Touched by Blessing. Gunilla Norris

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      Praise for Gunilla Norris

      “Gunilla Norris brings a new awareness

      of the sacred nature of all life.”

      –Anne Bancroft, author of Weavers of Wisdom

      “Gunilla Norris doesn’t tell you what to see, but how to see. She doesn’t tell you where to go, but how to know when you have arrived.”

      –Rabbi Rami Shapiro

      “Gunilla Norris’s meditations

      are beautiful and human

      and show the glory in the ordinary.”

      –Madeline L’Engle

      “Gunilla Norris’s remarkable reflections

      on friendship inspire and guide us to the deep place where we can ‘see the stars in one another.’”

      –Joyce Rupp, award-winning author

      “Just reading [Norris’] makes you want to

      sit down, take a deep relaxing breath,

      and refresh your spirit.”

      –Jack Kornfield, author A Path with Heart

by Gunilla Norris

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      All Rights Reserved

      Published in 2020 by Little Bound Books

      Cover Design by Daniel Dauphin

      Interior Design by Leslie M. Browning

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      Dedication

      To my beloved grandchildren

      Chloe

      Hannah

      Jacob

      Naomi

      Riley

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      Also by the Author

      On the Wing Joy is the Thinnest Layer Match Embracing the Seasons Sheltered in the Heart Being Home Becoming Bread Simple Ways A Mystic Garden Inviting Silence Companion on the Way Great Love in Little Ways

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      Acknowledgments

      Many thanks to my editor Leslie Browning and her trust in my work.

      Gratitude to Natalie Billing for her careful reading and wonderful suggestions.

      And love to dear friends who read the manuscript at different stages and gave me support.

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      An Introduction to Blessing and Mutual Reflection

      I once lived in a house with a small living room. The room had windows on only one wall, so it tended to be a dark space that felt tight and enclosed. When mirrors were strategically placed in two corners and on one other wall, the room suddenly became alive with light and felt much larger. Due to the reflecting mirrors, the light and spaciousness of the out-of-doors filled the room. It became a cozy, warm place to be.

      When I think about the transformation of that room, I see it as a metaphor about mutual reflection. Whenever we mirror the light and goodness of another person, our common living room expands and is illumined. This is profound work that anyone can do. In times that are dark and difficult, we can feel both helpless as well as enraged and flip between the two states. What can sustain us? What can we be for without feeling ambivalent? I think it is the capacity to bless. The more we bless the more blessing there is. As abundant as salt is in the ocean, so blessing can be in our lives. When we understand this, we will find the amazing secret that in blessing we are in turn blessed.

      We all have chances to transform what is confining and dark. A blessing may at first be experienced as very daunting: a diagnosis we dread, the loss of a loved one, a sudden change we are not prepared for. Yet, it is in meeting these challenges at our door that we might also meet what can make us whole. At the core, blessing is a way of claiming that even though goodness might for a time be invisible, it is nevertheless as close to us as breathing.

      Blessing is always relational. As we reflect and act to support the goodness we see in others, we enhance one another and bring light to whatever we may be experiencing. We will be serving Life itself, and in doing so, much can change. Every single day, we can engage in small acts of mutual reflection and consideration that enlarge our common living spaces with possibility and goodness. This is immensely powerful. No such actions will ever be lost, though we may never see their ultimate outcomes.

      To be seen, witnessed, and reflected touches us deeply. To be deeply touched, in a way that aligns with our nature, desire, or need is to be confirmed. This little book is about the blessing that arises out of such mutual recognition and reflection. I will tell you four stories that happened to me. They transformed me. Like reflecting mirrors, they brought more light into the paths my life has taken. Though the СКАЧАТЬ