Being nagged, in a good way...............

Interesting day yesterday. Maybe you have had them before. The ones where no matter where you go, or what you do the messages get through LOUD AND CLEAR. This always makes me wonder how long I have been getting little hint messages and choosing to ignore them. Anyway...

My morning started yesterday with me checking my e-mail as usual. My in-box contained a letter from Jana Stanfield sharing about her current working trip to Australia. She is speaking at a teachers conference, and this is a quote from the person that put together the conference:

"My dream has always been and still is to inspire our teachers so they can inspire our kids to greatness, whether that be going on to make a difference in the world or just having a happy, fulfilled life. I want the light and sparkle that a five year old child has in their eyes - the joy and love of learning - to remain with them at all times, not to start to die and diminish at the age of six or seven. My mission is to leave a legacy in education."

My first thought was "too bad there were not people like this in my school district, but second this spoke to me about my own dreams and life mission. Have I really been doing anything lately to foster them? Kind of a kick in the pants, but in a good way.

The letter goes on to share the title of the new song Jana is working on:

"SAY YES TO THE REST OF YOUR DESTINY."

WOW! When I read those words I felt as if I was being hit over the head with a frying pan (NOT that I have ever been hit over the head with a frying pan though my first husband shared his experience with me of having been hit in the head with a frying pan by his younger brother when they were kids, and he said it made him sit up and take notice so I am borrowing from his experience here). How many times do I say no to my destiny before giving in and saying yes?

Finally, I was listening to Dr. Oz's radio show on my XM radio and his guest was a priest that is considered a sort of "renegade" for his thinking and beliefs. His ideas about prayer, that "it isn't as much about asking God for favors as it is about just being still and listening" touched a cord of truth in my soul. He talked about walking down the streets of New York city on his way to the studio in a "state of prayer." What he described was trying to hold an empty mind and just letting whatever flowed into it (it being his mind) flow on through in a spirit of love. As he would see various people he would let the thoughts flow rather than hang onto them and try and control/make sense out of them, and he was filled with an incredible sense of peace and love. I have felt similar feelings, say, while taking a quiet walk through nature on a beautiful sunny day not really thinking about anything except for the contentment of the moment.

He went on to talk about prayer being something that we should be doing constantly, again not the bargaining, big process, "Please keep the light green for me I am late" (HUGELY GUILTY of this one folks)but rather that open state of mind in which we allow what we are suppose to be hearing in because we aren't busy only listening/hearing what we WANT to hear.

Disclaimer here...This is what I took away from the radio show. It is what I think I needed to take away from the show. It is very possible that it was not the intended message, or that is was the intended message for everyone else listening to the show. We all know that whenever two people hear exactly the same thing they will each have a little different take on it, and there is nothing wrong with that.

All I know is that reading and hearing these things yesterday gave me lots of food for thought, while at the same time giving me a great sense of peace. Two things in particular that were said that I think are wonderful things to sit with:

"Be not afraid" and "God already knows your needs and desires."

That takes all the pressure off doesn't it? Except the pressure to trust and believe in the above two statements. That is the hard part, and I think that is why prayer needs to be a practice and a constant in our lives.

This might be another disclaimer, but is also another reason I connected with the priest. He talked a bit about organized religion and how there is a danger in each of the different religions believing that theirs is the one true and right one (I told you he was considered a renegade). In my lifetime I have attended many different churches and currently don't attend any formal worship service. Regardless of what church I attended (or am not attending) I continued to hear the concept of love being supreme, no matter what other things were being taught. This is why it doesn't matter to me and (I have great respect) for whatever way you choose to express the concept of "love one another" and use terms like pray/positive thoughts/universal good will/whatever you choose to call it interchangeably. I guess what I am trying to say is to not be offended by the messenger's choice of words, but focus on what the message is saying to you personally and adapt it as you need to so that you might get the most out of it. Thanks for listening!