This past weekend I participated in Jamie Ridler’s first Dreamboard Telecircle! Such a wonderful concept – joining people together around the world to share the experience of creating one’s own dreamboard. I love what I came up with, and plan to work with it more to continue to find out what I’m telling myself with my choice and arrangement of images.

In honor of my late mother-in-law’s birthday today, and the 7th anniversary of my dad’s passing, I’d like to share this short final chapter from Organizing for The Spirit:

A man of ritual, routine, and regularity, my father opened my biweekly email newsletters at precisely 11:00 on Saturday mornings. It didn’t matter that he had been up since 5:00 or that I usually sent them before 10:00; his time to check his mail was 11:00. Period.

My dad passed away suddenly on May 7, 2003. Fortunately, I was with him, in town to help my folks out after my mother’s mild stroke three weeks previous. Even though he had survived a massive heart attack twenty-two years before and four subsequent cardiac arrests, it came as a shock that it was finally his time to go.

As I contemplated writing my next newsletter, I didn’t know how to deal with the fact that my father wouldn’t be sitting at his computer, ready to read it, ever again. But a wise friend told me to write it anyway,  because my dad would still receive it – he would simply be at another address.

My dad was a complex and stubborn man, and that’s probably what kept him alive for so many extra years. He insisted on things being done his way, and only his way, but after his attack he left an impressive legacy of public service through his twenty-two years of volunteer work for many organizations.

The night before the funeral, I lay awake, wondering what exactly I could contribute for my part of the eulogy. My husband told me not to worry, that somehow my dad would “tell” me what to say. The next morning, my mother came to me with an envelope that she had taken from the back of her desk drawer. It read, “To Be Opened Upon My Demise” and was signed by my father. “I knew this was there,” she told me, “but I have no idea when he wrote it.” We opened the envelope, which contained one sheet of paper, with but a single sentence written on it, summing up what he believed to be the purpose of his life.

As my father demonstrated to me, “Organizing for the Spirit” means to become who you really are – to discover what makes you unique and personally powerful so that you can experience the joy of living and sharing your gifts with others. Organizing for the Spirit is a lifelong process of discovery and self-development, and the ultimate personal adventure. As my dad wrote in his final message: “To leave the world a bit better – to know that a life has been changed because you were there – this is to have succeeded.”

It is never too late to become who you are meant to be.

photo credit fotomossa

This question has been sitting on my desk for a few weeks now, scribbled down in haste when I first saw it. I know a gem of a message when I see one, and this reminder has sure come in handy.

I got a new laptop last weekend, which was the good news. The bad? Well, my programs got transferred but my email addresses didn’t seem to come with them. You know that moment when you first feel the horror of something monumental going wrong? I kept clicking on my address book again and again, as if I expected the addresses to magically re-appear after the 5th click.

Well, they didn’t and the voice in my head started screaming “Ohmygodhowdidthishappen?I’mgoingtodie.” And then I happened to glance at my note: What’s perfect about the problem? I can’t say that after seeing it I immediately jumped up and went into problem-solving mode. But the screaming voice quieted down enough to consider the possibility that there might be something positive hidden in the seeming disaster.

Long story short: After talking with my husband and daughter, I understood that I had transferred an older version of the email program and that it might very well be outdated in a short amount of time. But if I purchased the newest version and re-entered only my most current addresses I would have not only a better, updated program, but a much more efficient and effective address list to work with.

It does make sense to look at problems as opportunities. And life being what it is, I should probably enlarge my note, frame it and hang it in front of my nose.

If you’re looking for some new, life-affirming DVDs to help raise your spirits during the grey days, I’d like to recommend Infinity and The Shift. They’ll make you think, and feel good.

I finally got to do a Vision Board for 2010! Had to throw my own worskhop to make the time to do it, but it was such a wonderful experience. I believe that this type of exercise is often best done in the community of other people so that we can all benefit from the shared wisdom. Thanks to Debra for hosting and facilitating with me. We’re looking for many more of these to come!

photo credit crabshack

“Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.”      

– Sitting Bull, from the wonderful Kent Nerburn books, Neither Wolf Nor Dog and The Wolf At Twilight

photo credit Thai Jasmine

What inspires you? How do you inspire others?

Read about The Philanthropy Project.

photo credit gabernaculum

It’s first a trickle, a flow, then a torrent pouring down from above. I’m so grateful that I’ve learned to appreciate the ebbs and flows and how to swim in the abundance!

Feature-Length Film — “For the Next 7 Generations”

In 2004, thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers from all four corners of the earth, moved by their concern for our planet, came together at a historic gathering, where they decided to form an alliance: The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers. “For the Next 7 Generations” follows what happens when these wise women unite. Facing a world in crisis, they share their visions of healing and call for change now before it’s too late.

 The grandmothers had been told that they would be brought together at a critical time in history when their ancient knowledge was needed for the survival of the next generations.The Council visited Sedona this evening and shared a prayer-filled, story-filled, song and laughter-filled few hours.

It was an evening of magic, learning and hope. Check out the movie if you can.