Author Archives: nestinginwonder

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About nestinginwonder

I am passionate about encouraging people to live into their potential, grow through challenges, become more aware of the Source of Love (that I call God) at work in their lives, and make choices that align with what really matters to them through workshops, conversations, and writing. After practicing law for the early part of my career, I co-founded Well for the Journey, a spiritual wellness center in the Baltimore area, that offers innovative programming to nourish the spirit in everyday life. I hold a law degree from Emory University School of Law, an MA in Spiritual and Pastoral Care from Loyola University Maryland, and am a certified Conscious Aging instructor.

Listening for the Singing of Angels 

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“There must be always remaining in every person’s life some place for the singing of angels.” (Howard Thurman)  

Do angels intrigue you? December is the month of angels, and I adore pondering their presence and power. Furthermore, it’s good to remember that angels sing all year long!  

One Christmas almost twenty years ago, my mother gave each of her daughters a silver “angel bell” necklace. Tucked inside the small gift box was a message telling of a guardian angel that always accompanies us.  It is one of my all-time favorite Christmas gifts, and my sisters and I wear our angel bells often. Mom died years ago, a few days before Christmas, and I believe she is one of the angels always present whenever I need her.  

Do you have something that reminds you of angels? Consider carrying it with you.  

In these busy days, my soul has been nourished by reading snippets from Howard Thurman’s book, The Mood of Christmas.  Howard Thurman (1899-1981) was a gifted writer, minister, philosopher, and educator who served as a spiritual director for Martin Luther King, Jr.  His meditations remind me of the true meaning of Christmas: grace in a world that can feel callous and insensitive, candlelight glowing in the darkness, and daily miracles of which we are often unaware.   

His meditation titled “The Singing of Angels” urges:  

 “There must be always remaining in every person’s life some place for the singing of angels…The commonplace is shot through with new glory; old burdens become lighter; deep and ancient wounds lose much of their old, old hurting…Despite all the crassness of life, despite all the hardness of life, despite all the harsh discords of life, life is saved by the singing of angels.” (p. 8)  

The angels’ song finds fulfillment when we become aware of our true worthiness as children of God and live with that knowledge. 

I haven’t posted recently on Nesting in Wonder because I’ve been focusing on writing a book—a collection of meditations about the many ways to pause, reflect, and reconnect with our souls so that we are better able to love and be loved in our daily lives.  God is always here (as well as there and everywhere!), but often we are oblivious. Angels are divine messengers that remind us of God’s presence.  

Listening for the singing of angels is a meaningful way for us to reconnect with our souls and remember we are loved.  Then we can radiate that love outwardly to everyone we encounter.  

How can you hear the singing of angels?  Ask for their help to hear their music. Listen with the ears of your heart. Maybe you’ll hear in the presence of loved ones, in the quiet moments of solitude, or in a favorite song on the radio. Perhaps you will hear in a moment of connection with a stranger, the reading of a poem that tugs at your heart, or the melody of creation while outside in nature.  

I truly believe that if we pause with the desire to listen for the singing of angels, we will hear music that helps us realize how loved we are. 

Friends, let Howard Thurman’s words serve as a gentle reminder to make time and space to listen for the singing of angels. They don’t just sing in December; they sing year-round!  

Sending love and blessings for the season,

Mabeth

MUSING with Mabeth

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Big news!  I’ve launched a new website to integrate my writing, work, and news about upcoming programs and events. Visit me over there at mabethhudson.com. It’s evolving and growing just like you and me!

You are getting a sneak peek at my inaugural newsletter: “MUSING with Mabeth.” To muse is to meditate, ponder, reflect, or contemplate. Each month, I will invite you to muse along with me on a topic that aims to nurture our souls and spirits and support our spiritual well-being.  

Since April is National Poetry Month, let’s explore poetry as a way to care for our souls.  

APRIL 2025: POETRY FOR THE SOUL  

I’m a newly hatched poet, slowly opening my eyes to the intriguing power of poetry.  

Perhaps you, like me, have an ambivalent relationship with poetry. For much of my life, I found poetry to be impractical, inaccessible, intimidating, and slightly baffling.  My logical brain was dismissive of poetry, believing it was only for others more literary.  

