Category Archives: Sj’s Musings

Rumi on Steroids

2 Replies

Okay, please know that I am NOT saying that *Rumi took steroids.

I have never met Rumi.

He died a long time ago.

I don’t even know if people took steroids then.

But . . . I just read a poem of his that is much longer than the short sayings that are often posted in social media. And I thought, “Wow! Rumi on steroids! Go Rumi go!”

And then I realized, “Wow! This relates to a conversation I just had yesterday with neighbors. And to a discussion at one of the Trust Train Bookclubs I attended.”

Rumi lived in 1207 to 1273, y’all. And yet what he wrote so long ago is still relevant today.

Thank you Rumi for being You.

Thank you for taking the time to write down what came to you.

And thank you to all of YOU who are taking the time to read this now.

Be with this.

Blessings to YOU as you live your day as the SHINING STAR that you are. <3

**The Shepherd’s Prayer

Moses saw a shepherd on the way, crying, “O Lord Who choosest as Thou wilt,

Where art Thou, that I may serve Thee and sew Thy shoon and comb Thy hair?

That I may wash Thy clothes and kill Thy lice and bring milk to Thee, O Worshipful One!

That I may kiss Thy little hand and rub Thy little feet and sweep Thy little room at bed-time.”

On hearing these foolish words, Moses said, “Man, to whom are you speaking?


What babble! What blasphemy and raving! Stuff some cotton into your mouth!

Truly the friendship of a fool is enmity: the High God is not in want of suchlike service.”

The Shepherd rent his garment, heaved a sigh, and took his way to the wilderness.

Then came to Moses a revelation: “Thou has parted My servant from Me.

Wert thou sent as a prophet to unite, or wert thou sent to sever?

I have bestowed on every one a particular mode of worship,

I have given every one a peculiar form of expression.

The idiom of Hindustan is excellent for Hindus; the idiom of Sind is excellent for people of Sind.

“I look not at tongue and speech, I look at the spirit and the inward feeling.

I look into the heart to see whether it be lowly, though the words uttered be not lowly.

Enough of phrases and conceits and metaphors! I want burning, burning: become familiar with that burning!

Light up a fire of love in thy soul, burn all thought and expression away!

O Moses, they that know the conventions are of one sort, they whose souls burn are of another.”

The religion of love is apart from all religions. The lovers of God have no religion but God alone.

May we ALL Light up a FIRE of LOVE in OUR SOUL and burn, burn, burn. <3

* In case you’ve never heard of Rumi, CLICK HERE to go to his Wikipedia page.

** I read this poem in a cool book I found at the Friends of the Lihue Library’s June book sale called The Mystic in Love: a treasury of world mystical poetry edited by Shelley Gross. © 1966.

Pedrata & Carved Bird

We Meet Who We’re Meant to Meet

2 Replies

Yes, we meet who we’re meant to meet exactly WHEN we’re meant to.

The Good.

The Bad.

And the Ugly.

And as we become more and more aware that We Are All One, we can meet each and every experience with Love.

Really, Sj????

Yes, really.

But so many people are acting so hatefully these days.

Love them anyway.

Even as you love yourself.

Why? Surely they don’t deserve it.

EVERYONE deserves to be loved. Everyone.

Especially those who are behaving so unkindly.

What the…???

Think about it.

If someone is behaving so unkindly, do you think they love themselves?

Treat themselves with kindness?

Most probably not.

And acting out as they are, they are actually demonstrating OUR shared fears. Of the unknown. Of change.

Even if they don’t realize it.

So when you meet that seemingly random person on the street, on the internet, or even in the press, please know that BOTH of your Souls have organized that “chance” meeting. For the smile you share, the LOVE you embody, may be the ONLY act of kindness that person experiences on that day.

xoxox Sj out xoxox

(But PLEASE Please please remove yourself from ANY situation that makes you feel uncomfortable. You can love that person–or thing OR experience–from a safe distance. ;-)

Pedrata with Smiley Face Tree

Pedrata with Smiley Face Tree

Sj & Pedrata black & white

Celebrating My Life-long Companion

2 Replies

Madame Intuition.

She’s been with me every step of the way.

Sometimes silent and hiding in the shadows.

Sometimes whispering at my ear.

And sometimes—JUMPING UP and DOWN right in front of my NOSE!

Whether I’m paying attention or not, she’s there.

Intuition. Our ever-present friend and guide.

xoxox Sj xoxox

Pedrata kicking back at Milolii

Epiphanies

3 Replies

A friend of mine recently told me that she especially enjoys reading about my epiphanies.

Hmmm, epiphanies.

What are they?

For me, they’re those moments

when in a blink of an eye,

your life changes.

For in that split second

you suddenly just KNOW something that you didn’t before.

And in the knowing, you wonder,

How could I not have known?

Because you couldn’t.

Up until that moment,

you simply could not.

Give us an example, Sj! I hear you say.

Okay, I shall.

In the past month, I was driving my van Pegasus (aka Pegi) when ALL OF A SUDDEN I just KNEW that I could ENJOY the moment. THAT moment. Relax INTO it. BE in that moment.

I didn’t need to wait until my work was finished. Or until I’d paid all my bills. Or even until I’d written another book. But in THAT moment, while driving my van along some country road, I could simply relax. Be.

No matter what was going on.

