Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: light

  • LOVE Came Down at Christmas

    I am grateful John and I had a practice run at not being physically with Stacey and her family for Christmas in 2019.

    Last year we attended a Christmas Day potluck at Pine Island Cove with Michigan friends, Linda and Fred, who also winter here in Florida.

    This year, John and I share our day with all of you in our hearts.


    Our hearts are uplifted by the truth: “We isolate this year so that when we can meet again next year no one will be missing.”

    Today, our home-away-from-home may be empty of friends and family, but my heart is full of love for each of you!

    Our hearts are filled with memories!

    Our hearts are warmed by Christmases past.

    Our hearts are nourished with the true meaning of Christmas:

      That Mary and Joseph—Mary heavy with child—traveled through the countryside.

      She was at the time of giving birth to the child.

      They found shelter, simple shelter.

      And many beings experiencing, “The light has been born! Ah… The light is back!”

      It wasn’t me, it was more that my birth opened the doorway so that the Heavenly light—the Love, the remembrance of Love—could pour through.

      What was that star? Let us metaphorically call it an opening in the dark heavens where the remembrance of light and Love could pour through—pour through to where I lay as an infant, not to highlight me but to remind humans nothing is hopeless.

      Light IS.

      Love IS.

      And it is right here.

      And it was pointing at me, but it could be pointing at any of you.

      Here is the ground of love and light.

      And the earth sang, “Halleluiah!” not for my birth but for the remembrance: LIGHT IS, LOVE IS.*

    * Jeshua, channeled by Barbara Brodsky on Christmas Eve 2020, sharing some thoughts about what Christmas means to him and how we can carry the meaning of Christmas through to our times.

  • Giraffe Chair

    Yesterday while out riding my bike, I found this adorable giraffe chair in someone’s trash. The beauty was complelling, even with patches of dry rot. I pulled the chair out of the trash, moving it carefully to a place of safety until I could get John to bring the van and pick it up.

    The giraffe chair is now sitting in the TV room!



    As I am working on my birthday post for next week, my friend/teacher/colleague, Betty Lue Lieber posted this Loving Reminder:

    Affirmations:
    I choose to see what is real.
    I am open and willing to learn what is really there.
    I seek only the highest truth and see with the eyes of Love.
    Miracles occur when we see what is real.

    January 15, 2020 Loving Reminders- What Is Real! by Betty Lue Lieber

    See What Is Real!

    What do you see?
    We each see and hear what we want to see.
    We think the thoughts we have been taught.
    We hold the thoughts in our mind and perceive them.

    What do you see?
    I seek the truth, the Essence
    I clear my mind with forgiveness of all pre-judging (prejudice.).
    I choose to see what is real.

    What do you see?
    Are you willing to see?
    Do you open your minds to what is there?
    Are you caught in the beliefs of your tribe?

    When we see with the vision of the world around us, we see what they see.
    When we see with the eyes of the child, with wonder and curiosity, we see with openness.
    When we see what we can use to get something, we seek how to use others.
    When we see what we fear and criticize, we avoid and try to control.

    What can you learn?
    When you seek to learn, you must be open.
    When you seek to learn, you must listen.
    When you seek to learn, you must be willing.

    This new movie, Hidden Figures, is from my era of open willingness without media.
    I saw myself as a high school graduate and college student, with equal opportunity.
    This was my world, my loving home, my parenting, my exposure to emancipation.
    I was white and sheltered by innocence and seeing everyone as equal in value.

    I realize now how I was not raised with prejudice or fear.
    I see now how I saw a world clean of fear and doubt, hatred and criticism.
    I saw humanity as a large family of love and respect, open-mindedness and kindness.
    I recognize how I only saw the equality and beauty and unlimited abilities in all.

    What a blessing to know!
    What a beauty to see!
    What a wonder to learn!
    What a joy to be free!

    Let’s clear our minds to see what is real!
    Loving us all, everyone as One!
    Betty Lue

    The only mistake we ever make is when we forget to Love.

    Something is happening that calls for our most profound awareness and commitment: Some of the individuals most dedicated to love and light are making themselves ill over the conditions in our world. They are turning out their lights because of the darkness they see!

    I am not sure who put the beautiful hand-painted giraffe chair in the trash for me to find, but the signature on the back says it was painted by Erica J. Murray.

    I looked up the totem meaning of giraffe: Gentle Giraffe, with its long neck reaching into the heavens symbolizes the ability to see the future and obtain things that would normally be out of reach. When your life is chaotic, Giraffe reminds you to keep your head up and avoid getting entangled in needless arguments.

    Life is certainly chaotic.

    Let’s keep our heads up!

    Let’s keep our light shining in the world. That is the most wise and kind thing to do in the darkness.

    Thank you, Erica…. Thank you, Gentle Giraffe.

  • Absolute Truth

    My daughter is teaching a class at her church. The assignment was to identify something you know as absolute truth. It is an amazing experience to look at what you believe and why you believe what you believe.

    The absolute truth I came up with years ago was that life does not begin at birth or end at death. I was naïve about how much holding this truth central in my awareness would change my beliefs.

    Absolute truth is true across platforms. For example, the truth that light dispels darkness. We certainly experienced this truth standing in Mammoth Cave. All lights were turned off. We stood in pitch black before our guide lit one small match. It was incredible how much that tiny flame illuminated the space.

    “This too shall pass,” is another truth we talked about.

    You may appreciate watching the talk ‘How Do You Define Truth?’ put out by the C.S Lewis Institute. The Institute is a nonprofit organization designed to develop disciples who will articulate, defend and live their faith in Christ in personal and public life.

    The definition of truth given in this talk: A statement is true when it says what is is, or what is not is not. A statement is false when it says what is is not, or what is not is.

    Other comments about truth include: Reality supports the claim truth makes.

    Think for a moment about a thought like justice or love.

    I appreciated the talk. Opinions can be fair minded. Reasonable people can differ about their opinions.

    Truth is said to have three facets: Truth is descriptive; has meaning and application; and is prescriptive.

    This past week I sat with two other poets. We have been meeting to write and share. After about an hour of writing, the discussion that followed began to paint the illusion of distance between us. Watching the illusion of this distance expand, I spoke of what I was sensing.

    One of the women said, “I think what you are feeling is coming from me.” She went on to share the pain she has felt being ‘right-brained, living in a left-brained world.’ She described how she coped with the pressure of formal education by becoming a people-pleaser. She said she did whatever was necessary to gain approval.

    I could feel myself holding space. Almost breathlessly, I watched these two women I respect and love speak from their perspectives.

    As I sat holding space, I was aware of my own experience of not being allowed to attend high school because I was a female and married. John was a male and married, so he was allowed to attend.

    What is truth?

    That which cannot be argued with.

    May our opinions — even those justified by truth — be recognized as opinions and not be confused or claimed as absolute truth.

    One of the pages that came up when I searched for “life is interconnected and interdependent” was Exploring the Way Life Works: The Science of Biology, by Mahlon B. Hoagland, Bert Dodson, and Judith Hauck.

    May the illusion of distance between beings no longer be determined by the distance between heaven and hell: the 18 inches from head to heart.