Breathe Deeply and Relax! ~ January 23, 2011

I didn't go to the Center for Spirit Living today although it is on my list for next Sunday. One of my life lessons is to slow down, balance and take things step by step.

I began the creative cluster last Tuesday night and with that group came my new commitment to completing my morning pages every day. I have been consistent and as a result, "things" are happening. Synchronistic, spontaneous, spiritual, and interesting experiences are occurring with such rapidity I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I find I am having to "cool my jets" because I am in fast forward. Sometimes it feels as if I'm traveling so fast that everything is a blur and I WANT TO SEE the scenery along the way. Do you know what I mean?

So much is coming to me at once and I need time to process everything. I need to stop, breath deeply and then breathe deeply again. My friend Kris says that I over analyze everything and that I "talk a point to death" and she may be right but this is my way of processing. We all process life differently and I think perhaps that is what keeps life interesting, at least from my perspective.

Kris, for all her crabbing about me, is a true gift from God to me. She is a dear friend and we met at a weekend retreat in Dahlonega, Georgia. The retreat,for Kris, if I remember correctly, was a gift from her daughter(s) and she came with a friend. Kris is from Virginia so it was an unlikely crossing of paths but as I said, I believe God brought her to me or us to each other. I was there to enjoy the retreat with my friend who was facilitating the retreat and I'd gifted the retreat to another friend so she could enjoy some relaxation, too. The retreat meant something different to Kris than it did to most of us there but the main thing that happened for me that weekend, was that our paths crossed and we became friends.

Because of that meeting, my life has been enriched in so many ways and I have had experiences that I could never, ever have conceived if I had not had that chance meeting. I won't go into all of the wonderful experiences in the blog today but suffice it to say, it has been EPIC!

Imagine being in the high Andes of Peru, in the middle of Lake Titicaca in a boat made of Torturo reeds by a Uros Indian. Lake Titicaca is supposed to be the highest navigable lake in the world at approximately 12,630 ft. The Inca believed that their first ruler and his sister emerged from a cave on an island in the lake, and that at creation the sun itself rose from the waters of the lake. It was a very spiritual place and I was there with Kris!

You know, you just never know what a day will bring. Each day is a gift. In 2003 the daily gifts were exotic and brand new and nothing I could have imagined. It HAD TO BE EXPERIENCED!
Today was not as exciting as day waking up in a lodge beside the sacred Urubamba River in Acqua Calientes at the foot of Macchu Picchu but it was a good day here in Buford, Georgia...and within ME is the memory of that morning I woke up, after a refreshing nights sleep with the window thrown open. I slept under warm, alpaca blankets with the sounds of the rushing river lulling me to a peaceful slumber. This is the view from my window. But my main point is that had I never met Kris at that retreat, I would NEVER had had this experience and many more just like them. She has been a friend and a mentor and a travelling companion and teacher...a true gift to me for which I shall be eternally grateful!

The morning after our night in Acqua Calientes, Kris and I rode in a bus, up a long, winding road to the very top of the mountain to see the ruins at Macchu Picchu. All the books I'd read, all the pictures I'd viewed and even a video or two did not prepare me for the actuality of Macchu Picchu. It had to be felt! I had to stand there with my feet on the ground, sacred ground and wonder how in the world those ruins got up there so far from everything and so high above everything. It was magical.
Words cannot adequately express my physical, spiritual and emotional experience there.

Speaking of a peaceful slumber, I'm writing this in the evening and it's about time for just that...peaceful slumber. So, I will wish you pleasant dreams and a start to a terrific week!

Namaste!

Look to the future in a spirit of trust...01/16/2011

Sunday, and it is a beautiful day with the sun shining and the snow melting and I can see my driveway from top to bottom! There are still patches of snow, which are pretty, but I think I've had my quota of snow for this winter season!

I had a good time visiting with my friend, JT, at P.F. Chang's yesterday. I was a few minutes late (no surprise there) and almost as soon as I sat down they served the calamari she'd ordered for us and I was singing her praises. JT is very dependable. Not only was she there ON TIME but I'll bet she was a few minutes early. She's my inspiration for more reasons than one.

We had a darling, young red-haired server named Diedrich who became even more darling when he managed to serve my ice cold Cosmo in record time! P.F. Chang's is a traditional meeting place for my friends and me. They have the very best Cosmo in town, as far as I am concerned, and their appetizers are awesome!

