SAD

"One's suffering disappears when one lets oneself go- when one yields- even to sadness."

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~

Experiencing our sadness brings relief. Acknowledging our hurt feelings and wounded souls, honoring our betrayals and abuses, feeling our pain- these are what free us- not repression, not a stiff upper lip, and not mastering the art of pretending everything is ok- when it's clearly not.

When I am sad, it is my very sadness itself that restores me to joy.

STRANGER FAVORS

"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him."

~ Booker T. Washington ~

I was asked recently, by a complete stranger, to "watch her stuff please" while she went to get a coffee, and her "stuff" included her computer, which, if she is anything like me, is probably fairly vital to her office related life.
     I imagine most of us have done this, or been asked by others to do this, and it fascinates me, especially since it probably almost always works out just fine. How can we be so certain about which strangers are trustworthy?

I observe myself thinking I know for sure what I may not actually know.

MAYBE, MAYBE NOT

"If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today."

~ E. Joseph Cossman ~

What seems so urgent today may not matter in a week or two, 

and much of what we cannot solve ends up solving itself. 

Our scheming and figuring is so much less important than it seems.

I take my worries with a grain of salt. 

BODY WISDOM

"A trembling in the bones may carry a more convincing testimony than the dry documented deductions of the brain."

~ Llewellyn Powers ~

It's possible to overthink ourselves into an existence where 

we lose touch with our bodies 

except to judge and complain about them. 

We become thinking machines and the wisdom of our flesh and muscle is abandoned, or lost. 

This is a tragic state of affairs.

     The deep knowing of our bodies can heal our spirits if we let it, 

and guide us, 

and soothe us in just the right way.

I let my body take the lead for a change, instead of my mind.

BARB WIRE AND PRICKERS

"Change always comes bearing gifts."

~ Price Pritchett ~

I have been clearing fence lines of prickers and barb wire and old gnarly vines; cutting back dead and overgrown branches, and cleaning up roadside trash. And it hasn't been a particularly enjoyable job- thorns prick me and get caught in my hair and swipe at my face- but it nonetheless has been satisfying.
     One of our neighbors stopped and was chitty chatting with me about the progress we've made on the property, and she was saying when it came to some of the stuff there was to do around her place that she just closed her eyes and pretended not to see, and I responded that we were in a phase right now where we needed to see- and I was interested to hear myself say that- because we do.
   

I clear away what no longer serves me to make room for new growth.

   

DISAPPROVAL

"People will disapprove of you if you're unhappy or if you're happy in The Wrong Way."

~ Mignon McLaughlin ~

I am sensitive to the disapproval of others, and I imagine I'm not the only one who is.

Let's be sure to judge not, lest we be judged.

I make generous allowances for people and keep my negative opinions in check. 

THINKING OTHERS SHOULD KNOW

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."

~ John F. Kennedy ~

When my children (twins) were little I bought them mini-tricycles with handles so I could push them both at the same time and all they had to do was keep their feet on the pedals and steer: obvious and simple... except that they didn't know how to steer. At age two, they had no experience with it or reference to it. And still, it made me mad when I shouted, "Steer!" and they didn't know.
     How often in life do we expect others to know what we think they should know and feel frustrated when they don't?

I make no assumptions.