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Posts tagged ‘Daily Life’

May 7

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A Flower

“There is nothing you can see that is not a flower; there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.” – Matsuo Basho

“From a little spark may burst a flame.” – Dante Alighieri

“From a little spark may burst a flame.” – Dante Alighieri

Petals burst to full bloom, rain and sun setting the stage
A caterpillar patiently evolves into a butterfly, born again, taking flight
It takes but a moment, a turn, a twist, a push, a pull
Change, guaranteed
Growth, if we allow
Transformation, if we let go

Our story, ever-changing
New, old
Slow, fast
Turn a page at a time
Write the next sentence, one word, then the next.

Apr 7

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Unbound

“As you make choices to let go of attachments that no longer work for you, your options seem to grow and expand. But what you are really doing is increasing your perspective, as all possibilities were there all along.” – Don Miguel Ruiz, Jr., The Five Levels of Attachment

What seems to be loss becomes gain when we release our tight grip on what was so we can reach for what’s next. And what has been is part of the journey that has prepared us for today. So no regrets or what ifs, just forward motion to what’s waiting for us now that we are ready. It’s all a part of the whole journey, the growth, the pain, the process of becoming more authentic.

“The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire.” – Pamela Hansford Johnson

“The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire.” – Pamela Hansford Johnson

And as the sun sets on this chapter, our ego, fears, self-imposed limitations fade as we release them and ready for the depth of abundance in the next sunrise. In letting go of the attachments that now bind, we discover what’s of lasting value, hiding right in front of us.

Mar 25

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Signs and Wonders

“A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.” – William Hazlitt

I walked into the living room this morning and Lily was sitting in the recliner with a “what’s up” look. She lightened the moment and I just started laughing. The only way to start the day. Every day Lily and Molly bring a new attitude with a focus on fun, present and living right in the moment of joy.

“Stop a minute, right where you are. Relax your shoulders, shake your head and spine like a dog shaking off cold water. Tell that imperious voice in your head to be still.” – Barbara Kingsolver

“Stop a minute, right where you are. Relax your shoulders, shake your head and spine like a dog shaking off cold water. Tell that imperious voice in your head to be still.” – Barbara Kingsolver

There are signs and wonders all around us if we tune in and listen. A jolt back into what’s real and true, well beyond  all of the dissent and distractions.

Last Saturday when I was walking in a daze through the grocery store in my running clothes and my hair pulled back, a deaf woman stopped me. I thought she would ask for help to find something. She looked me in the eyes and mouthed while her hand circled her face, “you are beautiful” and walked away.

To say the least, I was taken back. I certainly didn’t feel beautiful. This blessed encounter has stayed with me deeply since that moment, a reminder to release our inner beauty and draw it out in others.

Sometimes we are the receiver of signs and wonders and sometimes we are called to be the signs and wonders to others. Our higher power (I prefer God), our true self walks right into our day and makes it so very much more than ordinary.

A word, look, smile – change a day, change a life.

Jan 24

Travels

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius

Twelve days and six flights later, I’m home. A business trip on the west coast, vacation on the east coast and a last minute business trip in the middle made up the first half of January. All travels went very well.

The annual “sole sisters” half marathon trip with Jeanne and Linda dropped us into Key West, Florida. Considering winter, busy schedules and a few ailments, we were all thrilled to finish healthy and happy. The ocean, sun and blue skies with friends who know and accept us as we are make up the ingredients for a good time.

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

There’s something about getting away to change your perspective, relax and discover new places and people. There’s also something about coming home, refreshed and grateful for the people/dogs and places that just feel right.

In all of our travels, across the country or across town, we can be present to each moment with our hearts open to discover the beauty that surrounds us and within us. Cast light and let light in.

Sep 15

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The Frog

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” ― Mark Twain

“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

There’s an old saying “eat the frog first” – do what you don’t want to do first so you stop procrastinating and move on. When we delay starting, we give too much power to the “frog.” Our perceptions, assumptions and worries are not reality, but we make them our reality when they prevent us from living the good life we are meant to live.

Jump to it and eat the frog! There’s a lot of living to savor and not a lot of time to do it.

Sep 13

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Time and Distance

“Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” – Thomas Carlyle

As I was getting ready for my 20 mile run yesterday morning, I kept telling myself – time and distance, time and distance. It’s not about speed, but about running long enough to get the mileage in. I was apprehensive about my ankle and missing two long training runs over the past two weeks.

After the first 5 miles, I settled in, let go, listened to music and just ran. Nothing existing before or after, steeped in the flow of the movement, in the moment. When I hit 16 miles, I could feel the wear on my body but knew I would complete it. The last 4 miles were run by my heart.

