Life's Loving Memories

  OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW "Acceptance simply means that you make a committment: 'Today I will accept people, situations, circumstances, and events as they occur.' "   --Deepak Chopra A new year is dawning and it's that time of year when we teasure that which has passed.  Everything that happened during the year was sprinkled with blessings. It's easy to find the blessings in the pleasant moments that happened, but harder to bless some of the challenges.  But actually some of the challenges can turn out to be steeping stones. You lose a job, perhaps even one you disliked in the first place only to discover that it released you  so that you could try a new and meaningful new job.  Also, with the new year we find this to be true in our house, that we need to let go of a few things we can live without. Solution, yard sales. They are a very interesting thing. I’ve had them in my own yard, meeting neighbors and haggling over prices with buyers....

  MY SHOES                                           "These boots are made for walking." When Gary and I first got married, we lived in a cute little condo that was above its own garage. I had been used to living alone for four years, and I was a teacher that stood on my feet for eight hours a day. My feet hurt and I was used to coming home and taking my shoes off anywhere.   During the first month of our marriage Gary blew up at me, saying, “WHY DO YOU HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR SHOES ALL OVER THE HOUSE.” Calmly I replied, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it bothered you, I will put them in the closet when I get home every day.” That pretty much still happens, but I have my occasional slip. I have such a wonderful shoe rack now that it really is a rarity that I leave them laying around. Both my husband and my wasband will both tell you, there is rarely a shoe that will not fit my ...

  MAKING GREETING CARDS "When I find myself wondering what to do next, or I have challenge that elbows its way into my life, those are the very times when connecting with the Creative Intelligence of God guides me to the solution."  Life's Garden Grows   --Sandra Lindsey Smith As a child I enjoyed birthdays. One year my brother made me a birthday card   that said: What’s eighteen days after ground hog’s day, eight days after Lincoln’ birthday, six days after Valentine’s Day, and two days before Washington’s birthday? Sandy’s birthday of course! I don’t remember what the picture on the card looked like, but I still remember the warm feeling I felt when I read the card. That may be the reason I enjoy making personalized cards for other people so much. It is indeed a creation that comes from the heart. Short but to the point today. No matter how you share your kindness with others, let it shine brightly in this holdiay season! "Everyone has a purpose in life ....

  THE TIRE "Be a participant in life. Push the play button and agree to see the best in any situation, and be amazed at what you see."                        Life's Garden of Weekly Wisdom       ---Sandra Lindsey Smith When I was forty-four I got a divorce.   It was interesting, dating again after eighteen years of marriage. I was looking for someone to be a companion with for an occasional movie or dinner out. I went to a friend’s fiftieth birthday party and met a man who wanted me to come back to his yacht with him.   I said, “I can’t tonight, but maybe we could meet for breakfast in the morning.” We decided to meet at the restaurant right by the marina. The next morning came, and I started out to the restaurant, all the time I kept thinking to myself, is this a good idea or isn’t it, is it or isn’t it. As I was driving into the marina parking lot, the tire literally fell of my four by f...

    HAVING CANCER “When we create peace and harmony and balance in our minds, we will find it in our lives.” ―  Louise L. Hay,  You Can Heal Your Life Two remarkable things happened to me in June of 2001, I discovered I had stage one colon cancer, and I got back into theatre. I had begun noticing a little bit of blood in my stools.   When I shared those same symptoms with a   friend, an operating room nurse, she suggested I get a Sigmoidoscopy   to check if I had colon cancer. It turns out that I did have a small cancerous tumor growing at the very end of my colon.   It turned out to be stage one, but before I knew that, I studied all I could about the disease. The internet told me there were four stages. Louise Hay in her book, You Can Heal Your Life , shared that perhaps a person with cancer had stopped doing something that they enjoyed doing. I thought about what that might be, and the answer came, acting. I was a teacher who had let go o...

 WE GATHER TOGETHER “Sometimes we focus so much on what we don't have that we fail to see, appreciate, and use what we do have!”                                                    --Jeff Dixon On Thanksgiving, I remember all there is to be thankful for, good friends, loving family, food to eat, clean water to drink, and the laughter that bubbles up when you least expect it. For all of this and more, I am deeply grateful. I think of Thanksgivings past and the people who have touched my life in so many amazing ways. I am indeed living the blessing. What is underneath all of this blessing? A gift from Spirit, a belief in the goodness of a higher Power in my life; the kindness of loved ones in my life who have inspired the kindness in me; and the inate decision to respond rather than react to all of lifes challenges. I have learned that challenges make us st...

