When I was working my way through the depression one of the most important things I learned was that I could be happy even when I was sad.
photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
I learned…
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Monthly Archives: August 2014
You Are Not a Fraud
You are not a fraud. All that good stuff that people have been saying about you? That’s all true. Everyone else can see who you really are. You’re the only one who can’t see it…
Photo of yellow iris by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Depression and Rebirth
The death of Robin Williams has been a hard one for a lot of us to process. We loved this man. We loved his energy, his zany over-the-top take on life – we loved how he made us laugh, and we loved his kindness. And those of us who have experienced depression ourselves feel a kinship with him in his struggles with mental illness.
If you are dealing with depression, I’m here to tell you, my dear friend, that you WILL get through this. And, trust me, when you come out on the other side – and you WILL come out on the other side – you will realize that it was all worth it – all of it. The pain won’t last forever, I promise. Accept it, sit in it, don’t try to fight it, learn what you need to learn from it. The pain won’t leave you where it found you – it’ll push you closer to your own rebirth. Rejoice!
photo of a forest in the Pacific Northwest by Karen Molenaar Terrell
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings… – Psalms 40:2
Wilderness: Loneliness; doubt; darkness. Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence.
– Mary Baker Eddy
Sorrow has its own reward. It never leaves us where it found us.
– Mary Baker Eddy
For Nikki Mei Mei…
It warms the cockles of my heart to know you are in the world…
photo of the beach in Lincoln City, OR, by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Beliefs and Opinions
You know, I don’t think our opinions and beliefs are so important, really. I think it’s what we DO with our opinions and beliefs that matters. I mean, if our beliefs lead us to bigotry, hatred, condemnation, and general mean-spiritedness – that is not cool. But if our beliefs lead us to kindness, wisdom, forgiveness, and healing – that is WAY cool. Right?
photo of surf and seagulls in Lincoln City, Oregon, taken by Karen Molenaar Terrell
“We should remember that the world is wide; that there are a thousand million different human wills, opinions, ambitions, tastes, and loves; that each person has a different history, constitution, culture, character, from all the rest; that human life is the work, the play, the ceaseless action and reaction upon each other of these different atoms. Then, we should go forth into life with the smallest expectations, but with the largest patience; with a keen relish for and appreciation of everything beautiful, great, and good, but with a temper so genial that the friction of the world shall not wear upon our sensibilities; with an equanimity so settled that no passing breath nor accidental disturbance shall agitate or ruffle it; with a charity broad enough to cover the whole world’s evil, and sweet enough to neutralize what is bitter in it, – determined not to be offended when no wrong is meant, nor even when it is…”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Today You’re Starting Brand New
Don’t blame yesterday’s goofs on today’s you.
Yesterday’s over and done, and today you’re starting brand new! 🙂
photo taken in the Seattle Science Center’s Butterfly Exhibit by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Duh, Right?
I know… duh, right?
photo of sunset on Bellingham Bay by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Heaven Now
Experiencing heaven here. Experiencing heaven now…
photo of a sunset over the Puget Sound by Karen Molenaar Terrell
One Last Song
Without any words you sat down at the piano one last time before heading off on your new adventure. You knew I would come and hear – pulled by that irresistible sound of your fingers on the keys – and all in a flash I saw you again as a toddler – the back of your round little downy-haired head as you sat on my lap at the piano, your tiny fingers pushing down on the keys, then your face turning up to me, a grin of pure glee there… is there anything more powerful than love?
Perception and Connection
One moment of divine consciousness, or the spiritual understanding of Life and Love, is a foretaste of eternity.
– Mary Baker Eddy
Went for a walk along the dike yesterday, and came upon this sign that said, “Keep Out”. On the other side of the sign was a wheat field, and beyond the wheat field was a road, and beyond the road were hills, and rising above the hills – all majestic and beautiful – was Mount Baker. And I was obedient to the sign, I did not bring my body beyond it. But my eyes went beyond the sign and the sign wasn’t really separating me from the glory of Mount Baker. And then it hit me – no sign could stop me from bringing that image of the mountain into my conscousness. In fact, even if I never saw that mountain again, it would still be a part of me, living in my consciousness. All that I’ve perceived in my life is part of me, isn’t it? Not outside me, separated from me by my skin, or by time or space – but connected to me, and carried around within me. And that includes every book I ever loved, every sunset and rainbow I ever saw, every song that ever touched my soul, and you!
– photo of Mount Shuksan taken by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Breaking away from the mutations of time and sense, you will neither lose the solid objects and ends of life nor your own identity. Fixing your gaze on the realities supernal, you will rise to the spiritual consciousness of being, even as the bird which has burst from the egg and preens its wings for a skyward flight.
– Mary Baker Eddy
…remember Jesus’ words, “The kingdom of God is within you.” This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility.
– Mary Baker Eddy
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 