OUR GREAT IDEA

"We can't know how something will turn out until we try it, 

and then we get immediate feedback."

~ Dan Thurmon ~

We get a great idea.

We act on it,

And it flops. 

There may be consequences. 

We might beat ourselves up.

But we can't UN-do it.

We have to live with 

Whatever the result may be.

I trust that all outcomes- even those that seem undesirable- somehow serve the greater good. 

GOING ROUND AND ROUND

"I move easily between the seasons."

~James McGrath ~

A beginning is always an ending

And an ending is always a beginning.

It's how life works. 

I accept the cyclical nature of this living experience. 

RAIN OR DRY?

"Life takes care of life."

~ Mooji ~

There was no call for rain in the weather forecast I saw, 

Everything has been super dry,

And I felt a kind of pressure to get all the plants watered

So they wouldn't

Dry up

Or die. 

I had angst about me

As I pulled the hose from 

Section to section,

And went through the day

Aware that there was more to get to.

And then, in the late afternoon,

I saw a slice of lightning 

And grey clouds developing,

Followed by a soaking shower,

And was reminded that things have a way of working out,

So no need for angst or pressure.

I can relax about my business,

And take it all in stride.

I remember to make allowance in my schedule for God's Grace. 

SIDE BY SIDE

"What you choose also chooses you."

~ Kamand Kojouri ~

It facilitates choosing greatly to choose between 2 things- this or that- rather than be given multiple options, or something open-ended. "Whatever you want," is very difficult to respond to. Often we don't know what we want until we have two things side by side and we can compare and determine a preference. So, when trying to determine what others want, let's break it down for them, and make it as simple as possible, and do the same for ourselves. 

I simplify the choosing process by limiting the choices. 

THIS WAY AND THAT

"I will swear by a thing to-day but I will have the courage to denounce it tomorrow, if needs be."

~ Muriel Strode~ 

I am helping a good friend move this week-

Everything in boxes, or otherwise protected and packed.

I've done it so many times myself-

The bittersweet journey of closing one chapter,

And beginning another.

It's all of life really,

Moving,

Moving,

Moving. 

We land wherever we land and say, "Never again,"

And a few years later,

or a few days later,

Or a few hours later,

Our vision has shifted,

Our energy has lifted,

Or fallen,

And we are at it again.

Life is ever and always in flux.

HIGH INTEGRITY YARD EFFORTS

"A rising tide lifts all boats."

~ American Aphorism ~

I've been privileged to witness high integrity yard efforts

Rub off on others.

When one of us cares about doing a good job,

Doing a good job

Becomes a desirable thing.

And perhaps it works in the opposite direction as well

With not caring...

In light of the insight,

It's worth considering...

In which direction do we tend?

Doing a good job matters to me. I care.

WHERE IS THE STABILITY?

"Learning how to operate a soul figures to take time."

~ Timothy Leary ~

Looking back on our lives, we can see that we have outgrown many phases. 

"I'm not that person anymore," we tell ourselves,

And others.

So the question is,

If we're not that person anymore, who was that person?

And who are we now?

Who I am in the world is constantly in flux.

SIMPLER THAN WE MAKE IT

"It's good to be alive right about now."

~ Andy Grammer ~

Mostly,

What we have to do in life is

show up for it:

Wake up,

Be alive,

Feel our feelings, and

Speak our truths.

It's simpler than we make it-

Nothing to prove,

No one to impress-

Just present,

And authentic,

And in the game. 

I show up for life.  

READY TO GO OFF

"The past lies upon the present like a giant's dead body.":

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne ~

We drag our past around with us like a ball and chain. 

It lurks in the background 

of our every happening

like a cocked trigger

Ready to go off. 

Painful experiences in the past excite fear in the present.

And happy memories stir up false hope.

It's a limit on our lives,

That's the point.

It keeps things

Stale,

When life is meant to 

be

lived 

fresh!

I accept the past, and don't let it enslave me. 

LIVING COMMUNITY

"It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and posses you in a reverie of suspended thought."

~ James Douglas ~

These days, the flowers in my garden are my primary community. 

I miss being out in the world with people, 

but not being able to do that, 

I find the gardens make good company. 

     Every day, someone new is thriving, 

someone is in need of water or pruning, 

someone is wilted from the heat, and 

someone wants to move. 

It's a living community like any other, and I tend to it with curiosity and love. 

     The flowers and I give to each other, 

struggle together, 

and dance in the hot breeze as the days wind there way along. 

I thank God for gardens. 

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE TRUTH

"I am vast. I contain multitudes."

~ Walt Whitman ~

I am a mother and a daughter and a wife and an athlete and a writer and a gardener 

and a lover of nature. 

I am a hard worker. 

I am strong.

