A New Chapter & A Butterfly

Surrounded by the concrete landscape of downtown, she stood facing the colorful flowerbed. Bright pink, yellow, orange, and white flowers bloomed in beautiful contrast to the gray sidewalk. With a hand on her chin and the other arm wrapped around her waist, she stood looking. I was driving past, and she caught my eye. A yellow butterfly had caught hers. Another yellow butterfly. I smiled.

For weeks I had been noticing yellow butterflies. The first few didn’t register as important to me, but the next 10 to 15 did. They had been signaling me.

I was sitting in a meeting and very much focused on the task at hand. Although it took me a little while to realize it, I wasn’t needed in the meeting and conversation soon became dismissive. What the meeting organizer didn’t realize though was that someOne else who did care about my thoughts was trying to capture them and reassure me of my gifts.

I suppose I had noticed the butterflies earlier in the meeting, but I was trying to pay attention to the facilitator. Once dismissed though, it was hard not to focus instead on the beautiful yellow butterflies that were floating past the window just behind his head. I tried to keep my eyes on the speaker, but there were just too many butterflies. One, two, three…eight, nine, ten…more and more. Lovely. Peaceful. My heart transcended.

At the time, I had been turning the pages into a new chapter in my life. Interestingly enough when I found myself stuck between pages or worrying, a yellow butterfly popped up to shake my mind from my uncertainty. Even well into fall, they still miraculously kept floating past me on occasion.

Thank you, God. You have not gone unnoticed, and I appreciate the gentle flutter of wings and yellow light that you shine in my direction to remind me of your presence and guidance. I am thankful for the many chapters in my life, even the challenging ones, and am enjoying the joy and discovery of this new one.

With love and light,

LT

The Sun and The Wind

The Sun and the Wind were playing games one day tossing and dodging clouds. Becoming bored with this game, Wind suggested a challenge. Sun agreed to participate. Spotting a man hurrying along the sidewalk, Wind said, “Let us see who can get him to take off his coat; I’ll go first.” Sun smiled.

Wind huffed and puffed. Wind pushed clouds this way and that. The man pulled his coat tighter and tighter around him and never took it off. Finally out of breath, Wind took a break. It was Sun’s turn.

Sun shown brightly. The warmth spread gently through the sky and reached the man’s back. The clouds spread out revealing a beautiful blue sky. Warmed from the heat emitted from the light, the man smiled and let go of the shiver he had felt from the wind. Sun beamed brighter and the man looked up to notice the trees and birds flitting back and forth between the branches. He slowed his pace. He reached back and took off his coat, hooking it under his arm, and began to whistle as he walked away.

After school recently, my son admitted to me that he had received a conduct mark. He had become frustrated by a group project. Instead of working through the issues with his peers, he angrily moved pieces of the group project, in a way, breaking it. Uh, oh. Not ok, and my son ended up with a conduct mark on his calendar and a time out at the playground. He couldn’t understand why he had been reprimanded in such a way when the project piece was so easily moved back to the correct position, fixing the mistake.

I asked him if he could think of some ways that he could have responded differently rather than acting in anger to move the project pieces once he became frustrated.

He was unsure.

I asked if he could have taken a deep breath to clear his head. Perhaps he could have asked for help.

We came up with a few more ideas such as talking with his teacher or again asking his friends to listen to his ideas for the project perhaps even offering to show how the changes might work.

I let him know that I could completely understand getting angry but tried to help him also think through the loss of self control or loss of thought in moments of anger.

It was a good talk, and I was proud of him for telling me about it before I saw the conduct mark on his calendar and had to ask.

A calm voice through our conversation and a big hug at the end certainly helped, too. Healing warmth.

Angry is going to happen. How we act within anger or frustration…that’s a choice. Spreading gentle warmth with patience can be positively effective. You can still solve the problem or get the job done. Let’s be the light.

With love and light,

LT

Author’s note: The Sun and The Wind story above was my own memory version of one of Aesop’s Fables told to me as a child during a meditation class during choir camp one summer. It stuck with me. Take some time to look up Aesop. Fascinating. Ancient wisdom. Glad to have it today.

Snow Dream: The Epiphany

The snow drifts were two to three feet high along the streets, and the roads could only be approached by foot by the time we headed out that night. Bundled from head-to-toe, determined, we walked until we saw a light coming from the church. All else was dark save the street lamps.

The unassuming church, tightly bricked in between two other buildings, surprised me. The view when we walked in was completely unexpected. Gray marble stretched for almost an eternity and narrow stained glass windows of every color followed it. It was majestic, breathtaking, warm, and welcoming all at once.

I was amazed to see how crowded it was for an Epiphany service. I honestly don’t think I had ever attended one, but it was important to Ellie that we go.

It was finally time for the service to begin. Every wooden seat was filled. I was comforted by Ellie and her joy and enthusiasm for the Epiphany service.

Incense seemed to be wafting through the candlelit room as we all walked in a line towards the crèche. Ellie confidently walked first, knelt before the crèche, and then with an exuberant smile sacredly painted the cross upon her forehead with holy oil.

I knelt afterwards realizing it was a prayerful time to consider the gifts ­I was presenting to the baby king.

We walked back to our seats, pure joy on Ellie’s face, for she too is expecting a newborn gift.

As we were seated, paper ornaments of the sheerest weight lined with silver were handed out. Ellie turned to me with hers in hand. It was in the shape of a C, the first letter of her expected daughter’s name. It reminded me of the brilliant light of the moon. The look on her face…glorious.

This whole evening was a dream. Oh, the hope, the comfort, the joy that lives in each of our hearts and drifts into our minds at rest.

This was my snow dream. It was for Ellie, for her daughter, for her mother, for her mother’s mother, but it was for me, too, and for you, on the Epiphany.

There are always gifts waiting to be received.

With love and light,

LT