MONTHLY MESSAGE from TRACY, KATE & MEG

August Message - The Fullness of Summer

As you enter into the fullness of the summer season you have hopefully had some time for rest, relaxation and renewal of your body, mind and spirit. If you live in our area of the country that experiences the full range of seasons, this is the season to relish in the radiance of the morning sunrises, to soak in the warmth of the long summer days and to linger in the spectacular elegance of the late summer sunsets. There is something about August in Minnesota that calls us to slow down and be present to the fullness and beauty of the moment, with a hint of awareness that this season will pass into the next with the fall of the first leaf.

The experience of fullness is really the gift of life lived in awareness and presence. In every moment and in every experience there is the possibility of touching the beauty, radiance, warmth and elegance of full-hearted presence. But so many of us live in a feeling of emptiness, wanting, or not-enoughness?yearning for something in the future or the past?worrying about what might be or lamenting about what might have been?searching and grasping for that object, person, achievement or experience that will satisfy our wanting. Our surface minds are always busy creating stories about our lives that leave us feeling empty and alone.

But if you attend to life from a deeper place in your heart, you will find that in each experience of life there is an invitation to the fullness of the present moment. You will notice the warmth of the sun, the smell of flowers, the smiles of children, the sounds of laughter, the touch of a loved one, the taste of a favorite food, the kindness of a stranger. You will also find an ability to be present and open-hearted with yourself and with others in the suffering, disappointment, sorrow and struggle that are often a part of our human experience. Yet if you can be fully present from your heart, even in the struggle, you will be able to hold onto a feeling of fullness and connection with yourself, with others, and with all that is.

These are the moments of fullness that define us as human beings and that connect us with the spiritual truth of who we are. Trappist monk and theologian Thomas Merton, following a full-hearted experience of presence, wrote the following in his journal: "I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God himself became incarnate . . . If only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun."

We wish you moments of great presence and fullness in this and in all seasons. May you see the sun shining in you, in others and in the world!

Blessings from the Three Sisters,
Tracy, Kate and Meg

Visit our website at www.threesisterspublishing.com  for programs and products that support and inspire. For spiritual-emotional counseling and coaching, visit New Directions Counseling & Training at www.newdirectionsct.com.