In that moment

April 22, 2024 Sharon Jacobson

In that moment

In that moment it all changed.
It started with something simple.
All I did was open my office door.
I opened it, that was it
and then this pain shot down my right leg
and then nothing -
nothing but numbness.
In that moment, it all changed.
I had no feeling in my right side
from my waist down.
My right foot flopped like a rag doll.
I did not know where my leg was anymore.
I could not walk without fear of falling.
I could not drive.
I could not even put my foot in my shoes.
In that moment, it all changed.
It wasn’t just the physical, it was everything else.
My so called friends disappeared.
i acquired a disability
and went from being able bodied to disabled
and learned how to fight for my rights
and to be treated with the same dignity and respect as before.
In that moment, it all changed.
I lost things like feelings, friends, and freedom
but I gained things.
I gained a deeper relationship with the Ultimate.
I began walking in faith,
not just spiritually but physically.
I gained a new spiritual vision, and gifts
which is why you are even reading this.
I gained a wisdom and a voice
that I could only have gained because of what I had lost.
I gained witness to what unconditional love feels like.
I had it before with Zoe,
but with all the changes to my body, mind and soul
she has loved me.
She loves me no more or less
because of what happened
but because she loves me.
In that moment, it all changed,
just because I opened a door.
It was just a door, but what it opened
were doors to so many opportunities
so many gifts,
so many journeys,
and it is still opening doors in my life.
In that moment, in that very moment,
it all changed, and I am grateful for that moment
and everything which has happened since.

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It Is Good

March 18, 2024 Sharon Jacobson

It is Good

I am always amazed at the wisdom of my elders,
especially as I age myself.
My Bubby used to advise me to
look for the good in every situation;
especially in the challenging of times.
There have been things I have been through
which may be seen as horrible,
but in the midst of it all,
I have seen the blessings and
the presence of the Ultimate.
In the midst of it I can reflect and say
it is good.
It is where my faith leads me
so that in the midst of illnesses
I can say it is good.
in the midst of grieving,
it is good.
in the midst of the pain,
it is is good.
It may not feel good,
It may not be what I wanted,
but the one who created me,
sustains me
and nurtures me
knows what my Bubby taught me to know
that in all of it is a blessing
and a space where I can say
it is good.

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Moist Heart

January 29, 2024 Sharon Jacobson

Moist Heart

You have a moist heart,
this woman at the First Nations center said.
It has been years
since she told me my tears
watered my heart and soul.
She said your moist heart
keeps you humble and fertile
so you may keep birthing.
I have not always understood what she meant
but on those days when the pain I witness
or even hear about makes me cry
I remember all this is to keep me with
a moist heart.
What moistens your heart?
Do you even allow yourself to have
a moist heart?
Do you allow yourself to feel the pain and suffering
in this world and
and have a good cry?
What if we moistened our hearts
and used this moistness
to fertilize the world?

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Bless Them

October 9, 2023 Sharon Jacobson

Bless Them

Every morning I write in my gratitude journal
and I give thanks for at least 5 things in my life
I am grateful for/
However, this morning, it dawned on me,
that I never ask for those people, places and things
to be blessed.
There are so many ways and situations,
that my life has taught me wisdom.
My wisdom has come through the good times and the bad,
my wins and my losses,
my illnesses,
that which has bought me joy
and that which has reduced me to tears.
Everything and everyone
I have met on my journey
has helped me to understand myself
and life.
I have been blessed with the opportunity
to sit at the table of the included and the excluded,
the friend and the adversary,
and with my parents and those who call me mom.
So now I begin a new habit of not only giving thanks each day,
but asking the Ultimate
to bless them
for their part in my journey.

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Finding Wisdom

August 8, 2022 Sharon Jacobson

Finding Wisdom

I remember when I was young
there would be these picture puzzles
where you had to find certain things.
A friend of mine still plays them,
but now on their computer,
where they look for hidden objects
and try to find them in a certain amount of time.
Isn’t that how many of life’s wisdoms come to us,
as objects hidden right in front of us,
waiting for us to discover it.
Wisdom rarely just walks up to us and says
here i am,
your wisdom for the day,
rather we receive it
in the most unexpected of ways
and places
and the most unexpected of people.

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See the Blessings

January 31, 2022 Sharon Jacobson

See the Blessings

I love Bubby wisdom,
at least that is what I call it.
It is those pearls of wisdom,
left to me by my Bubby,
who passed over decades ago.
She would say Sara Bella,
my Hebrew name,
when you can see the good
in a bad situation,
then you know you will be ok.
She would remind me to always
look for the good
in all situations.
No matter what it was,
I was to look for the good.
So as I have lost so many people
from my life,
I have learned to remember
I have one more person
looking out for me from above.
The blessings are there,
in the midst of all situations.
Sometimes it is in the midst of them
that we find the blessings and goodness.
If it were not for injuring my back,
I would never have met so many people
who also use wheelchairs
and see me as someone who can relate to them.
If it weren’t for the storms,
I would not have the experience
of sailing through them.
It is not about the challenges
it is about how we journey through them.
I am grateful for the challenges in my life
they have helped me
grow, evolve, and transform.
They are what has helped me
to see the blessings
each and every day of my life.

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Wisdom

January 5, 2022 Sharon Jacobson

Wisdom

As I look back on my life,
I realize it is filled with teachers.
Teachers who have blessed me with wisdom.
They have blessed with a precious gift
wisdom.
They have taught me to have reverence
for my life
and for the life of all of creation.
Some of those teachers
have been people,
others have been situations,
experiences, and illnesses.
Wisdom has come during my
seasons of health and illness,
times of grieving and of celebration, and
every moment of our lives.
As I move through each day,
I am mindful of the teachers
that have filled and continue to fill
my life with wisdom

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Just for Me

May 21, 2019 Sharon Jacobson

It was one of those days,
when I just wanted to cry,
when everything seemed
harder than it should be.
It was one of those days
when nothing seemed
to fall into place and
things and people were dying.
Then I was reminded that
I was created for a purpose.

