Tag Archives: Memorial Day

WHAT MORE DOES EARTH HAVE TO SHOW US?

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Beloved,

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! This is the weekend that the lake comes fully alive. Yes, there have been some pontoon boats out on the lake already and one speed boat and a few kayaks (me, too). I had one beautiful day this week. When I get up in the morning, the water is usually so still that you can see the reflection in the water of all things. Usually, that calmness goes away quickly as the wind comes up and the day begins. This particular morning, the water was still calm after my prayers and meditation so I decided I would have a quickie breakfast and go out for a spin in my kayak. I had not done my exercise routine yet but decided to forego it for a trip around the lake. I always feel such a sigh of relief as I get into my kayak. It feels so freeing to be floating in the water (a kayak can sit in the water giving you the feeling of actually being IN the water rather than just on top).
After all the preparation, the water was still smooth. AS I went around the lake, I was noticing who has put their boats out, who has put out their ornaments on their decks or their furniture around the yard so they can sit and enjoy the water. As I went by the town beach, there were about 12 Canadian Geese on one end and a mother and father with 6 baby chicks (who were still yellow) on the other end. In a couple of days, they were on my beach and the chicks were a tan color.

There are still a lot of boats up on dry dock and many homes or cottages have not been prepared for the summer activity. After this weekend, most will be up and running and eagerly awaiting summertime and all of its activities. But for now, I am enjoying the pure bliss of the quiet and being alone on the lake. It is truly a meditation and I can be in my own world of nature. Even after I had gone all around the lake and was back on my own beach, I did not want to get out of the kayak so I allowed myself to just hang out and be blissful. Eventually, I came out and began planning on what I could do outside as the weather was still beautiful and the water was still smooth. I could hardly believe that the water was not rippling because that is a rarity. It turned out to be a day where the wind took a breather for the WHOLE day so I was able to get a lot of yard work done. To be truthful, I kept being drawn to go out on the water again because it was just so beautiful but my arm strength was being used to trim and pull the weeds and dandelions. When you live on the water, you still have a lot of work to do as you don’t just come here for a vacation without the responsibilities of it being your home.

Freedom is being alright with yourself and the world. A man named Michael Bernard Beckwith – The Rev is an inspiration for all of us, he takes me to the peaceful recognition of the magnificent life I have – no matter what appears to be happening. Watch and listen to a part of his album, Transcendance which is available through Amazon.

http://healthierliving.me/let-it-be-alright/

I am in awe of technology. There are so many things in this world that we are not aware of. Can you just imagine what is here and what is coming next? In my wildest dreams, I never conceived of all that I am seeing now. When I was child, we did not even have a telephone and the first TV I saw was in a store window where the owner would let us stay outside and watch and…..it was in black and white. It hardly seems possible what has been developed in my lifetime and what is yet to come. I need to stay young just so I can appreciate what humanity has to offer. Let us appreciate our freedom this weekend and what is yet to come for this magnificent planet. We are one species living on one planet, WE ARE ONE.

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/new-billboard-cleans-air-pollution/

For those of you who are interested in looking up check out EarthSky – meteor shower next week! Also a cute video of Dumbo the octopus!

On the night of May 23-24 – if predictions hold true – Earth might be sandblasted with debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR, resulting in a fine new meteor shower! THAT IS TONIGHT EVERYONE!

http://earthsky.org/earth/video-dumbo-octopus?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=91ad8b1f09-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-91ad8b1f09-393982933

I am in a state of AWE right now. What more does our planet Earth have to tell us and show us. How can I not believe in Miracles?

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend

—
Love and Light

Mary Grace

http://www.IAmMaryGrace.com
http://www.TheWoundedChalice.com
http://www.waleson5.com/marygrace.html

BALTIMORE ORIOLES / SPECIAL MOMENT OF REVELATION

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Beloved,

Happy Memorial Day weekend. This is truly a weekend of freedom and
although the weather here is not as warm or dry as I would like, it
is the getting together of family or celebrating or even having
an extra day off. I have been focusing so much on the powers of the
eclipses and all the possibilities that they are gifting us with that
I wanted to share a special moment that happened to me this morning.

