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Gently

Image result for yellow monarch butterfly

Gently –

Yesterday I stepped out on to our front screened in porch to let the dog have some alone time in the yard. Immediately a frantic movement caught my eye. Inside the screen porch, trapped in a corner was a Yellow Monarch Butterfly. Big, beautiful and needing to be free. I don’t know if butterflies know when they aren’t free but I knew and was determined to do something about it. I took my hands and gently tried to close my fingers around it. Several times it fluttered away but I was finally able to catch it, gently take it outside and then cautiously open my hands and watch it fly away.

I thought about my journey with mental illness and people in my life who have struggles of their own. We might not know we are trapped or at least not see a way out. We need help, assistance that doesn’t force, grab, clutch, and drag us to where someone else thinks we ought to be. We need gentleness, someone who won’t break our wings or our spirits but show us there is life, there is freedom.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: #able, #alone, #assistance, #beautiful, #big, #blessings, #break, #catch, #cautiously, #clutch, #determined, #dragus, #Finally, #fluttered, #flyaway, #force, #frantic, #freedom, #gentleness, #gently, #grab, #immediately, #inacorner, #life, #mentalillness, #movement, #myjourney, #need, #needhelp, #open, #seeawayout, #spirits, #stepped, #struggles, #thewannabesaint.com, #time, #trapped, #watch, #wings, #YellowMonarchButterfly, @BrianLoging, Free

Gently

May 7

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Gently –

I saw him as soon as I pulled up to the stoplight. He was a man in late 50’s, early 60’s slowly, carefully, walking down a hill away from the traffic signal. He was slow, taking painful steps. I didn’t want to stare so I looked out the corner of my eye; watching every step, shuffle and pause. His face showed his age, his wincing revealed a hard, difficult, life. Many of his steps were unsteady causing worry that he might fall but he progressed on his way in spite of the awkwardness of his gait.

As I watched him I thought about family, friends, clients who struggle to make their way on this path called life. I’m one who struggles. I think at times we all have seasons where we’re just trying not to fall or fall back. It is in these times especially we should treat ourselves gently, remembering the words of the philosopher #Plato:

“Never judge a person’s progress, no matter how slow.”

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #awkwardness, #blessings, #causing, #clients, #difficult, #especially, #face, #fall, #fallback, #friends, #gait, #gently, #hard, #judge, #life, #literal, #matter, #metaphorical, #often, #ourselves, #painful, #path, #pause, #persons, #philosopher, #plato, #progress, #progressed, #Remembering, #revealed, #seasons, #shuffle, #slow, #slowly, #spite, #steps. #everystep, #struggle, #struggles, #taking, #thewannabesaint.com, #treat, #tryingnottofall, #unsteady, #walking, #watched, #way, #wincing, #worry, @BrianLoging, Age, Family, Thought

Gathering

Apr 16

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for petal blowing

Gathering –

This morning I stopped by the office on my way to a Community Group for Dads. It was cold today. Last night it was below freezing and when I left the house it was lightly snowing! I know Spring is supposed to be here but I wish it would step up and exert itself! Anyhow, when I arrived at the office there was the familiar hum of a leaf blower. Even though its cold the grass is still growing and the flowers are still blooming. I parked the truck and as walked to the office door I noticed what the maintenance man was doing. There are trees planted near the building that houses a suite of offices. Because of the wind and cold, the petals were scattered over the parking lot and in front of the office doors. Opening ours I saw them tumble into the foyer. The man operating the blower was trying to collect them into a corner and then sweep them into a trashcan. Expertly he gathered them setting the blower on high when moving them from a big space and then on low to push them into the area they needed to go.

Exiting the office, I reflected on the petals. They reminded me of the many thoughts which swirled in my head. Its Monday and my mind was filled with a list of; “to-dos, schedules, phone calls, meetings, reports, and a host of other things” which have already filled my week. My thoughts, like the petals, were scattered and needed to be gathered and sorted. I will follow the discipline of my leaf blower friend and willfully, but gently, take control where once there had been chaos by paradoxically, stilling my mind and spirit.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #area, #arrived, #bigspace, #blessings, #blooming, #blower, #chaos, #cold, #collect, #control, #corner, #discipline, #Exiting, #Expertly, #familiar, #filled, #follow, #friend, #gathered, #gathering, #gently, #go!, #head, #high, #hum, #leafblower, #low, #meetings, #moving, #needed, #Opening, #operating, #petals, #phonecalls, #push, #reflected, #reminded, #reports, #scattered, #schedules, #setting, #sorted, #sweep, #swirled, #thewannabesaint.com, #to-do's, #tumble, #willfully, #wind, @BrianLoging, Mind, Thoughts

