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Daily Question, December 17

What has astonished you lately?

  • Ed Schulte

    What an opportunity it is for Human Beings to be wonderful Co-creators of limitless beauty, because they themselves are created in the likeness of their ONE source. Divine Love.

    And they also have the equally astonishing opportunity not to do so!

    This astonishing mystery continues to unfold.

  • Malag

    How people will reinforce their belief by consuming false information that supports their belief to the exclusion of fact.

  • Antoinette
    The insight gained from adversity and pain astonishes me. Just when you take something for granted along comes something we don’t like or we don’t want and wham ! How do you respond ? Coming out of three days of migraines again somehow always teaches me something new or re- teaches me what I may have forgotten. Like simply enjoying a cup of coffee in the present moment while is raining and windy outside! Knowing I need to go out with the dog but looking forward to every step in gratitude. ...

    The insight gained from adversity and pain astonishes me. Just when you take something for granted along comes something we don’t like or we don’t want and wham ! How do you respond ?
    Coming out of three days of migraines again somehow always teaches me something new or re- teaches me what I may have forgotten. Like simply enjoying a cup of coffee in the present moment while is raining and windy outside! Knowing I need to go out with the dog but looking forward to every step in gratitude. Walking just to walk and appreciating my breathing.
    We forget what we take for granted until of course we no longer have it.
    The mind astonishes me!

    Read More
  • Lisa Tolley

    That I am capable of forgiving myself for what happened in order to move forward, to truly unchained move forward with my life.

  • Cheryle

    That I can breathe 1000 times per hour and not even be aware I am doing it!

  • Dusty Su

    The hypocritical treatment of asylum seekers in Australia.
    The kindness of those who care about the marginalized and have stood up to that lack of humanity.
    The emotional reactions both these opposites elicited within me, and the growing conviction to live a greater life of kindness.

  • Don Jones

    As I practice letting go, and peel back the layers (some need jackhammering), just how much nonsense, dross and trivia I have been carrying around for a very long time.

  • Melissa

    The look in our new rescue puppies eyes of pure joy…

  • sparrow

    …to see a chipmunk
    perched on top of Buddha’s head
    out in the snow…

  • Mica

    The beautiful mandala art by Swati H. Das with today’s quote. I googled her and found other beautiful art by her at unsplash.com.
    The unusual combo of half a beautiful mandala with leaves and flowers, in a watercolor painting, with bits and pieces around the watercolor, draws me back again and again

  • Linda

    The utter madness of this current administration. The utter lack of care for the people of the United States that they supposedly serve. It will be a huge stain on our history.

  • Stephsparto
    My 2 sons got way too drunk last Thursday which resulted in my older son (27) totaling his wife's car and ending up in jail. He was just released in October from a 10 year long charge and was completely free from the legal system. We were all so excited for him to be home with his pregnant wife and 2 children. I was devastated by his arrest and felt like I had nothing more to be grateful for. But I started to realize that his mistake does not really change my life and I do have much to be gratef...

    My 2 sons got way too drunk last Thursday which resulted in my older son (27) totaling his wife’s car and ending up in jail. He was just released in October from a 10 year long charge and was completely free from the legal system. We were all so excited for him to be home with his pregnant wife and 2 children. I was devastated by his arrest and felt like I had nothing more to be grateful for. But I started to realize that his mistake does not really change my life and I do have much to be grateful for, especially him not getting hurt in the car wreck. It did astonish me when I realized that my gratitude list was as full as it ever has been and I am still able to find joy, peace, and happiness in my life.

    Read More
    • Holly in Ohio

      How does your son feel about himself?

      I don’t know what made me think of it, but sometimes when we don’t like ourselves we make unwise choices, the results of which then seem to justify how we feel about ourselves.

      Wishing your family the best.

  • DeVonna

    I found out Monday I have an ulcer. REALLY?!I’ve been in continuous pain for the past seven days…I had forgotten how debilitating it can be to be unwell, mentally and emotionally.

    • Michele

      Sending healing energy your way:) Wishing you a speedy recovery.

    • Antoinette

      DeVonna,
      I’m sorry you are unwell. I just listened to a podcast that you may enjoy .
      The Hidden Brain from national public radio – Minimizing Pain, Maximizing Joy

    • Melissa

      I hope your healing come soon. Take care Devonna. I am sorry this is happening.

    • Stephsparto

      I pray that you will get the medication you need to help with your ulcer and pain. I to have had ulcers in the past and they can be painful but luckily they are very treatable! You can even try over the counter medications for heartburn and/or indigestion to help.

  • TofuLove
    That it seems each person has a reason they are here and in some ways you can’t get out of your reason. I think and maybe I am wrong, you have to be true to your unique and odd self. For me, I am a child of hope and faith in the goodness of humanity. My biological mother in a struggling country believed in human goodness enough to have me and hope that strangers would love me and care for me ... and they did. Complete strangers paid for my orphanage, complete strangers nursed me in their arm...

