Good morning. Happy Sunday!
I have spent a lot of time this week second guessing myself. I have become distracted with things that do not concern me and have forgotten my spirit. I have been envious of others with houses, and envious of others with families that seem to function so well, while my family lives in a camper and struggles with being too close physically, all of the time.
Perhaps this is a period of growth for us if we can overcome our desires to get away from one another. This too shall pass. As we settle into life in a small camper, we become accustomed to one another--the good and the bad. We are after all only human. Humans being human in a small space.
What if there is no alternative but to acknowledge ourselves? We have emotions and we can learn to relate to one another if we can overcome our discomfort at being vulnerable in front of others.
Isn't it the American way to shove our feelings out of the way and hide our discomforts in the space of our big houses? So that most families can avoid one another and simply co-exist under one big roof without ever having to really deal with their stuff?
Now, I find I may have to deal with my stuff. There will be no hiding raw emotion in the limited cabinet space we have here. There will be no running away and avoiding--there is no place to go. The people I live with are always near. And that's okay.
Who are my biggest teachers but those who push my buttons? How do I learn to be a better person without the trials that are presented before me? It is a gift really to have these moments with my children, with my partner, as we really learn one another. There is nothing to hide in small spaces.
It is time now to face myself and pull out my old suitcases of hurt and blame. There simply is no longer any room for those past things. It is time to move on and forgive myself and forgive everyone around me for simply being human. We all make mistakes. We all lose our patience and get angry. Some of us deal with our emotions better than others, but there is always time to learn new skills--if we are up to the challenge.
So, instead of worrying about where we will be when the winter sets in, or if moving to a raw piece of land was the right decision, instead I choose to focus on growing myself in this small space. Perhaps I can learn how to accept what is and simply be, and give myself time to enjoy the spirit being human.
Every person we encounter is another spirit, taking on the difficulties of being human. Sometimes it's really hard, but sometimes it's not. Life is a joy. Being alive and breathing clean mountain air is a blessing. I am blessed to be surrounded by people and circumstances that allow me to learn and expand.
I am grateful for this moment and this space.
Love to all.
~ Rev. Kerry
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Riding the waves of Summer (6.22.14)
Good morning. Happy Sunday!
Yesterday was the Summer Solstice--the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. Now, it's downhill from here, as the days will get shorter and winter will slowly close in.
When you live on the land, in harmony with Nature, you have to be aware of the seasons and always thinking about what comes next. That doesn't mean there isn't time to enjoy the spectacularly warm and pleasant weather, because there certainly is. There is time to watch the garden grow. There is time to sit under a canopy of stars and watch for meteors as the night settles in. There is time to walk among the wild plants and take notice of the creatures that live in the natural environment around us. There is time to honor and celebrate Nature and Mother Earth in all her glory as she brings forth her colors and shares her abundance.
It seems like I wait all year for Summer to come to town and bring with her the warm winds and rain showers that perpetuate the growing season that I try so hard to be a part of. We sow our seeds and gently nestle our seedlings into nutritious soil, and I wait, and I watch, as life happens around me. The butterflies come and the dragonflies hover. The birds sing from distant bushes. The prickly pears bloom all over this desert place and this arid land is green with new growth. And finally, the seedlings emerge from soft soil and stretch up into the sun and I am grateful to be witness to the natural cycles of life. I celebrate this new life that will bring us edible food. I celebrate being a part of creating this abundance.
Yes, finally the warm days are with us now, and while there is so much to do while the light lasts long into the evening, we must remember to take a moment to enjoy the season itself and honor what it brings to us. Every season offers us an opportunity for new growth...even cold, dead winter, which gives us time to bring our minds into full bloom with new ideas and unbounded creativity.
Allowing myself to become a part of Nature, as I am (as we all are), and taking back my right to ride the cyclical waves of the seasons and the days, brings forth an inborn peace, an innate joy, and an instinctual desire to work in harmony with everything around me.