But as I’ve grown, I’ve discovered poems, both ancient and contemporary, that have touched me deeply, providing vital nourishment for my soul. Poetry can shift me from my head to heart, awakening me to my connection to others, creation, God, and myself. It slows my rapid mind and anchors me in the present moment. Poems can provide a nest in which I pause to reconnect with Love that is always here.  

My interest was sparked by the poems of Mary Oliver (1935-2019). Her relationship with the natural world nudged me to pay attention to life around me in a new way. Poems such as “The Journey,” “Praying,” and “We Shake with Joy” have illuminated the spiritual path, providing just the light I needed at given points in my life. Her simple words, extracted from the poem “Sometimes,” inspire me daily:  

Instructions for life: 

Pay Attention. 

Be astonished. 

Tell about it. 

Poetry has the potential to uplift, encourage, connect, and heal us. As Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby Wilson wrote in Poetry of Presence II, poems “soothe our anxieties and self-doubt, restore our balance, boost our energy and strength, help us cope with stress” and “crack open the tough stuff and spill out the light.”  We realize we are not alone.  

Whether it be through reading and reflecting on poems or creating them, poetry can be a balm to the soul.  

In a group setting such as a meeting, workshop, or gathering, poems can center and connect us, uniting us into the present moment. When I lead workshops or small groups, I often begin by asking people to take a few deep breaths, and then I slowly read a poem that touches on the theme for the gathering. The images and words generally lead people to become more relaxed and receptive. A carefully chosen poem creates an environment of warmth and connection. 

I’m amazed at how many friends write poetry as part of their spiritual journey. One told me his poems tend to be questions or observations that stir his soul, in the way the wind stirs a pile of fall leaves, and he’s led into a conversation with God. Another shared that poetry transports her to a place she can’t get to by herself. Some write poems as a gift for their loved ones as a tribute or as a way of distilling memories to pass along to future generations. 

Award-winning poet and friend Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer has been writing a poem a day for almost twenty years, a writing practice that she says has changed the way she moves through her day. She’s more attentive, mindful, and able to hold life’s paradoxes of light and darkness. Then, she’s generous enough to share them with the world through her website! 

Rosemerry is so devoted to poetry as a spiritual practice that she guides and encourages many newly budding poets, including me. In her classes she often asks us to introduce ourselves by sharing one small thing that we noticed that day—something that caught our attention or a moment that stood out. That noticing often opens the door to my writing. One day I wrote a short, funny poem about the bruised bananas sitting on the kitchen counter! 

Another practice for the soul is to read poems as if it they were a gift from the Divine. In February, I often lead a program titled “Love Poems from God,” inspired by Daniel Ladinsky’s book by the same name. We reflect upon poems from across time and traditions that open our hearts to the Source of Love (a name for God) that is always here. It is a time of unexpected, precious revelations of loving and being loved.   

Friends, here’s an invitation to muse. Select a poem from a favorite source or from the resources provided below and try this:  

  • Read your poem slowly three times, paying attention to the words or images that resonate or tug at you. Let those words or images wash over you and linger in your soul.  
  • What aspects of love are you being invited to notice or to experience? How does your poem speak to what is happening in your life today?   
  • What is your response to your poem?  Have a silent conversation with God, your Higher Power, or your beloved self. You may wish to respond in a journal with words or images. 

Whatever your relationship with poetry may be, I hope that it can be a companion for you. Consider going deeper with the resources I’ve provided below. May you discover poetry that nurtures your soul and spirit! 

With love, 

Mabeth 

UPCOMING PROGRAMS AND EVENTS 

Conscious & Contemplative Aging: Sat. Apr. 26 (9:30 am – 4:00 pm) in person at Well for the Journey in Lutherville, MD. Shift from your consciousness about aging from self-limitation, isolation, anxiety, and fear towards expansiveness, wholeness, connection, and compassion. We’ll begin our time with a poem called “The Layers” by Stanley Kunitz who lived to be over 100 years old.  Learn more & Register at Well for the Journey. Click here.  

