For Peace Among the Nations

Today, I offer some simple ponderings :-)

A butterfly and a caterpillar on plants in the breeze at The Audubon Zoo, NOLA

Life is good, isn't it... Life, this short time of existence in community on a fragile planet in a fortunately habitable zone. An infinitesimal fleck of matter and spark of momentary awareness in the vast cosmic realm. Life is SO SHORT for us. The only thing that makes this brevity bearable in our social, political, technological, and global adolescence is ourselves. We have each other. I dream of what is impossible in my lifetime: one open world with distinction rather than divisiveness. I dream of borderless equilibrium where strife, poverty, and fear of each other no longer exist, yet uniqueness remains and is celebrated. It would take one or two thousand years, but it could happen. 

NASA: Earth, east

I love to explore other cultures and learn from people different than myself. I find different ways of living and alternately functioning societal structures fascinating. Thus far in my life, I've been to 30 countries. Soon, I will take a very exciting trip! 
I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED about this trip and a bit nervous as well. I will be teaching music, visiting choirs, working with youth to plan worship service presentations, sharing fun times and knowledge, and I will also be giving presentations as a NASA Solar System Ambassador in the school systems! What a FABULOUS opportunity! Still, I know that where I'm going, as an American, presents its own set of problems and I have been mentally preparing for them. I feel certain I will be safe, but there are always chances that something could happen which could change that.I would be remiss if I did not address that. It's not a place where single women, especially Americans, travel on their own very much, if at all. Folks are saying "Oh you're so brave"! I am pretty unafraid at times, but it can indeed be mixed. Still, I feel very strongly called to go there. I have ever since I met the leader of the community I'll visit. I want to show them that we are the same. People are people. I want to be a bridge and one of love. I've tried to do that in my own life between people, programs, and more. We can each do our part.
This June, I'll travel to Israel on my first pilgrimage to the Holy Land! I am so greatly blessed by God, people, by opportunities, and by my own energy and initiative to create more opportunities. II'm living and leading a great life. 
I write all of these thoughts today because I am simply pondering life and in particular, my life. I think it's healthy to do that periodically. We never know how long we have and seriously, EVERY DAY is a gift, every single one. If you are reading this, I wish you a big hug and I wish you peace, happiness, and hope!

A prayer for peace in our world (from the Church of England)

Make your ways known upon earth, Lord God,

your saving power among all peoples.

Renew your Church in holiness

and help us to serve you with joy.

Guide the leaders of all nations,

that justice may prevail throughout the world.

Let not the needy be forgotten,

nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Make us instruments of your peace

and let your glory be over all the earth. Amen

Live your life - NOW

Never allow waiting to become a habit. 

Live your life NOW. 

Take risks, dream and imagine, 

follow your heart!

Go and climb that mountain, 

Swim in that sea,

And be the life that you want!

My view from the train after crossing the Brenner Pass and heading back to Innsbruck, Austria

LEAPing into Monday

Happy Leap Year / Day folks! I'm currently not this energetic or excited about it, but here's my Bitmoji looking all excited :-) I'll get there. In fact, the whole weekend was sort of a transition to my being back to my normally excited and happy self!

                 

My weekend included a choral workshop at a Catholic HS in Baton Rouge, a meeting for the St. Paul's (and Diocesan) pilgrimage to The Holy Land, a funeral, almost no sleep Saturday night (stress), and a Sunday full of grading and paperwork plus cleaning my apartment, wheeeeee! 

                     

Still, I had some serious moments of re-realization of how short life is. Looking at how fast time passes for us on Earth, it just blows my mind again and again. I found myself thinking of all the things I want to do in life and all the adventures to be had. There just isn't any time compared to the massive amount of life that's possible. I thought "I'd better be thankful for what I've done, then......and I'd better be thankful right now"!  You know, I AM very thankful, but I feel the need to practice that gratitude more overtly and more often, like every day! "Every day is a gift" - I used to have that sticker on my car. I need to buy it again.
The past two weeks have been rather crazy health-wise. I've come off of some medicine (Medroxyprogesterone) because of some scary side effects and have been worried about that. I'm already taking an iron prescription and this medicine is, among other things, to shrink my endometrial lining, and also to help prepare me for a scheduled and necessary hysterectomy in May. The medicine can cause strokes (of the eye and more) and lesions, serious depression (to which I am already susceptible) and all sorts of things, but it's pretty rare. I did suffer a depressive episode and full on weepiness. I also had numbness in my hands, debilitating headaches, insane ocular pressure and pinpoint pupils. It scared me a LOT and that in itself wasn't helping the situation for this already-anxious person! ESPECIALLY since it happened in the midst of exciting and happy visits to seminaries. All the travel of the past few weeks combined with not feeling so well was hard.
After getting off of the medicine, I've been taking it somewhat easy and have been miserable with the withdrawal. Last night I used an ice pack for my headache and it is the ONLY thing that has worked. This morning, it's my first time in three weeks that I have only a minor headache, but still have ocular and temple pressure. 

Still, THIS IS GOOD PROGRESS!

Back to that being thankful part....I am TRULY thankful for no more serious side effects and for feeling a bit better. We never know what we have in the way of time left. This whole incident provided me with yet another layer of being thankful for my overall good health, for opportunities that lie ahead, and for life itself. Today, it SEEMS like we get an extra day, a leap day in a leap year! Aside from the real reason we have Leap Year, I'm treating today like a day "out of time" - a day to remind myself to look at everything with hope and gratitude and to be thankful for what God has already given me and what the Holy Spirit has in store for me.

                  

So, this post is pretty much for myself and to get all that off my chest, but if it helps anyone think about being thankful for every day, then good! :-) Sometimes, I just need to ramble on.

#AdventWord #GIVE

December 1, 2015 - Today's #AdventWord is #GIVE
Give someone joy! Smile, jump, hug, listen, love, ask, blow bubbles! In all of the giving OF yourself, remember to give TO yourself: health, time, love. BE the goodness of God to all.I believe that one of the most precious things one can give is his/her time. As for me, I am forever grateful to my friends, especially my closest, who have given me their time and taken moments to catch up with me, to laugh, to share an adventure, to listen, or to share their own lives. One of my goals each day is to see how I can be more giving and more loving. Think of how valuable time is. Think of how short our lives are and how we occasionally seem to have so little time. I think of all that God continues to give to us and my mind is blown! This Advent, I hope you will join me in an effort to occasionally slow down and reflect and to give of yourself and to yourself.
- Blow big bubbles......more JOY!

JOY in San Francisco, photo by Caroline Carson

AdventWord was created by SSJE (The Society of St. John the Evangelist) and is the Anglican Communion's Global Advent Calendar. I'm using it as a daily meditation, prayer, and a way to connect in spirit to millions during this season of light and hope. You can join me in creating your own. Click HERE for their website and for their daily AdventWords. Also, HERE is a link to the entire calendar of words. #SSJE 

Life is Short

I posted this a long while back on my main blog page, CARSONIA, but it also fits well here and is an absolute FAVORITE of mine! I hope you enjoy it too! :-)

My friends,
Life is short, and we do not have
much time to gladden the hearts of
those who travel with us, so be swift to
love and make haste to be kind.
And may the blessing of the One who
made us, and the One who loves us, and
the One who travels with us, be with
you and those you love this day and always.
AMEN.

~ Adapted from Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881)

#blessing #prayer #morning #Amiel #Episcopal #life #love #kindness #God

Life is Short - Shut Up and Smell the Roses!



Life is short, people! I am struck by this time and again as I see people ignoring beauty that surrounds them or forgetting to look up at the stars at night. I am crazy busy at certain times of the year and every day during the school year may be packed. I revel in being busy and I LOVE all the different things that I do! In contrast, periodically, I occasionally waste away a whole day doing absolutely nothing at home, inside. I love sleep, sometimes a little too much :-)

REGARDLESS of all of the above, I do take regular time to "stop and smell the roses". It's usually not announced like my concerts or travels are, but I do it and SO SHOULD YOU!

 

Newsflash: Life is short

Common Complaint: I don't have time

Another Newsflash: YES YOU DO

Order: Shut up and smell the roses!

LIVE your life for YOU
Get rid of naysayers, negative people, mean people, and criticizers - they come in all shapes and areas of life. The good news is that if you leave them to their own devices, they usually leave on their own.

GO OUTSIDE. Sit in that patch of green grass with clover. Have yourself a picnic! Take a walk or bike ride, drink your coffee in the park, park your car near the park.

LOOK UP at the stars. If you're in the city and there are too many lights, make a point to drive out to a place where you can see the stars. It will change your perspective. It will change you.

SPEND time with kids and pets, the elderly, and nature.

LAUGH and let it loose - don't let others make you feel wrong or stupid for doing it. Ignore them! They might shake their heads, roll their eyes, and even make snide comments. Let them. You go on and LAUGH :-)

Pick flowers occasionally or buy yourself some. It's so nice and you deserve it!

THINK. Take time out to sit and think. Think of people, places, stories. Sometimes you'll laugh and sometimes you'll cry, but it will be good for you.

GIVE people opportunities. In the end it is worth it. Sometimes people don't realize they've had a good opportunity until it's gone. Give everyone a chance. Give them two chances.

GIVE yourself permission. Give yourself fearlessness.

SMILE. Smiling can happen on the inside or the outside. Many of my smiles are inside :-)

ASK  Ask the question. Ask for something you want or need. Sometimes, if you don't ask, you'll never know

TELL someone you like them or love them. Go on, do it. It doesn't have to be hard to do and it doesn't have to be in the romantic sense. Sometimes, it's something someone needs to hear and sometimes it's something you need to do. We forget, busy humans that we are, to interact with each other on this level and sometimes we wake up and realize it's too late. We wonder if they knew we cared about them or liked something about them.

VISIT someone you always said you'd visit! Make it happen and if it can't be a physical visit, there's always Skype

Write your books, paint your pictures, sing your songs, dance your dances, climb that mountain, build the treehouse, learn a new language, wear what you want, eat healthy but splurge sometimes, go to that movie, buy the roller skates, ride the hot-air balloon, travel, save, spend, re-read your favorite book, connect through social media, paint your toenails, go swimming, step in the puddle, throw rocks at the lake, learn to cook...

CREATE, support, learn, encourage, partner.

RISK making a fool of yourself, risk standing up for what you believe even when it's hard

LOVE Give love, be love, love your life, love yourself. Have brotherly love, have romantic love. Treasure love, remember love, fight for love, cherish love. It's always worth it.

VOLUNTEER! Donate to a charity. It will be worth your while and make a life better

LEARN  Learn how to use some technology, learn to be nice to yourself, learn to be open, learn to dance.

BE  Be you. Be willing. Be adventuresome. Be fearless. Simply, BE.

DO NOT EVER TAKE LIFE FOR GRANTED

Life is Short

This has long been one of my absolute favorite adapted quotes. Our XI Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana, Morris Thompson, says it as part of his Benediction and I finally took the time to find it online to post here with a photo [detail from portion of the stained glass window behind our Baptismal font at St. Paul's Episcopal.]

 

My friends,
Life is short, and we do not have
much time to gladden the hearts of
those who travel with us, so be quick to
love and make haste to be kind.
And may the blessing of the One who
... made us, and the One who loves us, and
the One who travels with us, be with
you and those you love this day and always.
AMEN.

Adapted from Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881)