Daily Reading

In three words, I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on. -- Robert Frost  

If we've ever dug in a garden and unearthed an ants' nest, we can recall their first reaction to our unintended destruction: they do everything possible to save their lives and supplies. The ants scurry around, moving the larvae to an underground room. Exposed contents are then relocated to unseen passages. In a matter of minutes, the ants are again safely underground and ready to resume their daily routines.

  How do we react when some catastrophe or unplanned event occurs? Do we want to crawl under a rock or are we as resilient as the ants? Instead of moaning over postponed plans or the loss of something in our lives, we can try to be like the ants and learn how to best work with circumstances that come our way.  

Life doesn't stop for us to lick wounds or add fuel to grievances. Hours pass, we grow older, nature continues. Every event is part of life's cycle. We can't run away from anything. We must meet life head-on and adjust to its ebb and flow.  I can look at an unplanned event in my life as part of life's cycle. I need to trust that life will go on.

Wisdom On Wheels

".......good fortune."

"How we define "good fortune" is a significant indicator of one's attitude."

Boy, that got my attention this morning---and not in a bad way.
I had a 'there by for the grace of G-d, go I' moment when I read that.  I don't remember my age, or the circumstances--but I remember I'd 'graduated' treatment for the 4th time and thought I knew better than anyone who was trying to help me.

I was young, I was cocky--and I thought going out with anyone in the program was a spiffy idea.  Of course the rooms are filled with 'sick' people....including me.  We go there because we are 'sick'--spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.  And the slogan 'stick with the winners', sounded boring to me since they all seemed to be 'old' and.....boring.  They talked about 'fishing' and 'outtings with the family' and 'going to church' and 'going to their children's school functions'......colour THAT boring!  So  I hung out with Gerri, who was a bit older than I and fairly new to the program--and she wasn't convinced, but was trying to 'do the deal'.  But Gerri seemed to still have some LIFE in her.  She talked in meetings about going places, doing things....having MY kinda fun.  She'd kept her old friend, despite people in the program suggesting she 'change her playground and playmates'.  And it was working for her.  She had over 90 days and was going into bars and having Pepsi and making it work!
So Gerri it was!  And off we went--and we talked about program stuff and other stuff and had FUN together.  And I mean FUN!

Invariably there came that moment in the car that the conversation shifted.
Those folks around the tables had gone that long without drinking--surely if they could go that long, they could control their drinking.  Cuz they WERE controlling their drinking.
So that 'just one' was probably something they could do but they were just too brainwashed into believing they couldn't.
Certainly someone with 3 months without a drink WAS controlling their drinking, too--elsewise they'd be drinking! And we weren't going to be brainwashed......
Just one......she was going to prove she wasn't brainwashed!
I think I tried to tell her that was a bad plan.  Or maybe that's my desire to still escape what really happened and my part in it.

We went in to have 'just one'.
We had plenty more than that.
She wanted to leave for another place.
I didn't.

She said "Fuck you, then" and laughed......and got in the car.

Drinking and driving don't go well together.  How many times I managed to escape tradgety because I ignored that fact, I can only imagine and I thank G-d for--He's taken very good care of me.

Gerri never got to her next destination.  She hit the embankment on a bridge.
She lived--but suffered such severe brain damage that her life was spent in a nursing home, where she eventually died.
"There but for the grace of G-d, go I..."  I get teary when I remember, but I don't ever want to forget.......

There's 'good fortune' in that experience, over and over again......and I don't want to let go of that humility that I, eventually, found because of the role I played in her life.
Just a smidgeon of guilt resides in me but along side of the guilt is the deep abiding sense of gratitude for how that experience brought me to the life I have, today.
Gerri helps keep me sober, today.  She's a part of what I have, today.

Sometimes 'good fortune' dresses itself in horrid circumstances.  I can see that today.
And I'm grateful I was 'one of the lucky ones' who lived long enough to have that awakening.

Hahaha.....too cute!

Today's Fairy Reminder

I think my peace comes from my good fortune. --Jim Burns  

How we define "good fortune" is a significant indicator of one's attitude. While winning the lottery might be judged as good fortune by all of us, virtually every other occurrence will be evaluated in a very individualistic way. What seems like a wonderful situation or opportunity to one might greatly frighten his or her neighbor.  Peacefulness is a feeling everyone deserves. 

