I am your Spring
Spindly, unspoken
Mending your dreams
Faded and broken
Sweet woodland grasses
Kissed by the sun
Nurture my soul
Teach me to run
Delve in my eyes
Of nature’s unknown
I hold your heart
I am your home
We are writing “From Nature’s Point of View”.
at dVerse Poets Pub.
3 p.m. EST.
It is a privilege
To be part of this village
Paving the pathways
Breaking the patterns
Sowing the seeds
Eye contact, warmth of heart
Neurons ready for take off
Strange how for some
It takes science to prove
That love builds brains
Today for Poetics at dVerse Poets Pub, 3 p.m EST
We take a closer look at Ally Saunders, an artist from British Columbia, Canada. Through an interview, Ally shared with me more about herself and her life as an artist. She has kindly allowed us to use her work to stir our muse!
Join us!
“Even though we are all different, we are all the same. We all want to be loved and accepted for who we are.”
One of the greatest challenges in life is cooperative interaction with others. We hit walls we don’t want to climb and cross bridges we don’t want to meet…half…way. We guard our personalities and beliefs with our life.
Why? It took a long time to figure out who we are and no one is going to mess with that…right?
However, sometimes we have to step out of our deep rooted convictions and venture into neutral territories. It is in this place that we will find one thing in common. When we look underneath egos and actions, we will find the vulnerability that makes all of us human….the need to be validated and loved.
This is where hearts will align.. in spite of ourselves.
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This is my final post for the “3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge”.
Thank you to unexpectedincommonhours. Check out her blog!
I enjoyed the challenge, as it wasn’t overly time consuming and gave me a chance to use some favourite photos I had stored in my archives. Since many do not wish to take part in these challenges, I have decided to open this up a bit.
My nominees are:
1. A blogger who would like to post 3 quotes.
2. A blogger who would like to post their own 3 quotes.
3. A blogger who would like to post 3 quotes with their own photography.
If one of these speaks to you, I look forward to your response!
Have fun!!!
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This is something I hold close to my heart. Whether we are parents or educators, I believe it is our responsibility to nurture, be empathetic and model kindness for the mental health of our children and for the future of our society.
A big thank you to unexpectedincommonhours for nominating me for the “3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge”. Check out her blog!
Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Post a quote each day for 3 days.
3. Each day, nominate 3 new bloggers to take part in the challenge.
Today’s three nominees:
3. Zimmerbitch: age is just a (biggish) number
~
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
~ Neale Donald Walsch~
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Today I was pleasantly surprised to be nominated for the “3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge”.
Thank you to a wonderful lady that blogs at unexpectedincommonhours. Take a moment to check out her captivating photography and inspiring “eclectic musings”.
Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Post a quote each day for 3 days.
3. Each day, nominate 3 new bloggers to take part in the challenge.
My first 3 nominees
1. Deb’s world
~
“Strength can be silent.”
This one is still very hard for me…another lesson in progress.
Why?
My shyness crippled me when I was a child, a teenager and even into my twenties.
It took me a long time to grow “a voice”. It took me a long time to be confident about my own opinions and a longer time to not care what others think of them. I find it very hard to be silent in a situation that is harmful to others. I want to fix things. I enjoy making a case. I enjoy writing a letter of complaint. (Can you get paid for that?) I am actually pretty darn good at it. Speaking up for something that I strongly believe in? My cup of tea.
Despite this, I am learning that sometimes I just need to listen…even if it means listening to the silence. Sometimes the silence says that I am saying too much, that maybe I am over compensating for my own inadequacies or maybe I am speaking on the behalf of others, when they haven’t given me the floor.
Sometimes…I just need to be quiet shut up!
Strength is not always about raising your voice. Sometimes it is about restraining yourself from doing just that.
Colours were meant to be blended.
People are destined to live in harmony.
Don’t they know?
That’s what hearts are for.
~
“Reality is sitting in a canyon, watching the eagles fly.”
There is so much noise in this world.
Technology makes so much noise.
People make so much noise.
My mind makes so much noise.
