Caring

To care is the warmth

of a smile

on a stormy day

A beacon of hope

that brightens the way

Each petal of care

delicate and true

Blossoms in hearts

like morning dew.

To care is to listen

with an open heart

A gesture, a word

a selfless deed transferred

Across trials and triumphs

Expressing empathy

at the rhythm of grace.

So let us cherish

the moments we share

In the tapestry of love

each thread is rare.

To care is to nurture

to uplift and

to mend

A timeless symphony

A blend

of different approaches

From friend

To friend

Okay, your turn:

What does caring mean to you? How is it expressed?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2024 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

I observe

I see

I am

You are

We are

one.

Passing through

this lifetime

Birth Death

Birth Death

Neither of these

do we choose

Both do we experience

In-between

is up to each of us.

Explorers

Adventurers

Beyond the mind

Beyond the pale

Of that which we tend to hail

Mental constructs

Personality conflicts

All at the expense of what

is directly in front of us.

Did you miss it?

Live today as if it’s your favorite birthday!

Light the candles

Sing

Party like it’s

nobody’s business.


Life is truly

a gift

Accept it with glee and satisfaction

As if you picked it out for your very self


Remember to enjoy the ride

As you never know when the ride

will stop.

Around we go!

Okay, your turn:

When is the last time you got lost in time? Could it be today? Tomorrow? Every day?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2022 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

Thinking is not being present

I think therefore I am. — Descartes (1637)

Latin: “Cogito, ergo sum”

What may be lesser known is this: Soon thereafter, Descartes revised his own saying, to: “I am, I exist.” (1641) Now, THAT’s the spirit!

When you’re thinking, you’re ‘mulling.’ You’re ‘somewhere else.’ Thinking takes you away from, or out of, the present moment. For more on this, refer back to this recent edition of Soul Notes, here.

Take the Olympics, for example. The athletes have prepared years if not even decades, yes. They’re in the best physical condition of their lives, also yes. They’ve ‘put in the work.’ Indeed. And yet, are they thinking much while they’re setting world records? Maybe. I suppose there is still some cognitive strategy at play. Are we thinking as we watch? Maybe, a little.

What draws us in as witnesses to these events, however, is the series of ever present moments. It’s the single points in time and space where everything converges. That’s where the magic is. That is when we are most inspired. That’s when we are in awe. That’s when we are all one.

For Your Consideration

If you’re not thinking, does that mean you no longer exist? This is not a rhetorical question. Of course you (we, I) exist! It is not our thinking which makes it so.

Okay, your turn:

As a carryover from last moon’s edition of Soul Notes, I ask you: Is thinking overrated? I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2021 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

Second things first

“It’s become so automatic, I don’t even think about it when I’m doing it.”

“It is so ‘second nature,’ I could do it in my sleep.”

What if we put our second nature first? What if our second nature became our first nature?

When we say something becomes second nature, we mean that it’s not something we’re consciously aware of when we’re doing it. For example, once you learn how to drive a car, you’re not consciously aware of all the movements you’re making to drive the car, and to navigate from point A to point B.

It could also be something that we say we do by instinct — again, without really thinking about it.

“I don’t know how I reached out and kept that child from falling over the railing, it was just a knee-jerk reflex.”

In other words, it’s living from your subconscious. I wouldn’t say it is unconscious — it’s anything but that. Rather, it’s consciously living from what is there all along. Instead of relying on thinking to make it happen — we let the thinking take a back seat, and elevate the subconscious up to the surface.

We can invite it up and out to play all the time! Radical idea? Maybe. Worth it? Absolutely.

Is thinking overrated?

“I never gave it another thought.”

“I just did it without thinking.”

We say things like the above statements as if thinking is the central benchmark, the kingpin, the main yardstick by which to gauge our actions and experiences. Why have we given thinking such an elevated status?

Of course, in any given moment your brain never truly shuts off. It doesn’t completely disengage from your bodily functions any more than your lungs keep from expanding and contracting, or your heart stops beating.

It’s merely a part of you, and yet it’s not all of you. When your second nature kicks in — during any emergency for example — you bring your awareness into keen focus. You are bringing a blending in of all of you into and to that moment. You are one with the situation, each person in that moment, and truly one with all of creation. There are no boundaries real or perceived. I know this may seem trippy, and I assure you this is not a drug-induced blog post, if that’s what you’re thinking. What you’re thinking, see what I mean? We are a thinking-obsessed so called modern society.

