Goals

 This week I’m going to be planning and putting together a reveal party to show off my “new” bedroom set. This is a set of furniture I bought new in 1988 (can you picture the orange oak?), and finally gave new life after years - literally, years - of trying to figure out how I’d do it, and just what I’d do. What color paint? What new handles? How? Where?

In fits and starts, I finally made the choices and took action. It came together in a way that made me happy, but the process was like a path of potholes. If self-limitation was an art form, I’d qualify for a doctorate in Fine Arts. I set up so many unnecessary roadblocks that I might still be using orange furniture with that one drawer with rope handles where the ceramic and brass pieces broke. I’d still be second-guessing my color choices, my ability to apply decorative touches, the process of filling some holes and drilling some new ones.

Honestly, I can self-sabotage in a nano-second. What pulls me out of those times are the finishes, the checked-off items, the to-dos turned into ta-das. When I internalize how good it feels to reach the finish line, I can—hopefully—utilize that as the carrot I need to run after, rather than continue to perfect procrastination.

All that aside, I can revel in the finishing of this project, and having set a date to show it off, can work this week towards having a modicum of order in my apartment. 

Goals with dates attached can be acheived! I’m grateful to be feeling the truth of that.

I Deserve What, Now?

 I can get tied up in knots over the dumbest things, just because I think I deserve whatever it is that I want. Not always—I have a modicum of maturity, after all. It’s just that sometimes I get stuck in an idea which actually has no merit. I’ll gnaw on that bone for ages before I figure out that it has no meat. When that time finally comes, it isn’t usually because I’ve forgotten what I had wanted, but more likely is because I’ve been humbled out of my entitled attitude. Ego gets a talking-to, and Spirit can be heard.

It might just be that what I have is enough. What a concept—I don’t automatically deserve all the bells and whistles. Maybe, just maybe, I can appreciate all that I do have and express true gratitude for it all. 

What happens when I calm down and get out of Princess mode to truly be thankful for all that is in my life? There is a mental shift into a joyous acceptance of this present moment. All wanting does is to take me out of this moment to plop me down into the land of ‘I Deserve’. That’s a place rife with frustration, anger, envy, and discontent. 

I choose, when I’m being fully in the present, to live in joyful acceptance of what is. As the Serenity Prayer teaches so simply, if I am able to change a situation, I just want the courage to do so, and if I can’t change it, I just want to have peace about it, and all I need is a little wisdom to tell one from the other. 

I’m so grateful for having all that I have—shelter which I can afford, air-conditioning, a full pantry, clothes to wear, all the creature comforts I need. Life is pretty sweet, just as it is in this moment.

Going for the Gusto

 Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?   Mary Oliver

Today I plan to visit a doctor, to help protect my wild and precious health. Then I plan to ‘feather my nest’ and work on projects that enhance the quality of my life.

This “one wild and precious life” has many more days behind than ahead of it, so I plan to fully inhabit each one. I plan to examine my personal boundaries, and push them out a little bit each day. I intend to eat mindfully, with gratitude for each bite, move my body a little more, with gratitude for movement, write, draw, appreciate all I have and all I can do, and continue to practice gratitude each day.

I think that I will emulate my kitten today by playing when I need to burn energy, eating when I’m hungry, and napping when I get tired. My playtime will fall within the parameters of work, but if I do so joyfully, I get to call it ‘play’. When I nap, it will be with the appreciation of having accomplished something. When I eat, it will be with joyful gratitude for what I feed my body. 

Gratitude guides me as I live my life. It allows me to love, serve, and remember. It encourages me to go for the gusto, as each new day unfolds.

Inner Peace

 There are times of great excitement, joy, and wonder, and there are times of sadness, illness, and fear. What keeps a person going on and growing in steadiness? Where does inner peace come from? Is it there no matter what is going on in the conscious world?

This, I think, is the essence of a spiritual awakening—the absolute conviction that, no matter what, all is well. It is the essence of the laughing Buddha, the laughing Jesus. For me, it is the knowing that at my core, I am okay. Nothing and no one can take my innate joy. No matter what happens to my physical self, the sentient being that is me remains whole and perfect. I can experience serenity at all times by remembering this.

I relax and go within. I am connected to the Divine; I am the Divine manifested as me, just as you are the Divine manifested as you. I am here learning my lessons while being of service wherever I can, doing whatever I am able to do. I am here sometimes withdrawing from all the disorder, refreshing and renewing my strength, so that I can be of service to others while rediscovering the joy of living life as a physical being. All this and more! Life is supposed to be fun!