Bloom Into Summer: Reset + Renew Your Body, Mind and Spirit Retreat Day: Sat. June 14, 10 am – 3 pm on Delight Farm in Sparks, MD. Reconnect with joy, wonder, and play and set intentions for the summer. Learn & Register at Well for the Journey. Learn more and register  at Well for the Journey. Click here.  

GOING DEEPER WITH POETRY 

Poetry preferences can be quite personal, but if you are looking for resources to nurture your soul and spirit, I’ve listed some of my favorites below.  Most of them are collections of poems from various writers, offering numerous opportunities to find some that resonate with you.  

All the Honey, by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer- includes meeting the light and darkness following her son’s heartbreaking death.   

Devotions: Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver- contains many of her most popular poems from decades of writing, including the poems I referenced in this newsletter.  

Love Poems from God, collection translated by Daniel Ladinsky. 

Poetry of Presence II: More Mindfulness Poems, collection edited by Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby R Wilson.  

The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks. 

The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy, collection edited by James Crews. 

Photo by Elina Sazonova on Pexels.com

Soul Companions from the Hundred Acre Wood

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In a world that needs more kindness, the sweet, endearing Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood can be excellent soul companions. They show us how we can be together when things feel like they are falling apart and offer timeless wisdom for living together in community. Here are a few heartwarming themes from A.A. Milne’s classic stories:

  • Each one of us carries unique gifts and characteristics that are needed in the world  
  • The attributes of true friendship 
  • Ways to find peace in the middle of unexpected life events 
  • Insight into getting unstuck and out of the gloominess 
  • The joy of doing small things with great love 

Spiritual companions are essential for spiritual well-being. It’s been delightful and uplifting to work with three spiritual friends and colleagues (Donna Mollenkopf, Terri Smith, and Maggie Lears) to prepare the upcoming Women at the Well spiritual companioning series.   

Women, PLEASE JOIN US for our six-week journey beginning on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. We have an in-person group and an online Zoom group for those unable to attend in person. Each week we will pre-read a classic Pooh story and delve into a spiritual theme with time for reflection and meaningful conversation. Here’s the link for more information http://wellforthejourney.org. (on the program calendar)

Whether you can join us or not, consider spending time with stories that offer you kindness and perspective. They can warm your soul and boost your spiritual well-being.

May you have soul companions to support you in your journey and catch you when you fall (or jump) from trees!

With love, Mabeth

Strengthen Goodness, Love, & Light: The Power of Group Intention 

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As we live through rapid changes, it’s easy to feel caught up, swept away, and powerless. However, we always have choices. We can always choose where to focus our attention and intention. Positive intentions help us to be agents of love and healing amid the tumult of any kind.  

One concrete way to care for ourselves and others is to gather in small groups with others who share an intention to strengthen the goodness, love, and light in us and around us.  

Science reveals that when we come together with others with the specific intention for healing, we have the capacity to heal and transform ourselves and the world. Lynne McTaggart is a journalist and researcher who spent decades exploring the science behind intention and its transformative impact on individuals and communities. Bridging spirituality and science, her work reveals the extraordinary capacity for connection and healing when people come together with a shared positive intention. Her first book, The Intention Experiment, compiled scientific research about intentions and invited others to participate in the experiments. Then, she scaled down the research to create small groups of eight people (“Power of Eight” groups) from across the globe who met regularly. People were instructed to send a healing intention to a person facing a challenge. The results, published in her second book, The Power of Eight, revealed that those who sent their intentions as well as their receivers were positively impacted in unexpected ways. A few quotes from her books are below.  

It is reassuring that science confirms what many faith traditions have practiced for thousands of years, and what many intuitively know. 

I’ve been reflecting on the power of intention and my experiences with small groups at Well for the Journey (Women at the Well and other groups ( http://wellforthejourney.org) and the Ignite Your Light team ( https://ignitecm.com/). When I gather in small groups with the desire to nourish my soul, reconnect with my inner light, and remember the goodness within and around me, I feel stronger, lighter, more joyful, and better able to give and receive love. It impacts all my relationships.  

