If we were having coffee…..
Welcome my friend! Thank goodness for these weekend coffee shares. Lately, they have been the only time that I have focused on connecting with you. I’m hoping to improve that!
If we were having coffee, I would, as usual, be so happy to spend some time with you. We are all in the midst of the holiday season. How is that going for you? A friend of mine always called this time of year the HoliDAZE. That seems especially apt this year.
If we were having coffee, I’d want to talk to you about something I’ve been batting around in my brain this week. I recently read an article about two French women who were resistors during World War II. They were friends as children and then became a couple. Same sex relationships were obviously challenging back in those times.
They were both artists. The author said that they used their art to resist the confines of societal norms.
They moved to the British island of Jersey and, unfortunately, the Nazis invaded and occupied that territory. These two women used their art to create pictures and messages/leaflets that were meant to demoralize the Nazi soldiers.
And then the author said something interesting…He said that it was almost as if there was a through line. It was as if these two women had prepared for this their entire lives and now were carrying it out. They were already very skilled at using their art to resist norms. So they were very well prepared to create these pamphlets to break down the morale of the Nazis.
You can read the article here https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/how-a-queer-french-couple-fought-nazis-with-their-art/
It was an interesting statement. These women had unknowingly been preparing for this all their lives…So what if that’s true for all of us? What if we have all been preparing for our challenges?
What if all of the difficulties that we faced in childhood, adolescence, early adulthood… What if all of it was preparing us for that next stage? What if all of those lessons were preparing us for the big stuff that we would eventually have to face?
And let’s take it a step further… If we accept that all of the difficulties that we faced were, in fact, preparing us for the next stages of our lives…Then doesn’t it suddenly change the way we perceive those past challenges? When I played with this in my head… I realized that looking at the past through this kind of lens really shifted my perspective. Instead of lamenting some of those very painful times, I found myself feeling like a survivor of a type of Universal boot camp.
Rumi says that we should act as if everything is rigged in our favor.
If we were having coffee, I’d encourage you to play with this thought. Look at everything you’ve survived and see if you can find a through line. Play with it long enough to see if your perception shifts too. Take a moment to acknowledge yourself as the survivor that you are. And then take a bow. You have a lot to be proud of!
Fun, right?
I love mulling over thoughts and ideas that can shift perspective and perception going forward.
If we were having coffee, I’d be so grateful to have someone to bat these ideas around with. (I know I should never end a sentence with the word “with” but it’s just us and our coffee so I’m not going to worry about it.🤪)
If you have time to play with this idea, I’d love to know if it shifted anything for you….or maybe I’m just weird.. of course the two are not mutually exclusive!
I hope that you have a wonderful week ahead. And I hope that you can be gentle with yourself during this holiday season. Whether you’re alone or with your people, know that you matter. Know that the Universe has your back. Breathe deeply and know that all is and will be well.
I’m glad you’re here 💜
Our weekend coffee share is hosted by Eclectic Alli. You can read more shares here: https://fresh.inlinkz.com/party/c54b96835e0445e0be2756c916c19944
With Angels and Elephants 
Love your photo of the seagulls. So serene.
I also related closely with your thoughts for today. Looking back over my nearly 80 years, it’s clear to see that adversity was simply a stepping stone to a happier, more contented life. So glad that I stayed the course – did I have a choice?!
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Yes! I think that integrating adversity, rather than resenting it, can lead to growth and, ultimately, to peace.
Thanks so much for stopping by. I’m glad you liked the seagulls. They’re my favorite thing to photograph these days💜
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It’s hard when you are in the middle of things to take a step back, take our heads out the sand and put some perspective in place……you got me thinking thanks.
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Yay! Glad it was helpful. Have a wonderful weekend 💜
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Hubby and I have talked about last week’s hospital trip. His nurse, a wonderful young man, told us that he almost didn’t want to leave our room, or have us leave because we were so “enjoyable” and “encouraging”, etc. practically gushing with praise about us. Really.. rather above the norm. And as we talked this week, we decided that maybe Hubby needed to be there… maybe this young nurse REALLY REALLY needed that little bit of encouragement right then. It “changed our perspective” from considering our own mortality… We both believe that God puts us in places, situations, etc where we can be His voice to someone in need. So, we’ve added this young man to our prayers everynight. In fact, we’ve sent a Christmas card with a nice letter to encourage him further. Maybe this year… we could all see the world around us in a different light and a new appreciation for the blessings we do have. Merry Christmas, dear one! Happy Holi”daze”! 🙂 ❤ Bear
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Absolutely WONDERFUL!