For your consideration:

What if we allowed our thinking to fade into the mix of our lived experiences, almost as if we swirled our thinking into a can of paint, using a wooden dowel, and letting the thinking disappear into the whole of the paint? Would we miss it ? Or, would we simply allow it to swirl into the mixture that becomes the fully blended vibrant paint color? Did the prior paint in the can cease to exist, or did the new paint that was added in — did that no longer exist, once we mixed it all in together? Nope. It stayed. It melded. It only seemed to disappear.

We can step out of our thinking brain and experience all of creation in a 360-degree (up down, all-around) way. We can live life in a way that I would deem to be spherical.

I contend that our lives would take on a, pardon the pun, whole new dimension. I’ve been living this way the past few weeks, and it’s been wild as heck and soooo nice to give my brain a rest. I’ve been putting my brain on an ongoing moment-by-moment ‘time out,’ and it’s been wondrous. And, in living this way you’re never alone, because you are living from a place of being one with everyone and everything.

Okay, your turn:

Does this idea of living from what I am calling a place of spherical awareness — living wholly and completely from outside the thinking mind — does that appeal to you? Are you willing to give it a go?

I invite you to share your feelings and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2021 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

Things we rotate

 

“Rotate your tires”

“Rotate your mattress”

“Rotate your crops”

 

 

Evenly distributed

wear and tear

 

threadbare

tattered

torn

 

instead

 

tread

tread lightly

 

leaving a gentle footprint

and an easeful sharing and carrying

of the load

 

For your consideration:

There is something to be said about consciously evening out the wear and tear on something as much as possible.  It keeps it refreshed. It prolongs its life. It prevents undue strain on any one area or facet.

Take a moment to reflect:

What in your life right now could benefit from a little rotating? Sure, it could be your mattress (ha!), but what about different parts of your lifestyle or your life’s journey? Is there a particular area of your life, or your thought patterns or beliefs, that’s been stuck way too long in the exact same position?  Has there been so much pressure consistently applied in a single place, that it’s worn out?  If not physically, then intellectually or emotionally?

You’re at choice to do something about it. Can you flip it? Rotate it? Turn it upside down? Inside out? Even simply envisioning doing this can create a magical revelation for you.  Try it!

Okay, your turn:

Did you try rotating something in your world?  If so, what did you notice?  If you haven’t tried rotating anything, will you soon? 

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2021 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

Structures

What does it mean to have a structure?

It is a framework

A template

Something that holds something together?

 

To deconstruct–

Is that to destroy?

To “unbuild” what was built?

 

What then is instruction?

To in-build

as in to build-in

a set of instructions

to follow

To create

something consisting

of parts

of lessons

that make up a

curriculum?

 

What is the source?

Who is the source
of these courses

 

And who are they built for?

Who does the creating

Who does the teaching

Who does the learning


Is it a symbiotic

relationship

 

Is it a giving

and a taking

an exchange

 

of value

of sorts?

 

For the purpose of mutual benefit?


Does it stem from or flourish from

A foundation of mutual recognition?

If not, should it?

 

Are we one with each other

With nature

with the planet

with the sun, the moon, and the galaxies

 

Learning and weaving together

as separate parts of one whole

Of one organism, truly?

 

Comity

Not comedy

Awe-ness

Not aww-ness

 

Yes.

 

Please

and

thank you.

  

For your consideration:

When we hear (or say) that we are destroying our planet, are we not indeed acknowledging that we are destroying ourselves? Does not nature (and we are nature) come with its own divine structure?  When we build up artificial structures, only to dismantle and destroy them, what value remains, if any?  When you hear the word infrastructure, what does that connote for you?

Okay, your turn:

Do these lines of inquiry present any new awareness for you?  Would you rather not pay them any mind?  Is there a risk in doing so?  How about in not doing so?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

 © 2021 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Wash away

Wash away

With the tides

all that no longer holds us

in our victimhood

 

All that is too salty

too painful

in what was once upon a time

an open wound

 

No longer open

But now healed

and firmly held

in abundant love

and full forgiveness

 

No longer open for business

Closed for the winter

not to be reopened

not to be left gaping

or oozing

for attention

 

Smoothly soothed over

Encased in the promise

of an oh perhaps not always familiar 

sheath of protection

translucent and glorious

in the natural light.

