WE HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD

Hi Folks,

It's been a while. I've been making myself bad for not writing more regularly! It was one more thing at the back of my mind niggling away at me and distracting me from living in the moment.
Then... out of the blue one afternoon, walking along by the sea between Groomsport and Bangor I caught myself unconsciously humming the song - "We have all the time in the World"  For a while I couldn't quite bring the words to mind but when I did it magically disappeared the never ending 'To Do' list and then I could smell the sea, feel the sun on my skin, see children building castles on the beach and hear the gulls squawking overhead.  The same week I heard someone speaking on radio about the first time she ever saw a bird flying. I honestly don't remember if I ever looked long enough to register the wonder and the miracle of a bird flying. Surely there must have been a time in my life when I looked for the very first time and really saw what there was to see. I can't remember but I  think that there is a lesson in all of this for me this Summer.

The other day I heard someone describing an old woman simply as "she's brilliant at living"  The possibility of that has caught hold of my heart. I would love to be brilliant at living. I imagine that it has something to do with being able to life fully in the moment, to see what can only be seen with a naked eye, to say what can only be said with an open heart.

These past weeks many of us have been on 'our holidays'  I love that we say holidays - it brings to mind the possibility that these might actually be 'Holy Days' - days that are whole and complete in themselves and have all that we need within them. They are neither yesterdays nor tomorrows. They are simply 'todays'.
Holidays sometimes occur to me as a mixed blessing. Outside of my role, the travelling, the reporting, inspiring, motivating, supervising, emailing, texting, phoning and all the other distractions of serving, holidays tend to reveal me to myself as an empty and even lonely space in which in which life shows up simply as it is - humble and at the same time filled with limitless possibilities for my happiness. Sometimes I am delighted by the knowledge that I have all the time in the world and a whole world to choose from.  On other days I am paralysed by exactly the same thing - a bit like a child in a sweet shop - overjoyed and overwhelmed at the same time.

These HolyDays bring up the question 'who am I when I am not what I do? As I walk deeper and deeper into a world of productivity, performance, outcomes, strategies, plans and purposes I can longer to find an easy answer to that question. Who am I when I am simply being present to what there is to be present to?  Who am I today?
Holidays can be a stark reminder of what it takes to simply 'Be". I am so used to mindlessly 'doing or even more mindlessly thinking about what I should be doing that I have become estranged to the simple art of being fully present in the moment. Sad to say in all the busyness of my life I have become blind to the mystery and the miracles all around me. I have become seduced by all the doing.

This Summer I stayed home for my holidays. In the lingo of recession Ireland it's called a staycation! As I meandered around the Ards Penninsula I realised that I have almost, but not quite, forgotten how to live with the whole of my heart. The illusion of constant deadlines is dulling my capacity to live brilliantly. Most people in the world would give anything for a tiny fraction of what I have and yet I forget - over and over again - I FORGET. Distracted by the business of doing and having more I fail to see just how 'Holy' all the days of my life are. In my world everyday is a holiday if I only have eyes to see.

BUT all is not lost yet ... Thankfully I have my teachers - those who walk beside me and accompany me on 'This Way of The Heart'. On this journey out of blindness they come to meet me to lead me in the direction of home.

This year Thomas and Larry, Megan and Neil went to the US on holidays. Larry got to visit the Ford factory in Detroit and of course he was re-united with Micah and Lucy and met baby Rory who's name is actually 'Lawrence' after our Larry! Thomas' smile transformed strangers everywhere into friends everywhere. Out community knows no borders now.
They cam home last Monday. On Friday I got to ask Larry about his holiday while he stopped to catch his breath after chasing Tiff around my car.  'Nice' he gasped and went on with the chase whooping with joy.  His amazing adventure reduced to one four letter word! NICE!!!

Those of us who know Larry also know that 'Nice' means a lot of things. On Friday afternoon I can't help imagining that Larry had simply let the past be in the past. Sure it was 'Nice' and for sure he would have liked more - but for now Larry had let it all go and was fully back into the business at hand and the sheer joy of Now! I have a lot to learn from this wee man and I am so grateful to have him as one of the hidden treasures in my field.

