TURNING IT AROUND

"Each of us is something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against ourselves."

~ Martin Luther King Jr. ~

Some days life seems so simple and straightforward and good, and other days it's dark and convoluted and arduous and bleak. Is it the day, or is it us? And if it's us, then that's good news, because then we have the power to change our experience, to catch ourselves making it all so miserable and turn the day around.

I have the power to change the day!

THE REACTIVE ALTERNATIVE

"A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul."

~ James Allen ~

The opportunity often arises in life to escalate or de-escalate a situation, to become combative or let things be. What's important to acknowledge is that it's our choice. We are free agents, not victims at the mercy of triggers and opinions and argumentative folk.

In any life circumstance I can be pugilant or peaceful. 

It's my choice. 

SOME WILL AND SOME WON'T

"When nobody around you seems to measure up, it's time to check your yardstick."

~ Bill Lemley ~

Not everyone will like us, or jump on our bandwagon when we have a great idea. 

Some will and some won't, and that's as it should be. 

 Diversity empowers us and makes us strong.

I am grateful for different points-of-view. 

MAYBE, MAYBE NOT

"Every one of us is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day.."

~ Elbert Hubbard ~

We think we know.

We think we're right.

and yet, 

we may not be.

So it's best to pay close attention,

listen well,

and keep an open mind.

I am wrong about things more than I care to admit.

GRATEFUL

"Praise the bridge that carried you over."

~ George Colman ~

I am grateful for the opportunity to experience the whole range of emotions;

To witness the weather as it changes, and all the living things that cycle through the seasons.

I am grateful for friends and community,

I am grateful for solitude.

I am grateful for walks and art and the camera on my phone.

I am grateful for my family,

For animals, for Nature, and for color.

I am grateful that I have so much that I'm grateful for that I can't possibly include it all here.

Mostly though, and rather essentially, 

I am grateful for my life and my health, and for the fact that I get a new day, every day.

What a blessing that is, and a gift!

The list to feel good about is endless. 

Truly, it is. 

INTERACTING WITH THE MYSTERIOUS

"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous."

~ Charlotte Clemensen ~

We think of someone and then they call. 

We need something and information about it crosses our path. 

We are ready to try something new and are granted an out-of-nowhere opportunity.

Are these coincidences?

Do we create them energetically?

How do we explain the synchronicity we experience in our lives?

I don't have to understand the "why" in order to appreciate the "why not?"

SIMPLE LIVING

"With an unquiet mind, neither exercise, nor diet, nor physick can be of much use."

~ Samuel Johnson ~

The idea of simple living has always appealed to me, and yet, more often than not, 

life doesn't feel simple.  

My thinking mind makes it complex with all its dodging and blaming and doubting and fear. 

     In the space of clear mind, all is well, 

though sometimes 

a clear mind 

is hard to come by. 

I appreciate my quiet mind, 

and have sympathy for my noisy one. 

SHIFTING MOODS

"My mind is like a seed packet of assorted wildflowers- 

I get happiness and sadness and whatever else pops up."

~ Terri Guillemets ~

The world I experience is a direct reflection of my mood, 

and what is glorious in one moment can be suffocating in the next. 

The only thing certain about life is that it is constantly in flux, 

because I am, 

from morning to midnight, 

and dawn till dusk.

I accept the changing nature of my life. 

THE POINT OF STRUCTURE

"If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else."

~ Lawrence J. Peter ~

I like to have a plan. It gives me a structure within which to operate, and a direction, and a way to anticipate what's to come.
     I understand that plans change, that that's what they do, but I still like to make them. Otherwise I am bobbing about on the surface of life at the mercy of whatever may come.

I make plans and remain flexible.

NON-SPECIFIC SADNESS

"Sorrow like rain makes roses and mud."

~ Austin O'Malley ~

Sometimes I just feel sad in a non-specific sort of way: 

maybe it's sorry for myself and the perceived hardship of my day, 

or maybe it has something to do with the broader human condition. 

Whatever it is, 

I can't will myself out of it. 

It seems to want desperately to be acknowledged and felt.

I honor my sadness whenever it shows up. 

THE GARDEN AS TEACHER

"No two gardens are the same (and) no two days are the same in one garden."

~ Hugh Johnson ~

As a gardener, I decide what lives and what dies.

It's strange really.

While I'm urging some things to grow and thrive, others I pluck out and discard.

Pruning, dead-heading, weeding, watering,

It's all part of the path that is the cycle of life.

Live, die, grow, bloom, go dormant, revive, overgrow, dry out, get blown over...