Today, I am grateful for experiencing the fun of life, the joy of service, and the inner peace which remains steady through it all.

Honesty

 I listened to a Stanford professor yesterday on NPR as she spoke about the nature of addictions and addictive behavior. It was fascinating stuff from my point of view as a sober alcoholic. In my case, I utilize the 12 Step model, but I’m aware that there are other approaches which can help people break their addictions.

She said that the one thing which shows up no matter which program a person seeking recovery uses is honesty. In AA, we refer to it as “rigorous honesty”, which is apt. I grew up telling lies, even when the truth was obvious, even when the lie made no sense. Telling the truth felt strangely like being naked, when all I wanted was to bundle up and hide myself.

My first foray into 12 Step programs was to attend a “sister” program - one where I could remain the victim to the behavior of another—or so I thought. I was amazed by the raw honesty I encountered in the participants as they shared their stories of victory over victimhood. I was unprepared and unwilling to be that honest. Besides, I usually attended meetings a little flushed from my afternoon cocktails. Me? The one with the problem? Naw!

After giving myself enough time to awaken to my reality and finding the willingness to be honest about it, I got real with myself and switched programs. Without honesty, I would still be reveling in my role as hapless victim. I would still be filled with anger and frustration. I would still be lying to myself about my own actions, and I would awaken each morning to the awful feeling of having over-indulged—again.

Learning to be rigorously honest with myself has given me a new life. If I don’t acknowledge a fault, I can’t then find the means to fix it.

It’s a process, this self-honesty. It’s like looking into a freshly cleaned mirror and seeing the truth in myself. There are still a few smudges, but I’m learning all the time to clean them off when I see them.

My gratitude for the gifts of honesty is immense. 

Specificity

I tend to think that answers to prayers are amorphous—you have to think bigger than your dreams, see the answers in the larger generalities and know that it’s all good. “For my highest good” is the caveat I add to most prayers, then I relax into the knowing that all is well.

Sometimes, though, the answer is as specific as the prayer, and when that happens, it gives me a moment of Wow! That’s what’s going on in my life right now, and I am amazed. “Yeah”, I told God, “like that.” And God answered with “Why like that? Why not that?”

Oh, good gosh, yes! In this moment, all is not just well, all is spectacular! 

The lesson for me is to be very clear when I pray. I am specific when I express my gratitude, so it seems like a natural progression to making requests, within the parameters of that which never harms but serves to lift all involved. 

When I was a child, I prayed for mile-long hair and a horse. I pictured my Rapunzel-like locks flowing in the wind as I raced along mountain passes on my galloping pony. As I grew up, I let my hair grow to waist-length (infinitely easier to handle than mile-long hair), and I found that I was a little bit scared of horses. I mean, they’re really big in real life! 

As I grew up, my prayer life didn’t keep pace—I still begged like a little girl. When I sensed that I was getting a “no”, I reasoned that I hadn’t really been heard, and I did what I wanted. As I matured, my prayers turned outward as I prayed for the safety of my children and the happiness of others. I prayed for reasonable things, like a moment of peace for myself and for someone unknown in far-away places experiencing the unspeakable. I prayed for those I knew who were going through difficulties. More and more, my prayers became more “thanks” than “please”.

I’m learning all the time, thank goodness. I mean, mile-long hair? Please! I don’t understand the hows of the process, but I’m learning that specifics are perfectly acceptable. The answer may well be “no”, and if so, I want to have the trust to be at peace with the answer. 

But sometimes the answer is “Yes!” This, or something better for my highest good and the highest good of others.

Today, I’m grateful for specific answers to specific prayers. Amen!

Take the Dare

 You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.   C.S. Lewis

Another good quote, borrowed from my Insight Timer app. I love the sentiment. It reminds me of my maternal grandmother, a woman who was always busy with whatever new craft caught her fancy. Although she stayed occupied with her artistry, she nevertheless said about any new adventure that she was “too old” to try it. I thought it was a very sad sentiment, and wrote my mother a long letter urging her to never be “too old” to try something new or to continue to enjoy the things she already loved doing.

Here I am, now, older than both of them when I made my judgements and observations. What do I say I’m “too old” to do? It’s a great challenge to some of the ways I’ve slipped into that mindset. Am I mentally able to try a new challenge? Go for it! Am I physically able to try something? That, rather than simply my age, is what will determine that. 

