Kathleen Botsford

Unmapped Territory

There are so many things that spark my interest each and everyday.   One of my favorite things to do is visit other blogs.  There are so many interesting people, mostly women, who I enjoy catching up with.  Their interests are so varied too.  Interior design, fashion, food and families.  Not to mention the numerous art blogs I visit for inspiration and a weekly dose of eye candy.  Fun, fun, fun!  Mostly I write about my family and my lessons in life which ususally revolve around the art and practice of surrender.  As I re-read my last post I realized there are so many more facets of my life.  Even in the midst of full time "mothering" I have a rich life full of interests and passion, ideas and activities.  I am lucky enough to have a radio show with my dear, dear friend Jill Angelo, where we explore lots of these facets of life and how we each navigate our journeys.

This past weekend we were all in South Bend attending a football banquet.  Victoria my youngest was busy picturing her life next year, racing from class to class with lots of interesting new people and opportunities.  Stever is on the verge of the next chapter of his life as he prepares to graduate college and enter the business world and Alex is off in Indianapolis interviewing for a fabulous sounding job at this very moment while the movie she worked on last year, "The Mechanic" sets to release this weekend.   I was beginning to feel a little left out, knowing that my job is coming to an end.  I teased the kids as we joked about what I would do next; follow Victoria to college and work for the football program?   Tori didn't like that idea at all.  Volunteer for a non-profit charity?   Finally take the time to market my jewelry line and promote my workshops?  Travel to Italy?  The world is full of new roads to explore.  And I am beginning to feel the buzz of excitement building just under the surface.

Where will my next adventure take me?  The possibilites are endless.

New Adventures

My life revolves around my children and family.  While that is as it should be, I know this time of intense togetherness is coming to an end.  And while we will always be a family and hopefully quite close, these moments of childhood will live in our memories, not our daily rounds.  Each of my children will venture out on their own to chase their own dreams and adventures.   They will meet new people and find partners to accompany them on their own life journeys. 

I too will venture out to explore new horizons, new accomplishments.  I don't spend much time thinking about or planning this next phase of life.  I want to stay present for every last moment of this phase, this wonder-filled adventure of mothering three fabulous children, three wonderful young adults. 

New adventures await us all.  New people and places.  New interests and passions.  We will explore and grow stronger and then we will return.  Return to our home.  Return to our center.  Return to each other to share and celebrate our family bond.  We are bonded to each other, now and always.  While miles may come between us, our hearts will always be united in love.  What more can a mother ask for?

Silence Between the Words

May we find each other in the silence between the words.

May we heal the loneliness of our expertise

with the wisdom of our service.

May we honor in ourselves and all others

the deep and simple impulse to live,

to find sacred space and open land.

May we remember that the yearning to be holy

is a part of everyone

and the only hope for the next thousand years.

Rachel Naomi Remen

Prayful Doors

The New Year brings to mind new experiences and adventures just waiting to happen.  When the months are fresh, the possibilities for the future seem endless.  How many doors will I walk through?  How many doors will close?  Will I be brave and fearless?  Or hesitant and unsure?  I always plan to embrace the mystery and walk confidently in any given direction at the appropriate time.  But do I actually do it?  Am I aware of the doors as they appear?  This new year holds so many variables and the doorknob is but a simple symbol, asking for pause and contemplation. 

Could a hand on the doorknob

remind us that we have the power

to unlock our inner doors?

Could we pause here

and feel this moment

as one of decision-making?

 

We may be only going into a familiar room,

but we can enter it with the understanding

that every day we enter into our habits,

our attitudes, our inner living rooms.

 

How might we be recalled into the present

by turning the handle of this door?

Could we use it as a means to slow down,

to ask ourselves what new doors there are to pass through,

both in our relationships

and occupations?

 

Could turning the handle of this door

be an opening to prayer?

Gunilla Norris

Journal Keeper

The other day I was busy taking down Christmas ornaments and doing loads and loads of laundry when I realized I was feeling a bit sorry for myself.  I tried to talk myself out of my mood; someone had to put up and take down Christmas, and I do so enjoy seeing the trees sparkle and shine.  And there is of course the ordinary, everyday task of laundry.  Someone has to do that too.  The fact that half of my family was out in sunny California on vacation wasn't helping matters at all.  I wasn't making much headway and as it happened, I was feeling sorrier and sorrier for poor little me when I decided to take a break, open my journal and let all of my moodiness spill onto the blank page.  It is always a surprise to me how much better I feel once I have journaled.   No arguments, no defensiveness, no blaming.  Just words, images and feelings emptying themselves into the safe container of my journal.  Most times I would rather work out these issues in my own way, with my own counsel and my journal.  Sharing these feelings rarely gets me the response I am looking for and misunderstandings can easily take root.  My journal is always a trusty friend and confidante, standing silently by, waiting to be of service. 

Truthfully, we cannot escape ourselves, for even in

the most transparent chambers of the heart

we will realize that our view is veiled.

We cannot avoid this fact~but we can nevertheless bravely

turn our faces towards the world

and try to see it with a loving grace.

Gunilla Norris

Open to Guidance and Joy

I don't make New Year's resolutions.  I did when I was younger but they all seemed to fade away, some more quickly than others, as the month progressed.   This year I am practicing opening deeper to my own inner guidance and finding the joy in each and every ordinary day.  Just writing these words brings a smile to my face. 

Live your joy,

Go against the grain.

Don't be made timid by worried rejection.

Let nature's curious wisdom fill you.

Let the world's mystical heritage guide you.

Paint your canvases,

play your tunes.

Thomas Moore

P.S.  And trying to remember to take my vitamins!