The Divine in Me and the Divine in You


The Head of the year

 

The moon is dark tonight, a new

moon for a new year.

It is hollow and hungers to be full.

It is the black zero of beginning.

 

Now you must void yourself

of injuries, insults, incursions.

Go with empty hands to those

you have hurt and make amends.

 

It is not too late. It is early

and about to grow. Now

is the time to do what you

know you must and have feared

 

to begin. Your face is dark

too as you turn inward to face

yourself. the hidden twin of all you must grow to be.

 

Forgive the dead year.

Forgive yourself. What will be wants

to push through your fingers.

The light you seek hides

 

in your belly. The light you

crave longs to stream from

your eyes. You are the moon

that will wax in new goodness.

—Marge Piercy; novelist and poet

 

When I write to you, it is the Divinity within me singing to the Divinity within you.

We all have Divinity within us. We never lose it.

Life is Divine; my life and yours.

Divinity is the shimmer in the sky, it is the colors of the trees.

My Divinity bows to the Divinity in you.   —Barbara Mattio

 

 

“We still don’t know how to put morality ahead of politics,

science and economics. We are still incapable of understanding

that the only genuine backbone of all our actions—if they are to

be moral—is responsibility. Responsibility to something higher

than my family, my country, my company, my success.

Responsibility to the order of Being, where all our actions are

indelibly recorded and where, and only where, they will be

properly judged.”

—Vaclav Havel

 

” All celestial harmony is

a mirror of Divinity

and

man

is a mirror of all

the miracles of God.”

—St. Hildegard of Bingen

 

 

Kwan Yin is a Buddhist goddess. She is the goddess of compassion. She is only one of

the images of the Divine in our world. We all have our favorites. She is one of mine because

compassion is so important and needed in our world.  Namaste, Barbara

kwan_yin_guanyin_ii_by_phaedris-d46fbp9

Passover reminds us that there are still miracles


Reflections

Reflections

God does still perform miracles. No matter what name you call God/Goddess, miracles happen often. We need to remember to look for them. Even little miracles are just that, miracles.

Whenever humans, Jewish or otherwise are faced with problems that appear insurmountable, we can remember the stories from history. The Jews being held as slaves in Egypt is a very important memory for all Jews. The slaves could not overcome the entire Egyptian country. They were not even able to visualize the concept of possible freedom. They were stuck between the Egyptians and the Red Sea. God had other plans.

God brought plagues and eventually death to the Pharoah and in the end, they had their freedom. All of this  happened a long time ago, but there are still miracles each day. The same God who brought freedom and a covenant with the Jews, continues to bring little miracles into our lives every day. Here, in 2013 we can still see miracles.  Pre-mature babies survive and thrive into adulthood.  Abused children grow into productive, loving adults.  Victims of stroke and heart attacks recover and live normal lives.  Flowers bloom.  Birds sing.  And life is a grand adventure we all get to experience.

” There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” —Albert Einstein

” No man can share in the Torah of Moses unless he believes that all our affairs and events, concerning the masses or the individual, are miracles.” —Nachmanides

“The true miracle is not walking on water or walking in air, but simply walking on this earth.” —Thich Nhat Hanh

” All change is a miracle to contemplate; but is is a miracle which is taking place every second.” —Henry David Thoreau

"Madagascar

Photo copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013

"Botanical

Photo copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013

Daily Small Miracles


Rainbow after the
Storm

We have seen much tragedy due to Hurricane Sandy. But there are so many stories of miracles also. Images of newborn babies during the storm. Neighbors helping each other with hearts full of love and compassion. People reaching out to others with caring and concern. This is a time when we put aside our own concerns and differences of opinion and reach out. Here people are going around taking trees off of roofs for homeowners to prevent further damage. People who have power are going to shelters to assist the people who were evacuated and are in shelters. We see these types of miracles after disasters. Americans can be very good at putting all else aside an rolled up their sleeves and helping each other.

Each day, small miracles occur and often we miss these tiny events in our lives and in the lives of the people around us. The person who comes through surgery well. The one pound baby that finally gets to go home with their families. The friend who calls at the perfect moment when we need a supportive shoulder.The child who holds the door open for you.

These miracles couples themselves to the random acts of kindness that people perform every minute of every day. The stranger who does something kind. The sudden smile that brightens your life and the unexpected compliment. The person that stops and assists you to put packages into your car.

We touch each other every day with kindness and compassion. These simple acts help people heal from whatever is going on in their lives. They are very important to pass on to someone else. As always, it all begins within ourselves. So be a miracle worker today and put a smile on someone’s face or remind them that they are not alone.

The Miracle of the one single perfect flower. Photo by Barbara Mattio

Butterfly whispering. Photo by Cliff Mattio

The Beauty of Nature Heals Our Hearts and Souls. Asheville, NC. Photo by Barbara Mattio

 

 

 

 

Today, be the wind under someone’s wings. Open your heart and give away love to each other. The Miracle about love is that the more you give away, the more you have. Love is not like a pie. So give your love away today and become part of the miracles that happen around us every day.

A painting done by an Alzheimer’s patient. Photo by Barbara Mattio