We have dressed up this world so much that sometimes we can’t even see it. As we cover it with technology, politics, materialism, media…egos, we have forgotten about the world in it’s natural state. Within the simplicity of nature, we can find the truth. The truth is spoken in the wind, written in the clouds and carved in the rocks. The truth is lying in the grass and examining one blade… because one blade of grass is a symmetrical masterpiece.
Yeah, I know, I know…we have so much to do. Where would we find the time? The funny thing is, we have created our own complexity. We have built our own obstacles. We can make our lives as simple as we want them to be.
All that we desire and all that we “accomplish” in a day is trivial, compared to the miracles of LIFE.
We just have to clear away the clutter for a moment in order to see it.
We just have to silence the noise in order to hear it.
“If you constantly blame others, you will never see your own mistakes.”
Pretty self explanatory. You’re not perfect. You never will be perfect. You can be 99.9 percent right, but never 100 percent. If you are, then you may have landed here from some unknown planet because this planet, my friends, is full of humans. Humans falter on a regular basis.
Breathe…falter….breathe…falter.
Catch those breaths in between.
Look in the mirror. Reflect on your actions.
It might not be pretty, but you will discover something amazing…an enlightenment, so to speak…a realization of your own flaws and blunders.
This can change your life.
In every interaction or relationship, we have strengths and weaknesses that come into play. Even if we are “right”, we can present it the wrong way. Presentations are like a land mine of misunderstandings waiting to happen…and in our quest to be heard and understood, we make mistakes. And that isn’t all of it. Sometimes, we really are wrong. We forget or refuse to take the time to look into that crystal clear stream of reality and see our own imperfections.
Enough said.
“Friends do not always reveal themselves.”
I am still hanging on to the theory that we were put on this earth to share with others. Whether it be our time, our possessions, our abilities, our talents, our compassion, our stories…whatever we have to give, I think we are supposed to give. When doing so, sometimes we are blessed with interactions that lead to friendships.
Friendships are gifts. The problem is that sometimes they are hard to identify. If only they came in neat little packages tied up with a bow…with a little tag that says, “Really, I’m your friend..for real.” Between reading social cues, dealing with your own personal insecurities and the fear of forming assumptions, it can become complicated…at least it has been for me. Maybe I’m just a freak so unique that I have trouble with this. I am a very open person. This could hinder the process of some potential friendships. I probably scare the hell out of people. Would I change this about me? Absolutely not.
So what have I learned about friendships?
I’ve learned that often I am afraid to call them that.
I know what I think a friendship should be.
My eclectic personality requires a wide variety of friends.
I’ve learned that the more time someone gives me, the more I feel they are truly my friend.
Although I do not fear rejection (because I am secure with who I am), I get frustrated when I can’t determine the intentions of others. I am not sure if this is a problem on my part or theirs.
For the most part, I think I am a good friend.
I treasure the friendships I have.
A friend can come in any size, race, age, occupation, social background, education, etc.
Openness is key to me.
Your spouse can be your best friend.
Anything pretentious, materialistic or superficial does not interest me. My relationships need to be deeper.
I have learned that even at my age, I still have lots to learn about establishing friendships.
In my opinion…
A good friend truly cares about you, would do almost anything in the world for you, listens to you, advises you, confides in you, laughs with you and cries with you.
A good friend is someone who doesn’t care what you look like, accepts all of your faults, your mistakes and never gives up on you.
A good friend has no ulterior motives for being your friend.
A good friend considers the reasons you have become who you are.
A good friend sees your positive traits and enjoys them in the moment.
A good friend has time for you.
A good friend would sincerely miss you if you were gone.
Birds of a feather sticking together at San Diego Zoo Safari Park
21. “Give me ten crying babies…please….but don’t ask me to do a jigsaw puzzle, or any other tedious task requiring patience and hand eye coordination. I will probably throw it at you.”
I work with babies.
I work with babies all day.
I work with babies all day, five days a week.
Do I have your attention?
Diapers, rocking chairs, plugs from heaven, pacifiers, air-borne food, catnaps, fevers…I’ve only just begun.
