Chris Duel

Broadcaster, Soul Provider

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Leave Them Better Than You Found Them

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I came across a quote today…

“Leave them better than you found them.”

How wonderful is that?

Leave them better than you found them.

What if all of us left people better than when we initially met with them?

In every encounter, doing something to uplift others, inspire others, make others feel better. Without regard for ourselves, but with absolute regard for the other people in our lives.

How much better would all of our lives be?

I strongly believe that the benefits to the provider of such kindness would equal or exceed those of the receiver.

Why not try it?

Direct experience is so much better than theory.

Find out for yourself.

Leave them better than you found them.

And get back to me with your results.

 

One Year Ago Tonight

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Our beloved furry friend transitioned into the spirit world a year ago tonight.

The kitty statuette on the left of the above photo is an urn containing her ashes.

We didn’t really adopt Blackcat.  She adopted us.

She was a feral cat outside our window for many years.

She distrusted humans.  They almost certainly hurt her. An x-ray would eventually reveal she had been shot at some time in her life.

But we crossed paths. We fed her and earned her trust.  And we became a part of her life 15 years ago.

On a cold winter’s night, she needed a warm place to sleep and we had one.

Eventually she moved in with us and became part of our family.

Saying goodbye to a beloved pet is truly saying goodbye to a member of your family.

It is gut wrenching.

She brought us love, laughter and joy.

But on this night a year ago, there were tears, sorrow and grief.

On the evenings before she passed, I would gently pet her.

She purred, as if to say, “I understand. And I love you too.”

Just before midnight, after much reluctance and soul searching, Beth took her to an animal hospital nearby to humanely end her suffering. I was working a Spurs broadcast that night, so I met them at the hospital in time to say goodbye.

The 15 years we had with Blackcat had ended. Moments like these remind us of the fleeting nature of our time together.

When I started my car to pull out of the hospital parking lot, the dashboard clock glowed 12:00 midnight and a song began on a random satellite radio station I happened to be tuned to.

The song was “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri.

I would later learn it was from the “Twilight” movie saga, which I have never seen, and I had not heard the song before.

In the raw emotion and grief of the moment, it was as if a cosmic DJ, the Universe or Blackcat herself played this song just for me.

Here are the lyrics…

Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave
How can I love when I’m afraid to fall
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt, suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer

I have died everyday, waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything, take away
What’s standing in front of me
Every breath, every hour has come to this

One step closer

I have died everyday, waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed, I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me, I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

One step closer
One step closer

I have died everyday, waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed, I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me, I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

Tears streamed down my face, clouding my eyes and transforming the passing city lights, whirling by the windshield, into streaking translucent tears across the starry sky.

Souls cross paths. Human souls and animal souls.

We meet, we dance, we love.

And all too soon, we say goodbye. At least for now.

But that love is eternal.

And we will meet again.

For a thousand years. And a thousand more.

 

 

Let It Shine

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Let It Shine

You don’t fully appreciate what you have until it’s gone.

Our power was out for nearly 23 hours.

Yeah, I know… “First World Problems.”

We were wondering if this would go on for several days.

But the moment when the lights came back on tonight, there was a feeling of hallelujah, liberation and rapture.

Something as simple as the lights coming back in your home becomes a joyous celebration.

If only I could remember to feel such gratitude every time I am privileged to turn on a light.

Let it shine.

Autumnal Equinox

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AutumnalEquinoxPic

 

(2am 9/22/2013)

summer has ended

i felt this coming

light and warmth waning

portending the fall
and the coming winter

while days draw shorter
and the chilly darkness grows

but for this moment

this one moment

this Now

all is equal

balanced

sublime

light and darkness

hope and fear

pleasure and pain

chaos and serenity

laughter and tears

koyaanisqatsi and bliss

the unseen world appears
translucently amid the twilight

i open my arms

gaze to the delirious sky

listening intently

to the music of the spheres

and I am equal

to the love

to the fear

to the euphoria

to the yin and the yang

of the great unknown

and I surrender

to the autumnal equinox

Your New Year’s Resolutions Will Fail

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"Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight." - Japanese Proverb

“Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight.” – Japanese Proverb

 

 

Your New Year’s Resolutions will fail.

Count on it.

Either today or tomorrow or in a few days, you’re toast.

At least if you are like vast majority of people who make resolutions.

Change isn’t easy.

Old habits die hard.

For some reason we’re wired to believe that Day One of the New Year is the ideal time to make a change.

And when we revert to our old ways we stay there for a long time.

But remember this…

The calendar doesn’t determine the new moment, the new day.

You do.

This is your life, this is your dance, this is your movie.

And every moment is the new moment.

Every moment is your opportunity to become the best version of you.

Your quest is heroic.

The epic battle is you versus you.

Will your higher self or your lower self prevail?

A lifetime of trends can be vanquished with your will, your heart, your faith and your refusal to play small.

So when your New Year’s Resolutions fail…

Forgive yourself.

Trust yourself.

Remember the Japanese proverb: “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”

Stand up.

Dust yourself off.

And begin again.

This is the sacred moment. 

 

 

My New Year’s Wish for You (and for me)

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My New Years Wish

My New Years Wish

 

The clock strikes midnight

Are you ready?

Do you realize

You are given a gift

 

 

A new day

A new year

A new chance

 

 

To begin again

To wipe the slate clean

To see the world with new eyes

 

To trust your heart

Instead of the tired voices

In your head

 

To take the leap of faith

That has always beckoned you

 

My new year’s wish for you

(and for me)

 

Is that we realize

That the most precious

And sacred moment

Is not in the distant past

Nor somewhere in the future

 

Because

That moment is here

Now

 

May we embrace it

May we surrender to it

 

At last

 

May this new year

Shower you

With outrageous blessings

 

May you discover

Delightful magic

In each of your days

 

May your fondest dreams

Come true

 

Such that you pause…

And ask yourself,

 

“Is this Heaven?”

 

Before hearing

 

A still, small voice

reply,

 

“Yes, it is.”

 

 

 

The Wisdom of Silence

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This Is The Sacred Moment

This Is The Sacred Moment
From The 1005 Faces Project by Sarah Brooke Lyons

 

We live in the information age.

This can be a blessing and a curse all at the same time.

While we have access to humankind’s cumulative knowledge at our fingertips, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of data that constantly streams across our computer screens, televisions, radios and smart phones.

We inherit the information of a billion souls, yet lose touch with the connection to our own.

Too often we are overstimulated by the nonstop cacophony of information that our miraculous technology delivers.

Eons of generations before us naturally had access to extended periods of silence. Especially as night fell and there was no electricity to power the devices that not only inform us, but distract us from the wellspring of guidance and wisdom that dwells within.

More than any previous generation, we have lost touch with silence.

It becomes more difficult to hear that still, small voice that guides, informs and inspires.

All the more reason to consciously, regularly choose to allow silence in our lives.

Go off grid.

Meditate.

Breathe.

Listen.

Rediscover the silence and the darkness.

There are life changing secrets being whispered to you.