ALL SAINTS' DAY

"At first cock crow the ghosts must go

Back to their quiet graves below."

~ Theodosia Garrison ~

All-Saints Day follows Halloween like fresh air follows a thunderstorm: from chaos to calm, ghouls to angels, and darkness to light.

The sweetest quiet comes after raucous noise.

HALLOWEEN

"Tonight All-Hallows Spectre struts along the moonlit way." 

~ John Kendrick Bangs ~

I am haunted by music from the past that takes me back to feelings I'd rather not feel, by convoluted and confusing dreams, by misunderstanding I cannot fix, stays at the hospitals, and riddling self-doubt. And I am released from the grip of these ghosts by being willing to see them and live with them and let them be what they are. What haunts me, haunts in order to teach, and a higher purpose can be found if I look and ask and wonder.

I live with ghosts of all kinds from every era of my life.

THE NEXT RIGHT THING

"Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it." 

~ David Star ~

The next right thing to do is not always fun or what we necessarily want to do, but it does make us feel good after the fact because it is always right.

Knowing that I have to live with the voices inside my head, I do the next right thing no matter what.

HIGH MILEAGE

"Wrinkles merely indicate where smiles have been."

~ Mark Twain ~

My car has 208,000 miles on it, and in some ways, it is a bit worse for wear. The back window is stuck part way down and has to be taped, the electronic displays are missing bars and can't be read; the ceiling is peeling, and there are a few leaks I have to keep an eye on. But by and large, it steadies on, and is a comfortable, smooth ride down the road.
     I celebrate the endurance of my car. It has held up through thick and thin. And if we think about it in the right way, aren't our bodies a bit like that as well?

I acknowledge and appreciate all of the storms I've survived.

SPORTSMANSHIP

"True sportsmanship is knowing that you need your opponent because without him or her, there is no game." 

~ Lori Myers ~

It does seem strange in life that some people have a relatively smooth ride and others are on extreme roller coasters right from the get-go. And I'm not sure how much of that has to do with the choices we make, or with karma, or with God's higher plan. The fact is that we can't know. All we can do is bring our best attitude to the game and be good sports no matter how it plays out.

I play the cards life deals me the very best I can. 

CLEAN COMMUNICATION

"Watch your own speech, and notice how it is guided by your less conscious purposes." 

~ George Eliot ~

Some conversational topics are toxic to our well-being: religion and politics being chief among them. Strongly held opinions and inflexible perspectives do not make for open discussion and a meeting of the minds, and interacting in such a case is more like being pummeled with a machine-gun than being led intellectually to a new point of view.

I avoid toxic conversations. 

CHANGE IN PLANS

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

~ Havelock Ellis ~

We can make our best plans, but nothing guarantees that they will not get interrupted by unexpected needs and demands. Our daily priorities can shift in an instant when accidents strike, sickness settles in, or Mother Nature kicks up an insurmountable patch of weather.
     And when things like this happen, it's ok to feel disappointed, but festering in resentment will do nothing but poison us, and ultimately, it doesn't change a thing.

I make the best of a bad situation, and remain fluid and flexible when life requires a change in plans.

LIVING FREE

"Freedom begins between the ears." 

~ Edward Abby ~

Steady and free from encumbrances- that's the way to live- not trailing a bunch of unfinished business from the past or fret over the future. If we put down our burden of concerns, we can feel light and lucid, experience pleasure in the little things, and live for the day.

Just for today, I am willing to let go of all that is weighing me down. 

A NEW TWIST ON SAVING TIME

"There are a million ways to lose a day, but not even a single way to get one back." 

~ Tom Demarco ~

We overspend our time the same way we overspend on credit cards- with less care than is ultimately beneficial, and flippantly, as if we will have the money later that we don't have now. But in the long run, it has to be better to spend cash and savor each moment, for how can it ultimately serve us in any meaningful way to live by borrowing money or borrowing time?

I am careful and thoughtful with both my money and my time.

THE GIFT OF NOT KNOWING

"To teach how to live with uncertainty, yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy can do." 

~ Bertrand Russel ~

I used to want to know exactly how things were going to play out so that I could manage my expectations, and not knowing made me mad; but now I realize that there is a gift in the not knowing after all. Having no certainty or guarantees about the future makes us more clearly value our lives where they are, and exactly as they are.

Not knowing how the path will unfold- whether grandly, or with great pain- I appreciate each bit of goodness that  I experience along the way. 

OVERFULL-NESS

"Clear clutter. Make space for you." 

~ Magdalena Vandenberg ~

The paper towel holder at work is always overfull and jammed to capacity- so full, in fact, that it becomes nearly impossible to get a paper towel out of it when we need one.
     And aren't our lives the same way when we overfill them?

I leave room in my schedule for movement and free-play.

EMOTIONAL WORKLOAD

"Give your stress wings and let it fly away." 