Thank goodness it's attainable. Perhaps we're beginning to realize that it always was available even though it didn't seem within our grasp. The fault was never the result of external circumstances, even though that was where we laid the blame. 

Finally, we're becoming willing to see that we will have all the peace and good fortune we want by simply taking charge of how we interpret the experiences that trouble us.  

We're never too old to develop a positive outlook on life. Some say, "I'm too old to change." But that's not true. Let's offer a good example to a friend who is still stuck in the chaos of a defeated perspective. Our demonstration of the attainment of peace may be all this person needs.  

Peace can be enjoyed by me today, regardless of circumstances, if I shift my perception ever so slightly.

Just another storm

Things that make me happy....

....the beach girl cup the sister sent me.

....finding small flags to stick in flower pots.

....watching a storm front move through.

....the wee ground squirrels romping and jumping in the neighbours flowerbed..

....the tinkle of the temple bell windchime.

....lazy moments with nothing on the agenda.

....watching himself BE happy.

Daily Reminder

A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive. --Pearl Bailey 

Is our glass half full or half empty? We may see ourselves as positive people, but when we take the time to examine our thoughts closely, we may be surprised. We may have a lot to complain about, but so what? We can choose misery or happiness. It's all in how we see that glass.  Instead of griping about bills, we become thankful for the money that is coming in. 

Instead of thinking about what activities we're missing in our lives, we're grateful for the solitude. 

Instead of being hurt by what friends and family aren't doing, we feel blessed we have them in our lives in the first place.  

Today I will humble myself by counting my blessings, knowing that without them I would truly be lost.

TFTD

I get a massage almost every week no matter where I am, eat a healthy diet, schedule time alone, and if I get to a point where I feel I need a block of time...I'll cancel. -- Anne Wilson Schaef  

Do we love and care for our body as well as we love and care for our home and car? Do we feel our body deserves full attention and a loving maintenance plan?  Taking our body for granted is easy because of its remarkable durability and regenerative power. We may get lulled into a false sense of "nine lives" body security, believing our physical being will fix itself no matter what.  

Self-care takes time and priority planning to be successful. We may find we put off our exercise and nutritional needs saying, "Tomorrow I'll start taking better care of myself." But sooner or later tomorrow comes, and our body produces symptoms that demand attention.  Learning to love and nurture our body brings rewards without measure. We deserve to reap the benefits starting today.

Cheerleading squad

Fairy Diddy

If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.

...the big assed storm.

The get list

Up at 4am.
Get coffee...
Readings, meditation.
Get more coffee.
Get dressed for the day.
Get more coffee.
Get the prepacked veggies for lunch.
Get in the car.
Getcher ass to work by 6:30 to avoid the more insane than YOU drivers. LOL
Get more coffee.
Getcher job done, whatever that might look like that day.
Get water in the infuser glass. (Switches over at 11am...watermelon this week...yumm!!)
Get back in the car.
Get your butt home.
Get greeted with a good cuppa coffee.
Get a couple minutes of patio time.
Get dinner fixed, served, ate and get that mess cleaned up.
Get more coffee on the patio. (Quit counting the coffees!!!)
Get lunch for the next day set up...and get the choice of dress put out for the morning.
Get back in the car to get to a meeting where you get....more coffee...LOL
Get back home.
Get a shower.
Get the tenth step inventory done.
Get the alarm set and try to get some sleep so you can do it all over again.

I'm sure I've over generalized, missed things and made it look crazy.
Pretty much FEELS crazy.  Not a whole lot of squiggle room.  If I squiggle, it's usually after I oughta be sleeping.  And I've failed to mention that I only go to 5 meetings a week.  At least that's true most weeks.  There's never less and sometimes more.

Where's Mel time?  The meetings, the bit of time on the patio.....and bits of the weekend arewher the ME time is.....that's after the stir-crazy spousal unit gets a bit of away time which means I get my arse in the Jeep and smile as we take off for some shopping adventure.  And I try to stay grateful....which has kept me from doing bodily harm to the poor, unsuspecting soul.

I know there has to be a better "routine".  Preferably one with equal amounts of coffee.  OR......more...
.LOL!!
I'll figure it out, really I will.  And yes, I know I've been saying that for months....and keep doing the above....over and over and over and over again.
*sigh*  It's not like I didn't have that pointed out to me by a few folks.