I hadn't seen JT in several months so we had a pleasant "happy new year" reunion. She's a writer and an artist although she calls it her "business." She is one of those rare persons who functions on both sides of the brain equally well. In appearance, she's very conservative but her thinking is outside the box! She has a great sense of humor and I find myself chuckling when I'm on my way home at something she said that was so unexpected. I learned yesterday that she had once taken an improv class. I always learn something new about her every time we are together and she is amazing. At first, I thought she was quiet and shy. Once I got to know her better, I realized she is just quiet and peaceful and has a wonderful, open mind but she's not really shy. She is very interested in everything in L~I~F~E and open to exploring spiritual and metaphysical subjects which I totally enjoy. She is structured and that's something I could use more of in my life but at this point, I doubt it going to happen. Maybe in my next incarnation? She's always on time (unlike me) and she approaches things in a step-by-step way (unlike me). There is much I can learn from her! I feel blessed to have her in my life and I'm happy she is my friend. We're salt and pepper but together we season things well!

She has a new hobby (remember, ART is her BUSINESS) and it is knitting. She gave me a knitted hat yesterday and I was so touched. She said it's only the third one she's made but it is adorable and I love it! I had her take this picture of me with my new knitted hat as we left the restaurant yesterday. Perfect fit!

After lunch, we said our goodbyes and JT went next door to Barnes and Nobles and I drove to Loganville. I spent time with my children and grandchildren because it always makes me happy to be around them. It feels like fresh air blowing through me when I'm with them. They always lift my spirit, even when it doesn't need lifting and a hug from one of them is like a grand treat to me and I do not take their love for granted EVER!

Yesterday was a very good day! On in to today and it is 11:11am (hm!?!) and I completed my morning work with the message to look to "look to the future in a spirit of trust!"
JT and I talked about that a little yesterday when we approached the "birds falling from the sky" and "2012" subject. We both agreed that we are not going to live in FEAR and if it is the "apocalypse" or "end times" or whatever the doomsayers want to call it, we are not going to change a thing about the way we live our lives because we are living in gratitude and love on a daily basis. I asked her what she would do different if she knew the world was going to end on 12/21/2012 (my mother's 82nd birthday, by the way) and she said "absolutely nothing." I'm with her. We already know how important it is to start each day in a positive way and to tell/show those we love how much we care in every way we can. We enjoy every minute and we look to the future "in a spirit of trust." We help each other be mindful and that's a good thing for friends to do for and with each other.

I have had friends who are negative and want to argue about everything, especially political or religious. What a waste of time, in my opinion. I got sucked in to it for a while but I quickly realized that was not a place I wanted to be and those friends went by the by. Glad they "passed through" my life and I don't look back. Not any more! It's not that I am ungrateful for each person that has been in my life because in the "soup" of it, they've been meat and potatoes, too. Sometimes though, when the soup's not quite right, it's best to throw it out and start all over, remembering NOT to use a particular ingredient again! Live and learn, Sisters and Brothers, live and learn!

I woke up this morning, got my coffee, came back to bed and turned on the tv and "Dear John" was on HBO. So, I watched it. I've seen it in bits and pieces but I never saw the beginning or the ending...just bits and pieces. It was another "happily ever after" ending but there was so much agony in between the "fall in love" and "we get to be together finally" part that it almost felt real to me. I'm glad I took the time to watch it because I enjoyed it and my heart was warmed. I may be 60 and I've had a really good life and I may alone now and thoroughly enjoying it BUT...and it's a big BUT...I do "look to the future in a spirit of trust!" I know there's a plan for me and I know I won't spend the last few years of my life alone. In fact, I know there's a whole new exciting time about to happen in my life. It will be within the next five years,or sooner and I'll keep you posted. I AM looking to the future in a spirit of trust and I am living TODAY in the same spirit.

Today I am making a pot of red beans and rice because that's what my Mom requested. I love red beans and rice, too and I grew up eating lots of fish and lots of beans. Fish were plentiful as I was in the "luckiest fishing village in the world" and beans were cheap because growing up there meant "service" industry and people in the "service" industry don't make a lot of money. Little did we realize that those are two of the best things to put into the body and today I pay big dollars for that prized piece of fresh fish. Beans are still cheap but I realize the value of them now and for bang for the buck, they are one of the best deals at the market!

I am also continuing work on my "project." Now that I have a big mess in EVERY room, I don't know where to begin but I'll figure it out today, or tomorrow, or the next day. (Time to channel JT and take one step at a time!) So, to that end, I'll get on with the day. Geez, it's half over and I'm still sitting her in my gown with my hair sticking up in 90 different directions. Oh, does that feel delicious!

The message from my "morning work" was this: (S)Enjoy today. (M)Trust in spirituality and all encompassing love. (B)Look to the future in a spirit of trust. So I move into the day being mindful of joy and trust.

Tomorrow, I reschedule the job interview AND drive to Gainesville to apply for unemployment. I'm curious to see what's going to come my way next week but I know it's all good! I TRUST in a good result!

Always remember, it IS a great day to be alive and the best is yet to come! Namaste, my friends.