WALKING THE ROAD TOGETHER

"So we grew together

Like to a double cherry, seeming parted,

but yet a union in partition;

Two lovely berries molded on one stem."

~William Shakespeare ~

We need each other to bounce ideas of off and to share our joys and challenges. It's a wonderful thing to know that we are not alone, that others have felt as we feel and that they struggle just like us.
     And we can't know these things unless we are willing to open up and unveil whatever's going on inside. We don't have to pretend to be anything other than we are. We can be messy, unsure, bubbling over with high hopes, or feeling dark and dangerous. The point is simply to speak up. This is a shared adventure and there is no percentage in going it alone.

I share myself with others and encourage them to share with me in return.

FORGIVENES

"To err is human; to forgive divine."

~Alexander Pope ~

True forgiveness is an act of love. It's a compassionate admission of our human propensity for making mistakes, and an acknowledgement of our ability to learn through our apparent failures, and evolve over time.
     As we age, we outgrow behaviors and ideas that once sat ok with us. Hopefully, as the years carry us forward, we become less impulsive, vengeful, hostile, and judgmental. And hopefully, we learn to live and let live- to shrug and say, "Oh, well," and to let go of whatever we can.

I free myself from the past by learning to forgive all things.

THE LIMITS OF PERFECTIONISM

"Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing."

~Harriet Braiker ~

I held a baby yesterday and remembered what it was like to be a new mother myself: chock-full of love and fear. I wanted to do everything right, and be a perfect Mom, but I struggled emotionally in the absence of my independence and under the weight of what I perceived as great responsibility.
     If I knew then what I know now, I could have relaxed and experienced my infant twins as more of a gift and an adventure and less of a cross to bear. But that's what comes with a bit of time and distance. With age, we learn to trust and enjoy others and stop trying to be so perfect ourselves.

Life doesn't have to be anything other than exactly what it is.

CHALLENGE

"We acquire the strength we have overcome."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

Challenge is good for the soul. It stretches us and makes our energy buzz. We have to call up resources that we don't generally use, and may not even know we have. We come face to face with what's inside us, and it's surprising and good. We discover that we are more capable than we thought we were, and more creative; more resilient, intelligent, intuitive and invincible. If we pay attention, it's challenge that introduces us to our true selves, and challenge that inspires us to the next courageous step, and then the next one.

I welcome challenge as a tool to tap my inner drive.

BOUNDARIES

"Saying no is a right we all have. Use it."

~ Anne Lamott ~

Setting boundaries is our responsibility. No one else will set them for us, and the world will happily take advantage of our time, love, money, and good intentions as far as we will let them. But that's up to us.

      We have the power to say, "No," and, "Enough!" and to walk away. And doing so is our responsibility. Ultimately, it's our job, and ours alone, to protect ourselves from being over-run.

 

I am assertive and courageous, and I set personal boundaries with ease. 

FREEDOM FROM MEDDLING

"Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it."

~Author Unknown~

I used to honesty believe that I knew what was best for other people. If only they would do this or that; change in a specific way or reconsider the priorities in their lives, then they would feel better- and I would too. But I've learned to let people be and trust that they will know what they need to know when they need to know it, and not as the result of my prompting, or by my demand.

I mind my own business and allow others to do the same.

LIFE

"To live remains an art which everyone must learn, and which no one can teach."

~Havelock Ellis~

 

Life doesn't happen catastrophically, even though that's how it might sometimes feel. Life happens in cycles, and rhythmically, like the tides and the seasons and the revolutions of the earth.

     Sometimes we want instant results and instant gratification, but anything worthwhile takes time to establish, and even more time to develop and grow.

Time is my friend and it carries me gently forward one day at a time.