Nurturing our soul and spirit is not only good for us but is also good for the world.  

Small groups of people have life-giving potential for these times. When we gather with the intention to bring more goodness, love, and light into the world, the energy field strengthens and expands. Renewing our own soul brings renewal to our world; reconnecting with our own light brings more light to all around us.  

Friends, I encourage you to find companions to nourish your soul, reconnect with your inner light, and bring healing to our world. See the invitation below:) 

Sending love, 

Mabeth 

Note: A portion of this writing is adapted from Gathering 5 of “The Modern Dilemma: How to Be Human & Soulful in a Rapidly Changing World,” a Women at the Well program that our collaborative Women at the Well team created in 2024. 

AN INVITATION FOR YOU… 

Please join me at one of the gatherings below.  

Ignite Your Light  Women’s Well-being Weekend 

April 4-6, 2025, in Cape May, NJ  https://ignitecm.com/

https://ignitecm.com

Women at the Well 

Six Wednesday mornings (10:00-11:30 AM) 

March 26- April 30, 2025 

https://wellforthejourney.org/event/women-at-the-well-living-together-in-community-adventuring-with-pooh-friends-online-program/2025-04-09/

Zoom group OR in-person group (Lutherville, MD) 

Other opportunities can be found at wellforthejourney.org http://wellforthejourney.org

Or create your own group! 

QUOTES & GOING DEEPER: 

“Research demonstrates that living things are constant transmitters and receivers of measurable energy…Intention appears to be something akin to a tuning fork causing the tuning forks of other things in the universe to resonate at the same frequency.” 

-Lynne McTaggert, The Intention Experiment 

(When people became part of a Power of Eight group, there was something McTaggart called a “mirror effect” on the senders of the intention….) “If they prayed for peace, their lives became more peaceful. If they tried to heal someone else, they experienced a healing in their own lives. Focusing on healing someone else brings on a mirrored healing.”  

-Lynne McTaggert, The Power of Eight  

“Don’t play small when it comes to healing yourself or healing the world. This is too big an enterprise to attempt by yourself. Find your truest self and your greatest power in numbers.” 

-Lynne McTaggart, The Power of Eight 

Awakening to New Perspectives: Seeing with the Eye of the Heart

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Background: I wrote the bones of this as a reflection for the quarterly theme of “Awakening to New Perspectives” for Well for the Journey’s “Well-being Wednesday Meditation,” offered on January 29, 2025. Every Wednesday, people dial in at 8:00 am (EST) over the phone to listen to a free 15-minute reflection/meditation to nourish their souls. Anyone is welcome! The meditations are recorded, and they can be accessed anytime here: https://wellforthejourney.org/wbw-library/

“Awakening to New Perspectives” is a compelling theme. At this time in human history, I believe we are being called to awaken from our spiritual slumber to become more conscious of Goodness within and around us, especially in those people who offend or anger us. Another word for Goodness is Godness. We are called to awaken to God’s presence in and among us, often in surprising new ways.  

One way to awaken to new perspectives is to practice “seeing with the eye of the heart.” This concept keeps jumping out at me repeatedly in various forms.  

Can it be that the healing of the world depends on shifting the way we see- especially the way we see others and the way we see ourselves?  

As humans, our minds are filled with thoughts, judgments, worries, opinions, fears, and anxieties. Our unceasing thought patterns can entangle us, keeping us stuck in a continuous loop and significantly impacting our perspectives.  While looking at ourselves and others through the eye of the mind, our perspectives can become clouded with biases, illusions, blame, and, significantly, judgments. We judge ourselves; we judge others.  We all do it. It is part of the human condition. And it can be rough. 

I should note our minds are essential and often marvelously constructive. They help us plan, organize, connect the dots, calculate, strategize, reason, and create. Mine helped me write these words. Let us give thanks for our minds! 

But sometimes, we can be too controlled by our minds. We forget that we are NOT our thoughts. That’s precisely when we need to shift deeper into our hearts.  

Think about the heart. What does it symbolize? Love…connection…belonging… compassion…kindness…acceptance. The world needs more of all of these.

