Reflections

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  1. R
    Reyna Parker

    Listening to music

    3 months ago
  2. Ben

    Living – smiling – loving – swimming in the ocean – walking in the forest – being with my wife – time with loved ones – my favourite music – laughing

    3 months ago
  3. Robin Ann

    Travelling to a new exciting destination that has vast landscapes and history. Sailing, biking or hiking on a beautiful sunny day.
    Spending time with friends and/or family sharing a meal, stories and laughs. Today is my son’s 31st birthday and he met a new gal a couple of months ago and I just met her. We all went out for Mexican food. I really like her a lot. She shares the same name as his ex so that is a bit tricky at the moment lol. It is so nice to see him happy and smiling now.

    3 months ago
    1. Ben

      What a great day for your son, his partner and you. I am happy you had a great day!!

      3 months ago
  4. Anna

    So many things, I chose those that I feel with all my heart, right now: a company of good friends laughing, playing tennis, joyfully like a little girl (I’m almost 60😊), singing in my choir.

    3 months ago
  5. Don Jones

    For enjoyment, creating with my hands. For depth of meaning, providing leadership.

    Here is a word from the led:

    And in the end we follow them –
    not because we are paid,
    not because we might see some advantage,
    not because of the things they have accomplished,
    not even because of the dreams they dream
    but simply because of who they are:
    the man, the woman, the leader, the boss,
    standing up there when the wave hits the rock,
    passing out faith and confidence like life jackets,
    knowing the currents, holding the doubts,
    imagining the delights and terrors of every landfall;
    captain, pirate, and parent by turns,
    the bearer of our countless hopes and expectations.
    We give them our trust. We give them our effort.
    What we ask in return is that they stay true.

    3 months ago
    1. Barb C

      Thank you for this, Don. I looked it up to know who it’s by; the title is “The Contract”, by William Ayot. https://williamayot.com/the-contract-2/

      3 months ago
    2. Yram

      Thank you for sharing that. Some real words to ponder.

      3 months ago
  6. pkr

    A brisk walk surrounded by the beauty of Mother Nature, birds, big trees, sunlight, clouds, all of it. Seeing the moon & stars when it is dark.
    Mother Nature makes me feel most alive. She gives me vitality. 😊✨

    3 months ago
    1. Ben

      Nature is powerful!!❤️❤️

      3 months ago
  7. Barb C

    The first few things that come to mind are things I haven’t done in quite a while: lose myself in dancing to great music, swimming out into a summer lake, conquering a long hill on my bike or feeling the satisfying ache of finishing a longer ride, standing at the ocean watching the endless waves roll in. And then there’s listening to truly glorious orchestral music–something about those string instruments. (Recommendation: The astoundingly talented Kanneh-Mason family https://youtu.be/k_LmRcr8Mm4?si=YwPU_80YNkERkoRu)
    As I think about it more, anything that absorbs me completely can make me feel alive: an invigorating intellectual/ideas exchange with co-workers, sitting on the porch at my friend’s house sipping tea and talking about nothing in particular, spending a long afternoon of cooking to produce something delicious, walking in the woods holding hands with my sweetheart and looking at the lush greenness all around us.
    Every day, every moment, is an opportunity to feel most alive.

    3 months ago
    1. Yram

      That was so lovely. Thank for sharing.

      3 months ago
  8. Charlie T

    There are several things that help me
    feel alive and part of this world. But, if
    I had to pick one, it would have to be
    being out in nature. There has always
    been a strong pull for me, and I am
    almost always better for spending time
    in the woods or mountains or deserts
    or beaches. Even an urban park gives
    me a feeling of connection.
    I have sought out and explored a good
    chunk of my corner of the world and it
    is a big part of who I am.

    3 months ago
  9. Journey

    Nature, especially the virgin green leaves in early spring are translucent and magical.

    3 months ago
  10. Yram

    I feel alive when I am with others. I feel alive by myself in the early morning hours. I feel alive when I look into a topic and make new discoveries. I feel alive at unexpected happenings.

    3 months ago
  11. Michele

    Right now, cold air – my house is 62, 46 outside here in Florida.
    Music
    My work – seeing death everyday makes you appreciate life and how ya never know when your time is up

    3 months ago
    1. Robin Ann

      Wow that is chilly for Florida!

      3 months ago
      1. Michele

        It is and my heater is not working, first plumbing issues, now this…. ugh, when it comes, it comes.

        3 months ago
  12. sunnypatti

    Opening the door to let the dogs out earlier and feeling the cold, brisk air. Practicing yoga and breathwork. Surfing and just being on or near the water. Music – especially live music – and dancing!

    3 months ago
  13. Carol

    What makes me feel most alive?

    Music is my immediate answer…the gift of song. I’ve often said that my voice sings to me through me. Singing in the saloon in New Orleans, singing in the New Orleans concert choir, singing in myriad church choirs, singing in community theatre productions of Broadway musicals, singing in hospitals, mental institutions, prisons and rest homes, even singing in the shower. I was blessed with the gift of song and it brought me such joy to share it. Physical issues have brought that ability to a halt but memories keep the joy it nurtured alive and I realize that perhaps we all feel most alive when we are truly present in and to our lives. When I performed, I put my whole self in. I was totally present, willing and vulnerable to the moment. This reminds me of a essay I wrote and presented at a UU Flower Communion Service many years ago. I share it below.

