Today is May Day. I remember being a kid and the fun things we’d do in grade school to celebrate the day. I remember dancing around the May pole. 

I delivered May Day “anonymous” baskets to some neighbors. Our overall neighborhood has been kind and supportive of each other.

May Day is next Thursday….

“May Day” is originally a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer. The best-known modern May Day traditions are observed both in Europe and North America, include dancing around the maypole and crowning the Queen of May. Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the tradition of giving of "May baskets", small baskets of sweets or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors' doorsteps.”

More from Roderick Gilkey and Clint Kilts again this week…

One book I’m reading right now is On Mental Toughness a collection of articles from Harvard Business Review. I’ll try to distill for you some of the research and ideas in it.

One aspect of cognitive fitness is working hard and playing hard. The origins of “play” are derived from the Old English word “plegian,” which means to exercise. Play is often considered a group or individual activity which is imaginative and promotes discovery and learning.

“Traditionally, scientists have assumed that people gain new skills through practice—that is, through direct experience—but the existence of mirror neurons means you can also gain skills through observation and indirect experience.”

— Roderick Gilkey and Clint Kilts

I can totally agree with this research. I spent most of my life practicing over and over whatever I wanted to learn. Most of the time my practice would result in proficiency of the skill. I’m not one that learns from observation because I’m an extrovert and just love interacting with people to learn new things.

So, where do we go from having so many interpretations of the Bible? So many opinions? So many feelings? I suggest that we slow down in the defense of our position and ponder what we may learn from another person.

This post is relatable for Christians or for anyone who went regularly to church growing up…

The church background from which one comes, whether or not one’s parents were Christians, the place and time of one’s birth and the broader culture in which one is raised, all serve to shape our beliefs and desires and how we approach the Bible far more than we imagine.

I began by practicing exercise in a new way. Exercise offers significant benefits for people with MS, helping to improve mobility, balance and overall strength.  It also helps reduce fatigue, enhance mood, and promote a better overall quality of life. 

A couple years after I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis I started exercising slowly.  I drove my car to the high school track, got my walker out and wheeled it to the track.

  On this Thankful Thursday, I’m very grateful for exercise. I exercised my brain by accomplishing my college degree, then two masters and finally a doctoral degree from Seattle University. My plan, which hatched during the late eighties, was to become “someday” a high school principal. I learned at that time, as a woman, I’d need to complete a doctoral degree if I wanted to be a high school principal.

     So, I set about accomplishing my goals. All the education goals were completed by 2005 when I was forty-one. As I walked in my doctoral graduation, I had no idea that a soon to be discovered disease of Multiple Sclerosis was about to surprise all my goals.