What Do I Think?

 I don’t come up with these ideas or conclusions without considering the facts... or without observing what is happening around me.  I do try to keep my eyes and ears open to what is happening on the “outside” as well as what I am experiencing on the “inside”.

I have a very fond... and eye-opening... memory of my friend, Sister Margie (SSJ), taking me by the hand and guiding me into a small private room of the convent.  As we sat opposite one another, she asked, “All right, what is going on with you?”  It was a legitimate question as she had been a part of my spiritual growth for a long time.

“I’m a seeker,” I replied.

Margie stopped and thought for a few moments.  “Yes,” she said, nodding her head.  “A seeker is a good thing to be.”

I don’t know if she interpreted the word as I did but I realized it didn’t matter.  Aren’t we all “seekers”?  

That was a few years ago.  A lot has happened in the world since then... and is still happening.  

Division is everywhere.  People are almost desperate in their yearning for something more... something they can believe in... a place where they are accepted and loved for who they are... a place where they can grow spiritually without being bogged down with dogma and laws... a place where they feel ‘at home’... a place where like-minded people share and feed each other.

In the Christian tradition, I see a few things happening.  Some are being drawn into the institutional traditions where they feel protected and comfortable, separate from the rest of the world.  (The Latin Mass is making a comeback.)  

Others are realizing our oneness with all... seeing all the earth as holy and necessary to our existence... living the premise it is only Love which will cure the world.  

I think that people are aching for God... experiencing an insatiable hunger... and the more we yearn for, and come to know, the God of Love, the more we see the evil manifested by those who are afraid.  Out of their fear, they make for themselves a god of money and power... no different from worshiping the golden idols of yore.

There will always be the struggle of good versus evil.  Both exist within each of us but I think Love will eventually win.

That’s what I think.

P.S. For those of you who may not be aware, my latest book... a novel of fiction called “Laughing Rain” (by Constance Townsend) is now available on Amazon.  

I am presently working on the sequel with the working title of “Called by the Wind”.

God Bless us all!

Connie

Making Coleslaw

 All I wanted to do was make coleslaw.  I already had a bag I’d purchased at Publix and I knew I wanted to chop it up finer so would have to use the food processor.  So I figured the preparation would take a little more than the 5 minutes the recipe promised.  Actually, that 5 minutes included the dressing I wanted to try.  Easy, right?  Wrong!

I am here to tell you never to believe the preparation time recipes promise.  There are many more steps involved and it isn’t nearly so simple as it sounds.  For instance...

Before I could start, I wanted a small Mason jar to mix the dressing in and store in the refrigerator.  That way I wouldn’t have to mix the coleslaw all at once, but only enough for the portions I wanted.  So... my first step (which was not mentioned in the recipe) was to get the Mason jar which I thought was in the bottom cupboard.  It wasn’t in plain sight, of course, so I proceeded to remove the stuff I was sure it was hiding behind.

This particular cupboard held different size storage bags, aluminum foil, parchment paper, clear wrap, packages of napkins (I won’t have to buy napkins for the rest of the year) plastic bottles, containers etc.  Because I am past the point of being able to sit on the floor, emptying the bottom shelf took a little more time and ingenuity.  After removing everything I could reach, I took my handy grabber and proceeded to pull everything out to the middle of the kitchen floor.  Lo and behold I even found my George Foreman Grill (which I forgot I had).

Once everything was in a pile in the middle of the floor, I had to decide what was to go back in the cupboard as well as find places for unopened duplicates and for things I didn’t use...like my George Foreman Grill.  That meant making room in other places...cleaning the shelf in the hall closet (for my George Foreman Grill), storing things in totes, etc.  I’m hoping I remember to check my stock before buying anymore storage bags!  

When that was done I went back to making my coleslaw.  (I did find the jar but it was in a different cupboard.)  To be perfectly honest, the actual chopping of the cabbage and making the dressing did take a little more than 5 min. but the total preparation was about one and a half hours.

God Bless!

Connie

The Healer Comes

One day, a couple of years ago, this painting happened.  I had no preconceived idea or picture in mind.  I simply put the brush to paper and this is the result.  I titled it, “The Healer Comes”.

Recently, this painting came into my thoughts and, in reflecting on all that’s happening right now, I wrote this:

The Healer comes

Whence shall she come?

Come she must

for we all are dying.

Will we know her 

when she comes?

Will we welcome her

in tearful gratitude

or will she be crucified

as another once was?

Will we recognize

her truth,

welcome her healing powers

or damn her

for her differences?

The Healer comes!

Are we willing?

Do we want to be healed?

“I am not ill”, you say

as your finger points away.

“It is he... or she.

It isn’t me.

How can it be?”

The Healer comes

for she knows

what we do not.

She sees

where we cannot.

The Healer comes!

She brings us Light

to overcome the darkness

in our minds,

   our hearts,

     our very souls

where our true illness lies.

