Tag: loss

The Flow of Compassion

El Camino IV, The Flow of Compassion by Janis Dehler

In the fall of 2017, I hiked the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. When I returned, I created a series of paintings depicting my emotional, physical, and spiritual experience. Recently, a print of El Camino IV, The Flow of Compassion was purchased. I did not share my experience and the meaning of the work with the buyer but allowed her to see what was there for her. This week the collector sent me her perspective on viewing this art as a review to post on my website. As we enter the Christian Holy Week, I offer you her words, her intimate experience of self-awareness. I feel deep gratitude in being able to touch the life of another embodied spirit.

I sense the flow of something powerful within me and through me as I take in the vibrant colors, flowing and attuning to my inner being, awakening a deep knowing of the nurturing of my broken heart by compassionate people in my spiritual community.  As I look more intently at this amazing work of art, I see a cross.

My thoughts go to Jesus as he suffered intense beatings after his arrest; after he heard the declaration, ‘Crucify Him’! and while he hung on a cross, slowly dying. 

I remember reading his response ~ Forgive them, for they know not what they do!   And I feel a powerful movement through me and in my heart ~ the flow of compassion.

I am in awe of his response.  Instead of blaming the darkness, Jesus brought in the light of forgiveness, through compassion.

Now my thoughts go to myself ~ I have been blessed by the flow of compassion toward me; I have allowed the power of compassion to flow through me to others, and finally, I have forgiven the one who broke my heart. 

Eileen

“All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.”

Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”

Plato

“One love, one heart, one destiny.”

Bob Marley

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As It Is


There was a time, I looked back, like an explorer who seeks the river source; I sought to know the origin of my pain, my fear, my suffering. 

There was a time, I looked forward, like a seer who tells the future; I sought to know where I was going, the plan, the purpose of this being.

There is this time, I look out, just as it is; I seek to live each moment as it presents—the pain, the joy, the will to be, the heart open, as it appears.

“Tomorrow is tomorrow.
Future cares have future cures,
And we must mind today.”

Sophocles, Antigone

“Every instant of our lives is essentially irreplaceable: you must know this in order to concentrate on life.”

Andre´Gide

“In a world myriad as ours, the gaze is a singular act: to look at something is to fill your whole life with it, if only briefly.”

Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
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When Prayer Was Magic

Once I thought prayer was magic: 

If I pray hard enough

God will give me what I desire. 

I was young and did not yet know

grief and despair. 



I grew in knowledge of sorrow and joy, 

and found no being who could 

change the course of the many things 

that bring us suffering, as was told, when

once I thought prayer was magic.



Nor did outward prayer give me

what I yearned for, which may 

conflict with another’s longing.

Who does this being listen to?

If I pray hard enough,



I am told, if I am good enough,

follow the rules, listen to authority,

learn to be pure like the saints,

deny myself,

God will give me what I desire.



Then I learned to go within:

to know prayer as silence, 

to focus, allow, listen, sit in peace, 

open to universal wisdom. Not taught to me when

I was young and did not yet know:



the connection is within the seed of the divine inside of me. 

All consciousness, open to love, forgiveness, and grace

changes me; I then join with others as 

we open to joy, and ease that which is our

grief and despair.


(Thanks to WP friend, David, for his teaching of a ‘cascading’ poem.

“It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without heart.” 

Mahatma Gandhi

“Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.”

St. John Vianney

“God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.”

Mother Teresa
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Emergence

We sit to order our food as

tears fall and her story opens— 

one of lost love with

a found self and a clear mind.



Since emerging from her mother’s

womb, I witness her growth 

into womanhood—her first bra, 

her first menstrual flow. 



When a seed is planted into rich soil,

it rises ever so gently to seek light, air,

moisture, and to grow. To evolve into a bud,

then flower, into all that this seed can be.



I behold this woman who seeks to unfold, 

with the power to choose and to create: 

choices that affirm her life, feed her soul, 

and allow her spirit to soar.



“A woman is a full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.”

Diane Mariechild

“I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be themselves.”

Emma Stone

“Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe you must become its soul.

Coretta Scott King

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Our Interconnected World

I arrive at the end of this year with a mixture of emotion:

Feelings of sadness for the ongoing wars in Ukraine, Israel and Hamas, and the incredible loss of life throughout the world due to armed conflicts that do not make the headlines.

Concern and compassion rise for an estimated 117 million people who have been displaced from their homes due to war.

Joy rises for new life born to friends and family.

Grief is at home for the loss of life in my sister-in-law and my aunt and for all who have lost loved ones this year.

Pride in accomplishment for compiling a book of art and poetry with the desire to share with others.

Wonder at thousands marching from South and Central America to demonstrate their need for support for their families, jobs, and health.

Delight in the love shared with family and friends that feeds my soul.

Relief and gratitude that my husband recovered so well after a mild stroke with care from those on his medical team.

Gratitude for life lived, for choices made, for all that is learned in doing.

Curiosity and openness for what lies ahead in the unknown.

May we, in our varied emotions, remember kindness to ourselves and to each other. As life moves fast and hard, may we take the time to breathe and center, see ourselves in other, see ourselves in nature, humanity, the planet, and the universe. We are all one, together, may our hearts open.  

Blessings in this New Year, 2024.

“The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace.”

Carlos Santana

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”

Dalai Lama

“We live in an interconnected world, in an interconnected time, and we need holistic solutions. We have a crisis of inequaility, and we need climate solutions that solve that crisis.”

