THE WINDS OF TRANSITION

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain."

~ HW Longfellow ~

Sometimes gusty, sometimes still- headwinds can be dizzying, and tailwinds even more so.

We get blown by currents we cannot see, and that is the point.

We are a tippy little boat and have to manage the breezes wherever they are.

I set my sails according to the breeze.

BOUND TOGETHER BY BLOOD

"An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship."

~ Spanish Proverb ~

Family is a tough deal- no question. There's so much love and so much hurt and conjecture and attack and defense all mixed up together. It seems to work just by a collective kind of endurance- an unbreakable blood connection and the rope of shared history that binds us together across time.

My family and I make our way.

WHITE FLAG

"Give me that life that is seamed and riven with living."

~ Muriel Strode ~

Things rarely take the amount of time we expect them to. They take longer, or are unexpectedly quick. As humans, generally speaking, we think we know so much more than we actually do, and that we can control so much more than we actually can. Life is far more a mystery than we seem to want to believe.

I surrender to all that I can't understand.

LIFE CIRCUITS

"Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 'I am with you kid. Let's go.'"

~ Maya Angelou ~

Stop. Start. Begin. End. 

Get off track and go forward again.

Argue, defend, surrender, amend,

Be honest and authentic with all of your friends.

Be human. Be vulnerable. Be light, and be blessed.

Allow life to bathe you in its tender caress.

I am alive and ever-changing.

NURTURANCE

"Never violate the sacredness of your individual self-respect."

~Theodore Parker ~

Eating well serves us well. An occasional splurge is one thing, but making a habit of consuming indulgent food affects our whole being- our mood and confidence and energy and spirit. It's worth it to take care of ourselves, and if we skimp on that because we can't be bothered, we skimp on life, and life is our gift. Let's savor it with deep appreciation.

I feed myself with loving care.

THANK YOU

"I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks."

~ William Shakespeare ~

I am grateful for the mountains and the ocean, the stars and the bright sun. I'm grateful to have experienced all that I've experienced and to have choices, and options, and good food, and a body that's strong.

I remember to be grateful even when I don't feel grateful, and to live in the energy of "thank you" instead of "why me?"

LIVING LIGHTLY

"Humor is the good natured side of a truth."

~ Mark Twain ~

We have to live with each other and we have to live with ourselves. Consequently, its easier on everybody involved if we can be generous, and contribute loving energy to the day rather than foul temper and a sense of entitled distress.

I show up with positivity instead of judgement, and a smile instead of a scowl.

BEING EMOTIONAL

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

~ Lord's Prayer ~

Sometimes I feel petulant and blocked to love. I'm not sure why it happens, only that it does. At such times, I want to retreat from the world, to hole up somewhere and be alone and free to do as I please, but that's not always possible or advisable. Life goes on, whether I feel petulant or not, and I just have to keep on going with it, and trust that in time, my feelings will pass.

I forgive myself for my often unpredictable moods and emotions.

THE STUFF WE OWN

"Property has its duties as well as its rights."

~ Thomas Drummond

We are cleaning out my Dad's house in Florida this week- spreading his belongings out between us and releasing them into the world. It's a strange thing the way our possessions carry our energy, especially our clothes, and it feels like a betrayal in some way to treat them with anything less than enormous respect.

I honor my father in the way I dispose of his things.

THE CYCLE OF ACCEPTANCE

"Time takes time."

~ American Proverb ~

It takes time to get over discouragement and disappointment. We can distract ourselves all we want, but the motivation for new energy is lacking until whatever needs to work through us has worked its way through. Life requires so much patience from us on so many fronts. In truth, that, in itself, can be discouraging...
     The answer? Same as always. Maintain good habits, trust the process, and keep on doing the next right thing.

I allow for growth and pruning and dead branches and new life.

JUDGE NOT

"Preconceived notions are the locks on the door to wisdom."

~ Merry Browne ~

We are each of us capable of greatness and foolishness both. We can perform acts of great courage, and be naive and petty in equal measure. We can raise others with our wisdom and pull them down with our whine. That's why judgement is a dis-service to the world. How can we condemn another when we have likely done the same or similar ourselves?