In December, part of my morning quiet time was reading a book by spiritual writer John Shea called Starlight: Beholding the Christmas Miracle All Year Round (Isn’t that a great title?).  In it, he writes about spiritual perspective. He points out that when we walk the spiritual journey, a new way of seeing emerges, and we notice things we have never noticed before. We often see things we have always seen, but we see them in a new way.  

The following passage has rocked my inner world:  

“In the Book of Revelation, Christ exclaims, ‘Behold! I make all things new’ (Rev. 21:5). It should be stressed that he makes no new things. Rather, he facilitates a way of seeing that makes all things new. People often say, ‘I am seeing it for the first time.’ What they mean is that something they have seen physically many times is now seen in a new light… This new light is the spiritual perspective. It is a light that comes from within.” (my emphasis added) This spiritual perspective, he says, is called the third eye, the inner vision, and the eye of the heart. 

BOOM. Please take a moment to read and ponder his words. What resonates with you?  

My response: WTF? What do you mean, God doesn’t make all things new?!?  I pray for God to intercede in this crazy world and bring about a new peace, a new world order, new love and kindness, and new people to bring us to a new place. I pray for a lot of new! 

Do you mean it’s up to me and us? Do I have to see with new eyes? What am I called to awaken to? Is what I’m looking for right here, but I just can’t see it?  

By the way, friends, I’m not giving up hope that God is at work making all things new. However, I realize that I have some work to do, too. I need to try to wake up, shift my spiritual perspective, and practice seeing with the eye of the heart. It is challenging work, but what if seeing with the eye of the heart can bring healing and love to our world?  

In each human being (yes, that means everyone- you, me, and all other beings, including those we don’t like), there is an innate goodness…an inner divine radiance…that is part of the Eternal. We are made in the image of God. We are not God of course, but we have part of God in us. It is our divine DNA. A spark of divine love dwells in our heart space.  

Often, it requires that we pause and momentarily extract ourselves from the chaotic energy and thoughts of the mind to shift ourselves into the warm, loving light of the heart. When we make time to remember, honor, and nurture that goodness, we become empowered to see with the eye of the heart.   

In these chaotic times, it’s easy to get mired in thoughts of worry, grief, fear, angst, and anxiety. Most of us are stuck looking through the eye of the mind. It is painful.  

I invite you here and now to join me in a short practice of looking at ourselves through the eye of the heart, bringing forth kindness and compassion.  

Please follow these prompts slowly, allowing generous pauses.  

While seated comfortably, with your feet on the ground, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths at your own pace…Place one hand on your chest over your heart…Continue breathing…feel the warmth of your chest…Perhaps you feel your heart beating, pumping blood through your body…Imagine warm, loving light expanding out from your heart. See it surround you…Feel that energy…Feel unconditional love embracing you. Accept this love… Relax into this love. Know how deeply you are loved….  For the next 60 seconds (or longer, if you like) simply relax into the warm light of unconditional love and acceptance.  

Now open your eyes and look around. Can you sense any difference in what you see? Do you sense a softening of sorts?

What if seeing with the eye of the heart became a daily practice? I believe it could change the world. 

Meanwhile, while we work on seeing with the eye of the heart, I am not giving up hope that God is working on making all things new.

A blessing for all of us:  

Friends,  

May we practice seeing with the eye of the heart,  

bringing healing and love  

to ourselves, to those around us, and to the world. Amen. 

Love, 

Mabeth 

Good Company to Birth the New

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Are you a spiritual seeker, yearning for greater connection and meaning?  

Do you feel like your religious traditions no longer fit?  

You are not alone. We are together in this.  

Earlier this month, on a chilly morning, I arose before the winter sun, looking forward to cracking open a new book recommended by a soul friend: The Great Search: Turning to Earth and Soul in the Quest for Healing and Home by John Philip Newell. A renowned spiritual teacher, speaker, and author steeped in Celtic tradition, Newell urges us to reawaken to the sacredness of Earth and every human being. His previous books nourished and enriched my soul.  

