Category: Asset Based Community Development

New Year Ahead – what is in your heart?


A friend recently introduced me to a new way of thinking about New Year’s Eve, and all the “hype” leading up to a changing digit or two in the date…

That in which you are engaging or contemplating this evening will become your intentions for and in the New Year.

So, as I considered this evening’s activities, I created time and place for the following passions or gifts:

  • Baking  – which is really about sharing generously with others, showing hospitality, eating meals together, and building community
  • Photography  – which is really about telling stories, connecting with others through empathy and creativity, and building community 
  • Tech Geek (digital photos, website, social media, video remixing) – which is really about creating, using a tool to enhance but not dominate life, and having fun
  • Blogging –  which is really about telling stories, connecting with others through empathy and creativity, and building community 🙂

In that same time, he is doing the same for the following passions and gifts:

  • Acro-Yoga – which is really about building community, making healthy life choices and having fun
  • Body Work – which is really about building intimate community, being aware of one’s self in relation to others and to the universe, and having fun

And he will join me afterwards, where we will enjoy the following shared passion:

  • Being with Loved Ones (Family, Friends & Pets) – which is about finding shelter and being home, unconditional love…and warm hot cocoa!  Add your own thoughts…

 

Peace, love and light for you in 2015…

Integrity…”this ability to listen inside is our oldest oar.”


I so treasure my daily devotionals from Mark Nepo. Unfolding with my own life experiences, his works are some I’ve come across in recent years that have changed my worldview.

Today’s reading is a helpful reminder on integrity, and self-acceptance…

Integrity is the ability to listen to a place inside oneself that doesn’t change, even though the life that carries it may change. —RABBI JONATHAN OMER-MAN

Much of our journey throughout this book has been about discovering that place inside and cultivating the ability to listen to it, while having compassion for the life that carries it.

It moves me to share the story of a troubled man who, exhausted from his suffering and confusion, asked a sage for help. The sage looked deeply into the troubled man and with compassion offered him a choice: “You may have either a map or a boat.”

After looking at the many pilgrims about him, all of whom seemed equally troubled, the confused man said, “I’ll take the boat.”

The sage kissed him on the forehead and said, “Go then. You are the boat. Life is the sea.”

As we have discovered so many times, we have everything we need within us. This ability to listen inside is our oldest oar. You are the boat.

~ Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening

I know in the past, I would have asked for the map…wanting someone or something outside of myself to give me my answers, my Truth. With life’s experience and some sage counsel, I’ve grown to trust my own voice, my own oar… As one of my favorite musicals recounts, “the Starlight Express is within me…”

Yes, Virginia … There is a Santa Claus (and other traditions)


The letter to the editor of the New York Sun in 1897 is one of my favorite Christmas “stories.”  Several years ago, my then partner Jerry saw the letter/response from the editor reprinted for a Macy’s Christmas ad, and had it framed for me in a satin red mat/black frame.  It’s one of my many traditions for Christmas — taking down a piece of artwork that’s up for the rest of the year, replacing it with this frame.  The full text is available below (and the movie can be seen on Netflix!)

Yes, Virginia…there is a Santa Claus!.

Yes Virginia Memorabilia

“Yes Virginia…” Memorabilia I’ve Collected

I’ve been through a lot of change and loss since 2010, so it has taken a couple of years until I have really got back into the Christmas spirit.  Last year, I lost my mom to alcoholism/heart attack in January, and my grandmother (her mom) died later in October, one month shy of her 101st birthday.  But, I’m happy to report that this year is probably the best year so far: decorating the house, putting up lights inside and our along with a tree, etc.

There are three special items in my collection (in addition to the Yes, Virginia stuff) that remind me of my family.

  • One is a collection of homemade Christmas cards that my mom’s parents had printed each year from ~40’s to the ~60’s, which I had specially mounted several years ago, proudly displaying them as they should be.  They remind me of my mom and grandmother.  I love the different clothing styles, and fonts/expressions that mirror the changing times…
Vintage Christmas Cards - The Schneider Family (1940's to 1960's)
Vintage Christmas Cards
The Schneider Family (1940’s to 1960’s)

 

  • One is an original decanter and glass set for Creme de Menth that my grandmother Blanche gave me.  Very “kitsch” – something that nobody else in the family wanted, so she was ecstatic when her “gay grandson” was thrilled to give it a good home.

