Repost 12

I wrote this in 2017 after losing both of my parents and eventually almost all of my family. I was lost to say the least, and searching for who I was. I had always been taught that family was the most important thing, and after losing so many I felt as if I had no roots to ground me. It is terrible to feel like you are aimlessly floating through life and the Universe. And that is from where this post came.

Today I am happy and grounded, secure in who I am and where life is taking me. But it is a journey when you are confused and searching. But when you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.

Today I am thankful to no longer be lost. I am also grateful for the time in the fog, as it aloowed me to grow, protected and sheltered, into the person I am today.

Pray with the Moon, Dance with the Sun

There are times in life when we do not know how it will actually turn out, but we hope and pray for what we need.  We have to take a leap of faith and just believe that it will all work out OK. And it usually does.  But that does not change worry and anxiety on how to get there.

This is where I am.  There are a lot of wonderful things on the horizon, many opportunities and chances.  And I know what I hope, what I need and what I want.  And I am working toward those things every day.  But it is cutting it close to the line and that is far outside of my comfort zone.

And I pray in the moonlight, when it is dark and quiet.  When shadows are close and crickets are out.  Where the soul meets the mind to talk to the heart, this is where I pray, in the light of moon. And I pour my heart and soul into life, one breath at a time. I work hard, play hard, pray hard and believe hard.

And at the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling. – Shanti

But there have been so many changes in the past year or so, so many goodbyes, so much loss.  Life doesn’t look anything like it did a 12 or 18 months ago, and two years past seems like millions of miles behind me, and indeed it is.  I am not the same person, this is not the same life.  I have had to stand up, figure out and fight or defend in ways that I never thought I would. And in all of it, I have kept my ethics and dignity intact, my sanity is another story…

“Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes.”

Life has a way of changing you, bending you, even if it does not break you.  The ground shifts and you must adapt. Thinking on your feet can be a challenge when the rug has been jerked out from under you.  So we may struggle to find our place, our part in the world. But what if when the dust settles we are where we are supposed to be all along? And all that worry and stress added nothing to the journey? In life, isn’t that usually how it turns out anyway? So just hold on for ride.

“When you are truly genuine there will invariably people who do not accept you. And is that case, you must be your own badass self, without apology.” – Katie Goodman

And what about those people who leave in the middle of your struggle or from whom you have to walk away?  Don’t worry about them.  Life is about a series of letting go, breathing in and moving forward.  If they want to return to your life they will have to catch up.  You can’t be bothered or concerned with them or their perception of you.  That has been a hard one for me to learn.  But if I tried to please everyone, I would lose myself, and that is never worth it.

There is a saying that worry steals all the joy out of the present moment.  This is true. So how do you stop worrying?  I am not exactly sure, but what has worked for me is a combination of prayer, meditation, faith and hard work.    And the belief, no the knowledge, that everything will work out, somehow.  You must make a decision to be happy as you reach your goals and make the life that you want.

Magic happens when you do not give up, even when you want to .  The universe always  falls in love with a stubborn heart.

What if a little bit of worry still seeps in sometimes, with the ever present list of what ifs Believe anyway.  Move forward anyway. Have faith anyway. Something will happen.  And when it does, you can step out, into the sunlight and dance knowing that magic still exists. You just have to believe and have faith.

Quote

The Task in the Single

Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment. Cleverness is mere opinion. Bewilderment brings intuitive knowledge. – Rumi

We are all familiar with multitasking, which seems mandatory these days in order to survive in the world. But what if it wasn’t? What if we could do one thing at a time? In this day and age of bigger is better, faster is optimal and more is best, is that possible? Yes, but we must be purposeful in our singling of tasks.

People seem to run around everyday, bragging about what all they can do all at once. The more you can multitask, the more prestige you have and the more important you are. Oh, you must be a true leader if you have do all of that at the same time. You must be smart and talented and in demand, as if being so busy is a badge of honor. It isn’t. It only means we have bitten off more than we can chew and now we are part of the rat race in trying desperately to keep up. But at what cost?

As I was rushing around, trying to get all things done before a trip, it occurred to me that I wasn’t enjoying anything really. Half watching my favorite TV show, almost paying attention to the cats, writing and listening to some of the radio…my mind was racing, but not going an anywhere. Is it possible that in our rush to have it all, have we end up with nothing? Have we forgotten how to truly be aware?

So for the next while I am consciously, intentionally single tasking. I am embracing the practice of doing one thing at a time. I can hear people gasping as they read that sentence. I can hear the thoughts of “You can’t do only one thing at a time!”

Actually yes, you can. Here is the thing – we write the rules to our lives. We get to decide how we want our lives to be, we get to decide the where and what and how and who. And it is amazing the clarity that happens when you do one thing at a time. The creativity flows, and the ideas come. I have noticed that I enjoy the day much more and actually get more done faster and a higher quality.

I am noticing many more smaller details, laughing more and simply enjoying moments on a granular level. we miss a lot when we are too busy doing everything else. This goes for just about anything in life. When we slow ourselves and our processes down, we truly absorb the world around us on such a deeper level. And that allows us to revel in those positive moments much more, and even longer.

Indeed, I think the secret to living smarter, not harder is actually taking the time to do one thing at a time. And time is the one thing in our lives that is finite. So how do you want to spend it? Do you want it to fly by, all th emoments blendign together in a blurr, or do you want quality memories?

Life is short. Make sure you don’t multitask it away. One is not the loneliest number and single tasks can make sure you have a multifaceted and joyous life.

Of Wit and Whim

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine. — Lord Byron

Humor is a prelude to faith and laughter is the beginning of prayer. — Reinhold Niebuhr

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. — Victor Borge

It has long been said that laughter is the best medicine, that it is the cure for whatever ails you. I think it is even better and more than that. Laughter is the key to happiness and adventure. If you can approach life with a whimsical sense of humor, and a healthy dose of sarcasm (one of my most favorite things in the world), then life will be profoundly much more fun. And let’s face it, we can all use a little more fun in our lives.

But in this time of masks, politics and unrest, it that even possible? Yes. But we have to step away from the news and step up to our lives. We must be present in the present moments and approach them with a sense of wonder and optimism. Honestly I think playful wisecracks should be mandatory learning these days. Imagine how much livelier we would be if a class teaching buffoonery and banter were offered in schools. Laughter is one of those life skills that can get us through almost anything. And unfortunately, it is a skill we have to learn on our own.

The last weekend was a wonderful lesson in witticism for me. Indeed there was laughter until my cheeks hurt and tears were rolling down them. My sides hurt too, and it was worth it. There were jokes and puns, imitations and gentle sarcasm met with chuckles. I have never laughed that much or that hard in a weekend before. It seemed like everything was amusing.

And that is the thing about life, we must find the our playfulness. We must not take ourselves, our lives, or our world so seriously, that we cannot laugh at them. A full, whole-hearted, old fashioned, belly laugh. The kind that leaves you breathless and gasping, grabbing your sides and squinting your eyes. And indeed my partner in humor and I were well matched, as we joked back and forth.

Life is a short farce. If we don’t have some levity, then the joke is on us. So, laugh as much as you can, for as long as you can, with as many people as you can.