Around me.

Within me.

In any moment, I can simply BE.

Even in the midst of tragedy, Sj?

Yes, even in the midst of tragedy.

In times of despair?

Yes, even in times of despair.

For every moment is a gift.

Each breath is

an act of grace.

And for that, I am extremely thankful.

Why am I Where I am?

6 Replies

Why am I Where I am?

I have no idea.

And yet—I am.

So while I’m here,

I shall trust.

Trust—that I can only be where I am.

Trust—because I know that my soul would never steer me wrong.

Trust—because of my knowing.

A knowing that has been with me my entire life.

A knowing that I sometimes chose to ignore.

Looking the other way.

Convincing myself that I was doing the right thing.

All—in order to be a good girl.

Make my parents proud.

Fit in.

But—I’ve never fit in.

Ever.

So—when that little tap on my heart

shoved me out the door of my life—

I trusted.

Trusted—that all would be well.

Trusted—that I could never really make a mistake.

Not when I’m following my heart.

Not when I’m trusting.

Why am I where I am?

I have no idea.

But I know—that I am.

Sj Hylton LeHoven

DVD cover of the Italian film "Life is Beautiful"

Life IS Beautiful

4 Replies

Yes, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.

Last night I re-watched the award-winning Italian film “Life is Beautiful.”

This time I didn’t weep uncontrollably.

Yes, it’s still sad, but whatever in me it triggered has moved on.

And this morning while reflecting on that tragic but powerful tale, it came to me:

Life can be like that.

We can choose HOW we focus on experiences.

As a victim.

Or as in a game.

With a playful attitude.

Or not.

The horror is still present,

but the change of focus

allows Grace to arrive.

God’s Grace.

A Grace which gives us a Strength

previously

unimaginable.

Wishing you ALL a Happy Thanksgiving as you too reflect on how Grace

has played a role in YOUR life.

✫ Mahalo Ke Akua ✫

Are You Self Conscious?

4 Replies

When a person is self-conscious, they’re anything BUT Self conscious, i.e. Self aware.

This just came to me while reading the introduction to Elliott Erwitt’s book of photography, “To The Dogs.”

He writes: “It’s not really that dogs are never self-conscious. In fact, a cruel person, or a photographer, can easily embarrass them. But they are usually unaffected because of something like innocence, or lack of worldly experience. Perhaps that’s why they seem to have such a natural bond with children. Maybe they still have some fundamental values that haven’t been corrupted by society.”

And maybe those dogs who ARE self-conscious (when being embarrassed by a cruel person) are actually being self aware, or at least aware of a human self who is unaware.

Wherever this musing leads, it’s dogs who are the real leaders for they continuously model how to love unconditionally.

Haven’t seen Erwitt’s book of photography? Ask a dog. Chances are she or he has a copy.

My First Football Game . . . just recovered : )

2 Replies

My First Football Game

by Susan Hylton

(written circa 1975)

     Shall I tell you about the very first football game I ever saw? Of course I didn’t see it very well because Harry couldn’t afford very good seats. In fact, the seats we got were so far back we found it better to sit on a very sturdy branch that grew over the edge of the stadium . . . and even this was crowded. I was constantly moving over to make room for others up there:  six crows and three red-headed woodpeckers.

I must admit that Harry did everything possible for my comfort. We had popcorn, peanuts, hot dogs, ice cream bars. Best of all, Harry promised to pay me back the very next day . . .

Harry taught me the idea of the game. A man has to carry the football from one end of the field to the other. Isn’t that a perfectly silly thing to make a game out off? . . . But there they were . . . full-grown men running, falling, kicking all over the place just to have the ball for a few seconds . . . Why, they could have saved their money so each player had one.

My biggest confusion came when I tried to tell our team from the enemy team. Harry said that our team was the one with the football. But pretty soon the other team had the ball, and I was confused again.

One time I looked down and there was a player carrying a brass drum instead of a football. I asked Harry about it and he said it was the half. Well, it certainly looked like a whole drum to me . . . then it was the musicians’ turn to play. Of course they didn’t play football . . . they played music . . . I guess someone had kicked the football over the fence because all the players were gone quite a while looking for it. But pretty soon they found it, and the players came whooping back again.

Harry explained to me about the men with striped shirts. They seemed to be afraid of the football and just stood off to one side and played their own little game – whistle blowing. Every time a player fell down with the ball, these funny little men blew their whistles like mad and made crazy little motions with their arms. Harry said it was all part of the game.

I finally got the game figured out. I think it goes this way. Each player has a number on his back. If player number 67 catches the ball, his team scores 67 points; while if player number 88 catches the ball, his team scores 88 points. Somehow this doesn’t seem fair to players with little numbers like 13 and 15, does it? . . . It was an exciting game all the way. The final score was five thousand, nine hundred and thirty-five to zero.

Added some punctuation for clarity but the occasional . . . was part of the original.

recovered by sjhl 5/21/17 : )

A day in the life . . .

9 Replies

. . . of a substitute teacher.

What happened?

Watch and find out. <3

Sj TV: Sj from the Heart

8 Replies

My HEART has recently been waving its tiny little hand

and prompting me to speak from it.

So I have . . .

If your heart has a matching antenna, cool. It’s party time as hearts speak to hearts.

If not, cool. This channel ain’t for you.

<3