I am not sure that I have mentioned the Baltimore Orioles that are
here for only three months. They are my favorite bird of all and
perhaps it is because they are scarce. Scarcity makes the heart
grow fonder. They usually arrive 2 weeks after the hummingbirds but
this year they arrived first and the hummingbird showed up a half
hour later. They have a special song that they only sing for about
two weeks as a mating ritual I would guess. It lifts my spirits and
stops me in my tracks when I hear it. Have you ever heard something
that does that for you. I even put in two screens so I could open
my windows to hear them. Again the weather did not cooperate as
much as I would have liked because of the cool temperatures and
the rain. The weather definitely made me stop more often to listen
to them when I did hear them.

Two weeks ago when they were installing both exterior doors in my
home, I had no choice in closing the house so I just hung around and
listened to them all day long. That was such a treasure because I
would ordinarily not take the time to do this. This construction
project gave me the perfect excuse. The following day, it was like a
symphony of them singing. In fact, I was wondering just how long
could they sing like that before going hoarse. I was in bliss.

Even bliss does not last long enough and that was the last day they
sang that special song. Baltimore Orioles usually feed on oranges,
sugar water or grape jelly that we can provide. Of course, they eat
bugs also but humans do not provide that. My birds (I call them that)
did not do well with oranges and with the sugar water, the feeders
would spill over each time a bird landed because it rocked the
feeder back and forth and then the feeders would leak and the
sugar water would kill my grass. The birds also thought that the
sugar water was coming from the bottom of the feeder because they
discovered it when it was dripping but had no idea how to access it.
I usually chuckled at them as they gyrated to try and get it.

This was all a process of elimination so I finally settled on grape
jelly. After some trials with different feeders or hanging dishes,
I finally bought some new ones that give a place to put oranges,
sugar water and grape jelly. Of course, my birds only want grape
jelly so I quickly stopped the other foods.

What happens to grape jelly when you have pouring rain beating on it?
It goes away quite quickly. Usually I can put less jelly and fill
more often in between the rain but this weather was not allowing
me to do this. The feeders have four indentations to put the jelly
in and four holes where they can access the sugar water underneath.
Well, guess what? I put the sugar water in but they couldn’t find
it? Once in a while their beak would miss and go in the hole but
they still did not realize they could access food that way. They
kept coming back to the feeders and then leaving disappointed.
I even put a small dot of jelly near the holes so they would miss and
put their beak in the hole. No such thing!!!

Please don’t laugh but I was even praying to God and the angels to
show them how to find the holes. It was a reminder to me that
I feed on the love energy when I see it but perhaps, there is
love energy just below what is visual. Am I like the birds? Do I
look further for spiritual food, can’t find it and all the time it
is just underneath what I can see. I then included myself in the
prayer that I be shown all the openings to love and to be loved.

Yesterday was a day of constant rain, no let up. The sugar water
in the hummingbird feeders needed to be changed so I went out in
the pouring rain, emptied them, washed them and refilled them with
fresh sugar water. I decided to wash the oriole feeders also
because their sugar water was not good any longer either. While I
was doing the hummingbird feeders I noticed an Oriole drinking from
its feeder so I decided to give it one more try. At least I would
feel like I had done everything possible to give them sustenance.
It didn’t work. I put my dripping jacket into the dryer.

This morning dawned dry so I went out even before I did my meditation
and prayers to put jelly in the Oriole feeders. During my prayers,
I could hear an Oriole doing a 5 note song and he did that several
times. I do not usually interrupt my prayers but I wanted to see
what the noise was about. Here I was standing at my bow window when
an Oriole flew to the window and landed on the hummingbird feeder.
I did not dare to even move a feather or he would have flown off. He
chirped a one note song a couple of times and then tried the hole
but his beak was just too big to get any sustenance. Mentally, I
kept telling him to go to the feeder I had just filled. He went to
it and tried twice to eat the jelly and then flew to a couple of
branches and kept trying to rub his beak as if he was trying to get
the jelly off.

It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps the storm had blown him in
to my yard and he was only used to getting sugar water so he was
unfamiliar with the texture of grape jelly. He chirped a couple of
times as he went from branch to branch and suddenly flew off. He
was not familiar with the feeder so he had no idea that what he
was seeking was just below the jelly and the opening was right
next to where he was.

I thanked him for allowing himself to be the instrument of a message
from the Divine and hoped he found sustenance elsewhere. Or even
perhaps he was one of “my” birds that offered his services to me.

How many times do we look for what we need but just follow our
usual pattern instead of being brave enough to investigate other
methods or openings to our good? My Beloved Orioles certainly gave
me a lot of food for thought. A side note: I have been hearing a lot
of the 5 note songs this morning and I believe they are thanking me
for trying so hard to give them what they needed.

May your Memorial Day weekend be as thought provoking and happy
as mine is.

Love and Light

Mary Grace
www.IAmMaryGrace.com
 www.TheWoundedChalice.com
 http://www.waleson5.com/marygrace.html

PO Box 403
Wales, MA 01081, USA
413-245-3977

THIS IS A HERO

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Beloved,

I just received this from a dear friend and just HAD
to share it with you especially on this Memorial Day.
God Bless Our Human Spirit.

MAY GOD BLESS THIS AIRLINE CAPTAIN:

He writes: My lead flight attendant came to me and said, “We have an
H.R. on this flight.” (H.R. stands for human remains.) “Are they military?” I asked.

‘Yes’, she said.

‘Is there an escort?’ I asked.

‘Yes, I already assigned him a seat’.

‘Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck. You can board him early,” I said..

A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the flight deck. He
was the image of the perfectly dressed soldier. He introduced himself and I asked him about his soldier. The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about them as if they are still alive and still with us.

‘My soldier is on his way back to Virginia,’ he said. He proceeded to
answer my questions, but offered no words.

I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said no. I
told him that he had the toughest job in the military and that I appreciated the work that he does for the families of our fallen soldiers. The first officer and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand. He left the flight deck to find his seat.

We completed our preflight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful departure. About 30 minutes into our flight I received a call from the lead flight attendant in the cabin. ‘I just found out the family of the soldier we are carrying, is on board’, she said. She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were escorting their son, husband, and father home. The family was upset because they were unable to see the container that the soldier was in before we left. We were on our way to a major hub at which the family was going to wait four hours for the connecting flight home to Virginia.

The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival. The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken off the airplane.. I could hear the desperation in the flight attendants voice when she asked me if there was anything I could do.. ‘I’m on it’, I said. I told her that I would get back to her.

Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the form of e-mail like messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher.. I explained the situation I had on board with the family and what it was the family wanted. He said he understood and that he would get back to me.

Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher. We were going to get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family. I sent a text message asking for an update. I saved the return message from the dispatcher and the following is the text:

‘Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things. Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the aircraft. The team will escort the family to the ramp and plane side. A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family. The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home. Captain, most of us here in flight control are veterans. Please pass our condolences on to the family. Thanks.’

I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for a good job. I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to pass on to the father. The lead flight attendant was very thankful and told me, ‘You have no idea how much this will mean to them.’

Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing.
After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area. The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway. It is always a busy area with aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit. When we entered the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told that all traffic was being held for us.

‘There is a team in place to meet the aircraft’, we were told. It looked like it was all coming together, then I realized that once we turned the seat belt sign off, everyone would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the copilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the gate to make an announcement to the passengers. He did that and the ramp controller said, ‘Take your time.’

I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I pushed the public address button and said, ‘Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement.

We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. His Name is Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life. Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting him today is Army Sergeant XXXXXXX. Also, on board are his father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.’

We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our
shutdown procedures. A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit door. I found the two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do not see. I was told that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft.

When the family got up and gathered their things, a passenger slowly
started to clap his hands. Moments later more passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was clapping. Words of ‘God Bless You’, I’m sorry, thank you, be proud, and other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their way down the aisle and out of the airplane. They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with their loved one.

Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the announcement I had made. They were just words, I told them, I could say them over and over again, but nothing I say will bring back that brave soldier.

I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event and the
sacrifices that millions of our men and women have made to ensure our freedom and safety in these United States of AMERICA .

Foot note:
As a Viet Nam Veteran I can only think of all the veterans including the ones that rode below the deck on their way home and how they were treated.

When I read things like this I am proud that our country has not turned their backs on our soldiers returning from the various war zones today and give them the respect they so deserve.

I know every one who has served their country who reads this will have
tears in their eyes, including me.

Prayer chain for our Military… Don’t break it!

Please send this on after a short prayer.. Prayer for our soldiers Don’t break it!

Prayer:

‘Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen..’

Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world.

There is nothing attached. Just send this to people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm’s way, prayer is the very best one.

God Bless America

and… I feel we’re gonna need His Blessings!

GOD BLESS YOU!!!

Love and Light

Mary Grace
http://www.TheWoundedChalice.com
http://www.TheWoundedChalice.com/blog
[email protected]

3 Brows Beach Dr
PO Box 403
Wales, MA 01081, USA
413-245-3977