Naomi Klein

From the Book Page

Pre-orders

I am ending this year with the signing of One World: A Journey of Becoming for pre-orders, then boxing them up with the gift of a greeting card and a bookmark. They mail on January 2.

What a year it has been, words that come to me as I reflect back to January. A year of deep loss and a year of birthing anew. A year of war and violence and a year of love and care expressed in unexpected ways. A year of new people entering my life and a year of saying goodbye to others.

I am currently reading the book Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe by Brian Swimme gifted to me by Leo. I feel delight and find awe in the image of “primal light” he offers, light that is all around and in us from the beginning of time and has traveled from fourteen billion light years away to us, now. He speaks beautifully of all life evolving, including each of us as we are never separate from the universe. In my words, we are becoming.

I invite you to read Brain Swimme for mind expansion. I invite you to order and read One World: A Journey of Becoming for heart and mind contemplation.

Jump to my shop page: janisdehler.com/shop

Wishing you joy in your evolving New Year!                  Janis

When We Gather


They arrive at noon 
bearing food and gifts,
bringing love and light 
within their hearts 
for all to share, 
whether laughter or tears,
cookies or bread, 
it’s all spread about, as
we mark forty-seven years
of opening our door
on this night, to celebrate 
the birth of Jesus, 
our family tradition. 

Some of us are church goers, 
others do not partake, 
but the truth of this is, 
it matters not, 
as we celebrate the light, 
shining within each heart. 
Some days it dims as 
the weight of loss pushes down, 
but we know it is here,
as we spread hugs all around.

Our oldest was two 
when it all began; 
now, new little boys toddle 
in laughter with visions of play. 
We lost a generation 
through these years, 
yet time brings new babes 
as life’s story gets told. 

The light of solstice, 
the light of the Christ, 
the light found in Buddha, 
and Amma, a Hindu saint,
whether the Tao, 
or the Bhagavad-Gita, 
the Tanakh, the Bible, 
the words from the Koran, 
or of our dear mother earth, 
I am formed by it all, 
in truth profound.

What rests at the core: 
love, compassion, wisdom, 
and giving as we are able. 
For me, the true message 
for us to gain.
Welcome arms open to all, 
each in their own spirit found.
May our oneness be proclaimed, 
at this, our blessed table. 

Blessings,
Janis

News From The Book Page

Holiday Greetings to all,

My mind and body have been moving in different directions these days as I try to get ready for holiday gatherings as well as launch a book. The pre-orders are going well, and I look forward to mailing each one on January 2, 2024—a lovely way to start a new year! Thank you to all who have pre-ordered. There is still time to do so: www.janisdehler.com/shop.

What I would like to share with you today comes as a reminder to my Twin Cities area friends and family to set your calendars for January 11 and join me at The University of St. Catherine, Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality, for a conversation with Mari Ann Graham, Director of the Masters in Social Work Program, who will interview me regarding my book and paintings, One World: A Journey of Becoming. I am curious to hear her questions. What direction will she go? I hope you are curious as well and join me for an evening of conversation, refreshments, a book signing, and art. The following link will take you to your free registration or $16 with the pre-order of a book.

https://www.wisdomwayscenter.org/events-calendar/book-launch-one-world-a-journey-to-becoming-with-janis-dehler

Stay tuned next Wednesday for more information about my book launch event north of the Twin Cities on January 14. My goodness, this is fun!

Now, off to take all the groceries I bought yesterday and make a raspberry pie, a squash lasagna, wild rice soup, wrap more presents, arrange some flowers…..

Bye for now! May your days be Merry…

Book Launch and Pre-Order

WordPress friends and family,

I am excited to announce that it is time to pre-order your copy of: One World: A Journey of Becoming, a book of original poetry and art that follows the events of the worldwide pandemic to current events of the day.

“…Janis’ deeply inspiring poetry, prose, and art are worth savoring. Janis creates from the heart, and this will touch your very soul.”

Mari Ann Graham, Director MSW Program, The University of St. Catherine

LEARN MORE about the book: https://janisdehler.com/river-spirit-books

Find an event to attend: https://janisdehler.com/events

Pre-order a book now to recieve by January 7, 2007: https://janisdehler.com/shop US customerts receive bonus gifts: a One World art and poetry bookmark and greeting card. My apologies to international orders through The Great British Bookshop. I won’t be able to accommodate the shipping of pre-order gifts.

It was rocky at times as I attempted to bring this inspiration into reality. Deaths, a stroke, a closing of my husbands place of business started by others 70 years ago, war, and tumultuous world events have been the back drop as I worked to stay the course and get it done.

It is a joy to hold the book in my hands. To flip the pages. To witness the beauty that was offered by those hired to help and guide me along the way.

My hope is for the reader to find a place to rest within the words and the visual art spaces; to drift into the heart space to ponder, finding a sense of renewal and gratitude, while experiencing the common ground we walk together in our one world.

Peace, Janis

Having the Time of Our Life


Time ticks away,

like a stopwatch,

tick, tick, tick— 

until the end is made clear.

Precious like the gold watch,

marking the end of a career,

or possibly a sturdy Timex 

that does the job well,

without a thought or a care.

The beat of time is steady,

as it ticks on in our awe,

or with our fear, marking grief 

for our loss before it is near.

It is said, “Time marches on.”

The body knows this to be true,

while spirit dances free,

released from the beat, 

the measured cadence,

of tick, tock, tick.

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”

Albert Einstein

“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.”

Charles Schultz

“What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know.”

St. Augustine

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