I’ve been listening to the book, “The One-in-a-Million Boy”, and it is so beautiful. I’m only about eleven chapters in, but already it has hit me in a deep way. I belong to a monthly book club, and sometimes I don’t get to the novel because I’m busy reading those “self-help” books. But this week, this novel really pulled me in. 

It tells the story of Ona, a 104-year-old woman, and her unexpected friendship with an eleven-year-old brilliant, autistic boy. He begins visiting her as part of a community service project, but what develops is something much more beautiful and meaningful. He becomes genuinely curious about her life. And more importantly, he listens.

On this same trip, I also visited Melissa, a dear young friend who is pregnant with her first child.  She is due in August.  Hearing about all their plans for the future was so beautiful to witness. 

Life is so full, isn’t it?  

Melissa gave me a powerful book, “Tiny Beautiful Things.” By Cheryl Strayed.  Have you heard of it? It is so good!! It’s a compilation of advice columns she wrote as the anonymous “Sugar.” It’s really powerful because she shares her own personal heartbreaks, mistakes, and hard-earned wisdom and shows us how to choose presence, love and courage even when it’s hard. 

Beauty can be found in the simplest, most ordinary moments of our lives. And yet, we so easily take this beautiful world we live in for granted without even realizing it.

Cleaning the house. Tending the garden. Cooking a meal.

These most mundane everyday tasks can take on a sacred quality when they are performed with our total involvement. When we do them with love. When we do them without needing recognition or reward, just doing them as best we can. 

In 2014 I learned about this movie, Death Makes Life Possible, directed by Marilyn Shlitz and Mark Krigbaum.  I watched it in a small room with about 50 people and it changed my life.  I was so excited about it that I bought the screening rights to the movie and took it on the road.  I brought it to some local libraries and then facilitated a conversation afterwards.  

It’s a great documentary that follows Marilyn Schlitz as she travels through science, spirituality, religions and human experience to try to answer one question: What is death – and how does understanding it change how we live. 

Do you know about the parable of the twins in the womb? I was just introduced to it recently and I love it.  It makes me think about love and faith in a new way.

Two babies are growing together in the dark, warm unknown. One believes that this world, this place, is all there is. “This is it,” the skeptic twin says. “There is no life after this. There’s no mother waiting for us. What we see and feel now is all we get.” The other twin disagrees. “I think there’s something more. I think there’s a mother. I think this darkness is not the end, but the beginning.”

There are so many ways to connect with people these days. It’s pretty amazing if you think about it. Texting, phone calls, emails, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, FaceTime the list is long. I am still amazed that I can pick up my phone and see my mom in New York while I am sitting in rural Penobscot, Maine. In a matter of seconds, the miles between us disappear. We are lucky to live in a time with so many options for communication.

And yet, even with all of that convenience, there is still nothing more powerful than a face-to-face visit. There is a warmth and an energy that simply cannot be replicated through a screen. Even just the comfort of sitting beside someone when no words are spoken nourishes something deep within us.

Some people say that our intuition is our direct connection to the divine. I believe this. If we truly listen, it will teach us our truth. It may not lead us down a smooth predictable path, but it is the best path for us. We will make mistakes, but those mistakes are also important. We are here to live full and vibrant lives and to share our gifts with others. But it often takes courage. We can think we are prepared for whatever arises, but life will always throw us a curve ball.

This morning, I pulled the card titled Pearl— Authenticity. And wow…what a message. I thought I would share it with you.

A pearl forms when a grain of sand enters an oyster and causes irritation. Instead of being destroyed by it, the oyster responds by coating the grain over and over again with a substance called nacre, slowly transforming it into something smooth, luminous, and whole.

Last week I was dealing with some difficult things. My mind was spinning with “what ifs.” The worry and anxiety was overwhelming and I couldn’t seem to quiet it.

Thankfully, I have a regular practice of breath work and meditation. The older I get, the more I rely on it to bring me back to the ground. It’s takes a lot of discipline on my part, but now I can’t imagine living without it.

Have you ever heard of summum bonum?  In essence from what I have researched, it is Latin for “the highest good”.  It’s a phrase used to describe the ultimate or highest goal or virtue that serves as the primary purpose of human existence.  It is the “north star”, which is what most of us are searching for! 

I learned about this phrase by reading Paulo Coelho’s newest book, The Supreme Gift – Love is the Greatest Thing in the World. It is a short read, under 100 pages but has some powerful wisdom in it. According to him, the highest good is simple, yet very profound: love.

How many times have you felt that feeling when you have been immersed in your day and suddenly you realize that hours have gone by and you thought only one had passed? Or the reverse, when you’re certain hours slipped away, only to discover it was much less?

Time is such an interesting thing, isn’t it? And the older we get, the more precious it becomes.

While I believe our energy and spirit continue on after we die, there’s still that human preoccupation with how much time we have left.

Then John looked at each of us and asked, “What’s your story?” He was a skilledfacilitator.  He seemed to know just when to ask the next person a question and quietly and attentively took in our answer. He created a comfortable space. 

It turned out to be a beautiful exercise for all of us.

Good people rarely make the news. They are just here. They want to belong, to be loved, to contribute, to help, to share, to serve and be seen. When you walk into the post office, the doctor’s office, or the grocery store, look around. You are surrounded by good people trying to keep it all together.

If we reach out and connect, support, smile, and love one another our collective power is HUGE. Seven billion, nine hundred million strong. That’s the reality.

It’s not because we’re lazy or because we haven’t read the right book yet. Instead, what he says is that, “the greatest achievements often involve remaining open to serendipity; seizing unplanned opportunities, or riding unexpected bursts of motivation.” I totally believe this.  It’s OK to strive. To keep working towards a better tomorrow, but don’t forget about the “now” you are in on the way. 

My son walked out to his car the other day and sitting on the hood, was a book with no note or explanation. He asked around to see if he could find out who left it, but no one stepped forward. So, the assumption is that it must have been a simple random act of kindness.