Two Great Loves

by Lynn Doerr, Guest Writer

I have a confession – I have two great loves in my life and I have no intention of picking one over the other.

One love pulls me with the challenge of forging a strong bond and finding the ability to communicate without words while offering the warmth of a strong shoulder when frost edges the meadows.  The other love shares treasures from afar, the spectacular sights and sounds of a Marrakesh market bursting with fiery reds and oranges, cobalt blues, and bright lemon yellow or the simple pleasure of an evening aperitif along a remote river, the sun setting over castles etching their silhouettes in the fading light. Both loves feed my spirit, the desire to be my curious self, pushing physical and mental limits and opening new possibilities for pleasure.

While I’ve missed the opportunity to enjoy living with a partner in love (c’est la vie!), I’ve been able to feed my other loves, riding and traveling, almost with abandon.  That little girl delight of seeing a horse still abounds in me even after spending half of my life riding.  I arrived late to the world of equestrians, a desire tucked in a corner of my consciousness, waiting to burst from the barn.  This love asks me to set ego aside (that human nuisance that feigns expertise in all matters) and free my mind to understand another being and glean context to build a partnership based on trust, not unlike other relationships we have in our lives.  I must listen, interpret intentions, forgive mistakes, offer support and encouragement when necessary, and remember that we each have strengths and only succeed as a team; don’t ask for more than too much but inspire the stretch beyond old boundaries.

And my other love, the one that carries me away, and forces me to examine preconceived ideas and see light’s revelations as it filters through an ancient window in a Myanmar temple, across a Romanian forest floor, or tumbles down the side of the Himalayas.  Travel asks us to open our minds to possibilities, alleviate judgement while we walk in another’s footprints, find compassion for another’s trials, and sample life in a novel way through all that we see, hear, feel, touch, or taste.

How could I ever choose between these two disparate loves – one that wants me home and another that pulls me across borders?  And don’t these “loves”, passions not focused on another person, mold us into people who become better friends and partners through a more expanded understanding of the world?  Don’t deny yourself food for your spirit; indulge your passion and let it grow. 

Lynn Doerr is an avid equestrian and traveler working as a marketing and communications consultant in areas concerned with global health.  Read about her travels on www.wanderlynn.com or join her to ride local equestrian trails at www.horsewayspa.org.

When Life Throws You a Curveball

by Karen Steinbrecher

We know where we are going and what we want to do.  Then due to forces outside of our control, things don't go as we had planned and life changes – sometimes in the blink of an eye.

After helping my husband heal following a major back operation, I was feeling lighter, breathing deeply in gratitude. Then I found myself facing my own personal health crisis. And the fear returned.

My long-time QiGong practice supported me in that moment, inviting me to take a deep breath and open my mind to a new opportunity – with the knowledge that curve balls are a way of keeping us awake. Sometimes curveballs are even a gift.

Breathing in gratitude in the face of life’s curveballs is not always easy to do! This morning, as thoughts rushed through my mind and my body filled with anxiety, I returned – as I do each day – to the gentle flowing movements of QiGong. And as I began to move, flow, and stretch my body with the many movements that I practice and lead, I began to feel better.

QiGong provides us with an opportunity to release any energy that gets blocked and can stagnate in response to the stressors of life. The flowing movements send a signal to our brain, the body's repair and maintenance manager, to rebuild our joints, muscles, and tendons. QiGong exercises body, mind, and spirit and helps support an internal alchemy of balance and integration, creating our own personal medicine.

Karen Steinbrecher teaches QiGong classes at The Resiliency Center on Tuesdays at 2:30 pm and Thursdays at 6:20 pm. Cost is $10. To RSVP, contact Karen at Karensteinbrecher@msn.com  or 215-836-7184.

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Allowing Space by Dean Solon

a week ago a sitting-in-circle at the resiliency center.  am remembering now we may have come to a way of unraveling the seeming puzzles and paradoxes of living in this world:  with an allowing of space.

sitting comfortably and with ease.
closing your eyes.
allowing your body to be at rest
and your breathing to be natural.
easing into spaciousness, into expansiveness.
relaxing in this openness.

the world arising, in this moment, as always it has been, and is, arising...
in the deepest within, the most infinite beyond.

no one sitting, nothing happening.
you sitting, you happening.

you sitting, with an allowing of space...

allowing space for joy           allowing space for grief

allowing space for confusion          allowing space for clarity

allowing space for petulance          allowing space for surrender, allowing space for acceptance

allowing space for whatever arises unfolds and reveals

allowing space for anything
allowing space for everything

an all-inclusive path.

Awake in the circle

by Elizabeth Venart, Resiliency Center Director

Awake

in this circle of souls unfolding,

I gaze skyward to stars and spirits,

honoring the travelers before me

and those yet to join us

on the journey.

Moving

in embrace of the Beloved,

humming,

like bees

making honey,

becoming the honey.

We are Sweetness itself,

Pouring Love

from every pore.

From this place of Love,

I remember.

A frozen moment,

Sitting.

Silence bringing pain, not ease.

Sisyphus and the boulder, struggling.

Cave of question and regret.

Then,

In that moment,

I knew not love.

I had forgotten.

I sunk, a thud to the ground,

Alone.

Then.

How far from that moment,

Now.

Looking out upon the community of Love unfolding

Before me.

Knowing  –

Resonance in every cell –

This IS my tribe.

I have found my Home.

Yes, there is a me,

with gifts to share, stories I tell –

But I am so much more than a me.

I am so much more when we are a We.

Peace

Healing

Joy

Gifts ripe for picking,

like an orchard of juicy peaches,

Whenever I open my heart

to Love.

When my eyes open

to this moment,

I See the One beside me, within me,

That is me.

When I close my mind and allow

my Inner Vision

to guide me,

I surrender judgment and worry,

laying down old stories

and embracing the new moment,

the ever-unfolding moment

of Now.

Now.

Now there is

Love.

Now there is

Gratitude.

Now I can Emerge

and merge

with All That Is.

Present with What is

and the Beauty

of All

Unfolding.