“As one begins to see the light of day through the misty minutes of unknowing, hope gently blossoms petal by petal like an unfolding pink rose.” – Lisa Zuercher from Reflections of My Day, 14 June 2006.
Beauty and the Mundane
“Yesterday as I was de-pooping the yard a butterfly landed at my feet. He was the size of a silver dollar, mostly black with crimson around the border of the wings and specks of yellow just near the crimson border. The shape of the wings reminded me of a harp. I was mesmerized by the delicate beauty. I was astounded that such a delicious gift of renewal was placed before me as I tended to my mundane chore. I witnessed the depth of this beauty and delighted in the song being played by the flapping of his wings. Then I urged this little butterfly to scoot before he was trampled by my dog Fionn.” – Lisa Zuercher from Reflections of My Day, 6 October 2014.
Are you able to stop for a moment in the midst of the mundane and take notice to the beauty around you or within you? Are you willing to allow your heart-space to open in order to receive the delicious delicacies that are fluttering around you?
Messiness of Life
In the messiness of life I find myself looking, searching, yearning for something else, something more, as if it is either or – joy or sadness, aloneness or togetherness, despair or hopefulness, desolation or consolation, life or death – but it is everything. All of it, the opposites, make up the beauty of life, of my life and the messiness is just part of it.
How do you define the messiness of your life? Are you able to take steps toward embracing it as part of you? Will you look at the messy parts and see how it adds to the beauty of you?
Gentle Sunset
I stepped out onto my back porch and was welcomed into the warmth of serenity. The oppressive heat seemed to dissipate as my heart skipped a beat in jubilation as my soul gazed up at the evening sky in time to witness the gentle sunset. A mindful moment turned into many moments of me skipping around the yard, taking photos, and giving thanks for the miracles placed before this day. In the most ordinary of days the most extraordinary is placed before me. I see it because my heart is open.
Is your heart open? Are you able to see the extraordinary in the ordinary when you allow the fog to dissipate from your gaze? What do you see when you open your heart?
Gentle Sunset over Brooklyn, 12 August 2016. Photo credit, Lisa Zuercher 2016.
Rainbow and Sunflower
I walked out my back door this morning and I was greeted by a rainbow and the bursting bloom of my mammoth sunflower, which yesterday was only thinking about greeting me. I looked at both and gasped. A smile broadened across my face and I knew it was a good day. A good moment. I gave thanks.
What takes your breath away and brings a smile to your face? For what will you give thanks today?
Perfectly Imperfect
If you strive to be perfect you close yourself off to many possibilities in life. The value of imperfection is not often fully realized and is kicked to the side, as if a waste product. If you embrace the imperfection you’ll soon realize the beautiful nuggets of wisdom that lie in wait for you.
How do you value the imperfections in your life? Do you embrace them as miracles to be savored, lived, and loved?
Brokenness
Let your heart be broken for in the brokenness you’ll realize the fullness of you. You’ll breathe again. You’ll get up again. You’ll love again. Today is the anniversary of my brother going to heaven. I never thought the hole in my heart would mend. I wasn’t broken, I was shattered. And I did breathe again. I did get up again. I did love again. I embraced the grief over time and the fullness of me began to blossom, yet this time with a deeper sense of Life and Love.
Have you experienced brokenness? Are you being tender with yourself and allowing your brokenness to heal within so that you too can bloom into Life? Are you beginning to realize the full sense of you through your experience?
Peace, love and healing to all.
Walk Another Mile
"Be it so ever peaceful in my heart, let me walk another mile in my own shoes so that I can continue to understand the breadth of who I am. I am You and You me. You, the all-encompassing spirit, love of my soul and breath of my life, sustain me yet another moment so that I can live yet another miracle." - from Reflections on My Day, by Lisa Zuercher, 2011.
Who do you say you are? How will you live the miracle of you?