  WISE WOMEN "When we take time to observe the workings of our own selves, I believe we may discover that there is something deeply hidden inside us,forever guiding us."                                                                                  Einstein and the Rabbi    ---Naomi Levy There have been a wonderful amount of wise women in my life, from sisters, teachers, friends and people I meet randomly.   When I was studying the Science of Mind, one of my teachers was Jane Claypool. Besides being a teacher, she also wrote a book, Wise Women Don’t Worry, Wise Women don’t Sing the Blues. She also held workshops for women called “Wise Women Weekends.” Some of the first I attended helped me discover more about myself and what a strong and beautiful person ...

  AFRICAN VIOLETS "You were created to be. And to be, you have to emerge from the cocoon of complacency and dare to         venture in consciousness across uncharted seas of mind."                                                                                              Raymond Charles Barker                      --The Power of Decision                                                   For as long as I can remember, African violets have always been my favorite flower. Once I had a baker’s rack that I rigged with a florescent light. ...

  Tutoring in the Jail "When we choose actions that bring happiness and success to others, the fruit of our karma is happiness and success."    --Deepak Chopra Since I’ve lived in Kennewick, I have been tutoring youth who are under eighteen, that have been incarcerated. I’ve only tutored boys because in fourteen years there have been no juvenile girls who have been placed in the jail. All of them have been most appreciative to have a tutor who comes in to teach them, we are just about the only people they can meet in person besides the officers, lawyers, chaplains and nurses.   The one thing we can always seem to agree on is that they have all made some unfortunate choices. I instruct them in math and in English, and help some of them in preparing to take the GED. Some students are able to complete the "one more class" they need for finishing high school, and then a small graduation ceremony takes place.   I believe that my positive attitude in helping them fa...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! "We are discovering more and more that having a belief  in a personal spirituality is beneficial to human life....May you always recognize the greater wisdom that you are, just as you are, perfect, whole, and complete."   "   Life's Garden of Weekly Wisdom --Sandra Lindesey Smith Do you ever wake up and remember completely, how blessed you are? I almost always do. I realize that finding a faith that resonnates with me is the answer. No matter what you call that Higher Power makes no difference. if It brings out the joy in you and allows you to recognize the value of life, the value in being loving and kind, and it harms no one else, consider it a gift. It's almost time for Halloween, and I was surpirzed that some faiths discourage participating in the tradition of dressing up for the day. From one of my earliest memories I recall being  dressed as the statue of libery, and having a flashlight put in my hand for a tourch. Another costume was when...

  TEACHING AFTER FINDING RELIGIOUS SCIENCE "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."  --Winston Churchill At forty-four I discovered The Science of Mind. I hungrily embraced it as the first spiritual teaching that ever resonated with me. I discovered that it made me a more loving and joyous person. It also made me a better teacher. I was able to respond to my students in a more loving way. I could include a little more loving humor in my day-to-day teaching, and let go of some of the sarcasm that had previously crept in.   When I had a problem in class, I could use affirmative prayer to help me through.   This was when I totally realized that attitude makes a big difference. I think it amazing that the majority of people discover the Science of Mind after they have reached their forties. Is that because they finally understand themselves and are searching for something that resonates more. Whatever the reason, I am glad I discovered this amazing tea...

  MASTER’S OR TEACHING "We can only be valued as we make ourselves valuable."   -- Ralph Waldo Emerson Have you ever wondered what would have happened had you made a different choice in life?   Most of my life, up until graduation from high school, found me spending my time acting in or crewing on a theatre production. As I graduated college, I had just decided to get my master’s in Theatre. Along with my theatre degree I had also taken a teacher’s degree program with an emphasis in theatre. I graduated in January and thought I would never be hired mid-semseter, so I applied to graduate school. Much to my surprise I got offered a job teaching junior high drama. I went on to teach theatre, occasionally acting in a community production here and there. As it turned out, theatre helped me in my teaching and then later in my ministry. My life was very enjoyable as a teacher, but part of me wonders what would have happened if I had chosen theatre.   "Share your true...