The Healer comes!

It is her time.

It is our time.

We have need of her.

God bless us all!

May we all be healed!

Connie

What Can I Do?

https://eji.org/news/native-americans-killed-by-police-at-highest-rate-in-country/

When I read this article this morning, there was a pain in my chest, a lump in my throat and tears spilled from my eyes.  “What can I do?” I cried out in anguish!  “What can I do to help these people?”  Every time an innocent person is killed or tortured a piece within me dies. 

I would love to be able to rid all police departments of their bad apples.  I would want to teach people about “mob mentality” and encourage each person to think for themselves... to follow their own heart and conscience... to push down that evil hatred that rises up within but is not truly real.  I would insist they stand for what they know is right and not do wrong simply to be accepted by their peers.  

President Trump wanted to “Make America great again.”  Were we ever great, I wonder?  Does hatred and doing evil to others make us great?  Does our own personal greed at the expense of all else make us great?  Does the killing of protected species, polluting our air and water, importing from other countries rather than using our own resources make us great?  Does ignoring the needs of the populace in lieu of making the rich richer make us great?  Where is this greatness?

So where is this greatness our President speaks of?  I venture to say it is not where he thinks it is.  This greatness, my friends, lies within each and every one of US!  WE are the greatness of this country... this world... and we must stand up for injustice.  We must instill, again, the philosophy of our founders put forth in the Bill of Rights... into the hearts and minds of our leaders.  WE must do this through any means we can.  How much will we take before we stand and say, "Enough!"?

“What can I do?”   I can continue to pray for us all.  I can communicate through social media.  I can let my voice be heard in any and every way possible.  And... I can stand out from the crowd and speak my truth!  I can fight for “Liberty and Justice for all”!

What can you do?

God bless and help us all!

Connie

Black and White

Those who come to my classes will tell you that I tell them not to use black in their paintings.  “Black is not a color,” I tell them.  “It is the combination of all colors.  You can make black by combining all or opposite colors.”

I am so insistent about the non use of black it isn’t unusual to hear someone erupt in a rather loud voice, “Black?  You can’t use black!” when they see someone using it.  I am rather proud they have learned that lesson so well and are willing to experiment with other colors.  Eventually someone will come upon something that does require black and I insist they mix purple, or crimson with it to give it life.  Nothing is ever pure black.

As for white... Seldom is white used on its own.  White is usually used to mix with other colors to make them lighter in tone.  It is primarily a mixer.

My thoughts about black and white took me beyond paint to a remark I made just the other day, “It’s hard to tell good from evil when they don’t wear black and white hats anymore.  Remember,” I said, “when, in the early westerns, the bad guys wore black hats and the good guys wore white?  You could always tell what side they were on.”

We have been conditioned to think black is bad and white is good.  Phrases like, “There was a blackness in his soul,” and “She was as pure as the white driven snow.” put pictures in our minds.  Little children might be afraid in the dark and imagine they see monsters in the not so discernable shapes that are familiar and seen so clearly in the light.

Hollywood has done its share, too, of making us wary of the dark.  Isn’t it in the dark of night evil reigns... murder, rape and robberies are committed?  

Darkness verses light is in religion, the arts, music.  Black is worn for mourning the death of a loved one.  Widows wore black for extended periods of time.  Blackness related to death and Light to the Resurrection.  Hell is illustrated as the darkness of the underworld and Heaven, the bright, sun-shining sky.

I could continue making these comparisons.  My purpose in using them is to share with you my thoughts about how we have become conditioned by black and white.  Both colors, black and white, evoke an emotional response within us...one, I think, which should be examined closely.

But there’s one thing the colors black and white have in common when it comes to paint.  They can both be used to block out and cover over other colors.  They are the only truly opaque colors on the palette and in this they are equal.

I think we can learn a lot from paint... that black is never truly black, but the combination of colors.  White is described as the absence of color so one enhances the other.  Light always shines brighter against the shadows and darkness always has light within it.  We need both. Black and white together result in some pretty dynamic paintings!   

Black and white together...equally...side by side...with all their different qualities, tones and values... create a pretty awesome world!  Don’t you think?

God Bless us all!

Connie

Thimk or Think?

I first heard the terms  “Introspection” and “self-examination” when I entered the Community of the Sisters of St. Joseph back in 1974.  Though the Sisters’ teaching related both terms to spiritual growth and prayer, I soon realized I was more than familiar with their practical meaning.  

As a child, I had been taught to exercise both.  They came under the heading of ‘Learning how to think for yourself’.  

My father was insistent on our learning to think for ourselves.  We were taught, not only to consider and examine “facts”, but to determine whether we agreed with those facts or not.  What did we think about it?  How did we feel?  Had we looked at all sides?  Where and what was our truth? 