If I don't want this to be my new routine, I sure have a funny way of showing that.  It's not my fault!!  I'm too busy to find the time to change it!!
Riiigghhtttt.....how dumb is that.
....k....maybe I get up at 3am instead of 4am!!

I know, I know!!!
And I can hear WPIML " Keep doing whatcher doing, keep getting whatcher getting."
Pffffttt!!!  :-P

Daily Reminder

Embarrassment is a pointless experience.

You have permission to abandon it.

Replace it with self love and love of all others--and

love of the imperfections you imagine you see in both.

In truth, both are perfect in their 'imperfection,' for

'imperfection' merely means 'incompletion.'

So do not be embarrassed if you haven't completed

something yet. Rather, look forward to the

adventure of doing it.

Today's Reading

Few situations - no matter how greatly they appear to demand it - can be bettered by us going berserk.

—Codependent No More

Don't panic!

If a swimmer was crossing a great lake, then suddenly focused too heavily on the distance remaining, he might start to flounder and go under - not because he couldn't swim, but because he became overwhelmed by panic.

Panic, not the task, is the enemy.

Many of us have moments when we feel crowded and overwhelmed. We have times when we feel like we cannot possibly accomplish all that needs to be done.

We may be facing a task at work, an improvement in ourselves, or change in our family life.

For a moment, it is helpful to look forward and envision the project. It is normal, when we look ahead at what needs to be done, to have moments of panic. Feel the fear, then let it go. Take our eyes off the future and the enormity of the task. If we have envisioned the goal, it will be ours. We do not have to do everything today, or at once.

Focus on today. Focus on the belief that all is well. All we need to do to reach our goal is to focus on what presents itself naturally, and in an orderly way, to us today. We shall be empowered to accomplish, peacefully, what we need to get where we want to be tomorrow.

Panic will stop this process. Trust and guided action will further it. Breathe deeply. Get peaceful. Trust. Act as guided, today.

We can get back on track by treading water until we regain our composure. Once we feel peaceful, we can begin swimming again, with confidence. Keep the focus simple, on one stroke, one movement at a time. If we can make one movement, we have progressed. If we get tired, we can float -- but only if we are relaxed. Before we know it, we shall reach the shore.

k....pardon me.....

Excuse my language....but there's a big assed flat screen television in my living room.  :-/
And there's a big assed armoire in my coffee nook.  :-/

And himself has a cracked rib.

And I've suddenly blossomed with newfound weight....that I couldn't gain for five YEARS....N.O.W. it decides to find me?!!

Could be from 18 months of doing nothing or....maybe it's the job change....or the holy-cow-are-they-expensive medications.

I know what to do for the weight gain....I'm shoving that big assed armoire in front of the big assed refrigerator.
Two birds...one stone!!

Fairy Reading

Many of us achieve only the semblance of communication with others; what we say is often not contingent on what the other has just said, and neither of us is aware that we are not communicating.

—Desy Safan-Gerard

When we don't listen fully to each other, when we don't revere the Spirit within others that's trying to talk to us, we destroy the connection that wants to be made between our Spirits. Our inner selves have messages to give and messages to receive for the good of all. Our ego selves often keep us from hearing the very words that would unravel a problem in our lives.

How hard it is, how often, to be still and to fully listen to the words, rather than the person. How much more familiar it is to filter the message with our own ongoing inner dialogue-our own ongoing continual assessment of another's personhood at the very time our higher power is trying to reach us through them.

There really are no wasted words. Messages are everywhere. We can learn to listen.

Oh, look.....a giant cow! No....really.....

And yet another reading......

Today flows from yesterday, the day before, the day before that. Tomorrow repeats the pattern. What we are given on any one day will have its beginning in the past and its finale in the future. No incident is isolated entirely; no issue is self-contained.

Maturity is being able to let go of outgrown attitudes, stifling opinions, no matter how good and right they were at one time. Our egos often get too attached to some of our opinions, and new ideas can't filter in. Some will try to get our attention today. We are ready for new growth. The choice not to hamper it is ours to make.

The opinions we held certain yesterday may not be adequate to the problems of today. They need not be. They served us well. They are not for naught.

Today's issues need today's fresh responses. I will be unafraid. Today flows from yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. Tomorrow follows suit.

Looking for Fairies

Today's Fairy Thought

Every experience we face in life is a function of choice; choices made and choices resisted. Until there  is conscious choice, one will live in default as a victim of circumstances, accepting whatever comes along.  

