I can't believe it...

I wrote my blog and was about to post and somehow ended up closing out and losing it all because I didn't save it. It was a good one, too! So does that mean that I wasn't meant to share that information or that I am supposed to write about something else? Hmmmm...such things to ponder! I see signs in everything and feel there is meaning in everything that happens. Then I remember that the only meaning is the one I assign to it!

The whole and half-eaten pecans are hitting my back deck with such frequency this morning it sounds like drum beats before the band kicks in. I imagine there's a large group of squirrels sitting up on the branches, munching to their hearts content and then tossing the remainder onto the deck below. It does create some extra work for me to get out there and clean up behind them but I wouldn't trade the squirrels and the mess for the tree because I love that tree. It's an old tree and has been around since before I was born (so it really must be a very old tree). It provides shade for the house in the hot summer and helps keep my house cool. The green leaves soothe my soul and I enjoy looking at it and breathing the oxygen it gives to me. Soon, the leaves will fall and I'll have another mess to clean off the back deck. I imagine the tree is giving me it's gift before it goes to sleep for the winter and I accept that gift, sweep up the leaves and put them out back to compost for next year, as I do all the nuts I sweep up off the porch. Sometimes I feel annoyed at the extra work created and then I make myself remember these are nature's gifts to me. It's all a matter of perception, much like life is a matter of perception. The only meaning is the one I assign it!

I'm reading Richard Bach's "Running From Safety" and I am remembering what I had forgotten and what he remembered a long time before a lot of us. He's talking to a 12-year-old version of himself, trying to give him the secrets to "life" so that he's one step ahead of the game. What he's really doing is figuring out what he already knows and what we all know although we don't know we know it until that moment of understanding when we say "oh! I get it now!" Reading the book has helped me "know" and understand what I said before, the only meaning is the one I assign it and that applies to EVERYTHING in life. It's personal and it's SELFish.

Being SELFish is a learned skill. I don't mean selfish as in greedy or not considerate of others but I mean taking care of the self, loving the self, acknowledging the beauty of the SELF and loving the SELF. (Oh my gosh, a beautiful red cardinal is sitting right outside my window looking in at me. He's perched on the back of my slider and is only 2 feet from my face. How exciting and how absolutely beautiful to me. Well will you look at that...he's picking at one of the half eaten pecans. Who knew Cardinals liked pecans, too. Another reason to love that tree!)

I look to nature to understand life and what I know this morning is that life can be "messy" if we choose to see it that way or it can be abundant, nourishing, and with a little work (like sweeping the deck and composting for another day) greatly rewarding. So, what is the meaning of LIFE? The only meaning is the one I assign it.

Right now, I assign myself to get out there and sweep up all those gifts, move in to my day and accomplish as much as I can from the list I made for myself this morning. It's my "road map" of the day.

Today, I EXPECT A MIRACLE and I guess the Cardinal was one of many that will come my way today. Thank you God for the gift of seeing that beautiful little creature so close to my face (most things have to be close to my face for me to see them these days...the eyes are getting weary and thank you GOD for the person who created eyewear!). Wishing you a day filled with miracles, joy, peace, and everything that makes you happy.

Namaste!