This week I read an article about how to age gracefully. The author stated that aging is a privilege. Wow! That statement stopped me in my tracks. To age is not a right! It is, indeed, a privilege to be enjoyed to the full.

It’s all too easy for me to think of aging as a process of gradual decline, and on a physical level, this cannot be argued. Yet, it’s also true that each additional day is a gift to be lovingly received, a pearl without price, to be treasured and lived with beautiful intention. As I have reflected on this the past few days, I decided to do a few things to lock in this new and lovely perspective.

1) I made a little sign to put on my bedside table that says “Aging is a privilege”, so I can see it each day when I awaken. I take a few deep breaths and let this truth sink in, even before I pick up my smartphone!

2) Taking my journal in hand, I have been thinking about the day ahead, and asking myself how I want to live my day-what intentions I want to set- then writing them down.

3) Then I list some activities I want to do, aiming to really slow down and enjoy these simple pleasure as they occur. For instance, I have been trying to really treasure that I get to sit with a good book and a cup of steaming coffee in hand, for yet another day!

4) After that I write myself a little blessing that begins with the words “May I…..”

5) The next morning I reread my journal entry from the day before, to remind myself what my intentions were, then set some new ones for that day.

I have been enjoying this practice so much, I wanted to share it with you!

Hoping your Advent season is going well so far, enhanced by the first snowfalls of winter. Not long now until the days begin to get longer- 16 more days to go!

The past few months I have been obsessively focused on the US election. I couldn’t seem to stop reading about it. Now that it is over, what’s next?

Somehow, I had gotten off the mailing list for Richard Rohr’s daily meditations. A friend commented recently that he had been finding them really helpful, so I re-subscribed. Wow! I have been finding them to be really comforting, grounding, useful, and practical. This morning’s meditation was written by Rev. Michael Curry. He points to a truth which we all know, but which bears repeating, because it orients us in the direction we want to go- a direction which we know from our personal experience does work to both satisfy our soul and help our world around us. Rev Curry says:

“Love is a firm commitment to act for the well-being of someone other than yourself. It can be personal or political, individual or communal, intimate or public….. Love as an action is the only thing that has ever changed the world for the better... Where selfishness excludes, love makes room and includes. Where selfishness puts down, love lifts up. Where selfishness hurts and harms, love helps and heals. Where selfishness enslaves, love sets free and liberates. The way of love will show us the right thing to do every single time. It is moral and spiritual grounding— a place of rest— amid the chaos that is often part of life. It’s how we stay decent in indecent times. Loving is not always easy, but like with muscles, we get stronger both with repetition and as the burden gets heavier. And it works.”

Thank you, Rev. Curry for reminding us of this beautiful truth. We can decide to follow the way of love, and we can know that when we do, we will feel grounded, and satisfied deep within our souls, no matter what’s going on around us, no matter how wild the storm.

Hallelujah!

I realized today that it’s been quite a while since I have written a blogpost. My new book is launched, Thanksgiving is coming, and my Mom’s birthday, which was September 9th, has passed. I have started up another year of teaching Sunday School, my fall workshop offerings are about to begin, and it’s almost time to put the gardens to bed for another year. In other words, time is rolling on, as it always does.

I feel like I am pretty nearly finished processing and integrating my Mom’s death. I have been helped the past few weeks with this by reading a book by James Hollis that was written in 2018, but that I missed at the time. I find his writing about the soul, about individuation, and seeing it all from the Jungian perspective, to be really helpful for getting the big picture view of my own life, and my life within the context of my family of origin- both when I was young and now, as I prepare to turn 70 in January. I highly recommend this book, published when Hollis was 78. It seems to me to include all the important topics he discussed in the many books written before this one. The title is Living An Examined Life: Wisdom for the Second Half of the Journey, A 21 Step Plan for Addressing the Unfinished Business of Your Life. Sound interesting?

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all!

I have exciting news! I have finished and self-published, with Sheri’s help, my new book Tent Pegs: How to Live With More Strength and Stability. Usually, it takes me two years to research, write, and edit a book. This time is was only nine months. It was a quicker process this time because much less research was needed. This book comes more from my own life experience, rather than synthesizing others’ research and writings. I’d say it’s my most practical book so far. I hope you agree, and find something in it of use for your own life. Someone said of the book, “It’s a boots on the ground book.” YES!!