  

With conscious choice, one is empowered. Choice is in fact, an empowered yes or, an empowered no.  By choice we say yes to those things we do want and no to those things we  do not. Choice is directly linked to and produces the manifestation of beliefs.  

  

Whatever is held in conscious- ness,  whatever one  believes about self, life, and the world at large will influence or dictate choice.  However, by making a new, conscious choice, one can override beliefs which have been long held producing negative or undesirable experiences.

Learning to make self-supportive choices is one of  the most difficult challenges of life's experience.

Until one is willing  and ready to choose from the level of  the authentically, empowered Self, life is a series of mishaps which we resent or avoid moving through.

Today's Reminder

Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.

H.H. Dalai Lama

Wooohooo...It's Horse Shoe Thursday

TFTD

My pain is greater than yours!

What an easy trap that can be for us. We are out to show others how victimized we have been, how much we hurt, how unfair life is, and what tremendous martyrs we are. And we won't be happy until we do!

We don't need to prove our pain and suffering to anyone. We know we have been in pain. We know we have suffered. Most of us have been legitimately victimized. Many of us have had difficult, painful lessons to learn.

The goal in growing past our hurts is not to show others how much we hurt or have hurt. The goal is to stop our pain, and to share that solution with others.

If someone begins trying to prove to us how much he or she hurts, we can say simply, "It sounds like you've been hurt." Maybe all that person is looking for is validation of his or her pain.

If we find ourselves trying to prove to someone how much we've been hurt or if we try to top someone else's pain, we may want to stop and figure out what's going on. Do we need to recognize how much we've hurt or are hurting?

There is no particular award or reward for suffering, as many of us tricked ourselves into believing in the height of our codependency. The reward is learning to stop the pain and move into joy, peace, and fulfillment.

That is the gift of doing the work growing requires, and it is equally available to each of us, even if our pain was greater, or less, than someone else's.

Corner Pocket

Repeat

I beat the storms home last night.  Somehow I seem to be lucky that way when I'm coming back from meetings.  That didn't stop the 2 AM wake up call from the handy dandy weather alert thingy....for the second night running.  Apparently we're looking at a third night of the noisy, mad storms.  Monday's came with tornado sirens.  I'm gonna hope we don't have a repeat of that.
I don't like it when I can see clouds gearing up for mean weather moments.  You can feel it coming.....as you're watching.
There's no watching once that sun goes down.
Then it's a different level of anxiety.
'Specially for himself who's finally 'getting' a sense of Midwest weather MEANING IT.  LOL. We don't mess with piddly storms, that's for sure.

I'm hoping for a bit more sleep...I'm sleep deprived enough.
A bit less drama would be good.

If not....another round of golf ball/baseball sized hail would do.
I already need the new roof...LOL...why waste someone else's good one?!

Daily Reminder

The crisis of our time . . . is a crisis not of the hands but of the hearts. --Archibald MacLeish  

We single-mindedly search for love, for belonging, for affirmation from others that will wipe out the torment of alienation that haunts our wakefulness and our dreams. "Does he truly care?" we wonder. "Did she try to call as she said?" 

Our fears, coupled with our loneliness, turn us inward and the seduction of isolation tightens its hold.  

Our hearts plead, sometimes silently, other times hysterically, for comfort. 

And paradoxically, another's crisis can end our own. 

If we can hear the call from another's heart today, our own hearts will discover the comfort we crave.  If we look closely and with love toward the people so carefully placed in our midst, we'll discover many hearts, like our own, searching for acceptance.  Let's relieve our haunting alienation and extend a hand in love to a lonely friend today.

Happiness on a stem

Things that make me happy....

....the weather alert box going off a bazillion times....and letting himself press the button to get the latest and greatest weather report/warning.  *snickering*

....baby ground squirrels....SEVEN of'em!!

....watching himself get excited over new STUFF.

....floeers on the patio growing....finally!

...my patio....just cuz...

....buying prezzies for the sister.

....holding a stolen pen for ransome!  We asked for angel food cake for its safe return.  *laughing!!*

TFTD

. . . we have some unfinished business between us.  

When we respond to the small signals that something is amiss, we prevent bigger problems. 

When we feel fear in our relationship, it signals that we have some unfinished business between us. 

