It's New Year's Eve - plan the party, pull out the noise makers, the confetti and the champagne! I love the possibilities that exist for a brand new year.
Ok, so it's not January but for me, the new year has always started in September. The first day of school (ok, so I'm old enough to remember starting school AFTER Labor Day), the first cool front to blow in and clear out the heat and humidity, new clothes, school supplies. Is there anything better than school supplies, getting prepared to learn something new? (ok, so there might be a couple of things that might be better but that's another blog!). I'm remembering Tom Hanks in "You've Got Mail" ... "...a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils..."
On any given day, I will read from Sarah Ban Breathnach's "Simple Abundance" guidebook. On September 1 she speaks of turning over a new leaf. How easy when the leaves are beginning to FALL! She also shares that September, since ancient times, "...has been viewed as the beginning of the new year, a time of reflection and resolution." So, we are not just looking to the future today, but also embracing antiquity.
I get positively giddy at the thought of the first cold spell to touch our Gulf Coast. For one, it implies that Hurricane Season is nearing it's end, and that hopefully, we can breathe another sigh of relief. Coolness, a crispness that has been missing for some time as we experience the rain, the heat and the humidity also known as the Texas Gulf Coast. How do you "celebrate" the change in season? Do you throw open the doors and windows? It's not just for spring anymore! Air out your home and rejuvenate the feel of the place. Light candles that are scented of the fall - cinnamon and spices and baked goods! Change our surroundings in subtle ways. Watch as the days become shorter and shorter until the Winter Solstice in December. Brian's birthday is that day and being the shortest day of the year, really needs to pack as much into that day as possible to celebrate! It is a year of celebration. Celebrate with me and consider September 1st as New Year's Day. Consider the possibilities that await. I am!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
A Busy Weekend
I spent a very busy weekend in preparation for the possibility of Hurricane Dean. Like many of you, I spent too many hours attempting to flee Hurricane Rita and I wanted to be more prepared. Silly me. If I wanted to be more prepared for a hurricane, why did I wait until the virtual last minute? Who knows. Perhaps I had been taking the Scarlett O'Hara approach - "I'll think about that tomorrow" sort of thoughts. So, I'm now "better" prepared and also breathing a sigh of relief - although, hopefully not a premature one.
I spent Friday running like a fiend. I had rented a storage facility to house all of the "stuff" which has accumulated and began to move some of those things over - primarily the tons of Christmas decorations which I've accumulated over these many years. Other things will also move over and it will be determined exactly what is necessary and what is not. I also spent a lot of time speaking with Katie and Mary, dear women who work for my insurance agent, Linda Tuck. Not only was it for me but also for my grandmother and her belongings! I then went to Nana's house and photographed everything that I could think of. I'm going to put all of these photos onto discs and place them in very safe places - just in case. "Just in Case" - isn't that the place where things begin to accumulate? Hmmm. So, anyway, I spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday moving more stuff, with Brian's help, and then organizing and photographing it all. I can truly say that I am beat today, even as it all begins again. So, what have you put off? What do you not like to deal with but find yourself forced to do at the "last minute"? I'm focused on learning a valuable lesson from this experience. Join me?
I spent Friday running like a fiend. I had rented a storage facility to house all of the "stuff" which has accumulated and began to move some of those things over - primarily the tons of Christmas decorations which I've accumulated over these many years. Other things will also move over and it will be determined exactly what is necessary and what is not. I also spent a lot of time speaking with Katie and Mary, dear women who work for my insurance agent, Linda Tuck. Not only was it for me but also for my grandmother and her belongings! I then went to Nana's house and photographed everything that I could think of. I'm going to put all of these photos onto discs and place them in very safe places - just in case. "Just in Case" - isn't that the place where things begin to accumulate? Hmmm. So, anyway, I spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday moving more stuff, with Brian's help, and then organizing and photographing it all. I can truly say that I am beat today, even as it all begins again. So, what have you put off? What do you not like to deal with but find yourself forced to do at the "last minute"? I'm focused on learning a valuable lesson from this experience. Join me?
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
...about a moment in time.
I'm thinking this morning about how our lives can change in a simple moment in time. In one instance, we're leading our normal lives, doing the things that we do. Making the bed, taking out the trash, sharing our love with someone, feeling the wind in our hair.
A very good man is lying in a bed in Hermann Hospital with an aneurism. His wife and one of his daughters are now experiencing a glimpse at another life. The one that you lead when you begin to live in the waiting room. Waiting. Hoping. Praying for miracles. I've sat in the very waiting room that the family sits in now. You learn quickly about this new community, as you begin to answer the phone as it rings because you now "live" in this area. Waiting to live again with your loved one. This good man had no reason to anticipate that he would be here. Nor did his wife, a good woman as well. And yet, this is their life for the time being. The work we do, our trades, lose all importance when a situation like this occurs. Those very things that for some, steal our time away from the ones we love, or even the things we love to do. And yet, as I write those words, I believe fully that this man combined the different aspects of his life very well.
He rides a motorcycle. Just last week I got to have lunch with him. He sounded so passionate about the trips he takes with his wife on their motorcycle. He spoke of the safety measures that are there - leathers, helmets and such. And, he spoke about the good feeling to simply say to one another, "let's go for a ride" and to just get on the bike and ride - see the world around them and feel it in a completely different way. With passion. He took those simple moments and shared them with this good woman. He has used his moments well, it seems. I pray for him now and for his family. I wish him many more good rides with her. I wish you all the opportunity to seize your moments because we never know what might change the moments that we have. Remember, please, to pray for this lovely family. Send them your strength as they wait and hope.