After a long hot shower, gratefulness and contentment set in, something I was short on the past two weeks. My ankle demanded rest, my head argued that I would lose three months of training capacity if I took a break for however long it for my ankle to heal. Luckily with the encouragement of friends and family, the work of my chiropractor and massage therapist/friend  and rest, I finished.

Sometimes we need to rest. Sometimes we need to push through. Most times we need to do both. It’s the ebb and flow of life. And most of all, when we tire when we are so close to finishing, we need to let our mind rest and run with our heart that tells us we can do it, we have it in us, keep going.

Anything we pursue in life requires our whole person to be on the same team – our body, mind, heart and spirit. Our heart and spirit are fueled by faith. And often times our body and mind stray, leaving the heart and spirit to finish the job. And when we put the time in, we will go the distance.

“Time does not change us. It just unfolds us.” – Max Frisch

 

 

Aug 14

10 Comments

Under Construction

“The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.” – Thomas Merton

“The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God’s mercy to me.” – Thomas Merton

“Every human being is under construction from conception to death.” – Billy Graham

The joke (a bit of truth) in Minnesota is that there are two seasons – winter and road construction. All four seasons are beautiful. We’re just keeping it a secret. Although there are days when we contend with, nay survive, 30 below wind chill. It builds character and it’s all a part of the journey.

When we accept rather than lament the detours, potholes, bumps and delays on our journey, we can stop asking“why” and move deep into living well (not perfect) through the valleys and mountains, remaining steadfast as our purpose unfolds.

God either changes our situation or he changes us to get through to the other side – not around it but rather right through the flipping thick middle of it. The reason will be revealed later as we look in the rear view mirror. In the meantime, we must trust it and ride it out.

We are all under construction, a work in progress.  Succeeding, failing, tripping, up, down, winning, losing, tired, invigorated, falling behind, inspired, inspiring, laughing, crying and ultimately getting back up again and again, moving ever so clunky to our  destination.

We need only to overcome our assumptions and move beyond the whys, whens, hows, the past, regret, worry or what if. When we accept that our path often times won’t be what we planned, but it’s meant to be, we can get back to living, learning, getting through, helping others and getting back on the road.

Under construction and on my way.

May 7

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Remember Happy, Visit Often

“I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” – Groucho Marx

“Smile, it's free therapy.” – Douglas Horton

“Smile, it’s free therapy.” – Douglas Horton

Ridiculously busy days filled nonstop meetings, hundreds of emails and unreasonable people can throw you for a loop, off your game and out of whack. In the midst of the chaos, which is actually the illusion, we need to remember happy and visit often.

It’s right there next to you, holding your hand. Stop, leave the “emergency” rooms of life and take in what’s good, really good. Memories made, memories in process and memories to come – make them happen. Friends, family, a broad smile and a lick on the forehead cures all.

May 3

18 Comments

Clear Your Cache

“People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives.” – J. Michael Straczynski

My team at work just finished a major project – converting 42 websites/databases to another platform in 11 months due to a merger – over 3000 hours of additional work. We celebrated this tremendous team effort and accomplishment this week.

During the conversion process, we often had to “clear our cache” or tell others to do so to see the website updates. The cache stores images, files and web pages to reduce load time when downloading. If you don’t clear it, you can’t see the latest version because it’s storing “the past.” We are going to order t-shirts with “clear your cache” imprinted on them to commemorate this often used phrase.

It’s actually pretty good advice for daily living too. By clearing our “mental cache” – assumptions, judgments, biases, stereotypes, cynicism, foregone conclusions, filters – we can see a new world – the latest version that’s unedited, uninhibited and in vivid, brilliant color.

Clear your cache!

Apr 6

5 Comments

Unseen

“We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.” – Calvin Coolidge

At first glance, Salvador Dali’s Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea is a naked woman looking out a window. A longer look reveals that the window is the shape of a cross and even closer, the crucifixion of Christ. There are several other elements, layers and meanings throughout the painting. And by stepping back 20 meters, a portrait of Abraham Lincoln suddenly appears. Layers on layers, depth, dimension, the picture in the picture, the unseen unfolds right in front of us.

When we realize that there’s so much that we don’t see, our world of people and places brightens and deepens, a story to be told and heard. Instead of seeing through eyes filtered by the past, judgment or assumption, we can look longer from different angles, asking questions to pursue what’s beneath the facade. In each of us, the unseen is waiting to be uncovered, revealed, shared, honored and asked to come out and play.

“Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.” –Salvador Dali

“Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.” –Salvador Dali
The Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida

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