in our Summer years can offer them warmth. An ear to hear their tales of standing like the mighty oak, lush and green, before the leaves began to fall and the season of their prime faded and passed, waiting for a new crop.
Like this time of year, the Autumn years are a time to see the beauty of a life's cycle. To assess what we have learned for the sake of a more bountiful harvest from the crop that will grow next spring. To pass on the knowledge we have gained to strengthen the green buds of May. They cycle continues. But each year can yield a better harvest if we take time to learn from the one we reap today.
I love Autumn. To me it is the wise old season that follows the life giving spring and the fast and productive summer. Autumn is the time to look back at the previous seasons and to let nature prepare for the cold death of winter. After battling wildlife and elements in the Summer, Autumn allows me to surrender to the inevitability of my garden's demise. I still search for that last juicy tomato, or that squash that is now golden and ready for harvest. They may be far and few, but they are savored for their rarity and tenacity to survive.
The 'Autumn' years of life are much the same. I appreciate the wisdom I gather from those whose youthful greenery has faded and been replaced by a brilliant silver. I seek the last fruits of a labor made through years of knowledge gathering from those who look back on their golden Summers and youthful Springs. As they prepare for the cold, dark Winter, we in our Summer years can offer them warmth. An ear to hear their tales of standing like the mighty oak, lush and green, before the leaves began to fall and the season of their prime faded and passed, waiting for a new crop.
Like this time of year, the Autumn years are a time to see the beauty of a life's cycle. To assess what we have learned for the sake of a more bountiful harvest from the crop that will grow next spring. To pass on the knowledge we have gained to strengthen the green buds of May. They cycle continues. But each year can yield a better harvest if we take time to learn from the one we reap today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)