And in some way, all of these things describe who I am,

And in another,

they don't describe me at all.

Who I am is deeper than the role I play in the manifest world. 

PROBLEM SOLVING COMMUNICATION

"The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~

I am grateful to have learned that there's not much in a relationship

That can't be 

Freed,

Cleared,

Let go, and

Resolved,

Through the simple process of

Having a conversation.

It takes two open and willing people,

the courage to speak up, and

the curiosity to listen,

But that's all it takes.

The rest is up to Grace.

And life always feels better

When whatever needs to be said

Has been 

Said. 

I share from the heart and listen in kind. 

GARDEN DISCOVERY

"It wouldn't be a picnic without the ants."

~ Colloquial Saying ~

I discovered grubs in the garden today,

And I guess 

Sometimes

That's just the way it goes. 

I take challenges in stride.

RISING IRE

"Laughter is a feather. Anger is a brick."

~ Terri Guillemets ~

On any given day,

A handful of situations might arise

To raise our pulse

And our ire.

Something unpleasant to deal with

could come in the form of an email,

Or a phone call,

Or a report on the news.

And the question is,

How do we keep these happenings

From stealing our peace?

How do we let them go?

Primarily, I suppose,

We have to watch our mind's desire to 

Be interested in them, and start weaving 

A complex narrative

With layers of meaning, and plans of retribution.

And breathing helps.

And listening and looking and getting

Fully present in the moment.

And movement,

And music,

And distraction, 

And humor.

Life will trigger us.

When it does, 

will we

Go off?

Even in testy situations, I keep my cool. 

THANK GOD

"If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, it will be enough."

~ Meister Eckhart ~

Thank God for flowers,

For daylight and dusk,

For good music to move to,

Hugs to soothe you,

And love, love, love. 

We are blessed. 

LIFE'S PARADOX

"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."

~ Ovid ~

When there's too much rain, 

And everything is muddy and washing away,

We'd do anything for sunshine;

And when the earth is dry and dusty

And burnt up,

We'd do anything for rain. 

I stop wanting things to be other than they are. 

NO LONGER A VICTIM

"Knowledge is power."

~ Thomas Jefferson ~

We can complain about a situation forever-

How we don't like it,

How it frustrates us,

How we wish it were different,

But there is no power in that.

When we accept it as it is,

And deal with it from there,

That's something!

Then we have choices,

And the burden is lifted,

And we're no longer a victim,

And we can do as we please. 

If I find myself complaining about something in an ongoing way, I stop talking and get into action. 

TRIGGERED

"One of the habits of the mind is the invention of horrible imaginings."

~ Jotge Luis Borges ~

Happily going about our day, our ego can 

suddenly be triggered 

and we become

instantly irritable.

It's like a flame ignition.

We are lit.

Generally, it's something unpleasant from the past

That has been drug to the surface,

And connects one negative narrative to another

Like a stream of connected handkerchiefs 

out of a magician's hat.

And they will keep on coming until we 

Wake up

And catch the process in action.

It's not unusual for our mind

To want 

To take us down.

I learn the ways of mind games. 

SIMPLE, QUIET, AND CLEAR

"Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have."

~ Eckhart Tolle ~

Perhaps now more than ever we can benefit from simple pleasures,

Sensations,

Changing light.

We can elevate our world by picking

A bouquet of wildflowers,

Or watching chirping birds

as they twitter

And swoop;

Tasting coffee

Or tea,

A sweet peach,

Or 

Cold water in delicious gulps. 

We don't have to be at the mercy of any narrative.

It's up to us.

We write the script.

The pleasures of life remain. 

WEEDING

"To know when to go away and when to come closer is the key to any lasting relationship."

~ Domenico Cieri Estrada ~

Without proper maintenance and care, 

life, 

like a garden, 

returns to chaos.

I value a sense of order and keep things neat. 

SHORTCUTS

"A stitch in time saves nine."

~ Ben Franklin ~

Shortcuts don't always work the way we hope they will, 

maybe because of the energy that's involved in wanting to take them in the first place. 

We think up a clever way to save time and save work- 

make it easier.

But sometimes, 

maybe even more often than not- 

the shortcut we come up with ends up taking longer, 

and requiring more effort,

than the obvious, 

straightforward, 

strong and 

steady 

way through.

To get the job done, we just have to do it. 

CONTESTING OPINIONS

"To each their own."

~ English Idiom ~

It's easy to think we know what it's like to be someone else, 

but the truth is, 

We don't.

And they don't know what it's like to be us.

We create the world we live in.

We pick and choose what's important and what's not.

And, while it's true that beyond the surface mental noise

We are one at the core,

That's a truth missed by most.

So what we're left with

Is contesting opinions,

Myriad visions,

And insistent thoughts.

I take care of me, and trust you to take care of you.