When we ask the questions we have been avoiding, we create new possibilities for resolution. 

Our fear is a signal that something does not feel safe. If we tell ourselves that our fear is illogical and discount it, or if we overreact by totally pulling out of the situation, we miss opportunities to change it.  

What a relief we feel as we make sense out of our fear and begin to talk with the other person. 

We let go of secrets between and work toward mutual understanding. 

As we communicate, the knot in our stomach loosens and light reappears in our relationships.  

Name the signals your body gives you to indicate tha

t something in your relationship needs attention.

New STUFF

Himself bought a new fancy, all-the-bells-and-whistles bigger than life TV.  And since that's new, he had to get a new, zackly-HOW-many-speakers-do-ya-need sound system.  Oh....and don't forget the blue ray, and-we're-not-talking-sea-critter, player whozit thingy!

That's all great and dandy.  'Cept the armoire we had in the living room that held the now gee-it-turned-into-a-dwarf television has insufficient space for.....you got it....the NEW STUFF.  It just will NOT hold the fancy schmancy, larger than life with a freaking TOME of instuctions television.
The armoire is now shoved into my coffee nook space and I was taken "television table" shopping.  They have tables....for televisions....  So I got an oak one to match the wood furniture we have (not like it's all matching pieces....I like what piece I like.).

He DID get the wires plugged into the not-a-sea-critter blue ray whozit thingy.
And I have a huge television armoire (televisions have armoires, too!!) as company for my morning coffee.
It needs to NOT get between me and the coffee pot....

You don't see me....

TFTD

He has served who now and then Has helped along his fellowmen. 

--Edgar A. Guest  

It's hard to be interested in something that seems too remote. Sure, we're sorry for starving people in faraway places. And the TV news story about whole villages disappearing in an earthquake makes us feel terrible - until the next news story comes on.

 It doesn't mean we're bad people when we don't respond much to such tragedies. It only means they're not personal - and only the personal is real.  We care most about what we're involved in directly. If we're not personally involved, we're not very enthusiastic either. 

If we are the ones starting a new meeting, setting up the chairs, making the coffee, the success of that meeting means a lot to us. If our children are on drugs, we're not bored by city council meetings where new drug programs are discussed. 

It's our stake in something that makes it important.  

The world doesn't need any more spectators. 

To feel more alive, we must be more alive. 

Caring is life and involvement is growth.  

Today, I will not sit on the sidelines. I will act on behalf of a good cause that deserves my support. 

Taking stock ......

I puttered away my day.  A bit here, a bit there....

I planted the stray, left over plants.

I transplanted the magic powder buddleias.  Like I need another buddleia?  LOL  I gave two huge plants to a gal and, on a whim,  snagged two cuttings from the huge blue one before sending both off to their new home.  Yup--got rid of two huge ones and I'm starting two wee ones.  Three, if you count the white one from two years before that's grown well and is now ready to be in a big pot.  I held it in reserve in case one of them got killed off by me or the harsh winter.

I decorated outside for the 4th.  Two wreaths and the wee front fence later, I called it good to go.

I took a hoe to the front flower garden.
I took a hoe to the back flower garden.
I weeded the rock garden.

I mowed all by myself!  No way was I letting the-one-with-the-cracked-rib help with that one.
I cut up the branch that fell from the tree out front.  (darn hail storm.....new roof and gutters and damage galore, the trees are still trying to recover)
I trimmed the tree out back--including some on the neighbors side. I can now watch lightening bugs!
OH!  I watched lightening bugs!  :-)

And I watered plants.....sat on the patio between the putterings.....and made dinner.

Wow.....puttering adds up!

Yup......
I'm showing this list to the-one-with-the-cracked-rib!
I think I deserve an adventure!  :-/

Down the road

Daily Reading

Patience is needed with everyone, but first of all with ourselves. --Saint Francis De Sales

One night Sandra was having trouble putting a puzzle together. Angrily, she pushed all the pieces into a huge pile.  "I can't do this," she said. She got up and walked over to the couch and plopped down.

"Let me tell you a story," said her dad, as he sat down next to her. "There was a daughter who helped her dad take care of her baby sister. Again and again, she helped her baby sister stand and try to walk. One day the daughter tried to put a puzzle together but gave up after only a few tries. She had forgotten how many times she had helped her baby sister."