With a candle lit and my journal and pen nearby, I nestled in with his latest writing. He opens with this observation: “We are living through a time of immense transition as old systems of authority and belief are questioned. A new vision of reality is trying to be born.”  

Yes! I wholeheartedly agree.  

Then, this passage glistened, leaping off the page: 

“We are living through an age that is characterized by exile and spiritual search. Something new is trying to be born within us and around us.” 

My heart burned.  

I jotted the sentences down in my journal, slowly pondering them.  

How can two simple sentences explain so succinctly the work that I am called to?  

I am one of many who feel exiled from religious traditions that no longer fit. The way forward, as I can see it, is to make time and space to pay attention to this stirring, sometimes alone, sometimes with others who might be feeling the same sense of confusion and disillusionment. I am grateful to have companions and colleagues at Well for the Journey who wander this path with me, along with other small circles of companions who are exploring. Also, I am grateful for YOU, because as you read this now, our hearts are meeting. It is my deep hope that we are already birthing a newness yearning to be born, though we cannot yet see or comprehend it.  

The good news is that we can find refuge and belonging in our exile through a practice that I call “soul-nesting.” Let me explain.  

I am working on a collection of reflections that invites people into the vital work of soul-nesting. A bird’s nest is a powerful spiritual metaphor for these times.  Our souls need a space to nurture, protect, and incubate what wants to be born. Like a bird gathering materials to build a nest, we need only look around and begin. Soul-nesting practices include small activities such as pausing, breathing, journaling, resting, gathering with others in sacred conversation, walking outside, and listening. Building a nest for our souls where we are—in the middle of our everyday lives—allows us to remember our deep, innate connection with God and incubate the new life longing to emerge. We can give birth to more love, over and over again.  

I look forward to unpacking this concept further in the year ahead with an enhanced website and, with God’s help, a book to be published. (Gulp-I have put my dream out there!) 

Turning back to John Philip Newell’s book, I appreciate that he focuses on people throughout history who left traditional religion to find a deeper connection with Earth and all of humanity. Some of my favorite formative teachers are highlighted: Etty Hillesum, Carl Jung, and Julaluddin Rumi, for instance. Each of them has touched my soul through their lives and writings. Though we’ve never met, I think of them as friends in spirit. 

Hillesum (1914-1943) was a courageous and compassionate Jewish woman who experienced a spiritual awakening while suffering and facing death during the Holocaust. Her diaries reveal a remarkable strength, depth of soul, and love amid the most horrific circumstances. Jung (1875-1961), who founded analytical psychology, posited that we find healing and wholeness only as we become more conscious of our inner life. I’ve drawn on his wisdom personally and professionally, applying it most recently to the Conscious Aging classes I lead. Rumi (1207-1273) lived in the Middle East and wrote an incredible breadth of poetry, some of which I’ve selected for a “Love Poems from God” program that I’ve led over the years. Rumi calls us to remember that love is the true religion. 

If you are searching for inspiration as you live through these times, you will find good company in John Philip Newell’s The Great Search: Turning to Earth and Soul in the Quest for Healing and Home.  

And quite possibly—just maybe—my book that is being born will be a companion for you in the years to come.  

With a heart of gratitude, I offer you blessings and love for the new year, friends.  

Mabeth 

AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR

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I had an unexpected visitor last night. All that remains are a few tiny brown and white feathers… and lingering questions about whether I had a visit from a divine winged messenger.  

Let me tell you about it.  

It had been a heartwarming and unusually busy day of gathering with friends from many dimensions of life. Driving home through the dark, rainy evening, I reflected on the day, basking in gratitude for the meaningful conversations, encounters, and relationships.  My final stop had been the Christmas party at Well for the Journey. There, I visited with many soul friends and colleagues who mean so much to me. As a co-founder of Well for the Journey some twenty years ago, watching the mission flourish has brought me immense joy and gratefulness.  

My husband was out of town for the night on business, so when I unlocked the back door and entered the house, I expected to be warmly greeted by Bailey, our dog. Instead, Bailey bolted out the door, clearly bothered by something flapping overhead.  Startled at first, I relaxed a bit when I realized that it was not a bat. (Thank you, God!) Nevertheless, I kept my raincoat on, with the hood over my head, as I assessed the situation. How did you get in? How do I get you out? I quickly walked around the house closing all the doors to the rooms so I could isolate the bird to the family room and hallway areas.