Yes, I believe that also. I think we cross paths with people on purpose because, in someway or other, we need each other. I’m so glad you were able to see the benefit within the challenge. I try to do that as often as possible also. And sometimes… I have realized that it’s not that I was providing something for someone else. But it was that they gifted me with something… And then I try and remember to be grateful for the gift even if the situation was crappy. Wishing you and your husband an abundance of love, light, and laughter now and well through our new year! Happy HoliDAZE and thanks for visiting 💜
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Hi Dinah. This was a wonderful capture of a great thought. I think it’s big enough that it suggests some kind of intelligent agent behind it all. Like Bear and her man above, I to believe that God trys to order our steps and occasionally, we cooperate. He often has something good in mind for later and our hardships can benefit both us later and others. We’ve all seen it happen. Recognizing it along the way? Now that’s a whole different discipline as we are such comfort seeking critters. Nicely done, drawing our attention to this. Very nicely done.
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Very kind words. Thanks for your supportive thoughts! As a newer blogger, it means a lot! And yes… I/we are absolutely comfort seekers! I’ve always been able to find comfort faster if I can find the wisdom within the adversity. That’s what works for me anyway.
Wishing you peace and blessings throughout the holiDAZE 😊
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Interesting food for thoughts and a great read, thank you!
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Thank you! Lovely to see you! Always so nice to share a cup of coffee with you, my friend. Wishing you and your daughter a wonderful holiday season!💜
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it was thanks to coffeesshare posts that my blog a sort of consistent normalcy over the years a friend was asking how come I never seem to have writer’s block and I quoted something I heard about how you never hear anyone saying they have speaker’s block so if you write like you talk or you are talking to someone you’ll find you always have something to say or rather write ha!
As for the perspective thing I guess its correct for one to say something like each moment and decision we have made has led us right to this moment
Compliments of the season
~B
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Excellent! Yes…write like you’re talking to a friend! That’s what I do! It makes it easier and more relaxing.
And not only have our decisions brought us here, they’ve HOPEFULLY made us more resilient!
Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you peace and blessings during the holidays and throughout the new year 😊
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I love this line and absolutely needed to hear it:
“Take a moment to acknowledge yourself as the survivor that you are. And then take a bow. You have a lot to be proud of!”
🤯 I will be doing some work on this. I’ve been working through a lot of past experiences recently, but not from this forgiving point of view. It’s so easy to fall back on what could have been or what ‘should’ have been. But if it’s all training then it’s all what it should have been! Thank you for this!
Let’s have coffee more often! 😁
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Yes! Let’s do coffee more often! I’d like that!
And yes….no need to beat yourself up. It’s all about learning and growth. As long as we learn and commit to doing better in the future then that’s all that matters! You’re a success! Be kind to yourself.
So glad you came for a visit 😊
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Hi Dinah,
Thanks for writing this very thoughtful and reflective post and for encouraging some discussion. I hope to revisit this after Christmas Day is done and dusted. We are only having my parents over for lunch, which is much less than the usual 30 from the big extended family which usually gets together at my aunt’s. However, her kids have been stuck in Melbourne during lock down and so their immediate family has gone away and shut the doors. This is the first time I’ve ever just had Christmas lunch with my parents. In fact, I usually don’t talk to them much on Christmas Day because I catch up with the rest of the family I don’t see very often. So, it’s going to be very different. We’ve also had a lot of work to do on the house and I’ve also baked a Christmas Cake.
So, I’ve been in anything but a daze.
I related very much to what you said in your about post regarding disability. I was born with hydrocephalus or fluid on the brain, although it wasn’t diagnosed until I was 25 and this it seemed to become quite active all of a sudden and I became very unwell. I had a shunt put in. Met my husband a year later, but after the birth of our second child, I developed a virulent auto-immune disease my muscles attack themselves and break down. This also affected my lungs and I have fibrosis. Fortunately, I seem to defy the odds and am still here and am currently doing pretty well.
After what I’ve been through, I’ve thought a lot about what it means to be a survivor. I’ve spent much of this year researching Australian soldiers who served in WWI and also outliers on the home front who made a difference in both positive and negative ways. I’ve read countless stories of men who miraculously survived heavy fire and emerged with bullet holes through their hat, coat etc without a scratch and yet their comrades suffered heavy casualties. This was particularly st at Pozieres. That one in a million stroke of either good or bad luck which can be so visible on the battlefield intrigues me.
Meanwhile, I thought you might be interested in reading a post I wrote about dealing with my health setbacks/disabilities: https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/2016/01/22/forgiving-the-unforgivable/
I look forward to hearing from you nd wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Rowena, thank you for the link to your post. I commented but it didn’t post…? It was beautifully articulated!
I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I have to believe that the order that exists throughout the Universe also exists in our lives. I have two significant disabilities and grew up in great dysfunction. And I’ve been able to use these life experiences to help others. It was all useful in my job as a rehabilitation counselor. I believe that good can grow from adversity if we keep our minds and hearts open….that’s the Universe’s inherent order.
I wish you so much love and light as you journey through disability too. Your kids are going to be very special people because they are being raised by a very aware Mum!
Happy Holidays and may your New Year be full of abundant blessings!
💜😊💜
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Reblogged this on Beyond the Flow and commented:
Here’s some stimulating food for thought about living with adversity…
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