  WORRY BIRD "Fear is the dark room where negatives are developed"               --Raymond Charles Barker All my life I have been a bit of a worrier. I remember back in elementary school to a brownie meeting. We were leaving to go on a trip to a local park, and I waited until everyone left to make sure that the lights had been turned off.   My mother had told me that if you left the lights on when you went out of the house, that it might catch on fire. Obviously, she was talking about a table lamp, but my mind focused on lights in general.   Apparently I exhibited this worrying trait, because at the end of brownies that year, the troop leader gave me a worry bird pin to wear. She said it was a worry bird, and that I was to let the bird do the worrying from this point on. Through the years I find that worrying is something I consciously need to let go of.  Worrying is not going to change any situation for what "might" happen. There...

  ADHD? "Explore your possibilities. Your mission is to live your life to the fullest, nurture others and be be nurtured, be minddful of the planet and all living creature, and share yourself and your talent with others."  Sandra Lindsey Smith, Life's Garden of weekly Wisdom. I’ve always wondered if I have had ADHD that was never diagnosed.   Do I have that condition, or do I just think globally?   I always have many projects going at the same time and find it hard to sit still when I am watching television. Sometimes I start an affirmative prayer treatment in my mind, and a little bit later I realize that I haven’t finished it.   I find that writing a prayer out is a better alternative for me, because I keep thinking while I am writing.   Maybe that is one reason that I like to write so much. I read a cute article in a magazine that talked about a woman who woke up in the morning and went down stairs, to go out the front door, and bring in the trash c...

    SIMON AND GARFUNKLE "LIttle kindnesses offered from the heart add to the positive vibrations and enrgy in the universe." LIfe's Garden of Weekly Wisdom,             --Sandra lindsey Smith One summer, my best friend and I got to take the science teacher’s class rats home to keep, just for our own delight.   I took home Simon, and my friend got Garfunkle. I kept my white rat in a bird cage, and he delighted in all the wonderful things I gave him to eat.   One a week I would give him a bath in the sink and then dried him with the hair dryer hose. He was the first pet I ever had, and it taught me   so much about responsibility. Since then I have had dogs, fish, and birds. There is something so loving in having pet children, truly unconditional love. I remember telling my high school students that my kids were real dogs, and that they took it as a compliment. "Spread love everywhere you go; first of all in your own house. Gi...

  MY WRITING "It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." --Kahil Gibran My earliest memory of elementary school was wanting to be a writer and illustrator of children’s books. My school had a bank day, where we could bring in our nickles and dimes to deposit in our own starter accounts; a library day, where we went to choose books to read; and a day where we went to the school store, where I could buy all sorts of things, including my weekly composition book. Stories galore graced each of the pages. In high school I enjoyed competing on the speech team and participating in drama, but writing for writing’s sake was only fed by one creative writing class, and participating in our school’s   literary journal, “Trial Flights.” Then, I went on to college, receiving a degree in Theatre Arts, and a teaching degree, leaving my writer's passion on hold. My writer’s appetite was whetted once again in a teacher’s workshop where we did something called, a “Read aroun...

  ALONE OR IN A CROWD "Your soul wants to teach you about your strength. It wants you to believe in your abilities and gifts, It wants you to lift up your head with pride and claim your brithright; the life that is yours to experience." Naomi Levy, Einstein and the Rabbi My days of teaching high school were very enjoyable. I had teachers in my own life who gave me assignments where I could express my own ideas, and I did the same thing for mine. One essay I assigned in an English class, was to write about the following statement.   “Alone in a crowd is lonely; alone by yourself is powerful.”   I got so many varied responses, ranging from the fear of being alone, to the joy of solitude.   When I apply the quote to myself, I have always enjoyed small gatherings of people, rather than crowded galas with light-hearted small talk. I have also enjoyed the solitude of reading a book, sitting down to write, and walking by myself at the beach as the sun comes up. To me, the...

  COVED-19 AND THE 1918 FLU "Believe with all of your heart that you will do what you were made to do."   --Orison Swert Marden A little more than one hundred years between the 1918 Flu epidemic and the Novel Coved-19 virus. My   grandfather on my mother’s side, died at age thirty-six of the 1918 flu. He was a Methodist missionary, home from his assignment in India, having survived Yellow Fever, only to die of the Flu. The Corona-19 took me by surprise. In March of 2020, I was tutoring at a local high school, when we were told we were shutting down for three months. At first it was great, time to relax, clean the house up, get rid of a few items taking space in the house; then it grew to six months, a year, and now, as I am writing this, a few years have gone by. I have written a few children’s books, and  my third book of essays, and I am trying not to watch too much television. I have read   dozens of great books, built quite a few puzzles, and communicate...

