Peace be unto thee, stranger
Peace be unto thee, stranger, enter and be not afraid
I have left the gate open and thou art welcome to my home
There is room in my house for all.
I have swept the house and lighted the fire
The room is warm and cheerful, and you will find comfort and rest within.
The table is laid and the fruits of life are spread before you.
The wine is here also, it sparkles in the light.
I have set a chair for you where the sunbeams dance through the shade
Sit and rest and refresh your soul
Eat the fruit and drink the wine.
All, all is yours and you are welcome.
Ernest Holmes
He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful in much.
The Great teacher
It is true, it is the little things that count the most.
When I first awake , before I get out of bed , I hear a still small voice , I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I focus on my heart. I then start with this little simple prayer, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!” I get out of bed. Moving slowly I retreat down the stairs , I softly pad over to the kitchen and thoughtfully make the coffee . Remembering, I am serving myself by not hurrying . Being mindful to breathe deeply I appreciate the fluid movement of my body, the shape of the cup, the gift of the water and the wondrous aroma of the coffee. Then I slowly retreat to my meditation area and begin my meal. I come into this moment again with the mantra … “thank you, thank you, thank you.”
I open my meditation books, morning nourishment to my spirit. As Any ego thought distractions surface, I thank them for their visit and politely show them out the back door.
When my friend appears I simply smile and say good morning I take the time to quietly listen to her words , her awareness, her perception of the now, remembering that this is the first opportunity to move outward and show kindness and patience, and to shine love out into my morning. I say, good morning. I then quietly retreat back to my readings. I ask God to show, through me, his patience, kindness and forgiveness… in advance. To let me be…kindness . Let me be… giveness . Let me be…light. First, as a service to myself and then radiate outward to the world. Forward , in all things, all ways ,to all people.
I finish my communion with my spirit in a set meditation and kneel as an act of humility , just for me , and ask that God remind me in ‘knowing’ , through intuition and inspiration, His will , now, and in each moment to come. And that he relieve me of the bondage of my ego. And then I softly mindfully repeat the simple prayer once again. “Thank you, thank you ,thank you.”
I move into the bathroom and slowly clean myself and remember to treat myself as an honored guest. Always mindful of His tender loving mercies I see my image shown in the mirror reminding me That I am not to old, not to young, not to little hair on my head and certainly not too much! I now peer into my magic mirror. I see the note posted that reads, “Dear creator, Thank you for all that you supply, the water, the soaps and razors and the towels . I pray for those less unfortunate and I now ask that they be given the same love and prosperity and happiness that I have and desire in my life today.” As I now direct my service to my body then outward, again, and again. And again.”
I go for my walk with the dogs and I can clearly see how they can be a service to me. I accept this easily given gratuity. For now I truly must put my needs away and tend to another . I give them a little freedom and relief but they give me so much more. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks! but , they are teaching this old dog, New tricks !!!. New patience , New kindnesses . They are teaching me to stop and smell the roses . They help me sit in this moment and remember the beauty and splendor of the trees and the sky. They teach me true gratitude , joy, true appreciation forgiveness. Real unconditional love. Right here , right now.
“Thank you ,thank you thank you.”
Oh boy, I get to take the bus. What a great opportunity to test my new found joy. As I meet new people I smile. People are inherently good. I assume this . I know.. this . Something as simple as a smile sends a very power-full message . It proclaims that I care and I am genuinely interested in their wellbeing. All this accomplished without speaking a word. I ask “how are you today? Tell me a story, I just love stories.” Now I have opened up a rapport and as I gently look into their eyes they almost, without exception, start to tell their personal story. I feel great love and concern and sense our commonness. God is us ,we are God, I am them ,they are me , we’re all the same body. As they tell their story I remember that the love I am given and be sure to transmit this power by showing grace and concern. I can feel it radiating out of my heart in waves of warmth and light. When there is a pause I speak words of hope and encouragement, faith and joy. I don’t have to manufacture this. It goes before me and naturally emanates from source. If I don’t feel it or it hasn’t yet surfaced I remain quiet and attentive. Then I witness a miracle.! A spark flies through me from my eyes and magically melds with their spirit!. Like a seed planted in fresh tilled soil as the sun warms it then it ignites into a beautiful spectacular colored filled flower. As I speak positive affirmations I see the proof of the powerfulness of the spoken word. I have experienced this simple exchange change in my own and it has made a dramatic impact on me, for…forever. I hope it will do the same for them . They may say “oh, I want to play the piano but I was never good at it. I can’t do it .” I may respond with, something like, “everyone has their own ways to express their art. Everyone is an artist, you are an artist you can and will find your medium, your truest desires will come to be and you will do it! Everyone will applaud you as you show your wonderful works of art!”
