what have you lost?

J.K. Rowling admitted that she is devastated by ending her extremely successful Harry Potter series. though she knew it had to come to an end, it seems she's going to suffer some grief.

are you grieving? what have you had to let go of? a home? a career? a person? we are never prepared to lose. sorry to say, it is all about winning. losers do not get noticed unless it's for public entertainment.

we can support each other for only so long. it's human nature to move on to other things. we cannot live in Harry Potter land forever. that's a good thing and we can say goodbye fondly.

we can also herald the new literature that will follow in its path. so maybe it's not about losing -- it's about letting go and looking forward.

declare your independence...

as the nation celebrates its 231st birthday, we must acknowledge that we are in some way dependent on something (or someone) else. this is not a bad thing unless the dependency is something that harms you.

are you dependent on chemicals, nicotine, alcohol? or perhaps it's thrills, danger, sex, gambling, being accepted. today is the day to be free from these things that enslave you. be dependent only on yourself. on the support and love of others.

let go. go on vacation. Happy Freedom Day.

what are you taking to the beach?

summer reading is best done at the shore. no phones, no distractions, no one to turn off the lights.

best bets are the big books that won't be devoured in less than an hour or two. my list includes: I love you like a tomato, Bleak House and Along came trouble.

What's on your list?

caught by surprise...

summer stole quietly in. it wasn't that things just got hot on June 21. it's been hot for nearly most of May. there was no fanfare, no celebration to mark its arrival. so now summer is officially upon us.

has it made you happy? have you planned a vacation? are you ready for the sun? summer is full of surprises. we are all out and about. we travel more during this time of the year. we may run into old friends, find a new favorite spot on the beach, and hopefully enjoy ourselves.

let summer happen to you. it will unfold day by day; full of food, smiles, good times. write in your journal, or in your blog how summer has changed you. believe me, it will.

what do you believe in?

a recent forum posed the question: are there any sins God would NOT forgive? the debate was a stark contrast to what people percived God as. he was ultimate love and to others he was ultimate justice.

i think God is both love and justice. those two virtues can co-exist. i think God will not forgive the sins that we cannot forgive ourselves for. and i also think we need to make restitution for the things that we've done that have hurt others. that's justice. and it's love too because we say we're sorry to the ones we love.

perhaps our preception of God and mercy is a matter of deciding if we are worthy of love.

what do you think God can forgive?

warm and warmer...

why do we fear risk? is it that we fear change? and yet we jump head first into love--the most monumental of changes. despite the warnings, we often go for the wrong person thinking that love knows what it's doing.

surprise. it does. we are the ones who get it wrong. we love the wrong person making love wrong. when we get it right love works. like putting the right key in the right lock. it works.

passion warms the heart, but true love warms the soul.

ever been disappointed?

ever been let down? rejected? forgotten? it's a pretty common human experience. we can't all be liked at all times. and yet it makes us feel so alone; cutting us off from the rest of humanity.

in job hunting we all get the "not you" letter. the position was filled, thanks so much for your interest, good luck with your career. and an intangible sting accompanies the letter. the feeling of: you are not good enough. it's difficult to let that go, not to be hurt even for a moment. but it should be only a moment. the right job doesn't really exist--unless you are perfectly happy with what you are doing. that's rare. most of us have to work for happiness and sacrifice other things somewhere along the line.

as summer sweeps in, we have warm days to let all the little hurts slip away. we have opportunities to get outside and quell the loneliness. and we have time to be perfectly happy with the moment--regardless of disapointment.