Stop and Take Notice
Sitting in my yard, admiring the pale blue sky, the blooming sunflowers, the ornamental grasses, the sparrows flying from the Rose of Sharon bush to the various vines that line the fence make me smile. Bugs and bees are scurrying from bloom to bloom delighting in the nectar of life. And I get to enjoy all of this.
What will you enjoy today? Will you stop long enough to notice something in your surroundings that will bring a smile to your heart?
(To read more about what I took notice to yesterday, take a peek at my blog post http://www.lisazuercher.com/blog/2016/8/7/waltzing-with-my-thoughts)
The Cracked Cup
I looked at my cracked tea cup and reflected upon myself and smiled. The cracks represent part of my story and they bring me closer to God.
Where do your cracks lead you?
Your Resting Place
Travel into the heart of God and rest there. In this space you will find solace, peace and freedom. This is where you will find your resting place.
Are you willing to turn to the heart of God through your trials and tribulations alike and rest in his love?
Specialness
The angel of the Lord says, “You are special.”
How will you delve into your specialness today?
My Prayer
“If I have all things, all gifts and all that I feel is pleasing but do not love then I have nothing. If I display an attitude of pity for self, if I gossip, if I speak anything but love for my neighbor then I do not have love. What am I willing to give up in order to attain love, in order to have love? Merciful Father you know my heart and you know my roots. Please forgive me my transgressions and bring me into your fold. Please do not leave me out to dry. Please do not turn your back on me as I am nothing without you. Do not abandon me to the evil that dwells for I am not strong if you are not my foundation. There is only hope where you are so please do not set me apart from your kingdom. Take me, hold me and feed me from the vine of truth. Thank you my Lord for your love, your forgiveness and for all that you do for me. Peace. Amen.” – Lisa Zuercher, from In the Midst of Love, 20 August 2013.
What is your prayer? Why don’t you take a moment from your day today and write a prayer for yourself. Will you do it?
Allowing Love
Take solace in the fact that you are loved. If you feel loneliness or despair creeping in, greet it by saying, “Welcome loneliness and despair. I acknowledge you. Love is on its way.” Take a few deep healing breaths knowing all the while you ARE Loved. You are never alone.
Will you allow love to surround you? Will you accept love into your life? Will you love you?
My Gift to You
The smile on my face is my gift to you. The smile in my heart is God’s gift to me.
Have you smiled today? Have you shared the gift of a smile with someone today? Did you allow yourself to receive my smile gift? Did you allow yourself to receive a smile gift from anyone else? How did it feel? What makes your heart smile?
Smile for No Reason
Smile for no reason. Simply smile. Allow the energy of the smile to radiate through you. Feel the energetic shift and relax into it. Go ahead, just smile.
Will you experiment with smiling today? What would it take for you to turn that frown upside down? Will you focus on smiling as a way to shift your energy today?
Walking with God
I walk along the shore as the ocean laps at my heels. The seagulls caw a sweet melody overhead as thoughts dance in my heart. God smiles, takes hold of my hand and walks with me. – Lisa Zuercher, from My Thoughts on God
Where do you walk with God? Where are you meeting God in your days? Will you take hold of God’s hand and walk awhile with him?
Surrender Sweetly
Dear Lord,
When I think of you my heart sings in delight as I know all creation is from you, it is of you. The sunrise is you. The sunset is you. The ocean is you. The surrendering sweetly into love is you. Thank you.
What makes your heart sing? Are you willing to surrender sweetly into it?
The Open Door
“Behold I have left an open door before you, which no one can close.” Revelations 3:8.
The open door is an invitation to enter into the deepest Self, a place of solace and peace. A place where you and God intertwine in the bliss of the creation of you.
As you journey through your day what doorway will you choose to walk through? What will you say yes to? And whom or what is that yes serving?
Prayer
“Prayer is the all-encompassing breath of my-self with my Beloved. The beauty of this is the fact that it is. It simply is.” – Lisa Zuercher, from In the Midst of Love, 27 August 2011.