For I am persuaded that neither times of the month nor times of the year; neither astrological signs, nor doubts, nor fear; neither what’s far away, nor what lies near; neither what’s in the past, nor what’s now and here; neither war nor pandemic, nor loss nor tears can separate us from Love and all that’s dear.
Come with me! Join me here in this place where I AM. Just there, beyond the five senses. A universe of Love. A presence called Life. A power called Truth. Do you feel it with you? Do you feel yourself baptized and immersed in this presence of Love? Come! Join me here!
I went for a long walk before I went to the dentist. I needed to escape from my head for a bit – to let my thoughts soar and let Life pour all its Good into me. I needed to take a break from the pain. So I walked out of my head and into the Consciousness of Good surrounding me, abounding all around me.
Swans and ducks sat in a green field by an old barn. The air smelled of rain and life. Children’s toys and bikes sat in a driveway, waiting to play. Dogs wagged their tails at me from inside their yard.
And I felt no pain at all while I was there outside my head.
So I stayed outside my head when I went to the dentist. And the dentist said: “Healthy teeth. Long roots. These aren’t going to fall down during a storm.”
And I felt Love with us as he filled in my long roots and the crown on my tooth and sent me home, feeling no pain.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell (Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)
Swans in a field near bow, Washington. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.
I’m praying, but I can’t seem to find God in my thoughts. I can’t hear Her voice. It’s 3:00 in the morning when I head downstairs to read. I sit on the couch and pull a blanket around me and open my book. Timid black cat jumps onto the couch and slowly moves closer to me until I pull him next to me and he lays down, belly-up, trusting me, expecting kindness, and his trust fills me with joy. And I realize that this is God talking to me. I pet his belly and click on Facebook’s messenger on my phone and see new messages waiting for me. I open them and find words of love and comfort and caring and connection in the voices of my friends. And I know that this is God talking to me. The night is still, but I can feel it gently pulsing with Life and Love. And I am enveloped in the joy of be-ing. This is God talking to me.
Principle is my foundation. Mind is my guide. Soul is my music. Life is my friend in whom I abide. Truth is my protector. Love is my mother. Spirit is my reality. I need no other. -Karen Molenaar Terrell
I woke up to find out that someone(s) had attempted to steal from me – long story involving trickery and someone posing as me in an email. Anyway. At first I was freaked out by this. But then this weird thing happened. I felt this kind of detached calm about it all. I took the steps I needed to take to to try to fix the problem, and then got in my car and drove up to Bellingham for a nice walk on the boardwalk. The sky still had pink in it when I got up there. There were goldeneye ducks and seagulls and cool patterns in the bay. Everyone I passed gave me a friendly smile for a smile. It was lovely.
I stopped at the Colophon and as soon as I walked in the hostess/server asked me if I’d like my favorite peach Arnold Palmer drink – she recognized me! And then she led me back to my favorite seat in the corner. I ordered some avocado toast and sipped my peach tea and just soaked up the happy vibes.
It came to me that I was in control of how I was going to feel. The person who had attempted to steal from me wasn’t the boss of me, and had no say in how I was going to feel about my day.
The server gave me another peach tea to take with me when I left, and I left a big tip in appreciation for the friendly kindness I’d felt at the restaurant – a reminder of all the good folks in the world with me.
Shakespeare wrote: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” And I saw how true that was today. I could choose to be all ruffled and affronted at the way my morning had started. Or I could choose to find joy for myself.
Life isn’t “out to get me.” Life is good.
(Photo below is of a goldeneye duck on Bellingham Bay this morning. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)