Ki Moments Blog

Support for life’s “key” moments.

Showing posts in the category “Happinessoptimism”

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  • February 3, 2025

    Fresh Eyes

    Fresh Eyes

    It's been a busy, stressful beginning to 2025 for me, and I was late with my January post, which published just under the wire.

    Some of the stress has been really good--we moved to a new home in December that we love and are happy in. And there was a lot to do. Packing and unpacking. Saying goodbye to a home we lived in for 41 years, and a neighborhood we loved. Getting to know and find comfort in our new home, new town and new neighbors. There was, and continues to be, a lot to do.

    Plus, some illnesses in my family are pretty much always on my mind these days. And even though I said I was winding down Power & Presence Training, I said yes in recent months to some workshops that have placed me on planes, buses and rental cars in various regions of the U.S. So some travel, and the accompanying stress that comes with it.

    And, yes, we live in a world where--it seems to me anyway--a world where many folks would rather fight than listen, try to understand, or move toward solving problems. Just being in our world right now can be stressful.

    Seeing With Fresh Eyes

    Then I had breakfast with my friend Pam, who always invites me into a world of wonder, and we talked about my move, and she said, "You must be seeing everything with 'fresh eyes'!" ....

  • November 26, 2024

    Eternity's Sunrise

    Eternity's Sunrise

    I'm sitting at home with a sore throat/coughing/sneezing, old fashioned cold and thinking it would be a good time to wite something. I don't have a lot of energy today and so will just relate here one of my all time favorite quotations. I recite it to myself as often as I can

  • September 1, 2024

    God Winks

    God Winks

    Walking early on a Sunday morning, I hear music playing loudly down the street. I realize it's coming from a parked car up ahead across from the Public Library. It's about 7:30 am. 

    My initial reaction -- Pretty loud for so early on a Sunday in a residential neighborhood. Then I see a young man near the car either placing gear in the back seat or removing it. He's standing near the curb I'm about to walk by....

  • August 1, 2024

    Notes From a Silent Retreat

    Notes From a Silent Retreat

    I'm on a spiritual journey. The church happens to be the boat I'm traveling on.

    ~William Kent Krueger

    I'm recently returned from a silent retreat at the Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY, the retreat title: "In Silence with Thomas Merton", with Brother Ephrem Arcement, OHC. It was wonderful, On many levels....

  • July 1, 2024

    What We Will Be

    What We Will Be

    Today I'm reprinting a post from the United Church of Christ's Daily Devotional written April 2024 by Mary Luti. Mary is one of my favorite UCC writers, and her story made me reflect on how the sacred can surprise us at any moment; also, on the beauty of nature, and, finally, on my sometimes quick-to-judge mindset.

    Mary is a pastor and educator, and I have reprinted her post in its entirety, including the title and the Biblical passage that inspired her to write it....

  • March 1, 2024

    Stopping the Thoughts

    Stopping the Thoughts

    Like waves crashing against the shore, worry, regret, and fear-based narratives wash through my brain. Over and over again. In the middle of the night, day, whenever, whenever. They find me.

    Spinning thoughts -- "if onlys", missed "do overs", and anxiety

  • January 1, 2024

    Happy New Year 2024!

    Happy New Year 2024!

    It's New Year's Day and I'm thinking about and visualizing the year ahead.  My friend and mentor, author Thomas Crum, introduced an experience at one of his Magic trainings many years back. We were asked to imagine ourselves a year ahead and to write down all the things we were grateful for that had happened in the year just gone by. 

    So... if I were to do that exercise today (and I did), I would be visualizing myself on January 1, 2025, and writing down all the events, experiences, people, and actions that happened in 2025 that I was grateful for....

  • December 1, 2023

    The Indicator Light: Reinforcing Presence

    The Indicator Light: Reinforcing Presence

    Last December I wrote a post titled "Death as an Ally" about the preciousness of each fleeting moment. In the past year, I've come to appreciate this sentiment even more.

    As you move into the month of December with its accompanying demands on your time--the cards, parties, family visits, joys and conflicts--maybe take a moment each day (oftener if you're willing) to stop and notice this moment, this...ki... moment, a moment that will not come again. Find ways to reinforce presence....

  • November 1, 2023

    Looking Back, Moving Forward, Feeling Grateful

    Looking Back, Moving Forward, Feeling Grateful

    My last two posts in September and October gave some context on the next steps I'm taking into the unknown. It's weird. I don't know how not to be busy, how not to be engaged in an endeavor that gives back so much. I'm not sure what that's going to be like. 

    You may ask, "Then why stop?" And I'm not totally sure of the answer. I love what I do - I still have some work as I write this - and I also have a sense that this is a good time to bring this part of my worklife to a close. It's an interesting, thought-provoking, exciting place to be.

    I sometimes listen to the Calm app when I'm meditating. Recently Jeff Warren, one of their authors and a meditator, said...

  • October 1, 2023

    The Bend in the Road

    The Bend in the Road

    When I left Queens my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does. It has a fascination of its own, that bend, Marilla. I wonder how the road beyond it goes – what there is of green glory and soft, checkered light and shadows – what new landscapes – what new beauties – what curves and hills and valleys further on.

    I recently listened to the audiobook, Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery, written in 1908. The quote that leads this post is from the book, and it literally gave me pause. I was walking and listening, and I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk...

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