Spring

Yes, officially, spring is here; it is sooo nice to see signs of it at least in warmer areas and listening to others share how their spring flowers are up and trees blooming. However, in the cold tundra of Wisconsin things are not moving quite so rapidly!  I wish they were! 

Relationships are often like our weather especially when conflicts occur and one or the other does not know how to solve the issues. Maybe the atmosphere gets cold, maybe it thaws out! Perhaps a similar situation happens a period of time later, but with another person, the pattern repeating itself more than once. 

Have you ever thought that these times of discord are isolated incidents? Sometimes it's hard not to. A long time ago this had happened to me until a trusted acquaintance mentioned something to me that "connected the dots" to something in my life many years ago.  It made sense and continues to do so. I needed that perspective from and outsider!

Having a spiritual companion may bring a new perspective and sense of hope. So, spring is a process of coming to a full bloom, so is spiritual direction. Something that can't be done alone! Consider it! 

I am a spiritual director taking new clients at this time. If you would like to do spiritual direction with me, call 920.793.3530. To subscribe to this blog, scroll all the way to the bottom and insert you email address or see: MollyLaFond.com

St. Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"St. Patrick's Day" redirects here. For the Bing Crosby album, see St. Patrick's Day (album).

"Patrick's Day" redirects here. For the 2014 film, see Patrick's Day (film).

Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick depicted in a stained glass window at Saint Benin's Church, Ireland
Official name Saint Patrick's Day            Also called Feast of Saint Patrick Patrick's Day Lá Fheile Pádraig (St) Paddy's Day Observed by Irish people and people of Irish descent Catholic Church (see calendar) Anglican Communion (see calendars) Eastern Orthodox Church (see calendar) Lutheran Church (see calendar)TypeEthnic, national, ChristianSignificance Feast day of Saint Patrick, commemoration of the arrival of Christianity in Ireland[3]Celebrations Attending parades attending céilithe wearing shamrocks wearing green drinking Irish beer drinking Irish whiskey ObservancesAttending mass or service Date17 March

Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, "the Day of the Festival of Patrick"), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.

Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland),^[4] the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland,^[3] and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.^[5] Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.^[6] Christians also attend church services^[5][7] and the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday's tradition of alcohol consumption.^[5][6][8][9]

Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,^[10] Northern Ireland,^[11] the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora around the world, especially in Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival.^[12] Modern celebrations have been greatly influenced by those of the Irish diaspora, particularly those that developed in North America. In recent years, there has been criticism of Saint Patrick's Day celebrations for having become too commercialized and for fostering negative stereotypes of the Irish.

Molly LaFond is a spiritual director and taking new clients at this time. If you would like to do spiritual direction with her or have a question, call her at 920.793.3530 or see: MollyLaFond.com  To subscribe to this blog, scroll to the bottom and add your email or see the social media buttons. 

Grey

I've been pondering a few things lately. There are arguments on the web in reply to spiritual things that individuals find inspiring, like clouds that look like angels or other formations that offer them strength and hope. Replies to these comments are often nasty, argumentative and down- right not nice. 

When I read these nasty replies it pains me so much. My base self would like to yell back asking what ever happened to the thought of "live and let live", tolerance for differences, kindness and respect? Isn't each person entitled to his/her own belief?  Now, if a person does not believe the same thing, even arguing against a supreme being,is it not ok for an individual his/her own beliefs without bashing them?

There was a time in my life that I valued being a "black and white" person, having strong opinions on the extreme right OR the extreme left of a topic. Now, there is so much grey in my life which that certainly serves me much better. Tolerance, open-mindedness, kindness, respect, compassion, understanding, love and mercy have brought more into my life than the abrasiveness of earlier years. 

I wonder how this world would be if each one of us practiced living with more grey in life than black and white! There might be a discovery that one side is not all right and the other side is not all wrong! Perhaps it might bring a big miracle in society if each of us really became the person we would like the world to be. If each side reached out to the other, I believe a new tapestry would appear. 

Molly LaFond is a spiritual director. Spiritual direction is a wonderful place to process all these things that get your attention in life! If you would like to make an appointment with Molly, call 920.793.3530. If you would like to subscribe to her blog, scroll all the way to the bottom, see the social media buttons or fill in your email.  Feel free to share these posts with your friends. Thank you! For more on her Blog, see: MollyLaFond.com