New goals, new dreams—these are fodder for living a full life. I have found myself believing I’m too old to set some goals, but, happily, I’ve heard myself. I can challenge the thought seed when it tries to plant itself into my psyche, and pull it out by the root, like the weed it is. Like I’ve said before, I choose possibilities.

Today, I’m grateful for the awareness to hear myself when I try to self-limit. I welcome new goals and yes, I dare to dream.

Holy Imagination, BatGirl!

 Today I saw Barbie—the movie, not the toy—and it made me happy to think about those who have the imagination and know-how to bring fun ideas to life. In this case, it was our homegirl Greta Gerwig who brought Barbie to life. What fun! What imagination! 

It’s a continuation of the “what-if” theme I wrote about yesterday. Some “what-if”s are immensely sharable, like movies. They are ideas given form. Toys come to life, “why not?” isn’t rhetorical, barriers are permeable, and we get to grow and play and pretend.

I’m currently reading a series of essays by a prominent author, talking about the things in her life she’s drawn from; real-life scenarios and emotions, utilized as fodder for her imagination, and turned into wholly new situations and results. That’s something each of us can do as a journalling practice—start with real situations, then change the details to explore alternate endings. Parents failed you? Create the parent you wish you had, then imagine your future based on that changed reality. Who do you become? You made a bad, or a series of bad decisions? Change the past and imagine the present. What’s different? Is it better? Can you get there from here?

Today I experience all I imagined for myself. If I find anything lacking, can I imagine it becoming more like what I’ve longed for? Am I living the life I want to be living? Can I find gratitude in it?

I’m grateful for the imaginations of others, and I’m grateful for my own. I’m grateful to know the value of gratitude in it all as I utilize my own imagination in creating my own Barbieland (but mine is called Sandyland!).

What If…?

 I dwell in possibility….   Emily Dickinson

It’s fun to daydream. Daydreaming allows my mind to just float over different possibilities, giving me free rein to imagine all that could be. It’s how inventions come about. It’s where music is made and where art originates. It’s the path to making changes to one’s life in order to do better, live better, be better.

Where would I be without asking “what if?” Nothing would change, I wouldn’t be open to new experiences, and I would live in a stagnant morass with no breeze of possibility. Um, excuse me, but I want to always be open to whatever wonderful thing awaits me! 

That state of readiness isn’t the same as a lack of appreciation for where I’m at and what I have. I’m deeply grateful for my apartment, my car, my health, my friends, and my sweetheart. Life would be hard and lonely without the beauty of my life right now. I don’t seek change—I simply stand ready to enjoy all the richness of life, which includes making room for possibility.

What if I could learn a new skill? There are books, classes, and YouTube videos which are available to me. Boom! What if I didn’t have a poochy stomach? There are books, classes, and YouTube videos to help me take action. Boom! What if I want to travel? What if I were to save money rather than spending it so that the “what if” were to become a “been there, done that”? What if I were to be consciously aware of all the possibilities available to me right now? Would I have the nerve to say Yes, or would I be small and scared?  Boom, boom, and boom!

I choose Yes! I choose Possibility! I choose to dwell in What If! 

Just Get Over It, and Other Bad Advice

 Have you ever been in that space of darkness, where gratitude can’t be felt? Did you tell yourself to “just get over it” or did someone else give you the same bad advice? I’ve been guilty of both, sadly, and here’s the newsflash: it just isn’t that easy.

I’ve found, for myself, that focusing each morning (or afternoon, or evening) on those things for which I have gratitude can lift my spirits. In those times when I can’t find anything to be grateful for, I need to reach out to a friend, colleague, or my doctor. Sometimes we all just need a little help from outside of ourselves. 

Expressing gratitude is communication with my Creator. Not being able to find the good calls for reaching out to the Higher Realms as well. “Please help me to really see and appreciate all that is good and perfect, because I can’t see it right now” is a good, basic prayer, followed by “Thank you—I’ll try to trust that all is well.”

Sometimes there are long stretches of time where all seems dark and unmanageable. These “dark nights of the soul” are catalysts for major growth, although going through them is a major challenge. Trusting that all is well and all will be well is a spiritual exercise. These are especially the times when we need to reach out for help, even though they are the hardest times to do so. 

I write about this today for the ones who are experiencing that dissonance. As permanent as it feels right now, it is temporary. The clouds will lift, and you’ll once again experience the warmth of the Sunlight of the Spirit. Know that it is there, even in the midst of the darkest moments.

Close your ears to the ‘advice’ which comes unsolicited and without compassion, and trust the inner knowing that, as Julian of Ipswich said, “All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

That means you.

