28 Feb

God’s New Angel

Posted by rmbrindley in Life's Journeys. Tagged: , , .

When someone dies those of us who are left behind grieve.  I have lost a dear and special friend.  But she did not leave this earth without leaving memories, lessons, and love.  I decided to take comments from the many things that have been written about her to memorialize her–and to perhaps make us all think about what it is we will leave behind when we leave this earth.

“You taught us about strength, commitment, faith, love, friendship and courage.”

“You invited strangers into your home without hesitation and healed our souls.”

“You cherished and held dear all of God’s creations.”

“You taught us so much!”

“You were such a lovely and unselfish person.”

“I will miss your sweet smile and laugh.”

“You had a gentle spirit, a patient kindness, and a selfless concern for others.”

“You were one of the nicest people I ever met.”

“You were a loving and supportive mother;  a devoted wife;  a proud, and caring grandmother.”

“Thanks for all the love and laughs…and for giving me my nerve back.”

“You were my inspiration for life.  You healed my soul.  You made me complete again.  You showed me what strength really means.”

“My gratitude abounds for the lessons you have taught me about strength, grace, humor and generosity along life’s way.”

“You were a second mother to me when I was growing up.  You taught me so much.”

“You were such a positive person.”

“You had such an easy, lovely, and loving way about you.  You had a wonderful voice.  You had a wonderful caring, thoughtful and generous way about you. ”

“God must have played the “Eyes of Texas” when you entered heaven on the wings of the burnt orange sunset.”

 

Dana Costilow Crisp

14 Feb

A Change in Direction

Posted by rmbrindley in Life's Journeys. Tagged: , .

I was fortunate to be a delegate to our diocesan council this past weekend.  It was a wonderful experience.  The highlight for me was not debating the issues before us but listening to Bishop Doyle’s address.  In it he talked about the church.  As I listened I thought about my life.

It has changed forever.  The things that  I used to believe have been shown to be untrue.  When and where it happened I do not know.  But it has been within the past several months that I have finally realized I was existing in a place that no longer gave me the nutrients to grow.  Somewhere the past gave way to a desire and vision for the future.  The vision is still cloudy but it is being formed. 

As I look at the studies in which I have participated and the insight I have gained in the past several months, I now realize that my way of living the life I was given was not heading toward a path that would sustain my desires for a life lived fully.  I could no longer apply for the jobs the same way I had been doing.  I could no longer depend on my resume or my networking skills to forward my talents.  I could no longer believe that all was well except the economy in our state and country. 

I was on the path of least resistance on a journey in the jungle.  It was time to look for a highway for getting out of the jungle I had made in my life.  It was time to quit accepting that life had to be the way it was and time to make it the way I wanted and needed. 

So here I am…working to develop the skills I have that I am passionate about sharing.  I am creating a new way of approaching life’s daily lessons and the long-term possibilities found in life. 

I will step on the other side of the unknown to try to clear the vision for my life.  I will not go alone but with the prayers of friends and family.  They we keep me tethered on a path to my goals and visions.  They will fortify my courage, remind me of the passion, and applaud each small step in my path.

31 Jan

Happy Birthdays

Posted by rmbrindley in Life's Precious Moments. Tagged: , , .

It is that time of year when I rejoice at my motherhood.  I do not wait until May for the official Mothers’ Day celebration.  It is right here at the end of January and beginning of February when I celebrate.  Last week I celebrated 2 of my children’s birthdays; next week another one.  How can a mother not rejoice when her children are more than she ever thought possible?  Oh no, Sarah isn’t a renowned country and western singer that she always talked about. Paul did not make the steps to pursue his early dream of being the first man on Mars.  Joe,  he very well may the one man band that he dreamed of from early in his life.

They had their dreams.  They still have dreams although altered from early childhood desires.  One of the most amazing things for me to take in as their mother is the pursuit of their dreams.  They have travelled far and wide, lived far from home, worked night and day, given up social events and other activities in the desire to achieve their dreams.  What mother would not be proud to watch this tenacity taking place with her children?

They know who they are.  They are sensitive, responsible, and caring members of society.  They do not hesitate to help a friend or colleague or even a stranger in need.    They are creative and loving.  They are helpful.  They are counselors to their friends.  They work hard at their jobs, and at play.  They are kind and generous.  They are all the great things a mother could wish for her children.

And they know me.  They know me in a way that no one else ever has.  They know how to drive me to the brink of insanity and push me to the depths of my soul.  They open me to new and amazing things that I never knew existed.  They are the driving force in my veins.  They are my hope for the future.  They are my energy of my heart.  They are my children…and I celebrate their lives, their dreams and the joy they have given me!