"We Have All The Time In The World"

We have all the time in the world

Time enough for life

To unfold all the precious things

Love has in store

We have all the love in the world

If that's all we have you will find

We need nothing more

Every step of the way

Will find us

With the cares of the world

Far behind us

We have all the time in the world

Just for love

Nothing more, nothing less

Only love

Every step of the way

Will find us

With the cares of the world

Far behind us, yes

We have all the time in the world

Just for love

Nothing more, nothing less

Only love

Only love

Songwriters

David, Hal / Barry, John

THINGS I LOVE!

In a world that loves  success, independence, expertise, perfection and winning life's battles:

I LOVE the foolishness of living day by day with the consequences of love and melting down the walls that divide us with tears that flow from hearts broken open by love. 

I LOVE living here in Belfast and showing the world that there's a love story here worth telling - a story of tomorrow where our people are living together in peace, embracing their diversity and singing a new song together to the beat of our different drums.  

l LOVE that our breakdowns today and our sure defeats tomorrow are because in the midst of fear and threat and loss and grief we still believe that LOVE can transform EVERYTHING.

I LOVE having friends in Israel and Palestine, Syria and Iraq who know despair just like mine and still choose LOVE. 

I LOVE having friends who know what it is to be different and never question their belonging. 

I LOVE being part of a community where I am already loved and already forgiven without ever having to ask. 

I LOVE that there is a place for everyone where they can shine brightly.  

I LOVE Children, Ice cream, Chai Latte, Good Books, Hot Lavender Baths, Bright Silk Scarves, Open Fires, Snow and Walking by the Sea. 

AND ... I LOVE THIS POEM! 

Self Portrait

It doesn't interest me if there is one God
Or many gods.
I want to know if you belong -- or feel abandoned;
If you know despair
Or can see it in others.
I want to know
If you are prepared to live in the world
With its harsh need to change you;
If you can look back with firm eyes
Saying "this is where I stand."
I want to know if you know how to melt
Into that fierce heat of living
Falling toward the center of your longing.
I want to know if you are willing
To live day by day
With the consequence of love
And the bitter unwanted passion
Of your sure defeat.
I have been told
In that fierce embrace
Even the gods
Speak of God.

~ David Whyte ~

(Fire in the Earth)

Pace, Love and God Sleep!

I AM GRATEFUL 

Pace, Love and God sleep Maria. From Niall

I visited the community in Cork last week. It felt like coming home. It always does! These days I feel at home almost everywhere I go!

Niall has taken it upon himself to be my 'personal assistant' whenever I'm in Cork.  As well as the usual box of chocolates, baby orange and apple on my bed, this visit there was a hand drawn poster on the bedroom door with a picture of me with a big smiling happy face wishing me 'Pace, Love and God Sleep'.
(Niall has Down's Syndrome and some limits to his vision!)

The visit was very full with people to see and meetings to go to. I moved from place to place following the agenda and all the rest - I left to Niall.  Fresh coffee for breakfast, a packed lunch with the 5 pieces of fruit and veg I need to keep me healthy and plenty of coffee throughout the day. At a Board Meeting which lasted much longer than expected, I got a text "NOW Maria, Cum Home. Yu over werk!" 

Mother Teresa said "Dont look for big things, just do small things with great love... the smaller the thing, the greater must be our love". 

I've been thinking about that since I came back and about the great love declared by Niall on my bedroom door even before I arrived.

I like being wished 'Pace'. Yesterday a friend of mine ended up in hospital to have a pace maker inserted. Niall, in his extraordinary way is my 'Pace Maker' when I forget that my body needs as much attention as my plans. I am grateful.

I like being wished 'Love' and receiving the power of it in something as tiny as a text at the end of a long day.  I often forget to attend to the small things that make 'Love' tangible and give me a sense of real presence rather than performance. I am grateful.

I like being wished 'God sleep' It reminds me that while I sleep the world doesn't stop. I sleep and all the rest I can leave to God. I am grateful.