It’s Been Awhile

I don’t usually miss writing my blogpost so many days in a row, so I have to look at my excuses. That’s a good exercise anyway, for anything and for any time I fail at my own expectations of myself. First for me is to accept myself wholly, whether or not I meet my own goals. I refuse to emotionally beat myself up — not any more. 

Self-flagellation used to be my default mode. I beat myself up so regularly, I was emotionally bruised all the time. I have that tendency still, occasionally, but I recognize it. When that happens, I can choose forgiveness and accept the grace to move forward. One little step at a time, I move out of ego-based fear into the Sunlight of the Spirit. That’s where I want to live, to grow, to thrive, to interact with others, and to fully be my truest, best self. That’s the invitation we all have. 

Today I’m grateful for fresh starts.I’m grateful for the willingness to accept the gift I’ve been given, and the desire to expand it. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts, which also helps me to organize them into cogent thought-bubbles, rather than the random, unrelated brain bursts which happen then quickly disappear. 

Yes, it’s been awhile, but I’m back, and I am very grateful to be here!

Intuition➡️Inspiration

 Those of us who were raised in a Christian Sunday School heard mention of “the still, small voice”. There are other descriptions such as “gut-feeling” or “an inner-knowing”. Whatever it is, I take it to be my Higher Wisdom guiding me. It’s that sixth-sense, the feeling of “go here” or “don’t do that”, and I try to heed it’s advice. 

It takes practice to go from the urges in the moment arising from some egoic state of want or neediness to listen to the guidance from within, and follow it’s advice instead. It’s the solid ground which supports me and inspires me. When my footing is sure, I am more readily able to be open to the answer to the question of “now what?”.

Some decisions feel truly inspired, as if they are answers to my inner questions. I love when that happens! I feel like I’m in a space of true co-creation with my Creator. It comes from a very real application of another saying: “Let go and let God”. I usually realize this in retrospect, but sometimes I’m right in the moment, reveling in the perfection! 

Creating art, crafting, coming up with a new recipe or way of doing things, expanding my limiting beliefs of what is possible—these are moments of inspiration. I want to always be ready to try, to listen, to act, to take part in the everyday miracles of these holy processes.

Today, I will take the time to listen to my intuition—that still, small voice, that gut-feeling, the inner knowing directing my path as I take care of the mundane. There is always time to be inspired, and I’m deeply grateful for that.

Warts and All

 That’s how accepted and acceptable I am to my Creator—warts and all. Mistakes? Human. Missteps? Part of the deal. Tripped myself while walking? Pretty funny! Said something stupid? Acknowledge, atone,  and keep moving forward. 

This Life School is self-paced. I learn at whatever speed works for me, and it’s all good. I choose to try to grow, to experience new things, to dare to fail (an accomplishment for a closeted perfectionist) and to try again. Ofttimes there are so many classes available, I simply shut down. It’s okay! Take a breath and then make a decision. Keep moving forward—there’s so much to discover!

The Spirit of the Universe is a consistent force. It encourages growth, experimentation, and feeling all the ‘feels’. I get to be the one who walks, breathes, loves, tries and fails and tries again. This being human stuff is pretty amazing, and I don’t have any limits except natural laws and my own limiting beliefs. Respect the former, and challenge the latter. There’s so much more, all the time, everywhere!

Today I will enjoy the miracle of breath. I’ll take a shower and feel the sensation of the water washing over me. I  will follow my day’s plan to the best of my ability and will do so as fully aware as possibe, I will eat my meals joyfully, and I will endeavor to truly be wherever I am.

What a gift! I am loved and lovable, always, warts and all!

Appreciation

 Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.  Voltaire

I’ve found that when I can put myself in the place of another’s current culmination of their success, I can fully appreciate—at least as much as my imagination can support—what it took for them to have arrived at that place. I’m not claiming it as my own, but I am feeling the excellence of their own hard work and life experience. I am respecting their journey, which adds to my own.

More valuable than that, when I look at a person who has gone through their own dark night of the soul and emerged a changed person, I want to know them. I want to listen to them, and benefit from what they can now give from a place of having changed at a soul level. What did they experience? What happened? What did they do along the way? How did they manage?

When I listen to the stories of those who have triumphed, I receive the gift of hope for myself. When I find that I have been the one who emerges stronger and more aware, I want to be the person who shares that strength. I can’t do it for anyone else, just as no one could fight my battles for me. We’re all alone but together, if that makes sense.