It cycles and cycles in endless swirls,

And the beauty and the pleasure is in the process of it,

because nothing is ever the same-

Some things live and some die- 

from one day to the next.

I observe and participate in the patterns of life.

DISTORTED HOPE

"Lord save us all from old age and broken health and a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms."

~ Mark Twain ~

We want what we don't have 

because 

resistance to things as they are 

gives us some kind of distorted hope for the future, 

but it robs us of appreciation in the moment 

and joy in the day.

If I can open to it, there is plenty happening right here and now to give me great satisfaction.

BOGGED DOWN

"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is."

~ Francis Bacon ~

I've gotten bogged down in seriousness lately, been pulled at and trapped by it, like stepping in quicksand, where it's seemingly impossible to be free.
     Lightness refreshes me and I have been heavy and slow to laughter, dense and dark with the perceived problems of my thinking mind.

When I lose my humor, I lose my light. 

THE MEASURE OF SLOPPY LIVING

"Hold integrity sacred."

~ The Myrtle, 1884 ~

We think we can get away with something slightly less than integrity, with ourselves, and with others. If it's a small enough slip, we figure no one will know, and what real harm can it do anyway?

And yet,

For every cause there is an effect, no matter how small,

And the cost of anything less than our best

Can be measured,

And felt.

It's always worth it to do the next right thing, and if we fall off the beam, to get right back on track. 

THE WAY IT WORKS

"Always remember," the storyteller told the wide-eyed children, "once-upon-a-time in a tale also means Now."

~ Dr. SunWolf ~

It always starts with an idea 

that produces a story we tell ourselves about

how it will be, 

and what it will mean.

And then it happens,

And the reality is completely different than our story.

So we make up a new one.

And on we go. 

I bring awareness to the stories I tell myself.

FORCED FLEXIBILITY

"It is only the long and patient road that leads to anywhere."

~ Muriel Strode ~

Sometimes not only does nothing go as planned or hoped, but things also get stuck in ways that require immense patience. It's that modern effect of non-common-sensical information and circumstances we are force fed and just have to deal with- traffic and hold times on phone calls only to get a human who has no humanity, and waiting for food in busy restaurants, and computer downloads- silly things mostly, and yet, they cramp our flow... or they can, unless we're able to be quietly observant, and filled with good humor, and happily, spiritually fit.

I stay in good spiritual shape so I can navigate the frustrations of life with grace. 

CONSIDERATION

"Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not."

~ Samuel Johnson ~

Life is full of triggers and feeling dismissed is definitely one of mine.

Consideration matters.

Acknowledgement matters,

And courtesy is key. 

My feelings count.

THE BEST WE CAN DO

"Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still."

~ Chinese Proverb ~ 

Sometimes our best effort is inspired and effective and the results are magnificent.

And sometimes our best effort is a trudge through slush. 

And either way is ok.

Truly.

We are not meant to be "on" at all times.

Our abilities are contingent on energy and motivation and the weather and our mood,

And that's as it should be.

So let's enjoy it when the energy is flowing, and accept it gracefully when it's not.

Our abilities and the ease or difficulty of our required efforts shift ceaselessly like the tide.

FREEDOM FROM DEPENDENCY

"The greatest wealth is health."

~ Virgil ~

I used to drink a lot and do drugs just to deal with everyday living. It felt like more than I could bear to manage it all straight. And if someone suggested that I might be overdoing it, I felt they didn't properly understand my situation, and I couldn't imagine living any other way.
     And now I don't drink or do drugs, and I can't imagine how I ever lived that way, which proves that change can happen, and that what seems important and impossible to us now may not be forever.  I have learned beyond the shadow of a doubt that help is available, that we are not alone, that life deserves our full participation, and that it's well worth experiencing without being fogged in a chemical haze.

I keep my head clear and experience life as it comes. 

OK TO BE WHO WE ARE

"To the question of your life, you are the only answer."

~ Jo Coudert ~

It's ok to do the things that we love to do.

In fact, that's what we're supposed to do!

Not force feed ourselves on our list of shoulds,

And choke and sputter as we swallow them down,

But delight in the taste and sensation of what suits us 

To a tee. 

I make time for the activities I enjoy!

LIFE MAINTENENCE

"The old broom knows the corners."

~ Irish Saying ~

A certain amount of our life has to be applied to life maintenance.

There's no getting around this.

We have adventures, and projects, and work and community and pleasure,

And in between and around it all is self-care, 

And house cleaning,

And paying bills,

and filling up with gas.

The secret to happiness is taking the "chore" out of our chores and turning them into beloved routines.