For your consideration:

During these times of global as well as for many of us local, uncertainty — in both the physical and political realms — it begs the question for each of us to consider:

What does this mean for me emotionally and spiritually? Where in my own life have I been met with uncertainty and challenges that may trigger previous wounds?  Have those wounds been healed through my physical and spiritual growth?  Am I willing to accept that healing and embrace the current (and future, because there will always be more) uncertainties and challenges from a place of healing and not open wounds?  For me, the answer is yes.

Okay, your turn:

What does it mean to you to read words like these? What, if any, emotions arise for you?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2021 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

It is a matter of what matters

Isn’t it?

Don’t you think?

Actually,

don’t.

Don’t you,

think.

 

Don’t think

Instead, feel

into what

matters.

 

What matters to you, to your soul?

A few things that matter to me:

 

In addition to money as currency

(not to be confused with ‘currentness,’ which is something different, altogether)…

 

Love as currency

Caring as currency

Compassion

Respect

Understanding

Empathy

Oneness

Wholeness

 

The sustainability of each of us

And the planet

Depends on it

On us.

 

What matters to you?

Does it matter?

Yes.

It matters

No matter

what.

For your consideration:

Set a countdown clock on your phone or computer, for a quick 11 seconds.  Without thinking, blurt out (and write down on a piece of paper), the first three things that matter to you. They can be lofty or grounded, simple or complex.  No editing allowed. No filtering. No worrying about what others’ opinions may be. This exercise is for your eyes and heart only.

Repeat this process as many times as your heart desires.  By the end of the day, take the entire list or sets of lists (remember, no editing), and put the paper under your pillow and sleep on it. Dream on it.

The next morning (again without thinking, without editing), jot down anything that arose for you since the previous day.  Anything new that you discovered really matters to you?  Anything that really doesn’t matter to you, after all?

On each new moon, if you so desire, revisit your list and see what still matters.

Okay, your turn:

Have you really felt into what matters to you?  If not, why not?  If so, what has been revealed?  Anything surprising? Anything unusual? Anything you’d like to reprioritize?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2020 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

 

Healing heart

On this the eve of a new moon and solstice and on this Juneteenth day as I post this, I bring you an image.  I painted it last week as I allowed what it was that needed to emerge.

 

I dedicate this edition of Soul Notes to all who have suffered injustice and as a sacred holding place for the possibility of:

What unites us

may

truly

unite us

 

~lori a. noonan

June 19, 2020*

—————————–

*One hundred and fifty-five years past June 19, 1865.  It would be months later on December 6, 1865 that the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, in an effort to abolish slavery, would be ratified and it became law.

 

© 2020 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

The new normal and the value of patience

 

The new normal

The old normal

What is normal, anyway?

 

Different styles

A unifying approach

To the pandemic guideline

To wear a face covering

When out in public

For essential life preserving tasks

Such as grocery shopping

 

On the sidewalk

Along the length of the parking lot

We stand dutifully

Six feet apart from one another

Prompted by orange plastic traffic cones

Marking our spots

As the sparsely populated parking lot

Is unusually quiet

And shopping carts are handed off from one person to another without

Touching each other

The shopping cart exchange looks like

A passing of a baton in a 400 relay race that we

Won’t be seeing in the 2020 Olympics

Until 2021

 

I watch this going on

As I step forward when prompted by the attentive

And helpful grocery store clerk who keeps order

Along the line of shoppers

Waiting their turn

 

Oddly scenes juxtapose for me

As they appear in my awareness

 

For example, as I step together, pause

Step together, pause

I remember the times entering a church

In a wedding procession

Or the times I waited my turn

In a congregant line to receive communion

 

I feel a deep sense of poignancy

And notice an even deeper sense

Of patience

Which is not normally a strongsuit

 

Normally…

Huh

 

What is normal

What is new about this new normal

I have time to consider this

As I stand in line

For my turn

To enter the grocery store

 

Mask on face

Heart on sleeve

 

Quiet

Reverent

 

In no rush

to enter

the store

 

And yet

happy

to

receive.

Okay, your turn:

What does the new normal mean to you?   What are you noticing?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2020 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.