No Hornets Please

                  

 
While hiking in the woods ....

 

  

            I see two perfect mounds of moss. 

                                    Perfectly, gloriously

                                             round and green

                                                         amid lots of brown.

 

Such beauty catches my attention. I pause and express delight to my hiking companions.    

 

I also marvel over Marianne Williamson's Facebook status of today.  So much so, that I want to share her beautiful wisdom:   "Many years ago someone said to me, 'Marianne, you're so hard on yourself. And the reason you're so hard on yourself is because you're so easy on yourself.'  It was one of the wisest things anyone has ever told me, and it has guided me every since.  Sometimes we're too easy on ourselves, lacking self-discipline and giving ourselves slack and in places where we simply shouldn't. Then we're loaded with guilt and suffering! The only way to end the torture of self-condemnation is to try to live a life that earns your self-respect.

It's a challenge to quiet the perfectionist in me, and motivate the slacker.  

 

I'm inspired by Marianne's simple instruction:  "try to live a life that earns your self-respect." This task is so simple and hopeful. Her words remind me of my own writing for a chapter in the Mellowness of Heart book I'm co-authoring with my brother, Don - about legalism and mellowness of heart: 

 

As a child, I listened to a phrase of The Hornet Song with fear and fascination- God does not compel us to go ‘gainst our will, but He just makes us willing to go.   In my childish misconceptions, God was an authoritarian trickster.  Sooner or later God would force me with the likes of hornets and earthquakes to do what God wanted; my desires were inconsequential.    What a blessing to be invited to know a God who truly wants me to be and do what God put in me at birth to be and do!  God is my partner; we work together in uncovering what is in my heart and what is my purpose. The stick that drives me is often some type of cultural conditioning, previous misconception, or a ghost from authoritarian, black and white religious teachings of my childhood. 

 

I'm a messy perfectionist.  I love to make messes but sometimes run out of energy for clean up. Loved teaching my kids to cook or raise goats and didn't mind a messy kitchen or barn. But when organizing a notebook, or developing a project or performing for others I agonize over every detail often driving myself to perfection.  I can't tolerate inner chaos but am often oblivious to clutter.  Marianne's words comfort me. I don't have to try so hard or compare myself to others.  I can learn when to push and when to ease up. I can reach for living a life that earns my self respect.  Mine. Not yours or theirs or some misconception of God.

 

 

 

there are no hornets in this photo

 
 
I practice this every time I illustrate this blog with my amateur photography.  I dislike learning camera details, yet I love sharing my loves and wonders with others. I find balance by making myself learn more about my camera here and there, while respecting myself enough to only post the best of my ordinary photos. 

Speaking of wonders.....  I am thrilled by this little bird on a nest.  I wonder what kind of bird it is. I snapped this photo (my best one :) from the cabin deck before going on that moss-finding hike.  If you know what kind of bird this is, please let me know!

 

 

More than anything, I want to just enjoy life.  I am grateful to the Creative Force that began it all. The process of life is ingenious, so perfectly messy!  And I do love hearing God laugh when I  pray 'no hornets please'....



son and 3yr old grand daughter - Lititz Springs Park

Joyfully,
Sharon