The tiny brown and white bird swooped from one side of the family room to the other, then paused to perch atop the curtain cornice near the Christmas tree.  I opened the windows and doors and whispered encouragement, but she refused to leave. Periodically, she would disappear in the Christmas tree, reappear, and flit across the room. She seemed most comfortable in the tree.  Not a surprise.

Accepting that the bird was going to stay for a while, I took off my coat and got curious. What kind of bird are you? I took out my cell phone and texted a picture and a video to my birdwatching trio of dear friends. Becky, the artist and bird-lover, looked carefully at the shape of the bird and guessed it was a sparrow. She sent me some close-up photos of sparrows that she found online, and I determined it was a female. 

I tried opening the windows and doors again. Instead, she flew down the hallway to some unknown corner.  This brought me some peace; she had her area, and I had mine.  

I prepared a small dinner, sat on the sofa, and pondered the situation.  When we have unusual visits from the natural world, animals, or dreams, they sometimes convey important messages from beyond. And these December days leading up to Christmas are filled with ancient and contemporary stories of angels. Just a few days earlier, I was doing some creative writing about angels and their presence throughout history. The angels’ first words to people they encounter are “Do not fear!” They appear in unexpected places and ways.  

As for birds, they have been called divine winged messengers. Across time and cultures, birds have been seen as symbols of divine inspiration, connecting earth and heaven. Winged creatures that fly, birds are associated with the element of air and powers of thought, wisdom, intuition, and knowledge. Some people claim that birds try to bring us specific messages, like angels.

Sparrows, I learned, are small birds with powerful meaning. They are highly social birds associated with community, teamwork, and cooperation. One website revealed that they also represent finding joy in the little things in life. Also, they are thought to bring good luck.  

I was intrigued. Maybe I should just say “thank you” and stop overthinking.  

I decided that my bird friend and I would peacefully co-exist for the night, and I would deal with getting her back outside in the light of day. Before I went to bed, I searched for her, but she was quiet and presumably sleeping. I tucked myself in behind the closed bedroom door and went to sleep pondering the symbolism and good messages from my bird friend. All was quiet for the night. 

In the morning, she slept in. I was awake for several hours before I heard a brief chirp echo from the upstairs hallway. I discovered her on the window sill just outside my office. As I write this, I now realize a synchronicity: I have been writing a book about the spiritual metaphor of bird nests and the everyday ways we can nest to connect with God! I suspect that my bird friend had nested in the plant outside my office door for the night. Maybe she’s bringing me good luck and encouragement.  

As I approached her, she flew to another window down the hall and looked outside longingly into the sunny day. One by one, I opened all the windows and screens in the hallway. It took only minutes for her to fly out, returning to her natural habitat. There you go!  

I am still trying to make sense of it all. But that’s the thing with divine messengers and angels—they don’t make sense to our skeptical minds. Faith transcends logic. We are invited to open our hearts to the magic of the season. I am still trying to open and listen to what is unfolding from the visit from my sparrow friend. 

Friends, be on the lookout for unusual visitors. Tis the season for Love to break through! 

Love, 

Mabeth 

December 12, 2024 , Sparks, Maryland  

A Blessing as You Age

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Yesterday, I finished leading a yearlong series of classes called “Conscious Aging” with a wonderful group of wise, caring elders at an area senior living community. I gained so much from them, and I will miss them! As we ended, I offered the following blessing & I’m sharing if you need inspiration for aging.

A Blessing as You Age (adapted from John O’Donohue’s To Bless the Space Between Us)

May the light of your soul shine brightly.
May your worry and anxiousness about your age be transformed. May you be given wisdom for the eyes of your soul
to see this as a time of gracious harvesting.
May you have the compassion to heal old hurts.
May you sense your inner freedom to choose how to live.
Above all,
May you be given the wonderful gift
of meeting the eternal light that is within you
and knowing that you are loved beyond measure.