The spirit inside me is always reminding to not judge or project my opinions, just to be totally accepting. Stimulate hopeful imagination, cultivate intuition, Spur on imagination, the possibilities of all dreams coming true !
“ Rose colored glasses ?……You better believe it !
“Thank you ,thank you, thank you ”
As I move though the day I am now so much more aware of the beauty around me. The mantra , “thank you ,thank you thank you”, has now become my inner voice. It’s like it’s on auto pilot. It’s taken on a life as its own. I wake up! And my mind crystallizes, Everything is radiating , vibrant color a light, depth and life. I see a penny on the sidewalk and I thank Him for prosperity. As I look around and see all these beautiful people I say a prayer for the community and for the awareness of collective God consciousness. I listen to their conversations , total strangers talking to each other , smiling and laughing. I notice that no one is complaining! I am them , they are me, we are God, He is us . We are all one body. All one organism. Thriving and pulsating to the same rhythm. Because we come from the same heart. We are meant to experience this same moment in bliss, together. Then I hear that calm small voice say. “What can you do to give . To for-give ?” I am told that if I just look, be aware, I can easily find someone to help. Is there any way I can take some kind of action to perpetuate this desire to give? I long to see with my own eyes the physical manifestation of love in action. In what simple way throughout my day can I put love into the steam of life? Can I clean a dish ? Clear the table? Put the grocery cart away? Can I pick up paper on the street? . If I order a sandwich and it is not exactly as I expected, I enjoy it anyway . Thanking God for the hands that prepared it. If I am in a hurry I try to stop and remember that a hurried mind is not in the moment and I find God in the moment. If I am hurried ,I miss God. If the line is long at the grocery store I try to see how many babies I can get to smile. Usually it’s about 100%!!! Ha!
“Thank you ,thank you, thank you.!”
“What can I do to better contribute to the world through action?” I find all kinds of different ways to do this. On the bus I can help someone up. Give someone my seat. Open a door. Let Someone go in front of me in line, At home I can sweep the floor. Rake the leaves . Rake the neighbors leaves. I can buy a gift for you instead of for myself or buy us both a gift. I’ll write a letter of encouragement, everybody likes that ! Send a love filled e mail. All very simple easy things to do, yet so powerful in so many ways.
I serve myself in some simple ways by not participating in gossip and sad stories , back biting or bad news . I do not read the paper or listen to the incessant negativity on the news. I very intently watch the words that come out of my mouth. Are they seasoned with love ? I don’t watch sit coms where every laugh is at some ones expense. But I am careful not to judge others for doing so. At least their well informed! If someone wants to tell me a story and it is very negative I’ll try to listen attentively and remember not to attach to it. Then I my say something like ,“ok, now that you got that out how are you today ?” All these seemingly trivial things I am now directed to do or not do, imamates from my simple prayer of thanksgiving. They are, of the utmost importance.
“thank you thank you, thank you .“
When I truly connect to this small short prayer I realize that everything is exactly how it is supposed to be at this very moment. Anticipating each event as a demonstration of God’s love and compassion playing out perfectly, right before my eyes!!! . Sometimes I feel like a child on Christmas morn. Waking up at 3 watching the clock, making noise so as to wake my parents. So alive… so expecting of the good things to come. So safe and at peace. So happy. So excited to be alive.
“It’s the tiny old dusty discarded candle that is placed in the corner of a large space that exposes every inch of darkness. Bringing sight and security to all that enter.
It is the small struggling spark that with spirit breath ignites in to a amazing splendid fire. It lights the world, brings warmth to the cold. It tickles the eyes and reveals the wondrous display of random beauty.
Start the fire inside you now , It’s so simple.
It all begins with being faithful in the very small things, and saying this very simple prayer;
“ Thank you thank you, thank
You !”
“If the only prayer you utter is Thank you, it will be enough.” ~Meister Eckhart
With Love Scott Randall Lindberg
