Because I Love You

January 6, 2025 Sharon Jacobson

Because I Love You

Because I love you,
is what I say to my wife,
to my friends
and to all those I truly love
when I want them to know
that our relationship is about unity.
It is about my honoring all they are feeling.
Because I love you,
I want to share the joyous moments in your life,
but I also want to stand by you in your moments of fear,
of worry, and the moments you just want to cry.
Because I love you,
I stand by you
in all life brings us
and guides us through.
I am with you
on the days you are healthy
and on those you are not.
Because I love you,
I know when you need
that little something
that warms your heart and soul.
Because I love you,
I work to understand you
and honor all your feelings.
Because I love you,
I face everything with you we rise.
The intimacy we share,
is because we honor each other
and journey with each other.
I know you do this because
you love me and
I am present
because I love you.

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Smile

August 13, 2024 Sharon Jacobson

Smile

Why do you smile?
As if there is something wrong with smiling.
The reality is I smile
because after 68 years of living,
exploring,
learning,
growing,
and evolving,
I have learned this deep dark secret,
and the answer to so many prayers.
It is simple,
everything I need to know,
everything I have ever needed
is and has always been
within me.
I am the answer to my prayers
and you are to yours,
Let’s spend more time
looking within and
discovering the parts of who we are
we did not know were there
and then just sit back and
smile.

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Beginning with the Toilet

July 3, 2023 Sharon Jacobson

Beginning with the Toilet

That’s right
the toilet.
it is probably one of those moments
when the last thing you think about
is the Divine.
I didn’t until the day I could not pee.
then I began to see what a gift it is
to have one and to use it.
I began by giving thanks for the toilet
and the people who designed it,
created it,
manufacture it, and
install it.
then I realized without water
I could not flush it
and I began giving thanks for the water system
and all those involved
in making it what it is today in our country.
It's amazing how many people and things
we begin to be grateful for
when we look at the everday
with new eyes and see
the Divine in everyday moments.
I began with the toilet
what everyday routine might you begin with.

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difficult Teachers

June 14, 2023 Sharon Jacobson

Difficult Teachers

I would love to say
all my teachers have been amazing
and a pleasure to work with.
I can’t.
Some of the most amazing teachers
have been difficult people to work with
and to learn from.
However, often times they are the ones
who teach me the most valuable
and hardest to learn lessons.
Those lessons I need to learn,
but do not want to learn.
Those lessons that require me
to explore my beliefs, experiences and expectations.
Those lessons that challenge me to become aware,
to take responsibility for my reactions,
forgive myself and others
and evolve to a space of peace and joy.
Often we find out we are their teachers as well.
We not only learn from them,
but teach them in how we work with them.
We are each teachers in peoples lives
and others are teachers in ours.
Sometimes we are the easy ones
and sometimes we are not.

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In the Midst

May 8, 2023 Sharon Jacobson

In the Midst

It is easy to see the presence of the Divine
when one is intentionally looking
or in one of those clearly spiritual moments.
However, what about in the everyday?
What about when you are
in the midst
of just living?
Like when you are stuck in traffic,
or dealing with an angry customer,
or someone in your family is upset,
or you are bored
confused,
or tired.
What keeps us from seeing what we see
when we see it?
Is it because we do not see or hear or understand
the way the Divine does?
Did you feel the presence as you breathed?
How about when you turned the water on
or brushed your teeth,
or washed your hands,
or just smiled at you?
What keeps us from sensing the presence of the Ultimate
in that which we see,
hear,
taste,
feel?
When we are in the midst of life,
may we remember
we are in the midst of the Ultimate.

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Compliments, Criticism, and Encouragement

January 9, 2023 Sharon Jacobson

Compliments, Criticism, and Encouragement

A spiritual director once taught me
to listen to how my body responds
to compliments and criticisms.
I became aware that it was not just my heart
that responded,
but my whole being.
Criticisms, especially when not constructive,
make my body tighten, cringe, and
want to become invisible.
Compliments, even criticisms when presented with love,
make my body relax and loosen
and sometimes feel like it is floating.
However, what I realized one day was that it was
words of encouragement
which made my body feel stronger
and more engaged
as if it were ready to take on the world.
If my body responds to the words of others,
how does it respond to my own thoughts and words.
How does it respond to my compliments, criticisms and words of encouragement?
How does your body respond?
What if we change the way we spoke to ourselves and others,
to all of humanity,
including animals and nature?
Healing ourselves and others,
begins by changing the way we think,
the words we speak,
and the manner in which we speak them.
May we be aware of the power we possess
to heal and harm
through out compliments, criticisms and words of encouragment

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Walking

November 7, 2022 Sharon Jacobson

Walking

Keep walking,
just one step at a time.
So often in my journey
I have stopped walking out of fear
instead of walking in faith.
We may not know what is at the end of the journey
or even what is ahead of us,
but that is when we have to decide to keep walking
Every step we take is about faith.
It is about remembering that the source
that bought us this far,
is the source that will bring us to our destination.
Keep walking.
Just one step at a time,
consistently walking in faith
and never walking in fear.
We just keep walking
knowing the best is yet to come.