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each.” —Henry David Thoreau
Today there is no struggle. There is only being in this season of warm weather and being who I naturally am and giving in to my part of this life, this Now, this space and this time. Go with the flow. Ride the wave and let it unfold as it will.
Enjoy the warm days and clear nights.
Thank you Sacred Earth Mother for the gift of Summer.
Love to all.
~Rev. Kerry
Yesterday was the Summer Solstice--the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. Now, it's downhill from here, as the days will get shorter and winter will slowly close in.
When you live on the land, in harmony with Nature, you have to be aware of the seasons and always thinking about what comes next. That doesn't mean there isn't time to enjoy the spectacularly warm and pleasant weather, because there certainly is. There is time to watch the garden grow. There is time to sit under a canopy of stars and watch for meteors as the night settles in. There is time to walk among the wild plants and take notice of the creatures that live in the natural environment around us. There is time to honor and celebrate Nature and Mother Earth in all her glory as she brings forth her colors and shares her abundance.
It seems like I wait all year for Summer to come to town and bring with her the warm winds and rain showers that perpetuate the growing season that I try so hard to be a part of. We sow our seeds and gently nestle our seedlings into nutritious soil, and I wait, and I watch, as life happens around me. The butterflies come and the dragonflies hover. The birds sing from distant bushes. The prickly pears bloom all over this desert place and this arid land is green with new growth. And finally, the seedlings emerge from soft soil and stretch up into the sun and I am grateful to be witness to the natural cycles of life. I celebrate this new life that will bring us edible food. I celebrate being a part of creating this abundance.
Yes, finally the warm days are with us now, and while there is so much to do while the light lasts long into the evening, we must remember to take a moment to enjoy the season itself and honor what it brings to us. Every season offers us an opportunity for new growth...even cold, dead winter, which gives us time to bring our minds into full bloom with new ideas and unbounded creativity.
Allowing myself to become a part of Nature, as I am (as we all are), and taking back my right to ride the cyclical waves of the seasons and the days, brings forth an inborn peace, an innate joy, and an instinctual desire to work in harmony with everything around me.
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each.” —Henry David Thoreau
Today there is no struggle. There is only being in this season of warm weather and being who I naturally am and giving in to my part of this life, this Now, this space and this time. Go with the flow. Ride the wave and let it unfold as it will.
Enjoy the warm days and clear nights.
Thank you Sacred Earth Mother for the gift of Summer.
Love to all.
~Rev. Kerry
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Happy Father's Day! (6.15.14)
Good morning. Happy Sunday.
Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. May we acknowledge Father Sky and the guidance we receive every day as the sky lights our way and shows us our true path.
Take a moment and send love to the man that helped to bring you into this life, for without our fathers, we would not exist.
Honor the men who take the time to be actively involved in childrens' lives, providing them with guidance and acting as positive role models in a world where not all fathers are capable of being in their children's lives in a positive way. We must thank and appreciate those men who are not afraid to help raise people who are compassionate and kind, people who are fair and honest, people who will grow up to make positive changes and impacts on our planet.
Thank you fathers. Have a loving and meaningful day!
Love to all.
~Rev. Kerry
Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. May we acknowledge Father Sky and the guidance we receive every day as the sky lights our way and shows us our true path.
Take a moment and send love to the man that helped to bring you into this life, for without our fathers, we would not exist.
Honor the men who take the time to be actively involved in childrens' lives, providing them with guidance and acting as positive role models in a world where not all fathers are capable of being in their children's lives in a positive way. We must thank and appreciate those men who are not afraid to help raise people who are compassionate and kind, people who are fair and honest, people who will grow up to make positive changes and impacts on our planet.
Thank you fathers. Have a loving and meaningful day!
Love to all.
~Rev. Kerry
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Living simply in an culture that exploits resources (6.8.14)
Good morning. Happy Sunday.
Living simply gives me appreciation for the simple things...like water and shelter.
