I have turned into a tiny field mouse, and now, my task is to eat an elephant.

It’s something I’ve done before when I couldn’t even see how big the elephant was. It might be the size of a three-month meal.

No.

A six-month meal.

No.

Will it be a year?

We’ll see.

No.

Longer than that.

Are you being asked to eat an elephant? Do you even know how big it is? Can you see your elephant growing?

These elephants can be tricky.

Sometimes, you think you’ve taken that last bite as you pat yourself on the back for hanging in there, and then – BAM! – something else comes up.

That’s called life.

At present, I am face-to-face with an elephant named DOWNSIZING. Downsizing from living in the same house for 42 years. Downsizing to a new town – to a brand-new life – with my brand-new forever love.

To everything there is a season, and this is the season for fresh starts. After mindfully moving along from loss, grief, and exhaustion – I am ready for this new chapter of continued discovery and adventure.

Will it start after this VERY LARGE meal? No.

Life is now. In the present – and I am going to enjoy each bite of this meal because life experiences have given me the skills needed to press on.

Yes, there will be lots of learning. I’ve never sold my house before – or rented a storage unit for my dwindling stuff before – or built a new house in a subdivision before – or sold furniture online before.

But, you know, it’s all good. My friends and loved ones are offering all kinds of support and help. The right professionals are coming my way.

There was that moment of feeling mouse-sized, overwhelmed, and crushed by the enormity of the work ahead. That’s when loved ones stepped in to remind me that I needed to step back and celebrate the day’s efforts.

Downsizing does not have to wait for retirement. We can reduce our quantity of possessions at any stage of life. Travel lighter. Do we really need 10 black pullover tops? Have we opened that book on the shelf in the last 5 – 10 years?

As a follow-up to the post last week about showing some love before we go, I am working toward showing some love to those who will survive me by simplifying and organizing my possessions. It’s hard enough as a survivor to go through someone else’s stuff without also having to go through their clutter.

Yes, it’s tough letting go of stuff.

Find a good home for your extra stuff. Feel good about making a gift of something you no longer need to someone who will appreciate it.

Throw the years out-of-date food/make-up/yard care products into the garbage.

Remember … it’s only stuff.

There’s a garbage bag calling me … time to discover what has been languishing in that bottom bathroom drawer…Yikes! Stuff!

Always striving to balance mind, body, and spirit through food, exercise, and thought –

Deidre

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While Deidre is taking some personal time away this week, I thought I would throw in a post of my own. It really doesn’t have much to do with eating right, or clean, or Keto, or kale chips – I do have to tease her sometimes about all that.

I want to talk about one of my favorite subjects – the universe – and I do think about it a lot.

What has that got to do with me, you ask?  Well, plenty actually.

First off, do you even realize where we are in the universe? How big, or small, we are compared to other planets? Do we always turn in the same direction? Why do we have different seasons? Are there more babies born on a full moon? (Yes, there are!)

Because of some of these things, I have often wondered:

How are flight patterns made?

How did we first figure out time zones?

Why did we make the Farmer’s Almanac?

How bad does it have to get to say, “Houston, we have a problem!”

These are just a few, there are thousands more. I’m not trying to be silly; I really do ask myself these questions.

I guess this would be a good time to admit, as long as I can remember, my childhood desire was to be a starship captain – just like Janeway – although I’m a little pudgier. You can’t imagine my disappointment the moment I found out none of it was real – no starship, no Janeway, no five-year expedition tour out in the galaxy. I was heartbroken. I even wrote about it in my children’s book, If the Stars Were Mine.

One thing I don’t question is my belief that God, or a superior being – if you will, made the universe and everything in it – including us. As differently colorful, questioning, amazing, unique, fun-loving, aggravating, and just-plain-weird we all are – I believe there is a bigger plan for everybody and the universe proves it.

To put all this information into context, several years ago, I happen to hear Louis Giglio speak on the universe and I was completely blown away. I was amazed at the information he shared. I found his YouTube video and thought I would include it here so I can share it with all of you.

Now let’s talk about one of my favorite spacecrafts. Since its launch on April 24,1990, Hubble Space Telescope has been sending images back to us to witness our incredible world-within-worlds we live in. After all, you could be on the highest peak in the world, Mt. Everest, standing proud at 29,032 feet above sea level, and never get a hint of what Hubble can beam back.

We can now see stars and formations such as:

Pillars of Creation, inside the Eagle Nebula

Helix Nebula, otherwise known as the Eye of God

Arp 142 – which looks like a floating angel to me

The Cigar Galaxy

The Cat’s Eye Nebula

The Sombrero Nebula

The Orion Nebula – known as the stellular nursery. It’s where stars are made.

I, personally, believe we were formed and placed within a solar system that deliberately fits perfectly together. And, on top of that, a creator Who knows each of our names, as well as names every one of the stars He creates!

My long-term wish is that I will be able to fly around the universe He keeps building upon. I am going to stand fast on this. Perhaps it is to make up for any disappointment about the whole starship thing. I know they meant well.