We are all like Sandra, sometimes. We forget to allow ourselves to fail, even though our growth up to now has been a series of failures that we've learned from. With patience, we allow ourselves to take chances we might not otherwise explore, and we widen our world of possibilities. Life has been patient with us so far, now it's our turn.  What have I failed at that I can try again today?

More From the Fairy

To have one's individuality completely ignored is like being pushed quite out of life. Like being blown out as one blows out a light. --Evelyn Scott  

We need to know that we matter in this life. We need evidence that others are aware of our presence. And thus, we can be certain that others need the same attention from us. When we give it, we get it. So the giving of attention to another searching soul meets our own need for attention as well.  

Respectful recognition of another's presence blesses that person and ourselves. And we help one another grow, in important ways, each time we pay the compliment of acknowledgment.  We're not sure, on occasion, just what we have to offer our friends, families, co-workers. 

Why we are in certain circumstances may have us baffled, but it's quite probably that the people we associate with regularly need something we can give them; the reverse is just as likely. So we can begin with close attention to people in our path. It takes careful listening and close observation to sense the message another soul may be sending to our own.  
I will be conscious of the people around me. I shall acknowledge them and be thankful for all they are offering me.

Daily Reminder

Relaxing when things don't go as you planned.  

So, the boyfriend calls, says he's going hiking with his buddies for a week, cancels his date with you and says he hopes you won't be mad.  

Or the bank calls and says you're overdrawn, and you don't know how that can be. You've been trying to carefully watch your deposits and checks. You've gone out of your way not to mess up. This can't be right!  

What do you do when life seems to force you to react? You can panic, become anxious, yell, and respond with a counterattack. But that probably won't solve the problem. And it may turn things into a brawl.  

Or you can calm down. Breathe deeply. Tell yourself to relax. Say as little as possible, if that's possible, while you're upset and disturbed. 

If a problem or disturbance that's not fair interrupts your life, try responding by saying hmmm. Then calm down and decide what you need to do.  

Striped joy

Getting through....

Right.  The new script is filled and I'm waiting for the weekend to triple the dose.  That's the best choice for today, I think.  Tomorrow I'll give that extra dose a try....once I'm safely home.

And the fella who looked at our roof saw the "Grapevine" on my coffee table and thought maybe it was the spousal unit's reading material.  LOL...why do they always think it's the man of the house?!  Oh, I know....cuz I appear so well put together.  :-/

NOT!!!

I walk into walls and tip over.
And I hobble for a bit when I get up to go from point A to point B.  Though I do try to delay moving to disguise that one.  See....always thinking....always trying to make it look like it's not.  *sigh*  Byproduct of growing up in the house I grew up in.  It was all about how it looked and not what was true.
I'll be wrestling with that "let it look like it is" assignment for a long time, no doubt.

Right...I have tonight's meeting to chair.  And I need to organize stuff for tomorrow's work meetings...of which I have three.
At least this week I'm not bored.
Staying busy will help me get through tomorrow.  And then I'll have the weekend to sort ME out...
Oy...It's tough work being messy.

TFTD

Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close; Something attempted, something done, Has earned a night's repose. --Longfellow  

Every day for us is a period of spiritual growth. Restful sleep prepares us for fruitful days. As each day begins, a new adventure in growth lies ahead. We seek strength and an attitude of making our lives more meaningful and positive through prayer and meditation at the start of each new day during our quiet time. We prepare ourselves emotionally for the busy hours ahead.  

With positive action planned ahead, we arise to a day dedicated to accomplishment. We know we have little time for standing and idly staring. We accept new challenges as we carry out each day's plans. We encourage those around us to join us in seeking to see the best in everything that makes up our daily lives.  Restful sleep, meditation, planning, and "turning it over" starts my day with a quiet time and keeps it manageable.

Fairy Reminder

The best things in life are appreciated most after they have been lost. --Roy L. Smith  

Humankind has made such great technological progress, developing marvelous tools and instruments to make our life easier, that it is hard to imagine the struggles our ancestors endured. We are so used to these protective and labor-saving devices that we take them for granted. We fail to appreciate them.  

So it is with our loved ones, our fellow workers, our friends, and acquaintances. We are so used to the help, the cooperation, the moral support, and the love we get from them that we may take them for granted. And then we wonder why our relationships don't always go smoothly. What if we were to show them a little appreciation? What if we were to ask God to bless them?  