Tent Pegs is up on Amazon now. To find it, select ‘books’ in the search bar, and then enter Susan Gleeson Tent Pegs. That way you will be taken to the book, rather than to a wide selection of camping supplies!! You can also click on this link: https://a.co/d/4iHh4KF.

All the best to everyone as we approach the end of another summer. I hope you enjoy your Labour Day weekend, as we get ready to enter another busy, and hopefully, meaningful and fulfilling ‘new year’!

Lately, I have been reading a book called Wellsprings: A Book of Spiritual Exercises, written by Anthony De Mello. Father de Mello was a Jesuit priest, a psychotherapist, a spiritual teacher, a writer, and a public speaker. For me, the exercises he proposes we do are really intriguing. I think I will start tackling them this winter as contemplative journaling prompts. As I was skimming through the book I came across an exercise titled The Center. It begins this way:

“ I imagine that I walk into a desert place. I spend some time exploring the surroundings, then settle down to contemplate my life. I see how frequently I rush outside myself —to people, occupations, places, things—in search of strength and peace and meaning, forgetting that the source of all is here within my heart. It is here that I must search” (31). He then presents a series of things to ponder, beginning with this one:

“Each person carries thoughts that have the power to bring instant peace. I search for mine” (31).

WOW! That stopped me dead in my tracks. For sure, I carry thoughts that have the power to bring instant peace, but I have never thought of them that way, nor taken the time to list them. I stopped to begin to think about what they are, and to list them. I think once we take the time to list these thoughts, and really be consciously aware of them, they will become a huge source of strength for us during times of confusion, chaos and trouble. The thought I came up with first was:

1) No matter how uncertain at any given moment I might feel about the truth of this, I do know for sure that each and every path I take, and have taken, leads me to the center.”

That’s why I gave this blogpost the title ‘P.S.’ I realized yet again why I love walking a labyrinth so much. Every time I do, I am comforted and reminded that in my life, all paths I have taken have led me to the center. No experience is lost; I think we can grow, and learn from every experience we have, even the most painful ones.

Hallelujah!

For about two years, I have wanted to visit a labyrinth that is located not too far from my home, about twenty minutes away in the countryside near Ennismore. I love walking a labyrinth. No matter how many twists and turns a labyrinth path has, you know for sure you will always end up in the centre. This is what differentiates a labyrinth from a maze, which is meant to confuse us, and has many dead ends.

Today, I finally made it to the labyrinth near Ennismore. It was a beautiful eleven circuit labyrinth, a full replica of the labyrinth located in Chartres Cathedral in France. As I walked, I felt more and more at ease and settled. I noticed the times I was facing away from the centre, on the outmost circuit, and felt so happy to know that despite that, I was going to eventually end up in the centre. What a metaphor for the twists and turns of life we experience, and the times when we feel we might be off course, and far from being centred and on track.

Mrs. Deslauriers came out to welcome me and invited me to go on a walk through the woods to the secret garden she and Mr Deslauriers created, with the help of the Ennismore horticultural society. It was a magical, comforting, joyful time. To get directions to this labyrinth, go to the world-wide labyrinth locator website and enter ‘Ennismore’. No matter where you are when you are reading this, you can go to this website and find the labyrinth located near to you.

Enjoy!!

I am an avid follower of Abbey of the Arts, an online abbey located in Ireland. The abbess, Christine Valters Paintner, has written many beautiful and helpful books about the intersection between spirituality and the expressive arts. Christine takes a break for the month of July each year, and I eagerly await her return each August. Today’s weekly newsletter did not disappoint! It included a schedule of all her planned online workshops and retreats for the year ahead, and I have already signed up for one!!

The other lovely news was that Christine is releasing a new book called A Midwinter God: Encountering the Divine in Seasons of Darkness. This book will be released on September 16th, but can be pre-ordered on Amazon now. It will be addressing the topic of grief, so it is of special interest to me during this year of grieving my mom’s passing.

If you haven’t heard of Abbey of the Arts, I invite you to take a look at their website. It appeals especially to people who are monks and artists, or who would like to be!! Check out www.abbeyofthearts.com if you are interested!

And all the best to everyone as we enter into August!

I had a lovely visit by phone with a friend this morning. She told me that she’s feeling very content these days. Isn’t contentment such a beautiful word? And isn’t it wonderful she could describe her life as contented? After we got off the phone I started to reflect on what I would say I need to feel contented with my life. Here are some things that came to mind:

1) To love and be loved.