Soul Alive

Apr 15

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Soul Alive –

Outside, under our two sheds and front porch are families of rabbits. I see them when I let out the dog, who’s too old to chase them anymore, when I drive the truck into the driveway, when I sit still long enough and wait for them to emerge from their hiding holes. It excites me. Wildlife has always had this impact on me. I slow down to look at deer on the sides of the highway or in far-off fields. Stare at Falcons and Hawks perched on fence posts or electric poles. Turkeys, skunks, opossum, armadillos, foxes, even cows grab my attention.

I grew up in the suburbs but my parents took us to National Parks as often as the could. We loved camping, canoeing, hiking, exploring. We saw lots of wildlife and even had a few run-ins with Black Bears. I believe this is where my love of nature was born and raised along with the important lessons of treating it gently, basking in its beauty and always leaving a place better than you found it.

Nature, along with other gifts we take for granted each day, bring life to my soul. I can’t imagine not being excited, filled with joy, while experiencing it.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #alive, #attention, #basking, #believe, #better, #blessings, #born, #bringlife, #camping, #canoeing, #emerge, #enough, #excites, #experiencing, #exploring, #far-off, #filled, #found, #gently, #gifts, #grab, #granted, #impact, #important, #joy, #Leaving, #lessons, #long, #look, #loved, #NationalParks, #outside, #raised, #see, #sit, #slow, #slowdown, #soul. #imagine, #soulalive, #stare, #still, #thewannabesaint.com, #treating, #wait, #Wildlife, @BrianLoging, beauty, Hiking, Nature, Soul

Cracked

Apr 13

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for cracked eggs in carton

Cracked –

This morning I went grocery shopping. As one who doesn’t care for shopping, it’s odd to find me roaming the aisles. However, Beth hasn’t been feeling well so it was my husbandly duty. On the list was eggs so I found them and as I was putting them in the cart I remembered to open the carton and check to make sure none were broken. There wasn’t any so I gently put it into the grocery cart and went to find the next item on my list.

When Beth and I were first married we went grocery shopping together one time and were buying eggs. I picked up a carton and placed it in the buggy without checking to see if any were cracked. A kind elderly man standing near us said; “You might want to check those eggs to make sure none are cracked or broken.” We did and there were several that were in bad shape. We thanked the man, retrieved another set of eggs, and from that day forward haven’t forgotten to check the eggs or think about the man who taught us this valuable lesson.

The encounter with the older gentleman might many years ago changed the way we did things. His advice helped us look beneath the surface and double-check what we were taking home. After finishing shopping today I wondered; “Have I done anything this week to change anyone’s life longterm, for the better?”

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #ago, #badshape, #beneath, #better, #blessings, #broken, #cart, #carton, #changed, #check, #checking, #Cracked, #day, #double-check, #duty, #eggs, #elderly, #encounter, #find, #finishing, #forgotten, #forward, #gently, #helped, #husbandly, #kind, #lesson, #life, #longterm, #open, #picked, #putting, #retrieved, #roaming, #several, #surface, #takinghome, #taught, #thanked, #thewannabesaint.com, #think, #today, #valuable, #without, #wondered, #years, @BrianLoging, advice

Cracked

Mar 14

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for cracked skin thumbs

Cracked –

My fingers have a nasty way of cracking and splitting open when I work outside during the winter in cold and dry conditions. Last week my thumb developed a big one. I had several days of work in front of me and it was becoming sorer by the moment. Finally, after arriving home from a trip yesterday, my wife “made it better.” She cleaned it with Peroxide, gently using a Q-Tip to get the dirt and grime in the crack, applied Neosporin to the affected area and then covered it with a Band-Aid to keep it protected. I repeated the procedure this afternoon and will continue until it improves.

Certain seasons of life can also wound us physically, emotionally and spiritually. We do our best to keep going but sooner or later we must pay attention to the hurt because if we don’t it will only get worse. At times others can help us heal and other times we can do it ourselves. Wisdom teaches us the important axiom; “If we can’t take care of ourselves we can’t take care of others.”

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Gently

Gently

Gathering

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Cracked

Cracked

Brian Loging, OSBO

@BrianLoging

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Gently

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Gathering

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Soul Alive

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Cracked

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Brian Loging, OSBO

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