All in the Family Thanksgiving-Archy Bunker NOT invited

I have an extended family that I love so much

Guess what……….they love me too….

I have made an effort to get to know them and they have accepted me and love me as if I have always been with them…

I cried today a few times because I had to leave them…

They have embraced me in their lives as if we have always been close and I feel loved and accepted by each and every one of them and their families…

I have seen them once a year for the last few years…been blessed to spend the holidays with them

When I return each year…it is as if I have always been there…

I am squeezed and kissed and loved and fed lots of good southern food….

Isn't that how it is suppose to be....around and with the people we love

I could cry when I think about it….those feelings are hard to put into words

I cried when I hugged my 80 year old Aunt and my 77 year old Uncle and all my cousins goodbye...

I plan to see them next year but I can’t guarantee I will....

Time is limited for all of us…no matter how old we are…how healthy we are….we don’t know…

I cried a few seconds ago when I watched a sad movie on my flight home....about love, family and kids growing up…people leaving….lives ending and beginning….

I am feeling every emotional about the love inside and around me as the Thanksgiving holiday comes to an end.. having a clear understanding of what is really important to me

This week with my loving family reminded me of the importance of...

Two-way Relationships with  people who are good, kind and honest….

Relationships with real people, with my children, with my friends, with my family

As I get older I realize I have no energy for things that don’t matter

I could care less about what you own or what things you have; what you do for a living or who you know

With love and gratitude for all the real and genuine and kind people in my heart and in my life…I appreciate you and love you

If you feel that material goods are the most important thing…driven to get ahead at all costs….have no regard, real regard for others….

If you are unkind and uninterested in being real and genuine

I do have something for you

I have empathy

Keeping it Real with Dr. Mary G

 

 

 

 

 

Are you in this thing called Humanity???

There is a solution

Every single one of us….every person reading this has had issues of some sort in their lives…

They may be new or old….may be occurring or resolved…

The announcement is…..each and every one of us are human beings with human problems

We face each other as equals

It does not matter what level of education a person has, what career they hold, how "good or bad" they are…

We all have…

Grief, loss, abandonment,  addictions, pain, sadness, hopelessness, isolation, despair, inner demons, past trauma, current trauma, divorce, relationships, violence, unemployment, hunger, loneliness, fear,

Each and everyone  of us have experienced some or all of these things….

Sometimes we feel like we cannot share with people what we are feeling or thinking…that we have to maintain a perfect exterior…

We don’t

You don’t

I don’t

Loneliness, despair and hopelessness can feel overwhelming….can feel suffocating

What I also know is that there is a solution

We are each other’s solution

We all have the capability and capacity of listening to one another and loving one another….to feel compassion for each other…to guide each other in figuring out where to go to get help…

My philosophy is pretty simple

Help and be helped…

Practice compassion, understanding, humility, honor those around me by listening, and practicing love and acceptance...

We are together in this thing called humanity…

I have your hand and I know you have mine...

Keeping it Real with Dr. Mary G

 

 

Rising from the midst...Is that my God?

From the midst…

I was blessed to be led through a guided meditation this weekend; my first …a part of it ....the visualization of midst… I want to share some of what arose from the midst for me this weekend..

From the midst came…….

Prayer and meditation in a way that fits me and my spiritual side...

An individual understanding of God...the way I see...the way that makes sense to me...

The self knowledge of what a spiritual life is internally and externally for me

A sense of immense gratitude for fellowship, life, new and old friends, experiences and opportunities, sunshine, pie, good food, being a witness to healthy relationships, my children, fun, awareness, laughter, shared experience, love....

An understanding that adversity and struggle is inevitable in my life and I am not alone

I am not alone even in the absences of all other human beings

It is time for me to move on and allow……

Time for me to breath and listen

Time for me to look upon myself as I look upon others, love myself as I love others, forgive myself as I forgive others

Time for me to stop fighting

That everyday things can be special

My God is in many moments in my everyday  life......the gift to stop and witness it...

Awareness that I don’t have to have any of the answers.....WHEW

Some of my deeper experiences and thoughts will be kept close to my heart and will continue to be internally processed in the upcoming weeks....

What usually happens with me is when I have any experiences that are moving.....I light on fire and go full force into the “new” me....

I heard someone say this weekend that "fire always burns out"

I am looking toward this time as different...This time is different...continual growth...sustainability...

I come out of this with a sense of calmness, slowness and serenity....no urgency

I feel in my heart it is time to listen and be led...to love love love

I know that I don’t have to lock myself away for a weekend (with really good pie) to stay in this place…

What I will do is take time to breath, to slow down, to listen, to embrace my God moments, to be, to love and to be thankful and grateful and ask for help…

What I know is that you too can do this..in ways that work for you....not my way...but ways personal and meaningful to you

Ask for guidance and give thanks….breath and listen…and love

Let’s create a spiritual life (whatever that means to you)

A wise man said....A spiritual life is not a theory...it is actually a way to live

Keeping it Real with Dr. Mary G

Whispers of love and promises in my ear

Whisper sweet nothings….

Words or actions…words or actions…

I melt for words….I love to read them, speak them and hear them…

I love to write them

I swoon for them........or maybe not so much anymore.....

What I am discovering lately is that words are not everything….sometimes they are nothing

They can be full of anger

Empty promises

Untruths

Manipulations

They can be full of hurt

I have learned something about myself….I use to melt for words spoken to me...words of promise, love, commitment…words from “power people”, “church people”, “people I love”….

I don’t anymore…

I listen to the words of people but I watch for their actions....

I am cautious about melting for words alone…

If someone says they love me…do they behave that way…

If someone makes a commitment to me….do they follow through

If someone tells me they are honest …do they show me that ….

Show me what kind of person you are….don’t tell me….

Be the kind of person you want to be by actions not by words...

Close your ears and open your eyes with me...

Keeping it Real with Dr. Mary G