Category Archives: thoughts

Enjoy the Moment

This Wonderful Moment

I recently ran across this quote, & was so touched, I thought I’d share it.

“Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

While relishing this thought, I notice there’s another index card, that’s separated from the small stack of quotations on my desk. Flipping it over, the contents come into focus, asking:
“What is the highest possibility in this moment?”

What if we believed that this is a wonderful moment? What if we KNEW it was full of possibilities? What if we then looked for those possibilities?

I suspect we would always have smiles on our faces!!!
Thank you God!

rainbow
Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor

Make Your Holiday Merrier

Did You Have A Good Christmas?

snoopy

Gazing upon my Peanuts Calendar this Christmas Day, I see Linus & the forever forlorn Charlie Brown discussing their holiday.

Charlie Brown asks Linus,
“Did you have a good Christmas?”

To which, Linus answers ,
“Do you mean did I get a lot of presents?
OR do you mean did I give a lot of presents?
OR Are you referring to the weather or the Christmas Dinner we had?
OR Do you mean was my Christmas good in a spiritual sense?
OR Do you mean was my Christmas good in that I saw new meaning in old things?
OR do you mean…”

In response, Charlie Brown just sighs….

Which made me ponder this:
How often do we ask a question without being clear about exactly what we are asking?
How often do we answer a question without being clear about exactly what was asked?

Even then, it often depends upon our point of view.
Austin’s Christmas weather was sunny & clear. So, if you were dreaming of a White Christmas, you were out of luck.

As for for myself, all of Linus’ Christmas questions were answered affirmatively, but one.
How about you?
Did you have a good Christmas?

I had a great Christmas with good people, good food & good reflection.
Thank you God!

rainbow
Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor

Patience, Grasshoppers…

This Too, Shall Pass

Yesterday, without warning, the city began “fixing” the street in front of the place where I work. It definitely needs to be fixed. The city blocked off the east bound lane entirely & are digging up the old concrete. I assume that once the east bound side is complete, they will work on the west bound side. It is definitely a mess, & you can imagine the semi’s delivering & picking up freight have a hard time with only one lane open. The good news is that when it is finished, the street will be great to drive on.

It occurs to me that so many times in life we get to “wait out” the yucky stuff for our good to manifest. Even dessert comes after the meal. After having a cold for a few days (or a sinus infection, or a broken bone, or a bruise…) we do eventually feel better. After a few anxious days at a new job, we begin to understand our tasks, & the job gets easier. After a few hours or days of a storm, the weather passes. After a time without a job, we find one.

I believe we have some tasks that are ours to do. One of these is to realize that “This, too, shall pass,” & that if we continue to focus on the outcome we desire, as if we already have it, it will come to be more quickly. If we spend our time grumping about how bad the situation is, it will seem like Life gives us more to grump about.

My tasks are:
To realize that this, too, shall pass,
To hold in mind the desired result – as if it were mine already
To catch myself when I’m complaining & stop & then go back to holding the result in mind.

With these ideas in mind, it is much easier to go through the yucky stuff that occurs in life.

Thank you God!

rainbow
Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor

Faux Fact Confusion

With men this is impossible; but with God ALL things are possible. — Matthew 19:26

“(We) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”

Don’t Confuse Me With the Facts

Have you ever had an argument with your inner voice? Have you ever tried to reason with it when its guidance seemed impossible to believe? The situation is staring you in the face, and you just know your inner voice is telling you to do something that cannot possibly happen. “How can I know the Spiritual Truth in this situation” you wonder, when the facts are totally telling you it can’t be done?

I was presenting a workshop in Long Island. My inner voice inspired me to have the group do an exercise that involved a great deal of walking from one person to another. I argued with my inner voice, “But God, I can’t have these people do this exercise. One of them is in a wheel chair and she could not possibly do the walking.” The voice within continued to urge me to do it. I kept resisting. “This experience will not only embarrass her, God, it will shame her in front of her friends!” But my inner voice was relentless. It finally got so “loud,” I had to give in. I presented the exercise, and you know what happened? The person in the wheel chair got up and actually walked for the first time in years! So now, I make it a point to listen to my inner voice (almost all of the time).

AFFIRMATION
Today I listen to the still small voice within me without judgment and
honor it. I find that the more I listen, the clearer it becomes. My life
is transformed into an amazing adventure, as I explore hitherto unknown
regions. Look out world, here I come!
Thank you God!

rainbow
Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor

Sink or Swim

What’s Your Life Jacket?

Lucy

I have a Peanuts Joke A Day Calendar.
Yesterday’s entry showed Peppermint Patty as camp tent leader talking to 3 little girls.

“All right, Girls, this is your Swimming Test!”

“You are to swim back & forth, across the pool 6 times, “Free Style”. Then you are to swim back & forth, twice more using the “Back Stroke”. And again, twice more, back & forth, using the “Butterfly Stroke”.”

When she finishes with, “Any questions?”, one of the girls asks, “Is this with or without life-jackets?”

Isn’t this just like life? Before we try or do anything, we want to know if there’s a life jacket available. What if we fail? What if we look dumb, when we try? What if we don’t do it perfectly?

The answer to such fearful introspection is SO WHAT?!

If you taPattyke a step back & examine Life with an unbiased eye, you’ll realize that living is about trying & doing things, often looking silly & imperfect, & sometimes failing!
God is our spiritual life jacket, & God is always present.
Besides, “Failing & looking silly & being imperfect” are usually based upon someone else’s opinion.
We can use a physical life jacket, until we learn to swim proficiently. And we can rely on our Real Life Jacket, God, to stay the course of our life’s journey.
So what is yours to do? Do you know your next step?

Each step you make in life is preparing you for the next!
God is your life jacket & God is always with you!
Thank you God!

rainbow
Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor