{"id":1038,"date":"2011-07-21T19:19:03","date_gmt":"2011-07-21T23:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beginnersheart\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2011-07-21T19:19:03","modified_gmt":"2011-07-21T23:19:03","slug":"invitations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2011\/07\/invitations.html","title":{"rendered":"invitations ~"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>For those who wonder — this post has nothing to do w\/ my son’s upcoming wedding :). For which I’m currently far from Oklahoma home, in Oregon. <\/p>\n

Nope, the blog is all the fault of my horoscope. And yep: I read my horoscope. Not daily, but occasionally. And it can RUIN my day when it’s bad…<\/p>\n

But for this week it had a very good point. The powers that be remind me to invite in what ‘deserves to be fostered.’ I like that. My default modus operandi<\/em> is oppositional… Sigh. Year of the Dragon, and all that. So I have to work at not letting NO take over. It’s so much easier to say a loud, resounding NO than figure out a way to make Yes work…:)<\/p>\n

So what\u00a0 is it that deserves to be fostered? Kindness, certainly. There seems to be a dearth of it these days. And a sense of humour — in the past it’s saved my marriage, won my heart, made me friends, and broken impasses much more often than ‘talking things out.’ Of course we need to talk. But a kind smile and an affectionate joke go a long way to helping folks know you care about them as people.<\/p>\n

I wish I could write funny. I wish I was the kind of person given to witty written banter, instead of whatever it is I’m given to :). But that way lies self-doubt, and we’ve already discussed how that’s not a good place to go!<\/p>\n

More walking :). I’m open to more walking and less sitting. More writing — although where I’ll find more time I can’t imagine! And more letters — I need to send more. Even if they’re the online kind.<\/p>\n

More reading of books I already have on my bookshelf (instead of buying more books!). More train trips! More chocolate (I had to put that in) and more sunlight and more rain and more wind and…<\/p>\n

And there I go doing it again. Wanting ‘more’ when what I have is amazing, wonderful and ‘more’ than enough…:) this whole invitation thing is a lot more difficult than it sounds…:)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For those who wonder — this post has nothing to do w\/ my son’s upcoming wedding :). For which I’m currently far from Oklahoma home, in Oregon. Nope, the blog is all the fault of my horoscope. And yep: I read my horoscope. Not daily, but occasionally. And it can RUIN my day when it’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,15],"tags":[11,1181,1187,121,120,119],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-compassion","tag-beginners-heart","tag-britton-gildersleeve","tag-buddhism","tag-inviting-things-in","tag-more","tag-opening-up"],"yoast_head":"\ninvitations ~ - Beginner's Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For those who wonder -- this post has nothing to do w\/ my son's upcoming wedding :). 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Years spent living on the margins - in places with exotic names and food shortages - have left her with a visceral response to folks \u2018without,\u2019 as well as a desire to live her Buddhism in an engaged fashion. She\u2019s a writer and a teacher, the former director of a federal non-profit for teachers who write. She believes that if we talk to each other, we can learn to love each other (but she's still learning how). And she believes in tea. 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