  CRUISING         "If you don't move your body, your brain thinks your dead. Movement of the body will not only clean out the 'Sludge' but will also give you more 'energy'."                                                                                                --Sylvia Brown There is something very spiritual about standing on the back of a cruise ship at midnight, and staring out into the wake of the boat. The vastness of the ocean makes you realize how infinitesimal you are compared to the ocean. My husband Gary and I love to cruise, although the Corona Virus gave us a setback and we missed our 2020 cruise through the Panama Canal. What I like most about cruising are the people we meet, and the countries we vi...

  RETIRING OR REWIRING? "We have a great deal more kindness than is ever spoken."       --Ralph Waldo Emerson In my life I have retired two times, once after teaching high school for Twenty-six years, and once from ministry after eighteen years.   Now I am rewiring to write more books. Currently I am writing a series of children’s books that follow Sam, a young girl who, after a recent, move is learning how to fit into the school she attends. The second time I retired, the Pandemic showed its face. Boy, did that bring changes--but it did support my writing.  I learned all the many things I could do while staying close to home. I think it was also a great way to remember that I am truly blessed by family and friends. Life has an amazing way of opening paths to different vocations and experiences in life. "Happiness can only be found in the present moment, not at some imaginary place in the future."              ...

  COLLEGE, NOT IF BUT WHERE "If we live truly, we shall see truly."            --- Ralph Waldo Emerson My family might not have had a surplus of money while I was growing up, but what we lacked in finances was made up for in love. My parents valued education and we grew up not wondering if we would be going to college, but where.   Four children in the family and we all graduated with college degrees. My father graduated with degrees in mechanical engineering, metallurgy, as well as one in music.   My mother did a two-year college study after high school, and then, later is life, went on to earn her certificate in interior design. Kids need either a parent who cares about them or a caring teacher or other influential adult to whet their interest in continuing their education.   You may not think you make a difference in anyone else’s life, but to at least one person, you make a world of difference.   "You have to be true to yourse...

  ERNIE THE COCKATIL "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."                    George Bernard Shaw When we first moved to Kennewick, Washington, and I began my ministry, my husband was an IT consultant. That made it easy for us to make the move, because he could work from anywhere that had an airport.   Sunday afternoons he would fly out to wherever his current job was, and on Thursday evenings he would fly home to our house.   His being gone so much left me a little lonely, So I decided to buy a bird. I decided on a Cockatiel and named him early.   He quickly decided he would grace me by climbing on my finger. Every morning we would go around the house and open all the blinds, and I would sing, “This Little Light of Mine” to him. After a few weeks of singing to him, he learned to sing it by himself.   When I was home, the cage door was open, and he would fly out to si...

  DREAM TEAM "It is what it is, it is what you make it."   --James Durbin In my first eight years of teaching high school, I was blessed with so many wonderful students. I had come to a school whose drama program was just starting again after a lull of about five years.   I began a drama program and speech team from scratch. Perhaps it was because I was in my thirties, perhaps it was the students I had, or because of the desire we all had to build something new. We built the flats needed for scenery, collected a wardrobe of costumes, and the students took their acting seriously.   In speech it took a few years to build the team; but having students who memorized lines for a two-hour play, made it easy for them to memorize ten-minute speeches. The faith was there, and it fed the desire. And just think, all of this happened before I discovered my New Thought philosophy. Actually, I think the seed had been planted early on in life and finding the Religious Science T...

  CAR CONSCIOUSNESS "Your good is not postponed or delayed. Your mind senses the spiritual activities within it within it and cooperates fully. You watch new ideas happen in your mind and new events take place in your experience."      Ernest Holmes, The Power is within You Growing up, my brother and my dad always worked on the car when it had its little breakdowns.   It might take a day or two to fix, but more than likely it lasted a week or more. From that early experience came a fear of what would happen next as far as breakdowns were concerned. I worried about my tires going flat and life listened to me, I had more than my fair share of leaky tires.   New thought teaches us that what you think about comes about, and my worry about what would go wrong next, lead to a myriad of repair bills. Then I met my second husband, Gary.   He always believed his cars would last, even after the speed-o-meter turned over one hundred thousand miles. He believed...