Joyce Shutt

Acceptance opens the door to almost everything in life.  So much of our suffering stems from our refusal to accept what already is…not as fatalism and apathy… but as an opportunity for change.  That’s why Step One of the 12 steps states: “admitted we are powerless over drugs and alcohol (insert your current situation or

 Just back from a trip South to visit family, I find my inbox filled with questions as to why I’ve stopped blogging.  I haven’t stopped;  I just took some time off to rest and relax in the arms of my family.  Interestingly enough, one of our many topics of conversation was gratitude!  It seems that

It’s raining and cold, a good day to practice gratitude.  These are the days I am aware of those who are homeless, those living in shelters or motel rooms, and those who do not experience the same benefits I do.  Gratitude is not a replacement for helping others, but gratitude opens the door to all

Our daughter is getting solar panels installed on her roof today.  I wish I could put solar panels on my roof, but that’s against our association’s rules.  My response to their “no” is helping our daughter put solar panels on hers.  Once again, I was reminded that it’s not necessarily the big things that bring

The washing machine isn’t working.  The tub is full of water and wet clothes, but the agitator refuses to agitate.  This happened several years ago.  “Unplug it,” my husband said,  “Let it reset.”   So, that’s what I’ve done.   I’m hoping for the best,  as I just bought a new dishwasher last week.  It, too, had

Last evening, my daughter and I watched the documentary “My Octopus Teacher.”   What an amazing experience.  As a result, I’ve been thinking about all of the ways we humans mistreat our environment and the ways we have chosen to misrepresent the Genesis passage by claiming that God instructed us to dominate, use, and misuse

Age comes with its pluses and minuses.  So far, I have far more in the plus column than in the minus side, I’m happy to report.  Having practiced gratitude for many years, I can usually find something positive in every experience, but that doesn’t mean I don’t struggle at times.  Having been an avid reader

We have far more control over our thoughts and feelings than we may want to admit.  Granted, life has this way of taking over our thoughts,  but we can teach ourselves to respond differently if we are willing to do the work of reprogramming our brains.  After all, it is not what happens that deeply

As life speeds by me in my geriatric slow lane,  I am grateful to have old and trusted companions to come along with me.  I’m still walking most days.  I still do my own light housework.  I still sew and hand quilt, though some blocks’ corners don’t quite jibe as well as they once did.

It’s the start of a new year.  I haven’t made any new resolutions as I have enough left over from the past.  You know, the generic resolutions that never go out of date. Walk more.  Eat better.  Get more sleep. Practice gratitude.  Do at least one good deed per day.  Be more accepting, more generous. 

This past week I wrote several blogs about Christmas movies.  Evenings when I am home alone I often quilt and watch TV.  So many of our TV programs glorify the worst of humanity, the darkness, hate, fear, and anxiety that is so prevalent everywhere.  Christmas movies make a nice change from who done-its, even if

There was a time when I thought I had to think big when making my life bucket list,  but no more.  Now, my bucket list is made up of those little things that I had previously thought I was too busy to do . . like ringing the bell for the Salvation Army.  The other

 We humans don’t do well with pain and discomfort…hence many of our God questions.  After all, our greatest questions center around the issues of pain, evil, and suffering.  But when read without all the decorations, soft music, and tinsel, these are the things that define the Christmas story.  Come Christmas Eve, many of us will

The older I get, the more I seem to fall into a daily routine.  Get up, get dressed, make coffee, and read…generally meditational reading, which often inspires me when it’s time to blog.  Sometimes, I blog before walking, but most times, my friend and I walk before I settle in for my second mediational period

Jesus tells the story of the woman who lost one of her dowry coins and turns her house upside down to find it.  When she finally discovers it, she goes to all of her friends and neighbors to share her joy in finding the lost coin.  Yesterday was a beautiful,  clear,  crisp Central Pa. morning. 

I worked at the polls last week. Because so few people are volunteering these days, we had the bare minimum working in our precinct,  but ours is a small one,  so it wasn’t a problem.  It was a long day, however.  We worked from 6 am to after 9 pm before we were able to

A  Buddhist teaching says that what causes suffering in life is the general pattern of how we relate with others – as in envy toward those above, competitiveness toward those who are equals, and contempt for anyone below us.  It is so easy to blame the victims of life.  It’s been said that if you

I awoke eager to start my day.  After making my first cup of coffee I sat down, made a to-do list for today, then settled in with the morning paper.   Still no Speaker of the House given the insanity of the MAGA maniacs.  A mass shooting in Maine.  What is happening to our beloved country?