IMG_6244

Original Decanter/Glasses (Creme de Menthe)

 

  • Several collections of crèche’s (mangers) from my mom, which the three siblings carefully divided up between ourselves and her grandchildren last year.  They remind me of mom…

Creche (Manger Scene) from the Estate of C.S. Wyman Creche (Manger Scene) from the Estate of C.S. Wyman Creche (Manger Scene) from the Estate of C.S. Wyman

Creche (Manger Scene) from the Estate of C.S. Wyman

Crèche (Manger Scene) from the Estate of C.S. Wyman

Another proud “tradition” I’m a part of are the carillons at my “community center” / church, Broadway United Methodist Church.  We had a capital project last year to put them back in service, having rung in the past decades…but the old tape technology had fallen into disuse and failed to work.  A resident of Mapleton-Fall Creek, living two blocks from the church, it seemed fitting to give to our ambiance in memory of my grandmother with some of the money she left me in her will.

Whenever I hear the chimes, I think fondly of her and her matriarchal role in our family. To know the carillons are bringing others joy warms my heart. I love this neighborhood community and the traditions and memories it brings forward.

Some comments from neighbors (via nextdoor.com)

“We live right across the street from Broadway UMC and we LOVE hearing the bells! Thank you for all of your work to bring this small joy back to the neighborhood!”

” I enjoy hearing the beautiful bells. It’s nice to have them return to Broadway.  Whenever I hear the bells ring from the Broadway tower, I will always think of you and your Grandmother. Thank for ringing our bells!”

“I love the bells. I remember the first time I heard them play a song which was two christmas’s ago. I completely stopped what I was doing and listened. Not only did the bells tell me to slow down and just listen for once, they got me in the holiday spirit which is a feeling you can’t buy. We also brag to our guests, that visit our house, that we don’t need a wall clock because the bell tower keeps us up on the time!”

“I live on Broadway and I absolutely love hearing them chime. Thank you!”

“My family and I love hearing the bells. Thank you to you and your committee for making this a lovely part of our community!”

“I no longer live in MFC, however, my family lived in the community for 50 years. I am employed at Broadway UMC and I absolutely love hearing the chimes…so glad that they have been restored!”

One final tradition we grew up with: homemade pumpkin bread.  We couldn’t open our presents on Christmas morning until we had our slices of bread, which my mom had made from the pumpkins at Halloween.  So, I carry that tradition forward and always try to have pumpkin bread in and around the season, especially on Christmas morning.

Another tradition I reconnected with is our annual Christmas Store for the neighborhood…but I’ll save another blog post for that.  I’ll also write about “Christopher The Christmas Tree,” the creator of which (George Bowers) just passed away this month.  Finally, I’ll write about “Three King’s Day,” a tradition I learned about while living in Puerto Rico.

 

In closing, for many of us, the holidays can still bring up losses and changes we’re grieving. Just when we think we’ve moved past things, something comes up to remind us of the hole in our hearts…
I came across this poem that I thought I’d share:

“A Blessing for the Empty Place”

You sit in the empty place that is left, After the death, the arrangements, the service, The cards and calls and emails,
The departure of family,
The thank you’s and acknowledgements.
Left with the emptiness,
The space that can never be filled In quite the same way.
You see a shadow, hear a sound,
Taste a food she used to love,
Start to tell him something about your day, Smell a blanket or pillowcase,
And your eyes and heart are filled with tears.
The first week, the first month, the first birthday, The first holiday, the first anniversary, These bring you to the place of remembering, The place of exquisite, lonely sorrow.
Bless you and your memories.
Bless the tender heart that beats within you. Bless the empty space that can never be filled.
The shadows, the smells, the tastes, the thoughts, Transform their pain into blessings,
Signs that though you live in that desperately empty place, She walks beside you,
He laughs in the shelter of your heart.
That empty place That can never be filled In quite the same way Is filled
With love.

‘TheUnclutteredHeartbeth@bethrichardson.com‘

What are some of your favorite traditions or Christmas memories?
Please use comments to share with us…