~ Terri Guillemets ~

In some way, emotional challenges are more exhausting than physical ones. Having to stretch our conceptual vision to allow for unreachable people and circumstances that tug in every conceivable way on our heartstrings is demanding in a way that a strenuous workout at the gym simply is not.
     And yet, they both require recovery time, and they both strengthen us and build our endurance, so in that way they are the same.
     Nonetheless, I would rather lift weights than carry an emotional load. It can be, and so often is, seemingly more than we can bear.

I have compassion for the way that emotional strain puts demand on my soul.

FRESH AIR

"Over everything connected with autumn there lingers some golden spell- some unseen influence that penetrates the soul with its mysterious power." 

~ Northern Advocate ~

Perfect blue sky glorious fall weather invigorates my spirit and feeds my soul. I love everything about the fresh air when it really feels fresh, and the changing leaves, rustling wind, apples, berries, and seasonal light.

I celebrate the fresh fall air!

STANDING UP STRAIGHT

"Nothing is more injurious to the health... than stooping." 

~ Job Orton ~

Our postural vigilance could often use improvement. Even when we feel like we're standing up straight, we may not be, and videos and pictures show us how unknowingly slack we have become.
     Let's bring extra awareness to our bodies today, and carry them with a sense of pride and appreciation- abs lengthened, chest lifted, head up, and shoulders back.

I honor my body and my life by standing up straight.

HOW WE STORE MEMORIES

"Every man's memory is his private literature." 

~ Aldous Huxley ~

It's one thing to overcome difficulty and face challenge, but it's another entirely to store it properly in our memory and in our heart. We have choices in terms of how we do this. We can punish ourselves ceaselessly with our errors, or bless ourselves with celebration and love.

I credit myself with whatever positive effort I may make, and forgive myself for my mistakes.

ADAPTABILITY

"I think I've discovered the secret of life- you just hang around until you get used to it." 

~ Charles Schultz ~

Things that are initially uncomfortable to think about and assimilate become more comfortable with time. Familiarity induces a sense of well-being. And we crave homeostasis and equilibrium, so if something is pulling us out of balance, we adapt and adjust however we need to for counterbalance. Our powers of adaptation are limitless, and profound.

I am adaptable and vast and able to absorb and assimilate any kind of strangeness or discomfort that I may face.

THE SWEET RHYTHM OF TIME

"I'm not the station. I'm not the stop. I'm the train. I'm the train." 

~ Martin Amis ~

In this distractable, hurried, and over-worked era in which we live, it's hard to relate comfortably to time. It seems to move so fast, that we never have enough of it, and that we're in a kind of race against it- to keep up and not get left behind. But all of the angst is in us, it's not in time. Time is evolutionary and process oriented and not interested in deadlines.
     Learning to move comfortably through our hours and days is a form of art, and once we master it, every moment is a blessing and a gift, we lack for nothing, and all is ever and always exactly as it should be.

I stop pushing and forcing and hurrying and let time carry me gently like a leaf floating down the stream.

PUTTING OURSELVES OUT THERE

"Behold the turtle. he makes progress only when he sticks his neck out." 

~ James Bryant Conant ~

Putting ourselves out there in the world can be a bit intimidating at times. We wonder what others will think and how we might be criticized or judged. But that's not a reason to shy away. We can't please everyone, nor should we want to. The reason to carry on and move forward is because of the one, few, or many in whose lives we might actually make a difference.

It's worth it to take a risk for whatever positive impact we might have on the world.

MAKE THE MOST OF IT

"God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them." 

~ John Aughey ~

Not knowing how things will turn out usually feels scary, but maybe it doesn't have to. Maybe we can welcome whatever comes with an open heart knowing that no matter what, it will grow us and evolve us and carry us to the next level of life adventure and the next.

I use everything that happens in my life as fuel for evolution and emotional development.

THE END RESULT

"Let loose upon the Earth till it be light." 

~ Nicholas Gordon ~

Organizing events can be overwhelming, but no matter how many pieces and loose ends have to come together before it's done, somehow, they always do!

I trust the coming together of myriad components and multiple loose ends.

RESPECTING WHAT MATTERS

"'It's a question of discipline,' the Little Prince told me later on, 'When you've finished washing and dressing each morning, you must tend your planet.'" 

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~

In high school, lots of my friends used to love to borrow clothes from each other, but I never particularly cared for it. My clothes fit me just right and were comfortably mine. I didn't like the idea of others being potentially less than respectful with things that mattered in my little world.

I use great care when lending and borrowing things of value. 

DEALING WITH MESSES

"When there is hell to pay, it is usually cheaper to pay it than to finance an endless purgatory. 

~ Robert Brault ~

Sometimes things that go awry are easy to fix, and sometimes they're not. What seems as if it should be straightforward isn't, and becomes convoluted and complex, like strings that knot beyond reason in a disentangling attempt.
     The only answer at that point is patience. We have to take a deep breath, settle in for however long it takes, and un-do the mess piece by piece and bit by bit.

I stay calm in tangled-up situations and patiently undo the knots.