BUT…or shall I say BUTT…
I love it.
Babies are the epitome of life. Think about it.
YOUTH. INNOCENCE. ENERGY. OPEN MINDS…little blank slates ready to absorb the world around them.
It’s a beautiful thing.
Despite the necessary acrobatic skills required to care for six infants at the same time (with one co-worker), I feel I am blessed every day to have the opportunity to nurture, educate and care for these bundles of wonder. Yes, I said educate.
The screaming crying does not bother me.
Do you know what agitates me?
Threading a needle, figuring out the “features” on my car stereo, untangling Christmas lights or…
Trying to text more than two words on my cell phone without back spacing.
“Solace is neither here nor there. You can find it in a quiet corner or a walk through the forest. No window or door can separate you from the beating of your own heart. You only need to listen.”
~mishunderstood~
Rest in Peace, Nelson Mandela
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
‘A Return to Love” (1992) by Marianne Williamson
Related Articles
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nelson-mandela-dead-at-95-1.2417872
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/photo-challenge-lights/
“I am guilty of prejudging people.
It’s a good thing I can change my mind.”
Let’s start with chihuahuas. I have called them rats and swore they were one of the ugliest looking dogs on the planet. Then I met my mother in law’s dog. She likes to knit and while she does, her dog likes to sit on her lap with an afghan over her head. She doesn’t move. She guards her from anything bigger than her, which would be everything. She is completely loyal. She doesn’t like me…even though I consider myself a bit of an animal whisperer, she just doesn’t like me. I think she knows that I have judged her. Now she’s judging me.
On the human side of things (shhh, don’t tell her she’s not human)…
It is our nature to judge. We obviously need to use this handy skill for other aspects of our lives. Heck, if we didn’t, we’d be back floating in the middle of a lake eating ho ho’s (o…kay, maybe just me).
We assess situations. We criticize and analyze. We judge ourselves.
So it is only natural that we would judge others.
I don’t think there is any magical learning experience here. I think when it comes to scrutinizing those we meet, we have to force ourselves to change. It is just a button we need to turn off. We need to tell ourselves DON’T DO IT! Be objective. Ask yourself why would I judge when I do not know. When it comes down to it, we do NOT know.
We generalize.
We stereotype.
We assume.
Now scroll back up. Look at that face and remember……
“You……know……nothing”.
#19. Parenting is lifelong.
When your children are small, you think this is the most difficult time of your life. Diapers, fevers, tantrums, oh my!! It has to be easier when they are grown.
“Grown”?
What does that mean? Do they ever stop growing? I haven’t stopped growing!
We are always waiting for the next stage in their development whether it’s walking, talking or starting school. There is always a step, as though we are accompanying them up the stairway to ADULTHOOD…some magical place where we are no longer responsible, no longer needed, no longer of service.
This is so far from the truth.
Parenting is not a job that simply ends at 18 or 21 or 55. They continue to grow and change every day and you are part of that. You never stop worrying about them, caring for them and loving them. Everything they do has some effect on you. There are feelings of pride, guilt, concern, sadness, relief, excitement and fear that run through you as they continue on their journey of life.
The hardest part of being a parent is when you no longer have the right to be involved. Your involvement becomes a privilege. Your knowledge of what is happening in their life crosses lines of confidentiality policies and ventures into new territories of friendship, mentor-ship and consultation…if you’re lucky. Suddenly, the flashbacks of boo boos, band aids and kissing it “all better” are sweet memories. It was so simple then. As your children get bigger, so can their problems. When you no longer have the ability to protect them the way you used to, it can be the most unsettling and frustrating feeling you have ever felt. Your colicky baby that kept you up night after night was still SAFE in your arms. As they get older, it is much more of a challenge to let go and simply pray for their safety and well-being.
Parenting doesn’t end when your children are not children. As long as you are worried, you are still a parent.
They are part of you forever.
“The best moments are not filled, they are felt.
They have a life of their own.
Sit back and take one in.”
Dflorack of Heron There & Everywhere nominated me for a Best Moment Award.