Love,

Mabeth

FLOURISHING

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FLOURISH: definition: To grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment; to thrive.  

What does flourishing look like to you?  

This past summer, I observed it in a garden just down the street in Cape May. I also saw it in my daughter, the garden’s creator.  

When something or someone flourishes, that energy ripples out, nourishing the life around it. Flourishing is both an inside job and an outside job. 

In mid-June, my daughter, Sarah, and I co-led a retreat day called “Blooming into Summer” through Well for the Journey, during which we welcomed summer by setting intentions for the season. We enjoyed time to reflect, walk in nature to observe life in bloom, engage in meaningful conversations, and balance our energy with yoga.  As a hands-on activity, we created wildflower seed balls by embedding the seeds in balls of dirt and clay.   Sarah shared some benefits of gardening while we were digging our hands in the dirt: gardening reduces stress, enhances the immune system, promotes healthy aging, boosts nutrition, and encourages community.  Everyone took their wildflower seed balls to plant or give away. The Spirit has a sense of humor. We didn’t know how much blooming was going to happen.  

Six weeks later, Sarah’s seedball flowers were flourishing!  

The flowers bloomed among the lush garden that Sarah created on a formerly vacant lot in Cape May, New Jersey. The owners of the lot agreed to let her plant a garden on it. Located adjacent to the summer home previously owned by her grandparents, I sense that they and other ancestors who have passed to the other side of the veil are guardian angels for the garden.  

Situated two blocks from the beach on a well-traveled road, the garden got lots of attention. Friends, neighbors, and strangers frequently visited while Sarah worked in the garden. They asked questions, gave advice, helped weed (sometimes), and simply lingered around the flourishing. Some days, she spent half of her time in the garden talking to people who stopped by. Community connection is part of what she envisioned when she planted the garden.

The garden surpassed expectations; it almost seemed magical. Its abundance included arugula, kale, squash, zucchini, broccoli, fingerling potatoes, onions, yellow corn, herbs, cucumbers (galore!), and amazing varieties of tomatoes. Friends, neighbors, strangers, and the local food bank have been gifted with colorful, delicious vegetables.  

When the tiny watermelons appeared, they prompted her delight: “Aren’t they so cute?!”  

Most of us know what it looks like for a garden to flourish, but what does it look like for a person to flourish?    

In his best-selling book, Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being, psychologist Martin Seligman identifies several factors that contribute to flourishing and well-being that he dubbed “PERMA”:  

Positive emotions—Strengthen positive emotions such as gratitude, appreciation, forgiveness, mindfulness, joy, and hope.  

Engagement – Engaging with those things that help you be in “flow,” in the present moment, or so absorbed in something you lose track of time. Dr. Seligman describes it as “at one with the music.” 

Relationships- Having relationships that bring joy, support, meaning, laughter, connection, and a feeling of belonging.  

Meaning– A sense of meaning or purpose that gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning to serve something bigger than oneself.  

Accomplishment- Setting achievable goals and pursuing competence and mastery. 

When someone is flourishing, it radiates outward. Friends and family in Cape May repeatedly commented on how happy Sarah seemed. Indeed, she flourished. I will never forget her standing in the garden in her sky-blue canvas overalls, sweaty and beaming with joy.  

Next time you observe some part of nature flourishing, pause to behold that abundance. What can nature teach you? Perhaps you can reflect on what is helping you flourish…or keeping you from doing so.  Key factors outlined in “PERMA” provide insight and guidance for all of us.  

May you flourish, friends.  

Much love,

Mabeth

Nature’s Wisdom

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This shell caught my attention on an early morning walk in Cape May, New Jersey. It reminded me of an ear as it lay open to the air, sun, and sea that gently washed over it.

Something within me asked: My dear one, are you open to receiving the day’s gifts? How will you listen for God with the ear of your heart? How will you be a listening presence for others? Oh goodness, the answers are the work of Love, and the task of a lifetime! I picked up the shell and brought it home as a visual reminder of these questions.

Friends, as you look around you, what wisdom does nature have for you today?

Sending love and a blessing,

Mabeth