So this morning I am working
on remembering that
the world was created just for me.
That all that is happening
is just for me.
The challenges I am going through
are just for me.
Everything God is bringing me through
is just for me.

It is to help me
grow and evolve.
It is to help me
be more patient and understanding.
It is to help me
see the Divine in all of life.
It is to help me remember
it is just for me.

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Drop In Center

March 25, 2019 Sharon Jacobson

It is always nice
in the case of an emergency
to have a drop-in center.
What if we were our own
drop-in center.
What if we took quiet times
and listened to the wisdom
in the silence.
What if in the silence we heard
the wisdom of the Infinite
What if in this space we gained insights
we could not receive in the
noise of our lives.

What if we thought about quiet
as us saying hello and welcoming
wisdom and understanding to
just drop in.
Would our drop-in center
be open more often?

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Wisdom

November 19, 2018 Sharon Jacobson

How do I know what I know
I know because others taught me.

I learned from
the people I have met
those who have loved me
and those who have not.

I learned from the
cats, dogs, hamsters,
and other animals
which have come into my life.

I learned from those
who strove to teach me
and those who did not

I learned from those who
provided opportunities
to grow,
to experience
to appreciate
and to honor.

I learned from those
who were hateful
hurtful,
and harmful

In all this I found
wisdom;
that priceless gift
which has blessed me.
So today I bless those
who have shown me wisdom.
I bless those who have helped me
deepen my relationship
with the world
I bless all who have brought me wisdom

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Wisdom from a Hopi Elder

August 7, 2017 Sharon Jacobson

t never ceases to fascinate and inspire me to read the wisdom of those on different, but similar paths to mine. Huston Smith, in his book A Seat at the Table, shared this wisdom from a Hopi Elder. These questions challenge us to critically reflect on our lives and our vision for the world. May we each reflect on these questions this week.

"You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.
And there are things to be considered:
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?

Enlightenment

November 12, 2013 Sharon Jacobson

Italo Calvino said: The more enlightened our houses are, the more their walls ooze ghosts.” So what enables us to become enlightened and why, or does this, create an oozing of ghosts? To become enlightened is to develop the ability to give spiritual or intellectual insight to self, and some would say to others. Being enlightened is about being present. it is about developing the spiritual practice of releasing our attachment to the material world and all things which seek to cling to us or to which we seek to cling. It is about becoming in tune with all human experience, which enables one to understand our connection to all of life and humanity.

Perhaps that is why this image was selected to go with this quote. One can look at this house and see it as empty and free of anything which might challenge us to become attached materialistically. At the same time, one can look at this house and see life being restored, an air conditioner, fresh air circulating through, rugs to be laid out. Whichever way we choose to look at this house and experience it is about us. We are free to determine our own lives and our own reality. This image is nothing more then an image. What we see in it and how we experience it can affect our understanding of reality. Like with anything else in life, we can experience things in a way that cause our understanding of reality to expand and contract. It is like breathing, our lungs expand and contract as we inhale and exhale.

Temporary and Permanent Residency

August 13, 2012 Sharon Jacobson

A friend of ours is interviewing for a job in another state. As she has talked about the idea of moving, she has thought about taking up a temporary residence somewhere until she can decide where and in what neighborhood she wants to live in. As I have listened to the stories of those whose homes were lost during Hurricane Katrina, there was a clear sense that where I am at right now is a temporary situation, but soon I will be moving back to or into permanent housing again. When it comes to where we live, most of us have a clear sense of when the place is our temporary and or permanent residence. So why is that some of us have trouble doing that with our feelings.

You are the answer to your prayer!

May 29, 2012 Sharon Jacobson

Recently I read someone’s blog where they spoke about how they were waiting for God to hear and answer their prayers. As I read it, I had this image of God as a virtual assistant. Then I had this kind of comedic conversation going on in my head. “God, thank you for checking in this morning. Listen, this is what I need you to do for me. I need you to find a job for the people on this list, heal the people on this list, bless the people on this list, and in your spare time, can you end world hunger, restore world peace, dismantle the systems of inequality, and help it to be on earth as it is in heaven

Wait!

August 2, 2011 Sharon Jacobson

It is no secret, to those of you who read my reflections on a regular basis, that I am a Chopped fan. I am not sure I have missed an episode since it first aired. I have learned a lot about cooking from watching the show in terms of techniques and flavor profiles and combinations. However, one of the recent episodes moved me to tears and touched me spiritually in a way that I was not expecting. It all happened with a single word. WAIT! This episode, like a few of the others, was a redemption battle between four chefs who had come in second in their initial competitions. I remember each of them well. However, from the beginning, I had my two favorites Yohanna and Lance. I had remembered them from their initial appearances because of their humility, their grace, and their creativity.

James Taylor, The Beatles, and Beethoven

February 1, 2011 Sharon Jacobson

Normally, sometime on Monday, I sit down and write my Inspiritual Reflection for the week. That was the plan for this week as well. however, a few things had happened that were weighing heavy in my spirit and I was praying my way through, I found myself hearing the words of James Taylor singing : ”When your down and troubled And you need a helping hand And nothing, whoa nothing is going right. Close your eyes and think of me And soon I will be there To brighten up even your darkest nights. You just call out my name, And you know where ever I am I'll come running, oh yeah baby To see you again. Winter, spring, summer, or fall, All you have to do is call And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah. You've got a friend.”

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