GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

Before I move forward with the Message for this morning, I feel I need to say something about what happened Wednesday in our Nation’s Capital.

I am certain that most of us were and maybe still are shocked and dismayed at the actions of those fellow Americans who choose to attack our Capital and place in danger those people who were and are there to do the business of our Government, as well as in-danger democracy itself.

I ask you all to remember the Unity Principles as you connect with your Higher Self and work through your feelings and find the answer to our question: “What is mine to do?”

Remember, the power of God is greater than any human circumstances.

I will be talking more about this next week when we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Daily Quarantine Questions

Hello, my friends, and it’s great to be with you this morning. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that we are finally into year 2021. Our hopes are all wrapped up in this year…

But what is hope?

Dictionary says: the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best; a particular instance of this feeling.

Metaphysical meaning of hope from the Revealing Word-Hope is the expectation of good in the future. It is a quality (good as far as it goes) of sense mind because it is subject to time.

But isn’t this quote from Barack Obama wonderfully full of what hope most likely means to many of us:

“Hope is not blind optimism. It is not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It’s not sitting on the sidelines or shrinking from a fight.

Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it.

Hope is the belief that destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by the men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be.”

I just thought that was too wonderful not to share. And it is a good introduction to today’s Message…Daily Quarantine Questions.

We are into our 11^th month of the pandemic if we start with February. Ten months of various forms of quarantine. We have adjusted somewhat to the demands a pandemic makes on our lives.  We have prayed for those who have been infected by the virus, rejoiced for those who have recovered. And cried and prayed for those who have not recovered.

We have learned to have respect and even caring for those on every front line, from First Responders to grocery clerks to trach collectors to restaurant workers to childcare teachers and schoolteachers and cafeteria workers.

We never thought twice for many of the people who worked during the pandemic while others were safe within their homes. The Service workers still worked as best as they could. The Funeral Directors still tried to treat each death as a person with loved ones. The Ministers still tried to keep in touch with their congregations. The police still tried to have compassion as they interacted with many of their people.

We all did our best…most of the time. Every once and again, the frustration got to us, before we remembered that when we did something that was without the COVID precautions, we were not just potentially harming ourselves, but ANYONE we were near.

SO, we wore our mask, and stayed apart and washed our hands.

And we continue to do that.

But now, we have a light at the end of the tunnel…a slightly long tunnel, but the end just the same.

So, don’t lose hope. Don’t lose the twinkle in your eye and the strength in your heart.

Continue to chat with your contact person. Reach out to the people you know and even maybe someone you don’t. Get in touch with your inner Christ.

Spend some time connecting to our Monday Meditation. All you must do is contact me or Karen Laughman to get linked in.

Read some good books…I can recommend a few good Unity books. I’ll send some suggestions to be placed on the Wednesday email.

Chat with you housemate or friends about what you are thinking about the books you are reading, or even me and these weekly Messages!

Daily Quarantine Questions pic

And here are some more things for you to ponder…

What am I grateful for today?

We talk a lot about how important gratitude is for our spiritual growth.

Gratitude is the heart’s response to life’s infinite blessings.

“Being grateful does not mean that everything is necessarily good. It just means that you can accept it as a gift.”
― Roy T. Bennett

“As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful. They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness — just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breath it; just warmth and shelter and home folks; just plain food that gives us strength; the bright sunshine on a cold day; and a cool breeze when the day is warm.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder: On Wisdom and Virtues

 “Gratitude is one of the most powerful human emotions. Once expressed, it changes attitude, brightens outlook, and broadens our perspective.”
― Germany Kent

Who am I checking in on or connecting with today?

It’s so easy to check in with a friend, relative, even neighbor. Maybe you were thinking of a time when we were all together at the Unity Spiritual Center and you smiled as you thought of a friend you met there.

It’s so important to keep in touch with people we know. This is the reason I’ve asked the Board and the Prayer Chaplains to take a few of our people and stay in touch with them.

An email or text is ok, but a call is even better because then you, at the other end of the tin can and string get to hear a voice and exchange what is happening with you and your world.

Give it a try. And next time your contact person calls or emails, get back with them…they need interaction with others too.

Here’s a list of ‘ice-breakers – ideas to help you connect with your friends, neighbors and anyone you wish to connect with.

https://www.joincake.com/blog/just-checking-in/

What expectations of “normal” am I letting go of today?

Let’s face it, we are in for a new normal. Yes, the vaccines are becoming available. And I’m hearing different time frames, but we see an end, either way – spring, summer or fall.

But what will that new normal look like? Some of that is up to you.

Have you looked at what you REALLY need to live? Have you considered what changes to our lives are being done that will affect you?

Already, plastic bags will not be available, so our reusables are required. And we pack them ourselves. That’s a safety change.

We all will probably use hand sanitizer more frequently. And be more aware of sanitizing our surfaces at home and work.

Some people may choose to continue wearing masks, like we would see often in Japan and China.

Think about what your ‘new normal’ will be. What have you determined that you no longer need in your life? Being at home for so much of these last months, we may have discovered a different way to live.

I would love to know what you have discovered.

How am I getting outside today?

This might be easy…take a walk yourself, or with your dog, step out on your porch or deck. Look over that garden and let your mind wonder about spring and flowers. Take a ride in the car with the window open a bit, depending on the weather…run some errands while you are at it!

We are doing so much at home virtually, we might ‘see’ people via ZOOM, but sharing lunch at one end of the table and your friend at the other is so much better. Each bring a lunch, or have it delivered.

You could visit me during office hours too.

Just get out if only to take a deep breath of fresh air!

How am I moving my body today?

I know this is sometimes a difficult thing to do. My joints don’t necessarily want to do what I am asking them to do when I try to move from one place or position to another.

But we also know that moving more is what is needed to keep the ability to move effective.

So, try to get up and move around, even if it’s during TV commercials.

Better still, take a walk, doesn’t matter how far you go. Plan to do some type of movement at least 3-5 times a week.

I walk my dogs as I am able, but also walk on the treadmill.

Let’s all do what we can so when it’s time to get back together at the Center, we all will be there with a big smile.

What beauty am I either creating, cultivating, or inviting today?

This is a great question.

With Christmas come and gone, many of us have removed our colorful decorations. It looks kind of bare, doesn’t it?

What are you going to put in place of all that color?

I have some winter items that I can place around, nowhere near the amount for Christmas, but it fills in a bit of the places where I had some decorations.

And I must admit, I still have my Mothers little Christmas Tree in the dining room. Just can’t feel like putting it away.

But another way to add color is to have plants and flowers in the house. I have a friend, who, every time she visits, it seems, she buys flowers if she goes to Giant for food or coffee.

And I do have plants to add at least green, and sometimes flowers too.

We could also invite our imagination to this question, by adding what are you doing with crafts and hobbies? Knitting, painting, reusing some piece of furniture, puzzles; they all have color to fill the places where Christmas was.

These are good questions for us. I have heard several times, what am I leaving behind when we step into the new ‘normal’?

All these questions are great and we can ponder them now as well as through the week.