I like that every conversation with Niall begins with 'NOW Maria' when he and asks me to sit down or else go for a walk with him. Slowing down to listen reminds me to "Cum Home" I am grateful.

I like that there are people in my life who love me enough to put a baby orange on my bed! ! It gives me my big smiling happy face of pace, love and God sleep! I AM GRATEFUL.

We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.

- Dorothy Day -

Tie a Rainbow to the Garden Gate and Dance!

Ballerina Toes! 

When I was 20 years old I met the first great leader in my life.

Siobhán was only 4. She had the most disfigured little body I had ever seen and her only control was her blink and a few little mewing sounds.

The way she was took me far outside of my comfort zone! I found myself in completely unknown territory with no idea what to do. Nothing in my life or my training had prepared me to teach a child who could neither move nor speak. For some strange reason all I could think to do was sing and we continued to do just that, 16 small children and I, until our hearts were attuned and our souls entwined.

Over the next 10 years Siobhán and her friends taught me how to see whole worlds behind the obvious! They drew out the courage and imagination I needed to believe in impossible dreams. They never doubted me and above all we had fun. Through the classroom windows we watched the flowers growing and kept our eyes peeled for rainbows. Whenever one appeared I ran around the garden like some kind of whirling dervish, frantically swinging a lasso around my head with the children cheering me on from inside! I tied the captured rainbow to the garden gate and every child could slide over into 'Rainbowland' - a magic place where miracles happen and dreams comes true.
Those were the times when all the labels that limited us disappeared. We were unbound and set free and everyone could walk, talk, eat and play. It was a land of partys, sausages, ice-cream, tomato sauce and musical chairs!

In the space where nothing was impossible Siobhán became a Ballerina and in her blinking code she made it clear that inside she was dancing! She lived her short and glorious life with the heart and soul of a dancer. Touching the earth in the lightest way she brought music to life for all of us.

Sometimes when I listen quietly enough I can still hear that music and whenever I get stuck in fear, doubt and tunnel vision, it reminds to drop the seriousness, lasso a rainbow and dance!

So ... How about You - Do you ever look for Rainbows? Have you ever tied one to you garden gate? Do you believe in Miracles? Would you dare to admit it if you did? 

Since my last post I've been wondering what it would take to get to "Finity and Beyond" and I have a hunch that Miracle spotting would be a help!  If you don't know how to do that,  just remember to sing and the Miracles will come to you!

This Blog could be our "Miracle Spotters Anonymous" A place to be reminded and supported when our eyes grow dim. A 12 Step programme that opens our hearts to possibilities wildly beyond the obvious and the reasonable.


Step 1:
Step out of your 'comfort zone'
Step 2:
Feel the fear of having no clue what to do!
Step 3:
Sing!
Step 4:
Look for Rainbows!
Step 5: 
Listen for the new music beginning to play!
Step 6:
Dance!

We're already halfway there ! 

Finding Finity!

Happy New Year Everyone,

I know that it's going to be a good one.

The first card I got this Christmas said "there's nothing sadder in this world than to awake on Christmas morning and not be a child" 

I liked it. It came through my letterbox on a busy day at the beginning of December and I decided that I would find a way to be 'a child' for Christmas. I guess it worked - on Christmas Eve I got a bottle of bubbles, a game of Jacks and another card telling me that I'm now one of the 'Inn Crowd' 

When my nieces and nephews were little and every phone call ended with the question 'how much do you love me'? one of us always ended with 'I love you to the sky and back'. Then one Christmas Eve, three year old Nell told me that she loved me to 'Finity' and back. There's no more love than that.

In Advent it was clear I'd have to find 'Finity' if I wanted to wake up on Christmas morning with the delight of a child.  The funny thing is... the more I searched the more it seemed to me that 'Finity' is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. 

It's not a place to seek, to find, to get to or to long for...

'Finity' is a place to BE and a place to come from. 
So ... My friends 
Will you come to 'Finity' and Back with me this year?
I'd love the company.