  Spiritual
This week: What Difference Can You Make in 2017? Edited by: SophyBells  
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Hi, I'm SophyBells ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book Finding Your Religion, compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountaain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred.  |
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Home By Another Road
Goodbye 2016 and hello 2017 – we’ve made another lap around the sun. Did the year pass quickly, or did it drag? A day can be long while suffering a toothache. It can go by in a blink while on vacation.
I’m 56 years old, 5’8” tall. I live near 40°N / 88°W on “Earth” in 21st Century of the “Common Era.” All that sounds precise, but it’s relative. Swimming champion Dara Torres was over 41 when she qualified for the 2008 Olympics. When asked about the unlikely accomplishment for her age she replied, “It’s just a number.”
We’re large compared to plankton, miniscule compared to planets or stars. It’s easy to treat measurements like time and distance as absolutes, but our counting is arbitrary. With our spirits we often transcend such measurements. We have the capacity to contemplate the Universe in its immensity, subatomic particles in their minutia, and to marvel at our existence in the midst of a wondrous reality.
We care for each other when sick or injured, empathize with one another’s sadness and joy. How do you mark that on a calendar? We befriend those who are outcast, welcome refugees. How do you measure that with a ruler? We can forego advantages for the sake of others less fortunate. How do you locate mercy on a map? With persistence we can achieve seemingly impossible goals. How many kilowatts are produced by a determined heart?
I will be 57 in 2017. According to actuarial calculations, with luck I might live for another 30 solar orbits – that’s 17,520,000,000 miles. How do I compare the measure of my lifespan with the value of teaching children to be kind? How do I calculate the mass of a soul inclined to compassion?
The meaning of our lives is determined more by our choices than our position in space and time. Our potential is calculated more by what we aspire to than by numbers on our birth certificates or bathroom scales. Our beauty is determined more by the visions we see with our hearts than by the curvature of our torsos. Our bodies are bound by gravity and chronology. Our souls are freer than that.
So as we enter 2017, how will you make the most of your days and weeks? What activities can you partake to send waves of peace and compassion across our little corner of the Universe? |
Below you'll find some spiritual offerings from other WDC members. Please let the folks know if you read their piece by leaving a thoughtful comment or review. I realize I post mostly poems, but that is because it is tough to find other types of spiritual writing on the site. If you have something you would like me to highlight, please do share it with me, thanks!
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Here are some responses to my last newsletter "Spiritual Newsletter (December 14, 2016)" about Our Animal Nature:
From Mary Ann MCPhedran  :
Tumbling Waters Flow.
By the banks of the valley
I hear a thundering sound
Water cascading and tumbling down
Waterfalls one two three
Creates a picture of beauty in front of me.
Mossy rocks on the ground
Wild flowers blooming all around
Clouds drift by on a pleasant day
Tree's stand tall and gently sway
I look at Gods creation and w0nderoue surrounds
By a flowing river onward bound.
Mary Ann MCPhedan.
Thank you for sharing this lovely poem!
   
From Quick-Quill  :
I had a prompt a number of years ago to write about 3 sets of animal stories. I picked the preditor. At first I was at loss of what to write then this came to me. "In the Beginning"
Thanks for sharing it!
From Elfin Dragon-finally published 
I love animals and the nature they live in and your urge to think of particular animals made me think of particular poems I've written over the past three years which spoke of these types of animals to me....
the animal closest to your heart. -- | | | Invalid Item
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the most beautiful animal you've ever seen. -- | | | Invalid Item
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the smallest animal you can imagine. -- "Invalid Entry"
the largest animal you know of.
the strangest-looking animal. (both the strangest & largest if they do exist) -- "Invalid Entry"
Then a last thought from myself as I would wish to be one with nature -- | | | Invalid Item
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Thank you for sharing these!
Thanks for all your comments - keep them coming!  Until next time, Happy New Year! SophyBells |
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Spiritual: January 11, 2017 Issue [#8068]
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