Here we are, in this beautiful, natural setting, struggling with day to day living, and it gives me a chance to remember all of the things we as Americans take for granted--like running water.
So many people around the globe do not have the luxury of turning on a faucet and having both hot and cold water at their fingertips. Many people still have to haul their water from some distance away, as we are doing now, as a result of our current well snafu. I am thankful we have a vehicle that will carry the water for us, and thankful for buckets and containers to haul it in. I can't imagine having to carry that water on my back the three miles to our homestead. Some people do just that, carrying water for miles to their homes every single day, so they can have water to drink, to cook, and to wash themselves with.
The simple things.
We are a nation of spoiled people. We have electricity we take for granted, not caring how much coal is burning and pushing contaminants into our atmosphere. We have shelter--huge houses, by world standards, to house ourselves and our precious stuff. We have food--so much in fact that we can afford to throw away our leftovers as many restaurants and grocery stores do, as well as people in private homes. In fact, we have so much food, we are killing ourselves with it--the obesity rate in the US of A is astronomical. We have cars to cart ourselves and our stuff around, not considering our commuter lifestyle is driving the greed and competition behind the Big Oil Industry, and also emitting loads of life killing carbon dioxide into the air. Thankfully we still have air to breathe, which we also take for granted, not realizing how close we are to ruining that too. We have precious water, taking our daily showers, flushing drinking water down the toilet, never caring or thinking about how the Southwest US is drying up and people are bickering and fighting over who gets the little bit of water they can still pull out of the ground and divert from the rivers. Everyone "needs" that water to irrigate their alfalfa fields to feed the cows that make us fat. Everyone "needs" that water to dump into the sewer for showers and toilets and dishwashers....
When you do without for any length of time, you begin to realize the stupidity of our culture of convenience. We are depleting the planet's resources at rates we can't begin to understand. Our resources are precious. Water is precious. I know this as I haul it every single day--enough for my family to drink, for cooking, for our livestock to drink, and for me to wash the few dishes we use.
We met a man at the artesian well where we get water. He's pretty proud of the fact that he has enough electricity to run his coffee maker and microwave. He only has to run his generator for two hours each morning and two hours each evening to get these conveniences. He, like us, is living in a camper on his land. Our camper didn't come with a microwave (we got rid of our household microwave years ago because of the contamination of microwaves on our food) and we don't have an electric coffee maker (we also got rid of our coffee maker years ago because of the electrical load). When we want coffee, we boil water in a teapot on the stove. It's really simple. We cook all of our food on the stove too (our oven doesn't work).
It's great that people are living off grid and their carbon footprint is greatly reduced, in comparison to most Americans, but it baffles me why they would still want the luxuries that are killing our planet. Oh, I know they are not intentionally living off grid, at least not for an ecological reason, so when they can wire their off grid situation to accommodate all of their toys they will feel like they are living well.
We must change our thinking if we want to turn this desperate environmental situation around.
Living off grid always gives me the opportunity to really think about my own needs and how I can reduce my carbon footprint even more. Living simply does that for you, without much choice really. The important things, like water and shelter take precedence over the trivial things like how to get enough electricity to turn on a TV. Living simply allows a person to simply be, without the pretense of anything else, There is no one to impress, and when your biggest want for the day is enough water to take care of your homestead, there is no energy left worrying about all those materialistic wants that really just don't matter.
I'm not saying everyone needs to live in a tent to fully experience and appreciate the simple and basic things a human being requires, but it certainly helps. In my experience there has been no bigger eye opener than having to live day to day in the simplest fashion. I would suggest everyone try it at least once, if they can, and just allow yourself to be one with nature, as you were born to be.
The simple life. It's hard work. I have a lot of compassion and understanding for people who do this all of their lives. They are noble people. Stronger than me for sure.
I am lucky to have been given this space and time to meditate on all of this. Living simple allows this. It brings one closer to what is important and gives a person a chance to seriously consider what is necessary in their own life. Bring it back to the basics. Simplify. Get to know yourself in the space of nature.