Reading in The Book of Joy this morning, the chapter was about fear, how it is a natural response but also how we can better respond to our fears so they do not control us.  As I read,  I found myself thinking about a friend who is dealing with terminal cancer.  She’s reached the point

Last evening I discovered a series on Acorn called The Dry.  It is about an alcoholic woman who tries to stay sober in Dublin, Ireland, while surrounded by a hard-drinking family and friends.  As she struggles to maintain her sobriety, her sponsor is this hard-as-nails, no-nonsense woman who constantly hammers away at the importance of

Another beautiful day in South Central PA, the kind of Indian summer weather that draws one outdoors and invites happy thoughts and spontaneous bursts of gratitude!   Even so, I struggle to stay focused on this present moment.  Perhaps it’s as someone once observed, “Growth means change, and change involves risk, stepping from the known to

Addiction is a physical, psychological, and spiritual disease that is as deadly as cancer, heart disease, or diabetes.  Addictions create devastating emotional, spiritual, and physical traumas that can lead to intense suffering and death. Yet, until we are willing to admit that we, as a nation, are addicted to power, greed, and control,  our democratic

It was one of those mornings when everything I tried to do required an extra step or needed something I didn’t have.  Instead of getting overly upset (it was tempting, as an occasional pity party can be satisfying), I went for my gratitude box.  The first card I picked up read:  “Give thanks for unknown

Step 9 is all about making amends (forgiveness), but before we can make amends (forgive)in a meaningful way, we have to work our way through steps 6,7 and 8. It is rarely appropriate to do something or take a stand without doing our necessary preparatory work.  We not only have to become willing to work

Deep into another WWII novel and Jim Wallis’ Christ in Crisis, I experienced a spontaneous burst of gratitude this morning.  With fall in the wings,  the nights are cooling down.  The daylight hours are growing noticeably shorter,  and this morning, there is a nip in the air.  Since my friend called to say she couldn’t walk,

It feels like fall this morning; still pleasantly warm, but there’s a different feel to the air.  The seasons are slowly changing.  August will soon be over.  Kids are back in school.  Buses add minutes to morning and afternoon commutes.    I’m so grateful Mother Nature is trying to keep us on schedule.  I grieve for

Bishop Curry says in the appendix of Love Is The Way, “So much of what is happening in the world does not look like love.  If we go through life letting external forces – our news feeds, our acquaintances, our Google calendar – determine how our days are spent and our contributions measured, we know

 We said goodbye to Ruthie on Saturday.  Such a joyous memorial service filled with joyful black music, stories,  and laughter!   Ruthie joined our family in 1969 as a confused and suicidal teenager, angry at the world and life.  Over the years, she entered and reentered our lives, sometimes being affectionate and loving, others angry

 I came back from Physical Therapy hungry and tired.  A cup of coffee and two pieces of toast later, I sat down to blog.  Not feeling inspired,  I grabbed an Al-Anon meditation book and read five different entries.  Interestingly enough, they are all related to assuming responsibility for our own thoughts and actions rather than

I didn’t have enough time to really start something before I went to PT, so I grabbed Bishop Curry’s book Love Is the Way and read:  “You can be intentional about the stories you tell as well in the stories you consume.  Examine which stories are taking your time and attention.  If you’re only getting

Sunday, sang several songs/hymns that have had a lot of meaning for me, among them “It Only Takes A Spark.”  All afternoon, the tune and words ran through my mind, reminding me that it only takes a spark to make a difference in so many areas of life.  Kindness, you see, is contagious.  So is

We hear a lot about mindfulness these days.  I’m not really sure what that means, but it reminds me of the program’s emphasis on living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time.  I also understand it is finding ways to turn off my monkey brains and becoming aware of what’s around

There are those books that you simply can’t put down until you get to the ending, Louise Penny’s novels, for instance. Then there are those books that are so meaty that you can only digest a few pages at a time.  Last evening I sat down with Bishop Curry.  If this black man can speak

Today is a day for gratitude.  Following morning worship yesterday, we came home and got lunch. When I opened the freezer to get ice cream for dessert, I discovered everything was partially thawed. The fridge had died!  What followed was a mad scramble to rescue as much food as possible. Fortunately, I had a partially

 A number of my recent blogs have asked the question, “What’s the point of even trying when the whole world seems to be spinning out of control?”  Consequently, I should not have been surprised to have Bishop Curry speak to these issues when I sat down to read Love is the Way.   Instead of

My musical friend was talking about the songs she loves, which made me aware of the limits language puts on our reactions and perceptions of life.  While English has only one word for love, other languages may have a variety of words to describe a wide range of feelings, reactions,  and understandings that we lump

“The point isn’t to make a fortune.  The point is to know what’s enough.  To be happy.” says one of the characters in Louise Penny’s The Brutal Telling.  I suspect we all recognize the wisdom in that statement, but how many of us are willing to really discern when our enough is enough and then act on