Today, I am so grateful for having emerged from the battles I’ve faced; those experiences will aid me when new challenges arise, and they will. I will share my experiences, my hopes, and the strength I’ve gained as a result with anyone who asks, and I will listen to those who care enough to share their own. 

We lone beings are all stronger together, appreciating each other fully.

On This Crisp-Air Morning

 We have a brief respite from the heat here in Sacramento, with the cooling Delta Breeze providing a very comfortable morning. I’ll be heading out to my balcony soon to scan the paper, read the comics, and, most importantly, work the puzzles. My morning starts with coffee, prayer, and meditation, then more coffee and the newspaper. I’m kind of old-fashioned in that I still get the paper on paper. It’s what I prefer, and I still have that option.

I’m fortunate in that I, as a retired person, can opt to start my day in such a relaxed way. I’m very grateful for that. I fill my day with activities that interest me, and try to balance those things which only benefit me with those which give me a sense of purpose in serving others. The scales tip back and forth, but on the whole, they find their center.

On this crisp-air morning, I am grateful for all that I have, all I can do, and for the possibilities which lie ahead. May I be up to whatever task lies ahead, and open to whatever my part in it is.

And so it is.

It’s Supposed to be Fun!

 I want to live like my kitten—constantly exploring, seeing old things as if for the first time, being joyously surprised by by the new, and jumping into new adventures from different angles. Then, sleeping whenever the mood strikes!

My quickly-growing kitten is a delight—she is the Tao of Callie, to borrow a title about Pooh. Callie has yet to tell me what her name is. Until then, she’s Calico Callie Cat, and she’s my fun and fierce little role model. Explore! Investigate! Run, jump, pounce, and skittle like a crab! Go for the gusto!

I can contrast her lightness of being with the way I felt for many years—heavy, trying to walk through deep mud, more rain than sunshine, wondering why others seemed so damn happy. I had moments, to be sure, but the overall feeling was anything but fun. If I had lived like a cat then, I’d have been strung out on catnip. I hadn’t found that Big Ball of Yarn.

My Creator created Joy for me to discover. Joy is a lightness of being. It’s the nap after playing and the playing before the nap. It’s both daily kibble and the occasional can of tuna—mmmm! It’s a warm lap with gentle caresses, and the wonder of movement in all it’s forms.

Not all of life is meant to be a playground—there is the classroom, the lab, and the exam room as well. Some things are meant to be fun, but others are meant to be serious. Knowing which is which is a life skill. 

Today, I’m grateful for the daily reminders, often literally staring me in the face, to simply and thoroughly enjoy each moment, because, yes! It’s supposed to be fun!

Being Open to Change

 Open my heart—suavesando me corazón 🎶.  From a song in Threshold Choir’s repertoire

How many times have I been rigid in my thinking? How many opportunities have been lost as a result? While my intention is to live in today, I find that it is imperative, for any growth to take place, to look back for the purpose of discovery. What was the situation? What did I do? What was the outcome? Did that outcome serve others and myself, or did it create chaos? What can I learn from that experience in order to do and be the better individual I strive to be? Do I still have a mess to acknowledge and try to clean up?

I’ve heard a lot of people say “That’s just the way I am” as an excuse not to look at their own behavior. I recognize this because I’ve said it—and believed it—myself. I thought it fell under the rubric of being ‘true to myself’, when all it really was was a justification to remain the same.

Growth involves change. It’s necessary. It’s inevitable. That being so, I may as well be open to it and embrace it as a wonderful emerging. It’s like the caterpillar-to-butterfly miracle, in that all that no longer serves must be dissolved and reformed into something better. The process can be daunting and scary, but if I hang in there, I will be in the position to be amazed!

Today, I am grateful for the daily miracles and challenges which encourage me to open my heart to all that  is and all I encounter on my path.

Limitations

 Don’t sail out farther than you can row back.  Danish proverb

This is another gem from Insight Timer which greeted me this morning when I set my meditation countdown. It seems perfectly appropriate for me to consider, because we all have limits: limits to what we can achieve physically and emotionally, limits on our time and talents, and limits due to unforeseen circumstances.

What are my limits? I need to acknowledge them in order to recognize when I’ve reached them. Otherwise, I get to the place of banging my head against a proverbial brick wall. That’s no fun, but that’s what happens when I start thinking that I am equal to challenges for which I’m not. If someone asked me to help them pour and finish concrete, I could study all the YouTube videos possible, and I still wouldn’t be up to the task. There’s no way I could be a Contractor—I have no interest in learning all the ins and outs of that job. Engineer, pilot, nurse, home remodeler, brain surgeon—these things are obvious. What about the small daily challenges? Am I up to them?