Who wants to be my wingman? (Get it?)

What do you suppose we will see when we leave this earth behind? I think the most fun is ahead of us and what we have here is nothing in comparison to what it will be.

When I lose someone I love, I always think of a poem I heard long ago. It brings me such comfort. It’s by Henry Van Dyke and to paraphrase:

I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, “There, she is gone.”

 And, just at the moment when someone says, “There, she is gone,” there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes!”

Our post this week is dedicated to Deidre’s lifelong friend and neighbor, Reuben Earl Hart, from New Bern, North Carolina.

Fly high, Reuben!

Sheree

A Memorial to Reuben – Unshed Tears

Tears are streaming from my eyes

unbidden

From whence are they coming?

They will not stop

My dear one departed years ago

This kind of grief is past …

Or is it?

Why is my grief so raw?

How is it the faucet won’t turn off?

It seems there are unshed tears for

grief itself

Sprung to life with the passing of

a sweet neighbor

Sprung to life with the kind of

knowing

Only ones who have walked this path

know

I know what kind of a journey

She who is left behind is

starting

Tears for her pain

Tears for the fist pounding pain of loss

Tears for her birthing process in becoming

One who has lost

Everything will be rebuilt

That which we didn’t want rebuilt

New perspectives

we did not want

No

But we are thrust forward

So, these unbidden tears are for

both of us

Tears I had saved, unknowingly

That will buoy us all up in the river

of life

We float along toward the sunny spots

That await and will bless

But

For now

Just know

These tears

Are our Baptismal waters

You are strong and you can float

And you are not alone …

Deidre Edwards for Carole Hart

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Sometime this week, I will dump out the contents of my 2021’s Blessing Jar.

There, strewn across the counter, will be small pieces of paper – each with a notation about a blessing that came my way in the past year.

Random things.

Sometimes it’s a happy touch of unexpected sunshine on my face on a cool fall day. Perhaps the blessing came in meeting someone special.

A blessing can also come from knowing I had been a blessing to someone else.

The process of pausing beside the Blessings Jar occasionally to note recent positives helps to keep me focused on the good – the positive – and on the opportunities to give and receive blessings.

And, wow, what an amazing experience it is to revisit a year’s worth of blessings in one sitting!

The blessings are there all the time – even in challenging and life-changing circumstances. Bad health? How about the nurse who took extra care in helping you? Difficult times at work? Maybe you found a way to overcome obstacles, or maybe you found a better position.

In this time of reflection, my thoughts have been boosted by two authors whose writings crossed my path recently.

One involves the realization there are more years behind me than there are ahead of me. Truly absorbing this reality colors my choices in how I want to spend my limited currency of precious moments. Trivial pursuits/people/conversations, or rehashing things that will never change, only serves to rob my limited resources.

In the words attributed to Antonio Marulli:

“I want to surround myself with people who know how to touch hearts, people who have been taught to grow up with gentle touches of their soul.

Yes, I’m in a hurry, I’m rushing to live with the intensity that only maturity can give.”

The second author, Rachel – who writes as Finding Joy on Facebook, inspired me as she wrote about longing to counsel her former broken self, saying that though the path would be hard, brighter days lay ahead.

I knew brighter days would eventually come to me, while still in the depths of anticipatory grief as a caregiver. I knew the price would be paid of having even harder, gut-wrenching events happen first – thus, making the hope of joy almost shameful.

Creating as much light during the dark-yet-blessed days of caregiving and pushing myself forward through the time of abject grief, I held onto the hope of brighter days ahead.

Now, I can fully write my former shell-shocked self, saying:

Dearest Self-

Your journey is about to get more challenging than you can even imagine, but fear not!

You are blessed with enough strength, faith, family, friends, and seemingly random connections that will pave every step of this journey.

The more you let go, the more will be given to you.

Continue to do your best, be your best, and reach out to the best.

Like a fine piece of metal being hammered into shape, every blow, every challenge will shape you into a more beautiful vessel than you could ever have imagined.

There will be times when you will need to just lean into the suffering, sadness, and challenge.

At other times, you will find the strength to say “Stop” to the downward pull of negativity so that you can push forward – maybe not even knowing why/how/or where you are going – and you’ll be able to feel the sunshine once again on your face.

While you will wrestle with impatience to be whisked through the Valley of Despair, you know fully well that timing is Divine. Delay often means that lessons are yet to be learned.

Each lesson prepares you for success in the next steps you desire.

And that which you desire will be out-shined by the reality of the full manifestation!

May each of our foodtalk4you readers take some moments to reflect on last year’s blessings and know that we can identify with your anxiety, cares, and concerns.

We often resolve one set of issues – only to pick up new ones along the way. But …

Reflection can yield a healthier view with a very comforting perspective.

Have you started your Blessings Jar yet? Read more about this HERE. With link to 3^rd post for 2021 re blessings jar and word of the year.

Maybe you, too, could write your former self a letter of encouragement.

In health for the New Year-

Deidre

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