Anisette Studio

Good morning! A rainy morning_____. The middle of march____. Then, April finally. April Showers, bring may flowers! The coffee is ready, now to pour it. MMMMMmmmmmm_____. Jo is taking kids to school today, and then I will help her later on to catch up on some housework.

Joyce Hifler, some thoughtful measure this morning. “When there is no fear of darkness____ the night is friendly____ laughter from somewhere____ cicadas churring in seeming unison____ moonlight bathing the treetops, and____ the footsteps of an evening stroller.

Most of the fear we have of darkness____ is our thought of what might be____ the same as many fears and unfortunate experiences are generated by thought going in the wrong direction____ For we attract to us so much wrong by running scared____ because other people are running along scared____ and in turning our thought a level higher____ we find that night is a restful time.

Night throws a clock of protection and quiet peace about the shoulders____ allowing us to reflect on the hours before and the hours to come____ when light will again trust us int activity____ and the charm of the night is then impossible____ It seems night offers more solitude____ more opportunity to think more deeply____ for even great artist and sculptures need long periods of silence and solitude____ to be creative they must have time to listen and time to vision____ the constant clamor and interruption of daylight seems to scatter the creative forces.

One of the most important parts of prayer is the need to be quiet and listen____ to hear an inner wordless voice that speaks through idea and feelings____ and ideas cannot come if the din within and around is distracting our attention____ but night with all its gentleness can quiet disturbed emotions____ uplift despondent hearts____ and answer prayers.” From To Every Thing A Season, Pg 100.

I have a mind that needs to quiet down at night and stop thinking about things that move it into overdrive. Soft relaxing music will get me there. Sometimes a familiar favorite book, put at a mid-level volume so it is not shouting at me; if I can’t seem to move into that gentler frame of mind these two things have helped. I may meditate or send the best intentions out there!

Sometimes I reflect on what I like about this new version of me. At this point, the things that troubled me have changed because I have changed. Change indeed is constant. We evolve even if we don’t realize it. We evolve because we learn from mistakes, more than when things are going well. To learn what doesn’t work well, is to know what does! The thing we forget is we are all in the same boat, just at different learning curves with any particular matter. We fail to allow others their own learning curve. It’s now our place to fix another’s learning curve. We can support, drop pearls of wisdom. But nothing is learned if you do it for someone. How complex we are. We make life complex, and so does everyone else! The thing is, to be happy we need to check in with the self and balance our views. Do we own this or that, or not at all. If we don’t own something we just gently let, go of it without announcing it to the world! “This is not mine!” We simply do not have to say this only to ourselves. Let it be someone else’s to take notice of. Use those I feel messages, and not you which feels like blame. This does work. When you think in terms of “I feel____” and begin sentences with “I feel____” you’re talking about you not someone else. “I feel happy, sad, mad, glad, ____ (etc.)” When we begin sentences with “you” it feels like blame, and we say things like “You don’t care! ____ ” “You need to stop!” These are saying what you feel. But different feelings come with these words. The point is you want someone to really listen to what you’re saying, you don’t want ears to close up, and the mind not go where you desire it to. What comes out of our mouths leads us onward. “You don’t care” leads to adding what someone one does not care about. “I feel” leads to a need for clarification, and explanation from the other person you’re talking to. The problem? We may not get a response we like. But we have put the ball in the other persons court, where they should think about how we feel. This said we cannot make someone think or feel something. But we can play a responsible role within a relationship, and that is letting someone else know how we feel. If they do not respond in a likewise, non-hostile way____ then we have passed on what they should be accountable towards if they want to show they care, if they agree or even love who we are. Communication is a two-way exchange; it is a chance to build respect and trust in each other. When we build respect and trust it is easy to feel love and have compassion.

Well, this is where my thoughts led me today after reading and writing from Hifler’s book. I like to think on these things. I like feeling good about how I choose to carry myself in life. I can share things about me. I do so that someone else can think about such things too. I feel others are like me, and have the same kinds of thoughts. I don’t think everyone knows how to talk about such thoughts because it does not seem to be done. I loved running into groups of people who wanted to talk about why things are the way they are without blame, but instead bringing out ideas about things that might make a difference. We affect one another by what we say and do, and there we are!

May your day be filled with love and laughter! I know what that was like! And so now I wish to spread that idea. Best wishes! Pejj Nunes