Periodically I pause and reflect on what is life-giving for my soul right now. Where am I experiencing God? Where is God nudging me forward? I call these bits of wisdom: Four Somethings and sort them into four categories:
- Something Wise
- Something Wonderful
- Something Whispered
- Something Whimsical
Gathering Four Somethings make me aware of all the blessings often hidden under busyness, worries, and distractions. These “somethings” become markers in our spiritual journey. With so much pivoting and uncertainty in our lives right now, being grounded in a simple practice like this guides my way.
Something Wise
Found this encouraging after a day when I wanted to quit:
“Your first attempt might not be very good, but nobody’s early work is good. There will always be a gap between where you are and where you want to be. And the bridge between that gap is courage. The courage to look foolish in the beginning. The courage to show up again when your early work is criticized. The courage to look yourself in the mirror and say, “I realize I’m not good enough yet, but the only way to get better is to keep working on it.” James Clear
Something Wonderful
I have really enjoyed watching “The Five Star Weekend” on live streaming and starring Jennifer Garner. The story is about the character played by Garner overwhelmed by the loss of her husband and living in grief. Having done work in grief support the past two years the writers’ portrayal of what happens in grief is very accurate. Garner invites four friends from different chapters of her life for a weekend on Nantucket and truth, fun, and relationships emerge in both joy and struggles. The chemistry between the actors is wonderful and you end up really caring for all of them, even the one who hurts another very deeply.
I watched this movie twice and just downloaded the book so I could see the differences.
This movie reminded me how important friendship is and how community does walk along side us during grief and difficult times. I wondered who would I invite to this type of girls’ weekend. From my childhood, from college, from adulthood, a newer acquaintance? Who would you invite?
Something Whispered
My spiritual director shared this quote with me. Ahh, to be one with God!
“I have only one desire, and that is the desire for solitude
-to disappear into God,
to be submerged in His peace,
to be lost in the secret of His Face.”
Thomas Merton
Something Whimsical
Ever hear the weird/silly phrase: “To comb the giraffe?”
This word comes from the French and means to call out busy work or pointless tasks. The expression means “to do something useless.” For instance, if your boss asks you to rearrange inconsequential files all day, you’re combing the giraffe. Not only are giraffes too tall to comb easily, but they also have a unique coat that doesn’t require much grooming, yielding little to no results.
And saw this meme on Facebook a few weeks and laughed out loud. Yes too often I feel like this:
Realizing 2026 is more than halfway completed, what have you been learning this year?
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