I stop criticizing others and work on me.

STRIPPED DOWN

"If you cannot be a poet, be the poem."

~ David Carradine ~

Strip us of our egos and the possibilities for connection are endless. When we are raw and plain there's nothing to separate us. Authenticity resonates to the core.

I stop trying to be somebody and simply be.

GETTING WHAT WE WANT

"The human story does not unfold like a mathematical calculation on the principle that two and two make four. Sometimes in life they make five or minus three; and sometimes the blackboard topples down in the middle of the sum and leaves the class in disorder and the pedagogue with a black eye."

~ Winston Churchill ~

In some way, getting what we want is more challenging than not getting it. Not getting it is easy- we never get it- and we know how to deal with struggle and disappointment... but exactly what we've always wanted? It seems impossible, and as if we will have to forever prove and justify that we're worth it.

I accept the blessings in my life as well as the challenges.

CONTROL FREAK

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

~Theodore Roosevelt ~

When I try to control everything and punish myself for not knowing what I can't know, I exhaust myself. My lack of faith and compassion are a serious liability. Recognizing this, I commit to do the best I can, where I can, and let go of all the rest.

I stop trying to control what I can't control.

REMEMBERING THE BIG PICTURE

"Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong."

~ Peter T. McIntyre ~

When my body is tense and constricted, I am often not even aware of the thing that has me all locked up. It's more of a vague and general kind of insecurity than something specific- a lack of confidence- and a sense of life being too much to handle.
     I am afraid to screw up, to make the wrong choice, to create some kind of irredeemable error with the gifts I have been given, and it's all out of proportion, because whatever I choose and decide, it doesn't matter much in the big picture, and what I do or don't do is not a measure of who I am.
   

I make the best choices I can with the information I have.

THE PLEASURE OF LIFE

"Humor is the great thing, the saving thing after all. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations, and resentments flit away, and a sunny spirit takes their place."

~ Mark Twain ~

Our life experience is endlessly entertaining if we allow ourselves to be light, and keep our sense of humor. So many ridiculous things happen in the course of a day. Mostly, we tend to react with frustration and irritation, but there's another way- the not taking ourselves too seriously way- that allows us to travel with ease, pleasure, and a sense of rich enjoyment. And why shouldn't this be the way we choose? It's so much more satisfying than being stressed.

I wear life like a loose fitting garment.

FLOWER PETALS

"The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks."

~Tennessee Williams ~

Plans unfold like flower petals, and can't be forced open, or the flower is destroyed.

I am patient.

NOT KNOWING

"Our dream dashes itself against the great mystery like a wasp against a window pane..."

~Jules Renard ~

Not knowing is to be expected, and yet, we insist upon knowing anyway. We insist upon goal-setting and clear vision. We insist upon our path forward and the next step. But sometimes, life is nothing but murky and we have to make peace with being fogged in, even if we don't like it, and even if that's not the way we want it to be.

When I don't know what to do, I simply don't know what to do, and that's all there is to it.

When the time is right, I will know.

INNER RESTLESSNESS

"In every walk with Nature, one receives far more than s/he seeks."

~ John Muir ~

Inner restlessness arrives unbidden and leaves in its own sweet time. Our job is to recognize it, welcome it as a teacher, and take it out for a walk.

I exercise to release tension.

FANTASY LIVING

"People don't like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug."

~ Edmond de Goncourt ~

We create ideal situations in our minds that don't, or can't, work out in reality, and there's generally a let down feeling- a loss- when we realize that our imagination has us hoodwinked.
     Dealing in reality is our highest level of productivity. Action in the moment, each moment, far outweighs figuring out solutions in our heads, and yet, that's what we do. We figure and plan. We think, and think, and think some more.
     Perhaps, going forward, when we're faced with a problem, we would do better to leave our thinking minds at home and step out into the world to discover what's really there.

I stay in the moment and remind myself regularly that fantasizing about the future is a let-down, guaranteed.