ACCEPTANCE

"Acceptance is the answer to all of my problems."

~Bill Wilson~

 

I don't always anticipate things with pleasure. In fact, more frequently than I care to admit, I am filled with a certain amount of dread and negativity. I feel sure that I will be wrecked by whatever is coming and be unable to survive. I resist what I have no real power to stop, and I suffer for my resistance.
     Sometimes I need a bit of grace to make the shift into acceptance, but once I get there all is well again. And I get through whatever I have to get through, the way I always have, one little bit at a time. And sometimes, most of the time in fact, I even experience some unexpected happiness along the way.

If I can recognize my resistance to things and find a way to let be whatever is, then I can experience peace within.

THE RHYTHM OF LIFE

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony."

~Thomas Merton~

 I like the rhythm of my life. I like the rhythm of my early mornings before work, my late afternoons and evenings, and my days off. There is something soothing and comforting about these repeated routines- even the blast and go and give to the point of exhaustion that I do at work- and the writing, writing, writing in every spare moment.
     I like the rhythm of my life with my husband, walks with our dog, conversations around the table, and the rising and falling light. Even when getting through the day takes more effort than usual, more pick-me-up and go-through-the-motions, I am still able to appreciate the repetitive rhythms of my established routines.

I am grateful for the circular flow of my life.

GROWING THROUGH LIFE

"The only thing that is constant is change."

~Heraclitus~

 

When we are in one evolutionary stage, we cannot imagine outgrowing it, and once we've outgrown it and look back, we cannot imagine having been satisfied being there. We are so blind in some ways. We are not able to take change and progress into account when we think about our futures. We imagine ourselves just as we are, but ten years down the road.
     And it's not our fault that we can't anticipate how life will change us and grow us, but we need to remember that likely possibility when we try to lay down our future plans in permanent marker. When we finally get there, we may end up wanting something entirely different than whatever we were able to anticipate.

I plan for the future but allow for the possibility of a change in heart or a change in mind or a change in me.

CURSE WORDS

"Language is the dress of thought."

~Samuel Johnson~

Sometimes I can get on a roll using curse words as adjectives and expletives and just to emphasize my point. In the past, I have felt a certain satisfaction in doing so, and when my children were little I used to tell them that using such words was a privilege of adulthood. But the truth is that when I hear other people cursing, it jars me. It seems startling and rude, surprisingly vulgar, and most definitely not-attractive. And that's not how I want to be. So it's a good reminder.
     Let's be instruments of courtesy in this rough and rugged world in which we live, and commit to not cursing. Let's clean up our language and find better words to emphasize our point.

I commit to not cursing. Life lacks courtesy enough without me adding to the vulgarity.

TRUSTING GOD

"Our distrust is very expensive."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

 

Sometimes I forget to trust in God's timing. I take on more responsibility for outcomes than is mine to take on, and I suffer for it. I waste precious energy trying to force solutions and guarantee success when all I really need to do is to show up and keep an open mind.    

     Everything presents itself as it should when it should, and I believe that there are reasons for all that happens that are beyond my limited understanding. So my energy might be better spent accepting life as it happens instead of trying to run the show.

I trust that everything happens on time, so I stop trying to rush the process.

TAKING FIVE

"Work is not always required. There is such a thing as sacred idleness."

~George MacDonald~

 

It feels good, every once in a while, to give myself a break; to be cozy and silly and utterly non-productive. I am productive 99.9% of the time. I needn't feel guilty for an occasional lazy day.

Every so often I need to do nothing but lounge around.

SAYING OUR THANKS

"The struggle ends when the gratitude begins."

~Neale Donald Walsch~

 

I am grateful for the lengthening days. I am grateful for sunshine and fresh air. I am grateful for love and compassion and forgiveness and the way that time heals all wounds. I am grateful for my voice and for words and for music and for good books. I am grateful for candle-lit meals and laughter and an occasional dessert. I am grateful for the rising dawn and settling dusk. I am grateful for high noon. I am grateful for my good health and the good health of those I love. I am grateful for mountains and colors and heartfelt tears. I am grateful for smiles and the gift of being alive. I am grateful.

I recognize my blessings and express my gratitude.