24 Jan

A Good Leader

Posted by rmbrindley in Leadership. Tagged: , , , .

As I continue my journey to find a way to share my passion I have been reading books about leadership-what makes a good leader, how to become a good leader, how to help others become a good leader.  This morning while turning the page in my calendar I found this statement credited to Mother Teresa.  Maybe it is the best advice for becoming a good leader–

  • People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.
  • If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish motives.  Be kind anyway.
  • If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful  friends and some genuine enemies.  Succeed anyway.
  • If you are honest and sincere, people may cheat on you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.
  • What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.  Create anyway.
  • If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.
  • The good you do today, will often be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good anyway.
  • Give the world the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.
  • In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between and you and them anyway.

17 Jan

Reach Out

Posted by rmbrindley in Life's Precious Moments. Tagged: , , .

As almost all of us do, each day I open my inbox to see what it holds.  Junk…delete.  Advertisement…delete.   Recently there was a note from a friend that I have not had contact with in quite a while.  In her note she told me that she had not read my blog in quite a while but was motivated to open the link on this occasion.  The words in the post helped her to understand that the only guarantee in this life is we will all suffer trials and tribulations, none of us is immune.  There on the screen were the words that she needed to see.  The post she read touched her heart.   The words resonated with her.  They opened her heart to possibilities.  They gave her courage and strength to share her trials with someone else.   They gave her strength to explore the possibilities.

I wonder how often I have touched others with my words or my volunteer work.  I wonder how many times I have let that opportunity to reach out go past me.  Was hurrying to the store really more important than stopping to finish the phone conversation?

This note made me realize that each of us is hurting in some way.  We all  need someone to listen to us, encourage us, and stand by us, if only with thoughts and prayers.

And so I let the job application sit for a few more minutes.  I hit reply to send my thoughts, my love and my prayers.

13 Jan

Music’s 12 Notes

Posted by rmbrindley in Passion. Tagged: , , , .

I love music.  Music can reach my soul like nothing else.  My daughter sings.  One of my son plays drums, guitar, banjo, keyboards and writes music.  I listen to music-folk, rock, jazz, classical, country and western, and occasionally, when my daughter is performing, opera.  All of this music, no matter what genre, is made up of 12 notes.  Every song that ever has or ever will be written is made up of the only these 12 notes.  Yet the songs are all different. The difference is found in the timing between the notes  and the way the notes are arranged .  But there is another difference in each song-passion.  The way the songwriter uses the notes, the timing, and the arrangement is what makes each song unique.  The passion in the music is what reaches out to pull us into each of those notes that makes the music.

Have you ever heard a song performed by more than one artist?  Think of your favorite song by the Beatles and google it.  You can probably find many artists singing the words of the songs.  And if you listen, you will hear the differences.  The various musicians may change the order of the notes, the timing of the notes or the arrangement of those notes.  You will no doubtedly choose your favorite version of the song.  What will make you choose one version over another?  Is it how the song is performed by the artist?  Is it the way the music draws you toward it and fills you with the passion of the artist?

It is the same way with each of our lives.  It is how we arrange those 12 notes in our daily living that lets others see us for who we are.  It is the imaginative way we arrange the notes.  It is the creativity in the way we arrange the notes.  It is the passion that we bring each day to our lives in everything we do that makes our music and our lives a true gift to others.

11 Jan

A Personal Board Meeting

Posted by rmbrindley in Achieving Life's Goals. Tagged: , , , .

I have sat through many board meetings.  Having served on boards for education, the arts, religious institutions and community service organizations I have spent hours helping to provide leadership, vision and strategic direction to meet the goals of the organization.  But when it was recently suggested to me that I needed to hold a personal board meeting I was intrigued.

A personal board meeting?  Did I need to find a chair, secretary, and treasurer?  Who would I ask to serve in that way?  Did I need to come up with an agenda and post 72 hours in advance?  Then it was explained to me.  A personal board meeting with me as the only person present.  All I had to do was set up a time and show up with my notebook.  And so I did.

Early one evening I sat with a glass of wine, my favorite music playing, and my journal in front of me.  As I sat there contemplating the vision for my organization-ME-I was perplexed.  What was it that I was living my life each day to accomplish?  Why did I make the decisions that I made throughout each day?  Did they help me accomplish what I wanted?  What achievements would I need to make this year to say that my goals for the year were reached, to feel successful at this time next year?

And so it went for well on into the morning hours that I plotted the reasons for my life in the coming year.  I found my vision.  I set my goals.  I set my objectives for meeting each goal.  I decided how and where to give of my precious time and money.  I decided some changes that needed to be made in my life in order to achieve my goals. 