On any given day, I have to assess my pain level. I have limits I need to recognize in order to keep it under control. I may have a high credit limit, but my personal accounting tells me that my spending must be limited to what I can pay, not to what some algorithm says I could, which would only end up with the issuer making money off of me while keeping me indebted to them indefinitely. No thank you.

I’ve learned lessons of the importance of limits through hard trial and many errors. While I still find myself beyond some reasonable limits, I’m better today at recognizing the difference between pipe-dream and reality.

Limits, it turns out, are valuable things, rather than ‘I dare you’ challenges. I’m grateful to find that there is an importance difference between what I can achieve and what is best left to others.

Possibilities

 Possibilities. There’s a word which embodies hope! 

I was thinking over my plans for the day, and I realized how many possibilities there were for me to consider. I want to plan a grocery list for a wonderful fruit salad to share. I get to visit a hospice patient and simply live in the Now with her. I’m going to learn a new computer skill this afternoon. I am able to make a payment on my credit card — and I have a credit card to pay. I have an apartment to tidy, or a movie to watch, or maybe both. I get to greet a sweetheart later and see what develops. 

I have choices in the food I decide to eat today. I have a beautiful and very challenging puzzle to consider starting. I have a kitten to tame (okay, not a real possibility!), and ideas to hatch. The day is wide open.

There is hope in possibility. If I stop seeing what could be, then I remain stuck in my current perception. If that perception is limited, then my opportunities are likewise limited. I don’t want to stunt my growth at any junction. I want to be open to whatever may present itself in this glorious, wonder-filled day.

First, coffee. Now, do I want a latte? Iced or hot? Black? Decisions, decisions! 

I’m so grateful to have choices in my life on this day.

My Abundance

 I saw a picture online of a colorfully written reminder: Please remember: Your job is the dream of the unemployed, your house is the dream of the homeless, your smile is the dream of the depressed, your health is the dream of those who are sick. Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from negativity. Find something to be grateful for.

Yesterday, I was at the beautiful home of a friend who loves to share her abundance with family and friends. She throws epic parties, and I had a great time. We discussed the subject of abundance, and she acknowledged her own. She’s not haughty. Rather, she is grateful.

I have a teacher who recognized his own envy when he saw people who had more ‘toys’—better car, bigger home, nicer career, whatever it was that he coveted. He learned the value of turning that envy into gratitude for the abundance of others, and quietly congratulated them for that. What began as forced words became meant feelings. Imagining himself in their shoes did nothing for his own sense of value—he needed to see them walking their own path, finding happiness in their lives, and being happy with them.

I have experienced that change in my own life. I can feel happiness for the abundance others experience, without feeling diminished in the process. What a glorious change from the internal knots of jealously I used to indulge in! Now, like the reminder above says, I am free to fully enjoy all that I have, instead of wishing for something else. I don’t have a home anymore, but I have a very comfortable apartment, with a cozy bed and food in the fridge—and air conditioning. The job I didn’t particularly enjoy has provided me with a steady retirement income, freeing me from the anxiety of wondering how to pay my rent. My health is still good enough to find enjoyment in all I do. I’m thankful for legs that still work, lungs which need no help, a heart which is still beating steadily.

Most important, I find so much on a daily basis which makes me smile. I live my life in beautiful abundance. For that, I am grateful.

A Mile in Your Mocassins

 I was listening to a compelling point of view the other day. It was about politics, which, as we all know, is currently a very volatile subject. I have my beliefs and opinions, and have been known to be rather strident about them, but what do I really know? I heard some ideas which I’d never considered, some beliefs from ‘the other side’. I didn’t change my basic stance, but it added color to my previously black and white thinking.

It’s an interesting thing, learning to see things through the eyes of another. It’s a basic element, I think, of learning true compassion. How can we communicate if we’ve already decided that whatever the other one says is wrong? It only makes it harder for me to break out of dualistic thinking.

My belief is that we are all One. One Love, showing up in a plethora of shapes, sizes, and hues. So many opinions, so much staunch, immovable thinking. If I think I’m an expert in anything, I’m only fooling myself! If I’ve convinced myself that you’re wrong even before you speak, I’ve packed my ears with cotton and will not be able to hear you. That serves no one and changes nothing.

If I am able to put myself in your shoes, to ‘walk a mile in your moccasins’, I can then grow in understanding. My opinions matter little—they only serve to keep me small. 

Today, I’m grateful for the insights given to me through the voices of others.