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Peace Be Still

January 11, 2022 Sharon Jacobson

Peace Be Still

I remember reading the story
of Jesus and the disciples,
where in the midst of the storm
he looks at the storm and says
peace be still.
There are times in my life
when I am in the midst of a storm,
some worse then others,
and I can fill the shift in energy,
as if there is a source within me that is saying
peace be still.
Other times I can see the storms all around me
but the energy surrounding my life
is peaceful and calm.
it is like there is a protective force around me
which has said peace be still.
It makes me wonder how many times
have I felt peace in my life
and not been aware of the storms
I have been protected from.
How differently might I move
through life if I was conscious
of the force in my life which constantly whispered
peace be still
and thus there was peace.

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We Care

December 20, 2021 Sharon Jacobson

We Care

It’s the end of a long day
and I was sitting at my computer exhausted
after another 16 hour day
when the surprise came.
An unexpected message from someone
asking me how I was.
It dawned on me
how authentic her message sounded.
It wasn’t like the how are you
that you hear as somebody walks past you
before you can even answer.
It was an authentic how are you
followed by this level of awareness.
I know this is a stressful and hectic time for you
I noticed you are still up
which means you are probably still working
so I wanted to see how you were
and let you know you are in my prayers.
There is something powerful
when you know that people care
and that they really want to know
how you are.
It’s that real and powerful
how are you,
not the one that
feels like you are asking
to be polite
but don’t have the time
or the intention to really listen.
During these times,
which are stressful for all,
may we remember to let people know that
we care.

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My Fingers

December 4, 2020 Sharon Jacobson

My Fingers

I sit at my desk for hours
typing away,
my fingers seem to be at work
from the moment I get up
to the moment I retire
and then some.
Yet I am not sure
I have ever stopped and given thanks
for my fingers.
They have typed countless words,
Helped me pick things up,
Hold things like cups, bowls, and silverware
I have carried things with them,
played games with them,
texted with them
written with them,
run them through my fingers
massaged others,
intertwined them with others
and the list goes on.
Now that I am slowly learning
to sign I use them to communicate with others
My fingers
Why have I not ever thought
to give thanks
for my fingers

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More than a Routine

August 9, 2018 Sharon Jacobson

I generally tell those I journey with that I can tell a lot about their lives by the state of their apartment. Esther de Waal said something similar in her book The Way of Simplicity. She wrote, “An old monastic saying goes that you can tell how a man prays by the way in which he sweeps the cloister.” It made me realize that it is not just how cluttered or uncluttered your living space is, but the ways in which you go about the routine practices in your life like sweeping the floor.

If someone were to watch the way you perform a routine act in your home or office, what would they learn about you. It has made me wonder what others think of or learn about me by the way I do things. I would like to think people would think I was mindful and intentional, but I also know there are routines I am not as mindful and focused as others.

It is easier for me to be mindful and focused when I am cooking because I am constantly thinking, especially now, about what I am eating, where it has come from, what I am doing with it. I treat each of my ingredients with a sense of reverence. However, in all honesty, I have come to realize that I do not bring that same sense of reverence to everything I do, especially chores I have not enjoyed.

The Blind and the Elephant

August 28, 2017 Sharon Jacobson

There is a Buddhist story I love and would like to share with you this week. It is, as the title suggests, about a group of six blind men and an elephant. Whenever I think about practicing vision, this story reminds me how our vision is shaped by the perspective we are. It limits and shapes what we see and what we do not. I know I have shared this story before in the past, but some stories are worth sharing again.

Long ago six old men lived in a village in India. Each was born blind. The other villagers loved the old men and kept them away from harm. Since the blind men could not see the world for themselves, they had to imagine many of its wonders. They listened carefully to the stories told by travelers to learn what they could about life outside the village.

The men were curious about many of the stories they heard, but they were most curious about elephants. They were told that elephants could trample forests, carry huge burdens, and frighten young and old with their loud trumpet calls. But they also knew that the Rajah's daughter rode an elephant when she traveled in her father's kingdom. Would the Rajah let his daughter get near such a dangerous creature?

