A SPIRITUAL FRIEND.

My friend was leaving. Her visit to Ireland had taken her all over the country, and she had been received well. I hoped her love and interest in the Irish people had grown as she is one of those people who can do a lot of good. ‘Has a lot of pull with the powers to be,’ I heard a person say. I would agree totally with that. She is the kind of person who would go out of her way to do a good turn. I know she’s been there for me, many times when I needed a friend.
I only had the chance to meet her twice - when she came to Wicklow, and when she departed from Wexford. Both occasions were special for me. I was happy to renew our friendship and what words couldn’t say, our hearts said.
I look on Therese as a friend - someone to confide in. I can share with her my joys and worries, my dreams and secrets. Whenever the sunny side of life is clouded over by negativity, even these times of darkness can be shared with a spiritual friend..
Although I call St. Therese of Lesieux ( the Little Flower) my special friend, she has developed friendships with thousands - perhaps millions - of people.
If you are interested in having a spiritual friend, then St. Therese is a good choice. She has promised to spend her heaven doing good on earth. Talk to her - ask her. The word NO is not in her vocabulary.

ABANDON FEAR - EMBRACE LOVE

I suppose we are all faced with fears of one kind or another. Sometimes, we can be so afraid of failing that we may never try to be adventurous - reach out and catch hold of our dreams.
Yet, as soon as we abandon fear, we are free to embrace love. It’s seems almost too simple.
So, why don’t we turn our back on our fears, whatever they might be?

Perhaps it’s a question of forgiveness. Some people carry a burden of guilt through their whole lives. They obviously either don’t know, or have forgotten that God forgives us when we are sorry, instantly. Most other people forgive us too. The only one who may have a problem with forgiveness is ourselves, because of our wounded pride. So, the burden of guilt continues.
How sad.

It’s takes love to forgive. Each day we are presented with three ways to love -
the love of God - the love of our neighbour - the love of ourselves.
Strangely enough, by loving ourselves, in the true sense, our love for God and our neighbour becomes desirable and easy.
Put love first and fear will fade into the background.

Abandon fear - embrace love.

SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY.

Generosity is a tremendous quality. It enlarges the heart - makes us aware of the needs of others and develops us as a mature, full person with a generous spirit.
Yet, how do we arrive that this spirit of generosity? How do we learn to say yes, when our feelings and nature want to say no? How do we become aware of how others are affected by our actions, and learn to modify what we do?

St. Francis de Sales, a lawyer and a saintly bishop, seemed to have had all the answers. He wrote that none of us are generous by nature. Our nature guides us to take care of ourselves. - the survival instinct, which is essential for our well-being. So, we don’t need to reproach ourselves for our lack of generosity. We simply need to grow in awareness of our spiritual self which is dependent on love.
A spirit of generosity comes from humility - an awareness of the goodness of God versus our littleness. When we believe that God is ready and willing to help us out, then it becomes easy for us to give and care for others - to have a spirit of generosity.
‘It is in giving that we receive.’
.

OUTSIDE, LOOKING IN - INSIDE, LOOKING OUT.

As a child I remember looking in a restaurant window. I was outside, looking in at the people. Then I became aware that they were inside, looking out at me. Suddenly, I was the one being observed. My freedom as an observer was shattered by a self-conscious awareness of myself.
When we grow up, we learn to handle gracefully, other people’s awareness of us. We communicate and reveal ourselves, at least to some degree, and so relationships blossom and grow.
However, the real development in life is centred on us being able to look in and observe ourselves, as if we are another person; and then to look out and observe others. If we truly believe in the presence of God living in each one of us, then this ability is of paramount important.
When we become aware of God within us, we are then free to look out and discover God in others. We open the door to love.

COLOUR

I work in a little office, which is also my creative space as I have access to the computer in my spare time. Early mornings and evenings become my inspirational time.
The office badly needed a paint job, so I eventually set to work last month. First off, I managed to clear out excess rubbish, then I began to paint the walls.
What colour? After years of clutter, I winded up renewing the white walls and touching up the woodwork with a pale grey. The finished product was bright and clean - clinically clean. In my efforts to remove rubbish, I had removed colour!
Comments from my friends were positive, at least the carpet had colour. Then, a brain-wave - I commissioned one of my friends, a budding artist, to paint a picture, full of colour. She willingly obliged and produced her masterpiece - a multi-coloured picture of abstract art.
Being a little conservative as regards art, I stared at the painting. It was something I could never have imagined. Then again, I don’t have her imagination, and the colours are vibrant, so I called her masterpiece VIBRANCE.
Vibrance has added instant colour to my office and to my creative space, and to my expanding imagination. I’ve begun to realise how much we can be influenced by colour.

TRUE VALUES

We live in a world of plenty, and in a world of want. For most of us here in Ireland, we have plenty. We may not be millionaires or anything like that, yet most of us don’t have to worry about our next meal or whether or not we have shoes and a warm coat to wear. So what if we don’t manage to dress in the most fashionable clothes, we are warm and clean and comfortable. Yet, are we?

My sister is a nun, working in Pakistan. She could tell us about want, yet most times she tells me about the beauty and gentleness of the people and how the smallest present lights up the eyes of the children in the hospital. Living in a poor area, the nuns are surrounded by poverty, yet they meet with happiness and innocence, and gratitude for the gift of life.

In this new, materialistic Ireland, perhaps it is the poor countries that could teach us a thing or two about the true values of life.