A few weeks ago, I went to the Old Cedar Bridge trailhead in Bloomington. I was hoping to see birds migrate. Ran into a birder who noted I was a week late. Not wanting to waste a lovely afternoon, I decided to hike a few trails and go to some overlooks. One advantage to my timing was that the trails were almost deserted. Also fun, was exploring a few new areas for me. One part of the trail gave glimpses of the river. It was very dense with vegetation. A few turns later I spotted “It.” A sumac in full red colors. It was the real first sign of Autumn. All around it were green shrubs, weeds, and trees. This lonely small red plant stood out in its full glory. Interestingly, they are late bloomers in spring, and this one is the first to change colors. May to September this plant spreads and then stops and turns a brilliant color. A five-month project to go from sticks, to leaves, next flowering, and then turning brilliant red.
Change: Lots of it in the fall. Got me thinking of my changes since the first of the year. A good time to take stock and reflect on change. There will be no labels on “Good” vs “Bad” change. Instead, I used this approach: did this change make me a better person, one that is building my life in community and spiritual wellness.
What to do with change. Change surrounds us. For me there is change all the time. Sometimes it reflects what was and is no more. A life changing experience: Life or death. Simple things like “Why am I cooking the same thing when I like change in this area of my life.”
So, I took some time to look at change since January. Sometimes change calls for me to add things or remove some barriers to my life. At times it might just being mindful of a new approach during our day-to-day activities. Below are some changes that touched me
Burning Candles. Every morning, I start the day in quiet time/meditation. This is not a change, and the time spent in silence has deepened my relationship with the Divine and centers myself for the day. But I felt something was missing. How many times have I noted that I will keep a person in my prayers/thoughts. I have randomly lit candles and have been very inconsistent. Then the decision to light one candle before my quiet session. After it is lit, I reflect on those in need or help or just some support. Then, I let all those thoughts go away and I start my session. Then at the end of the session, I go to the candle and reflect on my intentions before blowing it out.
A change in practice. An addition to my practice After going through a few candles, I see the benefits of being mindful of this addition. This has helped me remember that I am part of something larger than myself.
Divisive. This has been a key issue for me this year. There are so many issues causing great disagreement, hostility, or splitting a group into opposing sides. My goal here is not to take sides but look at the issue of divisiveness and see that it does not help my goal of building life in community and spiritual wellness. I have seen anger, hurt and striking out on both sides of this. However, I can look at myself. I will admit that since January I have been caught up in anger, hurt and striking out. This mindset has not helped me. But how to “Find the Joy” with all of this can be a challenge.
First off: There is no silver bullet, magic solution, or easy way out. I have found it is messy business relating to people/issues I disagree with. For me, this divisiveness is a change that I want to deal with and be open to all solutions: Even the hard ones. But all solutions should have the tenant of building our community and a personal sense of spiritual wellness.
But where to begin? At first my solution was to state quick sound bites and not listen. This did not help my spiritual wellbeing. With reflection and being open, I started to see a path I could try. I started to remember two points. Jesus told us that we should love our enemies and pray for them. The second is to keep looking at the big picture and see we are all loved by God. Ouch! Not an easy path, but I started down it.
Now I have known these sentiments for years, ok decades. The change is I need to consistently keep bringing them up to the forefront of my mind. I need to recognize when I am tensing up and wanting to cast a “Spell on ‘those’ people.” It is then I need to re-re-remind myself about seeing all as individuals that are loved by God. Yes, I fail at this many times. It is easy to go back to “old” ways that I do not find helpful. Perhaps, I should go to confession for the amount of negative language I have used this year. Instead, I breathe through the incident and try my best to follow building my life in community and spiritual wellness. This is a difficult path that goes all over the place. At times I wonder where I am/was/will be. But part of this change is not getting down on myself and remembering: “Maybe next time….”
This change has helped me. It stretches my attitude and slows down my knee jerk reaction. It is a hard path, but I have found sometimes I succeed. It may be as simple as seeing a smile in another’s eyes. It is good to be on this path of change.
New Foods. Both Maggie, my wife and I enjoy trying new dishes. We have eaten, cooked, and enjoyed different types of foods from around the world. This year has been a bit different. Past years we would read or see a new dish and think: “That’s interesting.” This year we either order it off the menu (like the hanging duck.) or start a grocery list and figure out when we will cook it in the next few days. There is a lot more action around “New Food.” An example was last August at the Farmer’s Market in St. Paul. We asked the vendor if she heard of any fun ways to prepare poblano peppers. “Oh, my yes. A regular customer told me she stuffed them with seafood.” That was good enough for me. I had Google help me with a few recipes and off I went. The one I chose was one from Spain. I have not cooked Spanish dishes. Even the technique was a bit different from what I am used to. In the recipe they wanted you to just sear the shrimp and take them off the heat to use later. Winds up you mash them with many seasonings, onions, and soft Spanish cheese. Yes, Spanish cheese is the key. It is light and has a unique taste. The last part was straightforward: Stuff the peppers and bake it in a very hot oven. The results were fabulous.
During this time, I researched a bit of Spanish cheeses, cooking, and traditions for a meal in Spain. We also went to a new Spanish restaurant in St. Paul, and the chief manager gave us even more information on the culture, tastes, and traditions of Spain.
This change was fun! It built my life in our larger community. It also expanded my spiritual wellness through new cooking techniques and tastes. It also showed me to be curious during change and “relish” your discoveries!
Change throughout the year. My changes were not as precise as the sumac’s journey of another season. Still, the challenges, struggles, laughter, and joy, did assist me to follow the goal of progress. Even if at times it included many steps backwards, and to the side. Change was always there: From difficult issues to being mindful in the kitchen. Through it all there was always movement. It was good to take some time and review changes in one’s life and see their impact. It was a challenge for me to look at the year without the labels “Good” or “Bad.” Yet, my reflection on did this change make me a better person, one that is building my life in community and spiritual wellness…. “A good one!” 😊
Author: John Murphy – johnmurphy901@gmail.com