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SLOW DOWN SAID THE APPARITION: This morning I was having a late breakfast, looking out into my backyard. Behind a five-foot blue spruce moved a whitish figure that appeared to be doing tai chi. I was mesmerized and also so excited when I realized it was a great blue heron moving very slowly and deliberately. I was so grateful to have been sitting there at just the right moment to see it.
This sighting and slow pace fit right in with what is missing in the world for many right now. I see, read and hear it all around me. Examples:
- People don't have time to read books anymore. "I'm still reading my summer beach read," one person said to me this week. It's the third week of October.
- The New York Times just published an article about a young thirty-something journalist who died from sleep deprivation and heart issues attributed to the amount of overtime she chose to work (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/world/asia/japan-death-overwork.html).
- In between periods at the pro hockey game yesterday, everyone around me was on their cell and one woman even had an iPad with her. Sadly, some people were plugged in to their phones the entire game, including children. In these cases, they were missing out on opportunities to slow down and at the same time, be an active participant in their own lives.
As I type this, I see a hawk alight on a branch up high, two frolicking blue jays and many morning doves. I sit still as I reflect on what to write.
I hope I can convince people to stillness. It's hard because when it comes to specifics, I don't have answers for each individual person, but it's because I don't need to know. I only know to put my own desires on my heart and be very watchful for things in front of me, including a ghostly-looking great blue heron, to give me hints at the right direction. Fortunately, I can say that it takes very little time which seems to be exactly what people say they have. But don't ask me, ask God*.
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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you! Your comment could have a major impact on someone else. Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.
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Reflective questions:
1. Are you being called to unplug from this blog site or to follow the prompts?
2. What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, "God, what do you want me to know?")
* I use the term God as a universal term. You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today. It is not for me to decide.
Photo by MH
Note: These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling which is simply journaling what's on your heart and mind and then asking God* what else you should know (read more at CardinalTouch.net).
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