    That it seems each person has a reason they are here and in some ways you can’t get out of your reason. I think and maybe I am wrong, you have to be true to your unique and odd self. For me, I am a child of hope and faith in the goodness of humanity. My biological mother in a struggling country believed in human goodness enough to have me and hope that strangers would love me and care for me … and they did.

    Complete strangers paid for my orphanage, complete strangers nursed me in their arms and rocked me to sleep as a completely vulnerable little baby — she had hope in humanity’s goodness. I know that I am a child of hope and over and over again the narrative that has made sense in my life — is have hope, have faith, humanity is capable of love and goodness, that is my narrative, the reason I am here.

    The light is hope and the reason I am here is to help spread hope in the world. I have to be counter to those around me who have in some ways lost their faith in the light and goodness, not out of badness … but they will find me odd and I will be ostracized. There are things meant for me to do and I feel that more and more.

    It’s odd cause I don’t even know what the end plan is, I just know that this spreading of hope and there’s something in me that needs to pull others up into their most light honoring life, like some heat seeking missile for every dark place in the world — to shine the light … and I can’t explain why that drive is in me other than it seems part of why I’m here.

    Read More
    • Mica

      I love your name, TofuLove (✿◡‿◡)

    • sparrow

      You very definitely have a purpose,
      dear TofuLove…
      never disbelieve it.

  • MelaD

    The level of denial, fear, and anger that are cresting over this pandemic. Wow! Thank goodness for prayer and gratitude to keep me grounded in the here and now, in reality.

  • Papilio

    Two days ago Penny and I walked the frozen trail nearby. It was below freezing temperature with a clear blue sky. Suddenly I was blinded by brightness. As my eyes got used to it, I could see the sunlight coming through between the trees and reflecting on the surface of a shallow stream. I was astonished by the powerfulness of the sun, the center of our solar system, a dwarf star. By somehow my mind zoomed out from the trail to outer space.

  • Trish

    There have been several incidents where I’ve been astonished & mortified & sickened by the actions of the president of my beloved United States of America. I hope he is able to find peace.

  • sunnypatti

    People who refuse to wear a mask in public. And those who begrudgingly put one on, only to have it resting below their noses. I hate wearing a mask just as much as everyone else, but I do it for the good of my community and don’t understand why after 10 months of CoVid illnesses and deaths others still think it’s a conspiracy or just don’t care at all.

    • Holly in Ohio
      When my senior, diabetic, veteran friend was sick with Covid (and I was so worried about him) and I would see people without masks, one mask-less speaking loudly in a busy grocery store about how "No one is going to infringe MY rights by telling ME what to do with MY BODY!" ...I kept thinking of my friend and all the veterans out there who had to endure so much, even in basic training, going into buildings of tear-gas, etc., and yet we have so many flag-waving, "patriotic" individuals these day...

      When my senior, diabetic, veteran friend was sick with Covid (and I was so worried about him) and I would see people without masks, one mask-less speaking loudly in a busy grocery store about how “No one is going to infringe MY rights by telling ME what to do with MY BODY!” …I kept thinking of my friend and all the veterans out there who had to endure so much, even in basic training, going into buildings of tear-gas, etc., and yet we have so many flag-waving, “patriotic” individuals these days unwilling to wear a little cloth or paper mask to save the lives of those who protected or are protecting ours? The irony of it gets to me. I think we have entered, THE TWILIGHT ZONE… Doo-doo doo-doo, Doo-doo doo-doo!

      And yet, the mask-less are our larger family, too. Some of them are even veterans, who probably wore heavier masks at some point in their training or duty. I can’t completely wrap my head around it, but I have learned this year that fear and hate are diseases that can affect populations, just as much and as seriously as a virus.

      Read More
  • devy
    As a child I was fascinated by astronomy. My father bought me a reflective telescope that I would use going out at nights and looking at the moon, the stars and planets. In my mind these objects pricked my curiosity of space and interest in space travel and the ideas of life throughout the universe. These thoughts had not crossed my mind for years until one evening we went for a walk. I happened to look up at the heavens and gazed in awe. I felt a different view. A view that throughout the wor...

    As a child I was fascinated by astronomy. My father bought me a reflective telescope that I would use going out at nights and looking at the moon, the stars and planets. In my mind these objects pricked my curiosity of space and interest in space travel and the ideas of life throughout the universe. These thoughts had not crossed my mind for years until one evening we went for a walk. I happened to look up at the heavens and gazed in awe. I felt a different view. A view that throughout the world we are all able to look up and see the grandier. It reinforced my new ideals of the fact that we are all connected, that we are all made up of the same cosmic dust..that in fact we are one. I find these thoughts as being humbling and spiritual.

    Read More
  • Mike S

    I am astonished and anxious about the degree of political polarization in this country and the willingness of some of our public servants disregard our democratic ideals.

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