Other questions had to be answered too... “Why did you say that?  What did you mean?  Can you prove it or is that your opinion?”  Naturally, these questions would result in debate where thoughts and ideas had to be substantiated.  My brother could offer some pretty strong and valid points and was often forceful about trying to convince me of his viewpoint.  I wasn’t always convinced and, when I ran out of debatable facts, would retreat within myself and look there for my truth.  Once I found it, I stood firm and there was nothing anyone could say or do to change it.

I learned early on where my truth lived but I also learned that the gathering and sifting of pertinent information was necessary in discovering it.  I had to look at and examine the “facts” with my head and sort them out while listening to how my heart felt about it.

I had been taught, too, that God was everywhere and that He created all things.  This teaching of my father usually related to God’s presence in nature.  It was under the Sisters’ tutelage I came to realize God’s presence in myself.  It was in one of those ah-ha moments I realized I find God in the same place I find my truth.

Knowledge is wonderful!  I don’t think we should ever stop learning and educating ourselves.  But... acquiring knowledge isn’t enough.  Knowledge without truth is worthless just as thinking without feeling is worthless.  We must think with both our heads and our hearts in sincere seeking of our own truth.  We can’t find that truth within ourselves without also finding God for God is truth.  “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

This is a global crisis we are living in and we are being bombarded with information.  What do we believe?  There is only one truth and that is the one we find within ourselves after we have answered the questions in our heads.  The important thing is for us to ask the questions.  The important thing for us to do is to THINK and consider all the facts...not just the ones which agree with preconceived ideas.  The important thing to do is to keep an open mind.  The truth cannot make itself known through a closed door.

And to those who are leaving it all up to God... please remember where God lives.  God lives within each one of us and we need to give Him/Her the freedom to express the truth through us.  We have to do OUR part in partnership with God.

God Bless you!

Connie

Finding the Truth

“You will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)

What is the truth?  Where is the truth?  Who and what do I believe?  There are some who are trying very hard to convince me of their version of the “truth” and get annoyed when I don’t accept their point of view.  Some have accused me of being confused.  Maybe I am.  The road to the truth is strewn with obstacles, overgrown with briars and vines that grab at me and rip my clothes as I pass.  The way is hard and rocky.  It winds around cliffs where it is barely wide enough for me to step and I can’t see ahead because of all the twists and turns.

Who do I believe?  What do I believe?  Who and what do I trust?  There was once a time when I could look to those in position of leadership roles as true leaders.  I can’t do that any more.  The truth has become clouded with lies, greed and hidden agendas.  Do I believe the politicians who are more concerned with their power and the economy than they are with the American public they are elected to represent and protect?  Do I believe the pharmaceutical companies who are more concerned with profit than public health?

Once in a while a light shines... with words spoken in true sincerity and compassion like those of Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany,,, and give hope to the world.

That light shines in so many places, through so many people even while those in authority try to make it shine only on themselves and misuse their power...power often without understanding and compassion.  I’m thinking of the woman in Texas who refused to close her salon because those who worked there needed to work in order to feed their children.  Think about that...  She was sentenced to 7 days in jail (where the virus was present) and fined $500 a day for every day her shop was open  until the day it was declared the opening legal. 

Here is a woman, a mother, trying to make ends meet and keep her and other’s children from going hungry being jailed and charged with a fine she could not possibly pay.  Who, then, would feed her children? 

Where have compassion and understanding gone?  What has happened to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?”  Or the commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”? 

Fear has become our enemy and it must be recognized and dealt with.  It is fear which makes us lash out against one another.  It’s not only fear of the virus, but the fear of not being able to pay the rent, the mortgage, the car payment... fear of not having enough to feed ourselves and our loved ones.  Out of this fear comes violence and abuse.  This fear is fed by many sources and it sneaks into our psyche.  No one is immune to it.  The greatest fear, I think, is in not knowing who or what to believe.  My greatest fear comes from not knowing the TRUTH.

Certain videos were posted on Facebook and later removed for being “untruthful”.  I consider myself fortunate to have seen some of them before they were removed.  I agree they weren’t entirely factual...that people were trying to push their own agendas.  However, I took exception to their removal...mainly because I like to think for myself and take exception when someone tries to do my thinking for me.  I agree those videos weren’t entirely factual (I did my research) but there were bits of truth mixed in with the untruths and I needed to hear those bits. 

What is truth?  Where is truth?  The only truth I know and can believe in is that which resonates within me.  I see the truth most clearly when I see it with my heart.  My mind can research, question, investigate and find what I may THINK is the truth but I cannot believe it until I know it within myself. 

THAT is where we find the truth, my friends... within our very selves where it is not tarnished with fear.

Stay safe and be well.  We will come to know the truth at the time of harvest when the weeds are separated from the wheat. (Matthew 13:24-30)  In the meantime, I hope you keep researching, keep questioning,  keep an open mind and Think!  The truth will make itself known.

God Bless you!
Connie


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