Love to all.
~Rev. Kerry
Living simply gives me appreciation for the simple things...like water and shelter.
Here we are, in this beautiful, natural setting, struggling with day to day living, and it gives me a chance to remember all of the things we as Americans take for granted--like running water.
So many people around the globe do not have the luxury of turning on a faucet and having both hot and cold water at their fingertips. Many people still have to haul their water from some distance away, as we are doing now, as a result of our current well snafu. I am thankful we have a vehicle that will carry the water for us, and thankful for buckets and containers to haul it in. I can't imagine having to carry that water on my back the three miles to our homestead. Some people do just that, carrying water for miles to their homes every single day, so they can have water to drink, to cook, and to wash themselves with.
The simple things.
We are a nation of spoiled people. We have electricity we take for granted, not caring how much coal is burning and pushing contaminants into our atmosphere. We have shelter--huge houses, by world standards, to house ourselves and our precious stuff. We have food--so much in fact that we can afford to throw away our leftovers as many restaurants and grocery stores do, as well as people in private homes. In fact, we have so much food, we are killing ourselves with it--the obesity rate in the US of A is astronomical. We have cars to cart ourselves and our stuff around, not considering our commuter lifestyle is driving the greed and competition behind the Big Oil Industry, and also emitting loads of life killing carbon dioxide into the air. Thankfully we still have air to breathe, which we also take for granted, not realizing how close we are to ruining that too. We have precious water, taking our daily showers, flushing drinking water down the toilet, never caring or thinking about how the Southwest US is drying up and people are bickering and fighting over who gets the little bit of water they can still pull out of the ground and divert from the rivers. Everyone "needs" that water to irrigate their alfalfa fields to feed the cows that make us fat. Everyone "needs" that water to dump into the sewer for showers and toilets and dishwashers....
When you do without for any length of time, you begin to realize the stupidity of our culture of convenience. We are depleting the planet's resources at rates we can't begin to understand. Our resources are precious. Water is precious. I know this as I haul it every single day--enough for my family to drink, for cooking, for our livestock to drink, and for me to wash the few dishes we use.
We met a man at the artesian well where we get water. He's pretty proud of the fact that he has enough electricity to run his coffee maker and microwave. He only has to run his generator for two hours each morning and two hours each evening to get these conveniences. He, like us, is living in a camper on his land. Our camper didn't come with a microwave (we got rid of our household microwave years ago because of the contamination of microwaves on our food) and we don't have an electric coffee maker (we also got rid of our coffee maker years ago because of the electrical load). When we want coffee, we boil water in a teapot on the stove. It's really simple. We cook all of our food on the stove too (our oven doesn't work).
It's great that people are living off grid and their carbon footprint is greatly reduced, in comparison to most Americans, but it baffles me why they would still want the luxuries that are killing our planet. Oh, I know they are not intentionally living off grid, at least not for an ecological reason, so when they can wire their off grid situation to accommodate all of their toys they will feel like they are living well.
We must change our thinking if we want to turn this desperate environmental situation around.
Living off grid always gives me the opportunity to really think about my own needs and how I can reduce my carbon footprint even more. Living simply does that for you, without much choice really. The important things, like water and shelter take precedence over the trivial things like how to get enough electricity to turn on a TV. Living simply allows a person to simply be, without the pretense of anything else, There is no one to impress, and when your biggest want for the day is enough water to take care of your homestead, there is no energy left worrying about all those materialistic wants that really just don't matter.
I'm not saying everyone needs to live in a tent to fully experience and appreciate the simple and basic things a human being requires, but it certainly helps. In my experience there has been no bigger eye opener than having to live day to day in the simplest fashion. I would suggest everyone try it at least once, if they can, and just allow yourself to be one with nature, as you were born to be.
The simple life. It's hard work. I have a lot of compassion and understanding for people who do this all of their lives. They are noble people. Stronger than me for sure.