This is my very belated acceptance! Thank you, Donna!
If you take the time to visit her blog, you will discover her love for friendly little critters as well as musings on life and memoirs of the past.
http://heronthereeverywhere.us/
This award requires you to state seven things about yourself, so here goes…
1. I have just added para-sailing to my bucket list!
2. I am not a good conversationalist with new people, unless the topic is an issue I feel strongly about… then I might not shut up.
3. It frustrates me when parents feed their children inappropriate media and then wonder why they become so disrespectful, aggressive, violent or insensitive.
4. I believe we were put on this earth to help those in need, not to sit back and reap our own benefits.
5. My complicated personality takes me from serene places of nature to head banging to Metallica.
6. I love to see the sparkle in a child’s eyes. It lights up my world.
7. I am happiest when I am singing at the top of my lungs, driving down the highway.
Let’s change this up a bit. Seven is a lucky number so I have decided to nominate seven bloggers that have given me
a
BEST MOMENT!
http://brokenlightcollective.wordpress.com/
It is inspiring to me to see stigmas broken surrounding mental health issues. This wonderful site provides many moments of sharing knowledge, hope and understanding through the art of photography.
http://bernasvibethewayiseeit.wordpress.com/
She can relate to entering the “50” zone and her generous comments have given me moments of laughter and camaraderie.
Today she provided me with a moment of beauty as I admired her breathtaking photos of horses.
http://kaynicolley.wordpress.com/
She gave me a moment of her reality. It is a reality that so many suffer from. Please give her some love and encouragement.
http://melissammendoza7.wordpress.com/
Working in a shelter in Sante Fe, New Mexico, this woman has her share of dark moments but has the ability to see the light within their souls. I look forward to following her new blog.
http://barefootandmusic.wordpress.com/
I absolutely love Beth Hart. I could listen to her music every day. While doing a search today for her video, “Leave the Light On”, I stumbled upon this blog. There are great musical moments to be found here.
http://littlesundog.wordpress.com/
Unique moments including those she has spent raising an orphaned fawn on their property.
#17. “If you think about where a person is coming from, what they’ve been through in their life, how they’ve been raised, you will find it easier to forgive, understand and accept that they don’t and may never look at things the same way that you do.”
This one is golden.
Do you want to be empowered? Free yourself from the frustration? Save some time and energy?
Ok, now I sound like an advertisement.
The truth is…
When this little light bulb of enlightenment switched on in my brain, it changed my life.
Click.
Not everyone was blessed with a loving beginning. They are what they came from. They may not be able to see or feel more than that. Not everyone has sailed a calm sea without drowning in pain or suffering…and some are still drowning. Some have a point to make, an axe to grind or a need to be heard. Some people can only feel better by making others feel worse.
Some people will not change. Some people don’t need to change…not for you.
Sometimes you have to rearrange your thoughts, open your mind and accept.
Let them be who they are. Let it be what it is.
A huge burden can be lifted when you do.
#16.”Worrying is a waste of time, but that won’t stop me.”
Aguirre Springs near Las Cruces, New Mexico.
What could be
Is nothing more than fear
Merely stopping you in your tracks
To steal your moments
Pocket your dreams
And play with your intentions
#14. “I’d rather be taken advantage of once in awhile than have a closed heart.”
Random thoughts…
~When you give to another and they deceive you, it can hurt beyond words. The only thing worse is the nothingness you feel when you don’t give at all.
~I honestly believe that to truly give, it has to leave you without something, at least for awhile. Something may be returned to you or it may not. It shouldn’t matter, if you gave for the right reasons.
~I was never a risk taker in my younger years. No way. I used my shyness as a wall. It protected me from disappointment, failure and rejection. Unfortunately, it also isolated me from life. It prevented me from finding out what COULD happen and what I could MAKE happen. I eventually chipped away at the wall, taking the last of it out with some good swift kicks, finally breaking free ! On the other side of the wall, I was vulnerable. You have to be vulnerable in order to grow.
