SWEET AND SAVORY

"There aren't enough days in the weekend."

~ Rod Schmidt ~

 

I feel a little sad and nostalgic at the end of every weekend- that it has passed and we are all back to work yet again. Some of the action and momentum of Monday through Friday is energizing and ok, but much of it is exhausting and takes its toll. I go at it heartily and with mostly good humor, and understand the need for balance and productivity, but nonetheless, there is something sweet and delicious about the unstructured time of weekends.

 

I love to work, but I also love time off from working.

THE POWER OF CHOICE

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live."

~Flora Whittemore ~

I choose fitness. I choose positivity. I choose love and kindness, encouragement and praise. I choose clean living, appreciation for small pleasures, self-discipline, persistence, courage, and faith. And what I choose defines my life. Our choices make us who we are.
     So as we rise each day and start to move about, let's raise our consciousness and improve the quality of our lives. Everyday, we have the gift of fresh choosing, and the opportunity to re-invent our lives.

I choose richness and goodness, courtesy, and grace.

HURRYING

"One can only see clearly

If one goes slowly

Quick motion creates a life-blur."

~Terri Guillemets ~

The hurrying mindset is a type of sickness. It robs us of pleasure and ease. It lacks trust in the natural rhythms of life. And yet, we live in a hurried, harried, rushing world- caffeinated, on edge, and rigid with nervous tension and fear.
     Let's make the decision not to participate. Let's slow down instead, and enjoy what's happening, and every moment of our precious lives.

I refuse to hurry, and make the decision to remain calm no matter what.

INTO SPRING!

"And spring arose on the garden fair,

Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;

And each flower and herb on earth's dark breast

rose from the dreams of its wintry rest."

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley ~

 

Into spring is a transitional time with longer days, blooming crocuses, and emerging buds of all kinds. The air and light are more alive than the passing winter stillness, and our hearts and lungs feel the change. It's the season of renewal. Let's look for, and find, the ways and means to renew ourselves; to freshen up and open brightly like the very landscape we inhabit.

 

I am willing to grow and blossom like a spring bud.

UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTERS

"The one charm of the past is that it is the past."

~ Oscar Wilde ~

It's unsettling to get confronted by someone from our past when we least expect it, especially if there was any kind of discomfort or dysfunction in our previous interactions. But such not-necessarily-welcome sightings can be instructive. They demonstrate how far we have come, give us an opportunity to make amends for any lingering sense of guilt we may carry, and allow us to take back the power we have left lodged in old stuff.

Sightings from my past give me the opportunity to clear away emotional cobwebs from the corners of my soul.

FORGIVENESS TO GO ROUND

"Forgiveness does not change the past but it does enlarge the future."

 ~Paul Brault ~

If we all got exactly what we deserved, our lives might be less blessed than they are. And what if we were judged by our thoughts instead of our actions? Thank God for grace and mercy and the forgiveness of our trespasses. Where would we be without them?
     And it seems only reasonable to me that we should be as gracious and merciful with others: as forgiving of their wrongdoings, as understanding of their misperceptions, and as tolerant of their flaws.

As I have been forgiven for all of my imperfections and mis-steps, let me be forgiving of others.

SAYING WHAT WE MEAN

"To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of theway to getting it answered."

~ John Ruskin ~

Sometimes we think we are asking for what we want, but we do it so softly and inadvertently that it seems more like an apology than a request. Let's have the courage to state it plainly, and specifically. That way, we can be sure not to be misunderstood.
    

I stop beating around the bush with hints and innuendos and say what I mean.