I am lucky to have been given this space and time to meditate on all of this. Living simple allows this. It brings one closer to what is important and gives a person a chance to seriously consider what is necessary in their own life. Bring it back to the basics. Simplify. Get to know yourself in the space of nature.
Love to all.
~Rev. Kerry
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Amazing moments in the Now (6.1.14)
Good evening. Happy Sunday.
First, I want to apologize for the lateness of my sermon today. We have been moving nonstop and the internet hookup is a little complicated right now.
We have had a couple of baby goats...Fairy finally had her kids, and we inherited another llama girl that's a neighborhood stray.
In any case, we have met our neighbors here near the new land and met the new tenant of the farm we moved out of. It has been interesting and rewarding, and I realize as doors close in one area, they open in another. I really have enjoyed meeting new people and having conversations about things that matter...raising animals, growing food, living on the land....
This week I am thankful for new opportunities and new relationships, new life and new experiences. You can't take life for granted, not even for one moment. If you are living in a mindful state and experiencing the Now, so many wonderful and amazing things happen. How do we miss all of the daily miracles? By being too busy and not paying attention.
This week has been incredible. It has been one of the hardest weeks I have endured, moving livestock, moving barns and fences until well into the night, but when we arrive on our quiet, peaceful land and I look up and see the canopy of stars and the Milky Way, shining brightly above me, I am thrilled to be here, and thrilled to be alive in this single moment.
I know I would not change my adventurous self for one second. I learn from everyone and everything. I meet so many new people, just passing through my life, through my town, telling their stories, and I feel a kindred sort of love for all of them. They are me. I am them.
Life is beautiful, even in the hardest of times. If we can stop and live each moment, we can realize the gifts we are given daily, and be grateful for the abundance that flows to us all of the time.
This week, I feel compelled to just simply be, observing the world around me, and relishing each single moment as the Universe hands me gifts...baby goats, an eagle soaring overhead, the screech of a hawk, a horned toad running under the salt brush, the sand between my toes, and the clean and beautiful air of this amazing place. Mother Earth gives us life and sustains us as we wander on our journeys into the great unknown.
Isn't life beautiful?
Love to all.
~Rev. Kerry
First, I want to apologize for the lateness of my sermon today. We have been moving nonstop and the internet hookup is a little complicated right now.
We have had a couple of baby goats...Fairy finally had her kids, and we inherited another llama girl that's a neighborhood stray.
In any case, we have met our neighbors here near the new land and met the new tenant of the farm we moved out of. It has been interesting and rewarding, and I realize as doors close in one area, they open in another. I really have enjoyed meeting new people and having conversations about things that matter...raising animals, growing food, living on the land....
This week I am thankful for new opportunities and new relationships, new life and new experiences. You can't take life for granted, not even for one moment. If you are living in a mindful state and experiencing the Now, so many wonderful and amazing things happen. How do we miss all of the daily miracles? By being too busy and not paying attention.
This week has been incredible. It has been one of the hardest weeks I have endured, moving livestock, moving barns and fences until well into the night, but when we arrive on our quiet, peaceful land and I look up and see the canopy of stars and the Milky Way, shining brightly above me, I am thrilled to be here, and thrilled to be alive in this single moment.
I know I would not change my adventurous self for one second. I learn from everyone and everything. I meet so many new people, just passing through my life, through my town, telling their stories, and I feel a kindred sort of love for all of them. They are me. I am them.
Life is beautiful, even in the hardest of times. If we can stop and live each moment, we can realize the gifts we are given daily, and be grateful for the abundance that flows to us all of the time.
This week, I feel compelled to just simply be, observing the world around me, and relishing each single moment as the Universe hands me gifts...baby goats, an eagle soaring overhead, the screech of a hawk, a horned toad running under the salt brush, the sand between my toes, and the clean and beautiful air of this amazing place. Mother Earth gives us life and sustains us as we wander on our journeys into the great unknown.
Isn't life beautiful?
Love to all.
~Rev. Kerry
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