    WHAT IF THE HOKEY-POKEY REALLY IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT?

    There was a bumper sticker out several years ago that read: “What if the Hokey-Pokey really is what it’s all about?” Well, at the time, I chuckled but that question began to live in me.
    In 2003, noted author Bill Bryson, wrote a book called “A Short History of Nearly Everything.” In that book, Bryson gives his interpretation of Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity.” According to Bryson, energy and matter are “…two forms of the same thing: energy is liberated matter and matter is energy waiting to happen.”
    To understand Bryson’s statement, I thought of my atheist uncle. He plants a big garden every year and as he buries the seeds, he tells me that his word for God is Nature. The seed, he says, surrenders to its nature – is liberated by the soil and water to become what it was meant to be.
    If I understand Bryson’s take on quantum physics and my uncle’s take on God, then I am a seed/manifest energy waiting to happen.” And because I have free will, I can choose not to bloom!
    And when I look at the daffodils blooming in my neighbor’s garden after a long Winter pointing me toward the promise of Spring, I think about the bulbs from which they came. I believe that those bulbs understand how to live abundantly much better than I do.
    I ask myself: How do frail, little, rather plain-looking seeds and bulbs become beautiful flowers? What is their secret?
    The answer is simple. The seeds do not resist life. The seeds trust the process. When this mystery, this life-giving energy asks them to dance the Hokey Pokey, they say, “Okay.” They put their whole selves in and burst into a display of beautiful, colorful flowers for which we all can be grateful.
    And as much as I hesitate to reinforce a chauvinistic stereotype, I think the following story is a wonderful metaphor—a a good illustration of what a difference this type of willingness can make in our lives.
    It”s a story about a Texas businessman who loves to dance to country music. If you visit the Dallas/Fort Worth area, you will frequently find him two-stepping his way across the sawdust covered dance floors in and around Fort Worth.
    He says that one night, when he eyed an attractive lady at one of these dance halls, he approached her and asked her to dance. They had taken no more than two or three steps when it was obvious to him that she was attempting to lead. He gently tried to corral her several times but it turned into a wrestling match. It was a stilted and awkward promenade.
    He lowered his head to her ear and asked, “Who is running this show?”
    Her off-the-cuff reply was, “I am.”
    Then, He looked her in the eye and stated matter-of-factly, “No ma’am, I am.”
    He says they had a standoff of eye contact that seemed to last for minutes but could not have been longer than two or three seconds. Then her body softened; she smiled, and uttered, “Okay.”
    In that instant the wrestling match turned into a dance that would have won any dance competition. He swung her, he twirled her and their four feet made their way across the floor as if they had been dancing partners for years. They were—in sinc—tied by an invisible bond.
    So where am I going with this? It is my thought that the businessman’s question: “Who is running the show?” was not about control. It was about relationship.
    It was not about power or rank; it was about cooperation. When he and his partner defined and agreed upon their roles, the dance floor ceased to be a battleground. It was a win-win situation. The dancers and the dance became one.
    Psychology does a great job of teaching us about the fight or flight reflex. I think Bryson’s take on Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity” teaches us to “flow” , to pour our whole self in…to be a willing seed so we can be liberated by life…so we can become the dance.
    How many times in life do we put our right foot in and take it out and run like hell? How many times do we flee?
    How many times do we put are right arm in but our hand is closed in a fist? We judge; we blame; we fight life.
    When the woman chose to let go, to just be present, to desist, she experienced a dance she will never forget. When we let go, we lose control to our spirit; we bloom and we blossom.
    Noted spiritual teacher and author Eckhart Tolle in his book, “A New Earth” says that “Being one with life is being one with now. You then realize that you don’t live your life, but life lives you. Life is the dancer and you are the dance.”
    You see: That’s why I think the Hokey Pokey is what it’s all about.

    3 months ago
    1. Michele

      What’s frustrating about the dance story is she initially said ‘I am’ and he did not accept that and had to disagree with her.
      So, it is control. (in my opinion)

      3 months ago
      1. Joseph McCann

        Seems like lots of things in this world are “About Control”.

        3 months ago
      2. Carol

        Michele, For me, the story is metaphorical…He stands for Life. She for how I relate to Life. Do I fight, flee or flow.

        3 months ago
  14. Avril

    This question is an old chestnut. I love this question and all of its variants. Answering this makes me feel the aliveness. I feel alive when I do my morning puja (prayer ritual) and I remember Divine Mother and I are one and the same. I feel alive when I reflect with gratefulness on my family, teachers, and my life. I feel alive when I do Qi Gong shaking and mindful yoga postures. I feel alive right now in the silent space of my meditation room.

    3 months ago
    1. Carol

      Love your answer, Avril. It makes me feel alive!

      3 months ago
  15. Pilgrim

    The arrival of early spring weather, when I can begin my beach walks. This is what makes my heart happy! I’m praying that my knee has recovered enough by then. And in this time now, I enjoy watching my backyard activity from indoors … squirrels and birds making the best of it out there! May all be well with you, Friends!

    3 months ago
    1. Avril

      Backyard windows are such a blessing.

      3 months ago
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