~Opening your heart is really a personal choice. All I can say is that the odd times I have been taken advantage of are small price to pay for the friendship, gratitude and personal reward I have received from reaching out.
~If I based my willingness to be open and generous on some of my past experiences, I could easily decide to hold everything I have and everything I am very close to my heart. That would be a burden. I would rather liberate myself from bitterness, suspicion and doubt. It feels good to lighten the load
…and simply give.
#10. “In an instant, your world can be turned upside down. The people you take for granted can disappear in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow is only a plan. This moment is all you have.”
It was October of 2000. It was a Saturday morning when the phone rang, waking me up from a deep slumber. As one who usually dreaded the worst, I assumed this 7 a.m phone call meant something was wrong. Perhaps my grandmother was ill but in the back of my mind, I thought “calm down, it’s probably just a wrong number”. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to hear. It would have been the furthest idea from my mind. It was unthinkable.
When my crying mother said my brother was “gone”, I asked where he went. He was single. He could go wherever he wanted. He had no significant ties. I thought…. where in the world could he have gone that would upset my mom so much? What was she talking about?
Confused and half asleep I asked her, “Where did he go?”
“He’s dead”, she muttered with whatever strength she could dig up from……somewhere. My mother had waited hours to call me. She just couldn’t pick up the phone.
He was 36 years old. He was my baby brother by three years.
He was my only brother.
I fell to the floor. I remember so clearly the sound that came out of my mouth. I remember pacing back and forth and screaming “no” over and over. I am sure at that moment, I was insane. I remember crawling up the stairs, waking up my ex husband. I was not me, but just an empty, robotic being, mumbling, sobbing, shaking, running around the room……lost in denial.
I cannot understand to this day how I drove an hour and a half by myself to get there. My two sons were still asleep (or were they?) and their dad would stay there with them. I didn’t want them to know anything about their uncle yet…because it couldn’t be true anyways. That was the plan I managed to somehow articulate before running out the door to my car. I was going to see him because that was the only way I could prove that this wasn’t happening.
The next time I saw my brother, it was Halloween night and he was in a casket.
DEATH is sneaky. Don’t ever trust it. It hides away mysteriously and then leaps out of nowhere to blindside you into oblivion.
LIFE is precious. Don’t ever take it for granted. It is amazing, breathing and beautiful and it never hides. Take everything it has to offer.
Don’t wait until the phone rings or there is a knock on the door. Live your life to the fullest.
Every minute unfolding in front of you is amazing.
~ In memory of my brother, his laughter, his incredible smile , his song , his silly dance and most of all, his loving heart.~
#9. “Happiness and contentment in your life only happens because you are happy and content with yourself.”
Throughout my twenties and thirties, I had a vision of what would make me happy. It was a perfect world and time. It was just outside the box of reality I lived in, but completely achievable….or so I thought. It was more than just career goals or personal milestones. It was this imaginary idea of what my life should be like. I constantly pined for it . I was always waiting for it. I like to think that I had some kind of epiphany about this but maybe it was just a few hard knocks that forced me to finally free myself of these ridiculous and unnecessary expectations.
As I approached 4O, I found myself again…under the rubble of wishes and good intenti0ns. Wow, I was M.I.A. and didn’t even know it!
Why is it that different things make different people happy? Maybe it’s because it is our own particular state of mind that reacts. Happy things make happy people happy. They don’t work as well with unhappy people. People in my life have suffered similar challenges and losses. Although they all found themselves drowning in despair and self pity, some have not come back up for air. They are still swimming around in the aftermath, hanging on to what happened to them, their only strength is their pain. It’s really easy to be unhappy. It requires no work on our part. Acceptance requires action but believe me, it is worth it in the end. Our own contentment welcomes the laughter, the warmth, and the beautiful stillness.
California breathin’
Feeling inspired to write a poem today…….
SEARCH FOR SERENITY
Taking, needing, wanting
All the while believing it is the goal
To find, to get, to hold
A dream deserved
Only to realize
The illusion of plans
And the truth of fate.
Giving, accepting, feeling
As each moment ignites only briefly
Feeding the soul for only now
Is there anything
Not conjured up
Or wished upon
Only within is there light
To find, to get, to hold.
