Thoughts for Transformation

Rev. LeRoy Zemke

Temple of the Living God

St. Petersburg, Florida 33713

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

Psalm 23: 1-3

"If ever we are to enjoy life, now is the time - not tomorrow, nor next year, nor in some future life after we have died. The best preparation for a better life next year is a full, complete, harmonious, joyous life this year. Our beliefs in a rich future life are of little inportance unless we coin them into a rich present life. Today should always be our most wonderful day."

Thomas Drier

To really, fully live in the world, we must, I believe, accept (or be willing and able to accept) that the whole of our life is worth the sum of all the experiences we each, individually, embody in the course of our lifetime.

Too often, people are caught in the Drama(s) of the moment, such as the struggles within an ineffectual relationship, or dysfunctional family involvements, the wrestling with a job or work related issue, a painful loss, or some very delicate personal matter such as depression or ill health, or unstable emotional rhythms. Such aspects of life sap one's energy, drain the creative resources - and take our focus away from the fact that behind or underneath it all a larger process is actually occurring. That process involves the discovery that while one is in the midst of his/her struggles, the true essence of their life passes by. They miss those special, magical moments because they are trapped by their focus on worldly pursuits and passions.

It behooves all of us, I think, to occasionally stop and survey the route we are traveling; i.e., where we are, where we have been, and what lies ahead. Perhaps your life's road is or has been bumpy. Maybe you've missed a turning and are confused or"lost". To actually return to the Garden of the Soul, and/or to be able to receive nurturing for your journey, I submit three simple yet practical suggestions which can help bring forward the tremendous yet gentle revelations that will support you and give clarity for the adventures ahead.

(a) How do we receive nurturing sufficient for our garden? Spend some time with the people in your life and be willing to try and look beyond your and/or their struggles that may be of the moment. Beyond the complaints, the gripes and limitations of every person, a rainbow of positive energies await us. But we must be still, to "listen" beyond their words or "see" beyond their issues. We must make an effort to discover that, in reality, each person is a gem of precious quality awaiting their time to shine. Our nurturing emerges when we contribute our part, our piece, our love, our understanding to that individual ... and, in turn, we are blessed by that person and that experience. And thus we come to recognize that the doorway to the garden of our soul is, indeed, opening wider and wider each time we pause ... to listen, to look, to see, to be more aware.

(b) Choose to see/accept that the difficult and confusing experiences that have touched your life are there for a larger purpose. When we can begin to accept that perhaps some of our life's traumas and major problems are parts of a larger, more all encompassing plan, we can receive nurturing, healing and significant comfort in knowing that a deepening development within our being is at work.

One way to do this is through the doorway of forgiveness and/or release. When life invites us to forgive a situation, person, issue or circumstance, something shifts - in us. This brings change - internally - that opens a new direction on our personal journey. We no longer are blocked or "blinded" by the confusing and conflicting emotions, energies, or restrictions that were in place before.

(c) Open your life to embrace beauty. We are each touched differently by the beautiful in our lives. If your means and health allow for travel, do it! Travel can be incredibly enriching, nurturing and healing. Plant a garden - or even a window box in your apartment. Let yourself feel the earth and experience the thrill of living plants as they reach upward to light and offer their special beauty to life ... to you. Visit a museum or an art gallery. See a critically acclaimed movie, a play, or live theater (opera, orchestra, musical group, etc.) and allow your soul to be touched by the gifts of the actors and artists who bring their various skills and talents to your life.

For just a moment, touch a huge oak tree (any large tree) and "feel" its giant roots sinking deep within the earth, its towering branches forming a green arching cathedral across the sky. Or let the waters in rivers or rivulets work their magic. Give a sandy seashore or a majestic mountain pinnacle a place in your life to allow you to sink in, or relax with, walk on, be with, soar with.

For just a moment, go back to memories that are heId in the treasured tomes of your heart - and gently remember the mother, grandmother/grandfather, aunt or uncle, husband or wife, friend or family member who profoundly touched your life with care, warmth, encouragement and love ... and give permission to yourself to draw out, to recall again the gifts that were given and still may be unfolding.

These are some of the simple ways you will remember. These are some of the consummate and holy ways that beauty will offer its subtle presence in your journey.

Nurturing the Garden of the Soul is about the realization that we are fed by allowing ourselves to look beyond the momentary frustrations and failures that are ever around us and, perhaps, sometimes with us. We must often pause to see more, open to more, attempt to look beyond the current experience to capture something more subtle.

This does, not mean grasping for straws and trying to see our life through rose-colored windows or lenses. If a partner dies of AIDS, parents divorce, a son or daughter lives a despondent, desperate life despite our best efforts to assist or aid them, then we must come to make our peace with each issue, person or experience.

In the process, we are called upon to examine at depth how we really fit into the overall picture. We are asked to look more deeply into the pieces of our story and realize that there is a major gift in being willing to take some time, enter more consciously into our own journey and allow ourselves a sacred reflection ... a reflection that offers nurturing in the Garden of the Soul!

"It is not by regretting what is irreparable that true work is to be done, but by making the best of what we are. It is not by complaining that we have not the right tools, but by using well the tools we have. What we are, and where we are, is God's providential arrangement - God's doing, though it may be man's misdoing; and the manly and the wise way is to look your disadvantages in the face, and see what can be made of them."

Frederick W. Robertson

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