2) To have meaningful work/projects to do.

3) To have a good book on the go, and a good book ahead.

What are some of the things you need in your life to be able to enjoy a feeling of contentment in your mind, body, emotions and spirit?

Regarding good books, I’d like to recommend some new to me authors who write what I would call ‘ beach reads’. These are feel good, encouraging, easy reads. My local librarian wasn’t familiar with any of these authors, so in case you are looking for some new authors in the ‘beach read’ category, here are a few!

1) Leigh Duncan.

Leigh is an American author. She’s won a number of awards for womens’ fiction. I am making my way through her Sugar Sand Inn series right now. They describe the struggles of a group of four women who are working together to get a new inn up and running. Nothing happens that would disturb your sleep, and the description of the friends’ relationships with each other is endearing and encouraging.

2) Jean Grainger

Jean is a very prolific Irish author. She seems to be able to work on several series at once. I have read some or all of The Tour series, the Robinswood series, and most recently the Mags Munroe series. Mags is a policewoman in a small village in Ireland. I found reading about her experiences really interesting and enjoyable. Again, Jean’s books are great bedtime reading.

3) Susanne O’Leary

Susanne is another Irish author. Her novels are set mostly in County Kerry. I have read most of her Starlight Cottage series and the Sandy Cove series. They describe events and relationships in a small village in Ireland. The settings are spectacular. Again, no worries about reading these books just before you fall asleep at night!

Enjoy!

Happy June!

Wow, wow, wow! Last night I got to see Bruce Cockburn in concert. What an inspiring, magical experience it was! He turns 79 on Monday, yet once again, he put on an amazing show. I think this is the tenth time I have seen him perform live, spanning 45 years of my life, since I was a young medical student. He came out on the stage, walking very slowly, supported on two canes. He was hunched over and his hands were full of osteoarthritis, yet he was full of life, feisty, and irreverent. YAY!

The first half of the concert I thought, “Oh no, he’s not as good as he used to be. That’s so sad, but understandable.” But when he came out for the second set, suddenly, his fingers were flying, his voice was soaring, and he was able to move all of us profoundly with his musicianship, his voice, his humour, and his indomitable spirit. Following the second set he hobbled off the stage, but after a lot of cheering, he came back and did a three song encore, and we were moved even more deeply. I have a lot to think about regarding this experience. Here are a couple of my early takeaways:

1) He’s still a committed activist, but he’s also spending significant time looking fearlessly ahead towards his death, preparing for it in his own way. His latest CD, O Sun, O Moon, is a beauty. My favourite song is Into the Now. I love the final chorus:

“End of it all, End of it all. See if I get there at the end of it all. Honey from God, honey from God. Love trickles down like honey from God. Into the now, into the now, out of the armour and into the now.”

2) He inspires me to be all that I can be in my next 10 years. I am 69, he is 79. May I be as committed to what I know to be my purpose, as he has been to his in the past 10 years. On his website he says, “Part of the job of being human is just to try to spread light, at whatever level you can.” Amen to that, and Go Bruce Go!

I got to enjoy the concert in the company of my two daughters, neither of whom have had the opportunity to see Bruce live before. We had a lovely dinner before the concert, as this was my Mother’s Day gift and activity with them. What pure joy it was to be in their company. Oh what a night! Woo hoo!

Mother’s Day has come and gone, and I made it! I never understood before why people dread the first birthday, or the first anniversary after their parent or loved one passes, but I do now. It turned out to be a sweet day, celebrating with those who were available to come over for dinner. The main thing about such events, I have found, is not to be alone, and to invite someone over who might not otherwise have an invitation on Mother’s Day- someone whose own mother has passed, for example. Mom did always say, “When you are feeling sad, lonely, or bored, look outside yourself and do something for someone else.” For me, those are very practical and useful words to live by.

I am continuing to journal through a series of questions that I have found in various books that are helping me to process Mom’s life and death. I came across some really hard hitting ones today. Whew! It is going to take some time for me to think about, write about, and generally process them. In case you would like to take a deep dive in this area of your life, here are a few journal prompts you can delve into:

1) How often are you still a dependent, judgmental, or needy child?

2) Where do you still seek to fit in, belong, and conform for your survival?

3) When are you self-aware, accepting of yourself, and impeccable?

4) Where and how are you living in harmony with self, life, and others?

Juicy, eh???!!!

Enjoy this beautiful Victoria Day!