#7. “Don’t be afraid to take a stand. The people that matter will not hold it against you.”
I used to care….REALLY care about what others would think if I was more aggressive with my opinion. I still care. The only difference is that these self conscious feelings will not stop me. I don’t let them. I can only hope that those who are important in my life will accept me no matter what I stand up for or what I believe.
“ Why not go out on a limb? That’s where all the fruit is.”
Mark Twain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
~Mark Twain~
Now that’s a good quote, truly better than mine. Love the imagery.
I spent at least the first half of my life sticking like glue to the trunk of the tree, afraid to move. It took me a long time to ……change? That is really what it boils down to. There was no divine intervention that took place to transform me. I just got tired of the “me” that I had become. Somehow I was enlightened that change happens by changing your mind. It is purely psychological. You can remain the way you are, if you’re happy with that, or you can move on. Find new ways to interpret and live your life. Some significant losses and events in my life also gave me more reasons to venture out of my safe haven. When people you love die young……I think you know the rest.
Recently I took a stand by supporting a movement for environmental issues. The group made headlines around the world. Like many other movements, it has a strong message although not always delivered in a consistent, united or organized fashion. The cause reflected my beliefs, my morals and certainly my love for a clean world or “Mother Earth”, as this group refers to it.
I am a non-native working in a native community surrounded by chemical plants. I “get it”. I breathe it.
Taking a stand for this group took me on a couple walks of peaceful protest. I have to say I enjoyed every minute of it. The prospect of change taking place because people speak up, people reach out, people stand firm, is at the very least, inspiring.
Taking a stand can be easy, if you don’t think about the risks. You just get out there, balancing with whatever you have to stop you from falling. Pride, determination, strength or even disregard for what can happen because you believe it can’t be worse than playing it safe. There are times in your life when you gamble more. First day on the job….not so much. Veteran in the field…..let it rip. Just my opinion.
Limbs can break. Sometimes what we’re standing on is not as solid as we thought. We may or may not have been aware of that, but we got out there anyway. That’s the beauty of it. Hopefully, when we hit the ground, we are unscathed. There are many more trees to climb.
Great place to stand alone
Aguirre Springs, New Mexico
#6. “I could easily get into a fist fight with people who talk during a concert. If you’re not singing, shut up!”
Tragically Hip
(and the brilliant mind of Gord)
Have you been there?
It’s hard enough watching a struggling artist pour out his heart and soul in a quiet bar as people obnoxiously talk over him. At a concert, it especially baffles me when people actually pay for a ticket but don’t have any interest in the band. There’s the fifteen year old textaholics that didn’t know the name of the group until they got there because they never heard of them. Why? Because they were not BORN YET!! Then there’s the couple who had a few too many “pre-drinks” and are now arguing about how many they’ve had and how they’re getting home. Don’t forget the ones that continually talk into each other’s ears about the group you’re trying to listen to as if no one can hear them.
I am there to see a band that I love and somehow through my gritting teeth, I manage to bite my tongue and behave myself.
The evil glares continue, however.
Music is extremely meaningful and sentimental to me and I appreciate that not everyone shares this passion to the extent that I do but…pahleeaase!!
There is a time and place for everything.
The Eagles
(a major check off the bucket list)
#4. If you’re not thinking outside of the box, you’re living in a very small place.
As a child, the world seemed so big and never ending. My dreams were more like goals. Anything seemed possible. I didn’t hope to achieve them. It was only a matter of how and when. I had nothing to compare them to, no similar situations to remind me of what could go wrong. There were so many options, so much to see and do, so many places to go.
I listened.
I observed.
I believed in many things.
Then something happened. It’s interesting that as I grew older, my mind began to filter out ideas that didn’t seem as logical or achievable….as least not to me, anymore. Reality shoved it’s way into my tranquil, sunshiney space, ready to rain downpour on my parade, with a few too many “in your face” experiences of loss, disappointments and heartache. I was angry, resentful and mostly, just sad.