A very good man is lying in a bed in Hermann Hospital with an aneurism. His wife and one of his daughters are now experiencing a glimpse at another life. The one that you lead when you begin to live in the waiting room. Waiting. Hoping. Praying for miracles. I've sat in the very waiting room that the family sits in now. You learn quickly about this new community, as you begin to answer the phone as it rings because you now "live" in this area. Waiting to live again with your loved one. This good man had no reason to anticipate that he would be here. Nor did his wife, a good woman as well. And yet, this is their life for the time being. The work we do, our trades, lose all importance when a situation like this occurs. Those very things that for some, steal our time away from the ones we love, or even the things we love to do. And yet, as I write those words, I believe fully that this man combined the different aspects of his life very well.
He rides a motorcycle. Just last week I got to have lunch with him. He sounded so passionate about the trips he takes with his wife on their motorcycle. He spoke of the safety measures that are there - leathers, helmets and such. And, he spoke about the good feeling to simply say to one another, "let's go for a ride" and to just get on the bike and ride - see the world around them and feel it in a completely different way. With passion. He took those simple moments and shared them with this good woman. He has used his moments well, it seems. I pray for him now and for his family. I wish him many more good rides with her. I wish you all the opportunity to seize your moments because we never know what might change the moments that we have. Remember, please, to pray for this lovely family. Send them your strength as they wait and hope.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Through a Different Lens
How do you see yourself?
Are you critical of yourself?
When someone gives you a compliment, how loud is the voice in your head which denies that which has been given so freely?
For most of us, the voice is loud and powerful and denies the compliments...denies that we are deserving of the words so feely given. And, it never seems to matter that we might hear the compliments several times or from several sources, don't we fall back on the negative voice in our head?
Have you ever asked yourself why you do this? Why should we trust one negative voice over even one positive voice? Why do the negative voices carry so much more weight? Is it because the negative voices confirm our "truth" - the notion that "if they only knew the REAL me they would see that they are wrong?"
I invite you to consider that the negative voice might be WRONG!
Blasphemy on my part, I'm sure. And yet, not. No one is as critical as we are of ourselves. Could this be because others look past our flaws, our wrinkles, our few extra pounds, our bad hair days to see the quality and the character that better defines you? And while they are looking past these things, we take the strongest magnifying glass and examine them and find ourselves to blame for their existence. And maybe we are responsible for not having said no to that extra delicious, hot donut (or two) or for having chosen to not do something that works our muscles on any given day. But consider the notion of seeing your "faults" from a different perspective.
The aging process is not a kind one. For some, more so than others, but still, it affects us all. So, consider this.....the next time you notice a new line to your Crow's Foot Collection (designer label?), remember all the laughter that went into creating them. When you see a furrowed brow, remember that you are a kind soul who worried enough about someone else to furrow that brow. When you look at the arms or belly or thighs that are no longer what they once were, remember that you might have birthed and nursed a child, held loved ones, comforted friends in times of quiet or sadness or passion - those very arms and bellies and thighs have been strong enough, comforting enough for another. Bless these parts of your body if you can. It's about looking at ourselves from a different perspective. Look at yourself as you look at others. Why do they deserve any more than you do? Does it feel selfish? Or have we become self-less...thinking, feeling, believing that we are less-than if we are not perfect.
Be kind to yourself. And while I do not mean for us to simply accept and not work toward being the best me that I can be, accept that we are the sum of every moment, both good and bad, happy and sad, of our lives. Each of those moments are a part of us to our core, our cellular level. They are the visible memories that we carry. You are the sum of all of these parts.
Are you critical of yourself?
When someone gives you a compliment, how loud is the voice in your head which denies that which has been given so freely?
For most of us, the voice is loud and powerful and denies the compliments...denies that we are deserving of the words so feely given. And, it never seems to matter that we might hear the compliments several times or from several sources, don't we fall back on the negative voice in our head?
Have you ever asked yourself why you do this? Why should we trust one negative voice over even one positive voice? Why do the negative voices carry so much more weight? Is it because the negative voices confirm our "truth" - the notion that "if they only knew the REAL me they would see that they are wrong?"
I invite you to consider that the negative voice might be WRONG!
Blasphemy on my part, I'm sure. And yet, not. No one is as critical as we are of ourselves. Could this be because others look past our flaws, our wrinkles, our few extra pounds, our bad hair days to see the quality and the character that better defines you? And while they are looking past these things, we take the strongest magnifying glass and examine them and find ourselves to blame for their existence. And maybe we are responsible for not having said no to that extra delicious, hot donut (or two) or for having chosen to not do something that works our muscles on any given day. But consider the notion of seeing your "faults" from a different perspective.
The aging process is not a kind one. For some, more so than others, but still, it affects us all. So, consider this.....the next time you notice a new line to your Crow's Foot Collection (designer label?), remember all the laughter that went into creating them. When you see a furrowed brow, remember that you are a kind soul who worried enough about someone else to furrow that brow. When you look at the arms or belly or thighs that are no longer what they once were, remember that you might have birthed and nursed a child, held loved ones, comforted friends in times of quiet or sadness or passion - those very arms and bellies and thighs have been strong enough, comforting enough for another. Bless these parts of your body if you can. It's about looking at ourselves from a different perspective. Look at yourself as you look at others. Why do they deserve any more than you do? Does it feel selfish? Or have we become self-less...thinking, feeling, believing that we are less-than if we are not perfect.
Be kind to yourself. And while I do not mean for us to simply accept and not work toward being the best me that I can be, accept that we are the sum of every moment, both good and bad, happy and sad, of our lives. Each of those moments are a part of us to our core, our cellular level. They are the visible memories that we carry. You are the sum of all of these parts.
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