I decided to live.  I decided to do the things that needed to be done.  I decided to do all the good that I could each and every day.  And I decided to let the future unfold around me and embrace the adventures and experiences that were presented.

6 Jan

Happiness Is An Inside Job

Posted by rmbrindley in Happiness. Tagged: , , , .

Have you ever tried to make someone happy?  It is an impossible task!

Happiness comes from within.  Our happiness is our own responsibility.  No one can make us be happy.  Certainly someone can do special things for you that you enjoy in an attempt to bring you happiness, but it is your choice to respond with happiness.

There are times when I have turned flips, cooked gourmet dinners, given gifts or one of many other things in order to make someone come out of their “funk” to find happiness.  I have sometimes seen smiles after these attempts.  I have sometimes seen nothing change.  And that is because of something that I have heard and read, but I think has finally sunk into my hard head.  I cannot make anyone happy except for myself. 

It is up to me to be happy in my circumstances.  It is up to me to find happiness in the world that surrounds me.  It is up to me to make my own happiness.  If I cannot find happiness inside myself, pity the poor person/s who might try to make me happy.  The only way I can find happiness is inside myself, not from the outside world. 

Before I put my feet on the floor in the morning I try to find that happy place inside of me…a place where my heart feels cleansed, where joy abounds, where I know that my spirit is ready to face whatever I might encounter during the day.  And before I enter the dream world at night I try to go back to the things that have kept my heart smiling throughout the day.  Sometimes it is difficult.  How many job rejection notices is this?  Sometimes I struggle.  And why do you recommend that I get new tires after 40,000 miles?  And where do you propose I find the extra money for that?   But these battles inside my heart only lead me back to the fact that happiness is an inside job. 

Find your happy place.  Cling to it.  Take care of it and you will take care of yourself.

3 Jan

Life’s Goals

Posted by rmbrindley in Achieving Life's Goals. Tagged: , .

An article in the church newsletter announced the formation of a new book study.  The study was to be based upon the book What To With the Rest of Your Life by Keith Miller.   My life was stopped at the intersection where I have felt stuck, not knowing which way to turn.  I thought it sounded like the perfect thing for me.  Our first assignment was to sit quietly fo 10 minutes and list, without changing or editing, the things I would like to do before I die that would contribute to my overall goal in life.  The thoughts started flowing…some were what I would expect, practical, but others were extravagant and self-indulgent.  The list grew.  When the 10 minute were up I still had thoughts to write. 

It is with these thoughts and other exercises in the book that I have lived for the past several months.  At least weekly I read through my list of desires.  I assess my progress or lack thereof.  I add to the list.  I share my accomplishments and my fears of accomplishments with the group.  But always the list is there.   And it is through this list that I have come to more clearly understand the process of achieving life’s wants and desires.

I have learned that when something is not accomplished, you start over.  There is always learning in failure, perhaps more than in the actual achievement.  I have learned that we do not accomplish a lot without others surrounding us with their support and care.  I have learned that cheering on others can help lead to our own accomplishments.  And I have learned that while I am placing the foundation and building upon it, what I am working towards is  the accomplishment of my goal. 

I am often asked, “What is it that you do?”  Looking for a job, searching…probably not the right answers.  Through the process of this book and the group with whom I study I have learned to say, “Let me tell what I am going to do.”  Perhaps that is the greatest step toward achieving my goals.

1 Jan

Unseen Gifts

Posted by rmbrindley in Life's Precious Moments. Tagged: , , , .

Today marks a new beginning, a new year full of wonder, hope, challenges and quite possibly a few surprises.

At this point last year I made my new year’s resolutions…most of which have not come to fruition.  But last year as I burned my bayberry candle on New Year’s Day I did not know the unseen gifts that I would experience. 

The joy of a daughter in love and committing herself to her love. The laughter and tears shared among friends celebrating the life and courage of a special friend.  The times spent with family on adventures to new and familiar places.  The beauty of the golden leaves on Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.  The healing that would gradually begin to take place in my heart and soul.  The people who I have had the opportunity to touch in so many different ways.  No, I knew none of this would happen.  And maybe that is best. 

Today I will burn my bayberry candle once again.   I will eat my black-eyed peas to bring me good luck in the New Year, as so many of us do in the south.  And I will make a few resolutions.  I will live a more balanced life in 2011.  I will participate fully in life in 2011.  I will enjoy the wonderful adventures that await. 

And I will be ready when unseen gifts of 2011 cross my path.

“A bayberry candle burned to the socket brings food to the larder and gold to the pocket.”

 We don’t know what life will bring, so it is what we bring to life that matters.

 

« Older Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.