Later on, I think reality had overstayed it’s welcome. I was tired of what I had to do, what I had to face, how I had to live my life. It wasn’t until I was 40, that I found my youth again. The doors flung open and I emerged like a giant clumsy child.
I’m baaa…aaack!!!!
Who says I can’t have fun? Who says I have to do things a certain way? Who says I have to get old? Who says people are everything they seem. They are not. I was ready to explore again, but this time a little bit of knowledge came along with me. That can be useful. I was ready to let go of everything holding me back and move forward “into the great wide open” as Tom Petty puts it. The biggest surprise to me was how happy it made me.
The more open I became……
the more I listened,
the more I observed,
the more I believed.
How familiar that feeling was!
We were born with open minds. It is not our experiences that close our minds. It is our reactions to our experiences that close our minds. There is no right way of doing things. There are just many ways of doing things. That’s what makes people interesting. That’s what makes LIFE interesting.
Take a look at the Grand Canyon. You cannot see it’s boundaries…..the never ending space that beckons you to think past what is in front of you.
Think past what you know or where you have been.
Stay open. It’s fun.
#3. When tobogganing down a steep ravine, a wine skin filled with cherry whiskey, will soften the blow of every tree you hit.
Looking back at it now, I can’t believe we really owned one of these. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language describes it as “a bag made from the skin of a goat for example, and used for holding and dispensing wine”.
I am fairly certain that I was unaware of the goat skin as I sipped chugged my cherry whiskey, hoping my socks would stay dry. We were trudging through a foot of good packing snow with our plastic Magic Carpets, waxed up wooden toboggans and super flying saucers. Woooo Hoooo!!!
Life was good……in the 70’s.
#2. You can procrastinate about not procrastinating.
Even the word “procrastinate” sounds like something to avoid. It has such an unusual and harsh tone to it.
Why do we do it? There must be a reason why we don’t get around to doing what we planned to do. My excuses are many.
There isn’t enough time in a day.
Shall I clean the oven in my sleep?
I’m tired.
I am not doing that until this gets done.
I’ll call her tomorrow.
I need to be in the right mood to do that.
It would take me ALL day and I don’t have all day.
I was at work. Does that not count as exercise?
It’s just a little piece bar of chocolate.
If I can’t do it right, I’m not doing it at all.
I know I’ll do it, but not now ever.
I’m tired……again.
There’s a tiny little sliver in my right big toe . (Ok, I made that one up)
My excuses are rather lame. My intentions on the other hand , are outstanding! My mood is very perky when I make the conscientious decision of drawing up “the list”. With my favourite pen in hand, I look for the perfect piece of “Things to Do” paper . Then, using my best handwriting, I proceed to make the most elaborate list of projects ever! It’s an amazing feat of futility. It doesn’t stop me, however, from feeling incredibly proud of myself as I cross the first easiest task off the list. Bravo!! A few more strokes of the pen and I’ll be on my way.
Then something changes. I think it has a lot to do with that “P” word. Somehow “the list” finds a cozy little space where I can easily forget it ever existed. I plan to make a new list…..
after another little piece of chocolate.
A little over a year ago, I found myself undeniably approaching the big five oh (no!). I was determined to make it significant, at least to me, so I decided to share some things I’ve learned over the years…… the good times, the bad times, the crazy times and all those enlightening moments in between.
Some lessons take a moment, others a life time. Maybe you can relate to a few.
Hope you find a moment to join me on a regular basis as I reflect on this roller coaster ride we call “LIFE”, starting with…..
#1. If you’re holding a grudge, you’re letting someone continue to hurt you.
Think about it.
Someone causes you pain. They ruin your day….or maybe your life?
Wait a minute! Are you going to let them ruin your life? Do they deserve that? Do YOU deserve that?
Carrying a grudge is heavy work but only you can lighten the load.
Are you waiting for an apology or someone to have a life changing enlightenment? You could be waiting a long time.
You may be the only one capable of moving forward. Harboring the anger, resentment and pain is your choice.
Simple as that.
Stay tuned for #2 !
mishunderstood 