It’s pay attention time!

January 8, 2015 Sharon Jacobson

When I was pastoring, one of the least listened to parts of the service was the announcements. One of the young girls in the congregation came to talk to me about how disrespectful the adults were being. I asked her if she had any ideas on how to get the adults to pay attention and she said yes. The next Sunday, this powerful 7 year old got up in front of the congregation and loudly proclaimed, “It’s pay attention time!” The adults immediately paid attention and then she explained that announcements were not a time to talk to their neighbors, but a time to pay attention to the announcements. It has been years since she taught this lesson and took over that part of worship, but I still remember her telling everyone, “it’s pay attention time!”

Let’s Dance!

August 26, 2014 Sharon Jacobson

Faith, for some, is about the relationship they have with their Higher Power. Faith is about one’s level of awareness and attunement to the presence of the Higher Power in our everyday lives. So deepening one’s faith is like developing any relationship. That deep knowledge of what the Divine can do in and through our lives develops over time. It is about our constant interaction with our spiritual partner. Through our interactions we

Practicing faith, then, is like developing any relationship. You have to give it time and attention. We have opportunities to interact with the Divine in every aspect of our lives and with all of our senses.

The Brace for your Brokenness

August 19, 2014 Sharon Jacobson

Recently, I shared with someone that every step I take is in faith. They did not fully understand what I meant. Sometimes we hear people talk about walking in faith. For me, it is not just a spiritual faith walk, but also a physical faith walk. On October 15 2007, as I was opening my office door at the church I was pastoring at, I felt a pain shoot down my right leg, followed almost immediately by numbness and a sense of shock. I also found myself going why now God as within minutes, a special guest and his entourage arrived and I was bracing myself to figure out what was going on, how I was going to lead worship, and how I was going to manage to look like a calm, cool, collected leader in the midst of this storm that was suddenly and unexpectedly raging in my life. The words which kept floating through my spirit were peace, be still. Peace, be still. Through the grace of God and the support of my wife and good friends, my car and I got home safely.

We are Tools

March 25, 2014 Sharon Jacobson

One of the things I have learned through my studies on Toltec wisdom is that the way we see ourselves is not the way other people perceive us. As don Miguel Ruiz teaches, when we write in our minds the story of our lives, we are the main characters, and others are the supporting actors and actresses. In their stories, we are written in as the supporting roles. How they construct our character in their story may or may not be the way we construct or perceive ourselves. Rarely, are we fully aware of how others perceive us. Even if they share their perceptions with us, they are limited by their ability to communicate their perceptions of us.

When people speak to us, it is a reflection of what they are saying as the character they have created in their minds. How we respond to what others have to say about us is about us. It is this self-awareness of how we respond which can become a tool in our own spiritual healing and growth. What others say to us are just lines from their story. They only have the power to affect us to the extent we allow them to do so.

What is in your bucket?

March 10, 2014 Sharon Jacobson

This morning a colleague of mine, Kitty Wolfsong, and I were having a conversation about hearing and receiving messages. I shared with her a story that I had heard Louse Hay tell about how different people can tell the same story, and you will hear it differently from each person depending on how they tell it. She shared with me her story about the bucket theory. She shared, “we each put our drops in the bucket, and who knows what will be the drop that causes the bucket to overflow (with love).” Her story reminded me a fable another colleague of mine, Jack Stephens, told in his book Soul Self: Hot to tame your mind, uncover your blueprint, and live your soul purpose. So this week, I would like to share this fable as it is all about becoming aware of how we internalize other people’s beliefs and agree to them and how the process of releasing them begins with a single step in a different direction and some courage.

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.

The Blind Men and The Elephant

August 20, 2013 Sharon Jacobson

There is a Buddhist story I love and would like to share with you this week. It is, as the title suggests, about a group of six blind men and an elephant.

Making that Change

June 10, 2013 Sharon Jacobson

Last week, I ended by asking how we use our status in the world to create a more humane world. How do we, consciously or unconsciously, contribute to the inhumanity in the world? How do we try to avoid and deny responsibility for our place in creating a more humane world for all of humanity?

We have this tendency in our culture to blame people for not having achieved as much or done as well as others. We see things at an individual level and rarely look at the systemic forces that make it more difficult for some to achieve or have access to what seems within the grasp of others. Rather than be willing to critically look at these issues and the ways they are embedded within larger institutions and systems of injustice and inequality, people tend to try to get off the hook by denying and/or minimizing the situation or blaming the situation on the “victim.”

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