  Spiritual
This week: A Brief Leave of Absence Edited by: Sophy  
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Hi, I'm Sophy ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book Finding Your Religion, compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred.  |
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A Brief Leave of Absence
Mr. Sophy and I are in the Blue Ridge mountains, staying in a charming little home which sits on 20 gorgeous wooded acres. Everywhere we look is green - every shade of green - and whether the sky is bright blue or cloudy and dark - it is beautiful. It is truly a little slice of heaven. The house is simple - one bedroom, a comfy living room with a wood stove, kitchen, bathroom, and office area. The roof is made of tin, so when it rains (which it has, often, since our arrival), the sound soothes us to sleep at night. There is also a large shaded porch overlooking the back "yard" of the house toward the barn.
We spend most of our waking hours on the porch. I am sitting on it now, as I write this (which is taking me longer than usual because I can't help looking around every few minutes - in fact a squirrel just took my attention away from the screen as I wrote that last line). We call it "holding down the porch." We enjoy seeing the dogs run and play on their 7 fenced acres of land (our Daisy plus the two that belong to our friends, whom we are caring for while they are away). We watch cardinals fling sunflower seeds and hummingbirds dart in and out from their respective feeders. We drink morning coffee, we relax, we read, we watch clouds roll by, we sip evening libations, and at night we watch fireflies come out before heading in for an early bedtime.
We do this not only because it is such a beautiful view, but also because the house has no television. We have Wifi, so can watch things on our laptops if we want to - but there is no cable or satellite here - and so instead of turning on the TV first thing to catch the news, and then later in the day, to catch more news, and then later in the evening to watch "The Voice" or "Greys Anatomy" - we sit on the porch. The background "noise" of our big flat screen TV back home is what we hear most of the time, as we flip through a gazillion channels trying to find something interesting to watch. But here we do not have that luxury, and so it is birdsong and the little creek that runs by the house that fills our ears.
At first I was alarmed that there was no cable - how would I find out who got voted off "Dancing With the Stars? before someone spoiled it on Twitter or Facebook? (I still don't know, so don't tell me!  ) How could I DVR "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" to watch after Mr. Sophy goes to bed? How would we know what was going on in the world without "Good Morning America" (GMA) and "Nightly News" to tell us what awful thing a politician recently said, or how the stock market was doing? Yeah, I know, I can check online for things like that if I want to, but I am used to instant gratification with the flick of a button on my TV remote.
I began to wonder how our friends can live like this - and joked that it was like we were living in the Little House on the Prairie farmhouse. Except we have electricity, and running water, and a washer/dryer, and comfy beds, and Wifi. But other than that, this is JUST LIKE Little House on the Prairie! I mean for goodness sakes, we have to drive 20 minutes to get to the closest grocery store - talk about primitive!  (But it is a lovely drive, I must say!)
And then on the third day, as I sipped coffee on the porch with Mr. Sophy, enjoying the sounds of hummingbird wings and dogs feet galloping as they chased each other in the pasture nearby, I realized I didn't miss GMA that morning, nor had I missed the news the night before. My occasional glances at Facebook have kept me pretty well kept up with the world. I know I could watch Survivor online and find out who got voted off last week, but I am in no hurry to do so. I can catch up with Survivor at home. I can't watch the blue birds darting in and out of their nesting box at home. Oops, be right back - need to refill the feeders, a male cardinal just asked politely and how can I refuse such a handsome gentleman....
... Back. Anyway, to my point so I can finish this and go on a hike with the dogs and look for wild flowers.  We are blessed to be here, and grateful for the opportunity to be without cable television for a week (words I thought I would never say!). As I hand wash the dishes after each meal, I am glad there is no dishwasher, as the warm soapy water feels good on the arthritis in my hands. As we gaze at the night sky, illuminated by the brightness of the stars because there is no other light around, we are thankful for this little "leave of absence" we have been gifted with, and already wonder how we can bring some of this back with us when we go home.
We don't live in the mountains 20 miles from town, but we do have a nice backyard with a patio we can enjoy. And when it is just the two of us eating, I could hand wash the dishes once in a while, immersing my hands in warm soapy water. When we wake up, maybe we can look outside for the latest news instead of turning on the TV - is it raining? is it cold? do the birds need food?
Our brief time out from daily life ends soon - but perhaps it doesn't need to end entirely. Maybe we can bring some of it back with us - even for just an hour a day, or a weekend .... We don't need to be in this beautiful place to enjoy the benefits of some time off, a brief leave of absence.
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Here is a response to my last newsletter "Spiritual Newsletter (April 6, 2016)" "It's Your Story Now:"
From Mia - craving colour 
Hi Sophy,
Love the practicality of the spiritual in this Newsletter.
Many thanks for highlighting 'A New Normal' in this edition.
Mia
Glad you enjoyed it!
     
From A*Monaing*Faith
Well thought out article! I've seen the 1st movie and loved it, excited for the sequel.
You will love #2 I think/hope! 
From Quick-Quill 
I had expectations from watching the trailer. The reality, while a good story did not even come close to what I expected the story to be. Had I not seen the trailers I would have loved the movie.
The story is about my parent, my father's healing and his death. I've been married 42 years and God willing we expect to see him before we die.
Thank you for sharing.
From Alexi 
This is truly a blessing to those who need to hear the words.
But losing someone you love is not the ending - it's my story now. How shall I continue it? (eloquent) 
I love it too, and now try to live it.
From Dragon is hiding 
Wow, thanks for choosing to highlight my piece! 
You are welcome!
Please keep your comments and suggestions coming! Until next time! Sophy |
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Spiritual: May 04, 2016 Issue [#7620]
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