Today I will give thanks to my Higher Power for the people around me and tell them, one by one, how much I appreciate them.

 

Weekend serenity

yup......

Laughed.

Still laughing!!

I better hope that's a good sign.....

Darned Fairy

Thought for the week: Learn a new skill

It's an esteemable act to have the courage to learn something new.

Affirmations for the week:

I am willing to learn a new skill. This week, I will do something I'm not yet good at.

Esteemable actions for the week

Have you ever avoided doing something because it was too hard or too scary? Have you ever not learned a new skill because you were afraid you'd make a mistake or just look silly? If you're like most of us, you've been there - done that. And like many people, you've missed out on a great deal of fun and opportunity because you were afraid to learn something new.

Think of things you're good at. Now remember the first time you did that activity. I bet you weren't very good. Actually, if you're like me, you had to try, try, and try again before you got into the swing of things. Am I right? Yet it was the conscious, consistent practice of that new skill that ultimately made you proficient and confident that you could do it. Think about how good you felt when you finally got it right.

No question about it, learning a new skill is hard, it's scary, and at times it's embarrassing. In the past, each time I tried something new and didn't get it the first time, I wanted to give up. It felt like the end of my world. But I didn't give up. There are even days when I know what I'm doing and still feel like I'm off the beam. And on those days, I just don't give up.

Visiting Royalty

Pendulum

I hurt.
I just plain hurt.
At least I had sence enough to ring the doc and take her up on the offer to not wait until the next appointment to increase the meds.....again.

The answer to all this can't just be "more drugs"....can it?
It can't be....

I'm not rational.
When I feel like this, and this makes three days without much of a reprieve, I know it's a bad time to make decisions.  Buy time.  Change nothing--at least don't make drastic choices.  Hell, they all feel like drastic ones right now.
I wanna believe it was the right thing to do, ringing the doc.  It's what she told me to do.

I can't do a change of this type on a workday.  I have to drive.  I set a meeting up an hour away from the office.....which is almost an hour away to begin with.
I'll try plan B.  Buy time, and try for some sleep.  Lack thereof only magnifies how everything else FEELS right now.
I have the option of doing nothing until I can make a sane, rational choice.

The clue is moving wayyyyy to the other end of the continuum  in just a few sentences.  LOL....Ohhh yes....try for sleep and buy time, Mel.
You'll read this in the morning and chuckle!!!
Or......not.....

More Fairy Stuff!!

Serenity isn't compatible with struggle.  We cannot control forces outside of ourselves.  We cannot control the actions of our family or our co-workers.  We can control our responses to them.  And when we choose to surrender our attempts to control, we will find peace and serenity.

That which we abhor, that which we fear, that which we wish to conquer seems suddenly to be gone when we decide to resist no more - to tackle it no more.

The realities of life come to us in mysterious ways.  We fight so hard, only to learn that what we need will never be ours until the struggle is forsaken.  Surrender brings enlightenment.

Life's lessons are simple once I give up the struggle.

Plan B Fairy Garden

Daily Reading

If one is going to be truthful, one has to be very tender.

--Florida Scott-Maxwell

Honesty is always the best policy, right? We glibly recite that saying, but it's important to reevaluate its meaning when we are eager to correct or direct the actions of the other people. If being honest will unnecessarily harm them, perhaps being silent is better.

We are getting better at restructuring our lives. We discover that many former, automatic responses no longer fit who we desire to be. That means we have to try new, less-practiced behaviors, such as being honest without being harsh or critical.

Learning tenderness is possible. With the help of each other, we are learning to express the acceptance and love that have been given to us by our Higher Power. Giving away what we have been given is sharing the truth absolutely.

I will not hurt anyone today by any comment. I will truthfully share the love and acceptance I have been given.

Can we keep him?!

Bug time!!

The mom has a gig in Texas....baptism, god-mother and all that.
That leaves The Bug in need of supervision.
So yesterday she helped feed the birdies.  She was very excited about seeing the "yellow oreo", a bit concerned she was eating her grape jelly though.  LOL
We made it through the filling of the feeders and the cleaning of the birdie bath....the kiddo is an awesome helper even if she is wicked with the hose.
And we made it to the "beach", well, what was left of it given it had flooded in that bit of the river.  Nevermind...10 feet of sand and waters you can wade in worked.

And she wasn't tired, she assured us on the way home...just before she zonked out for the entire hour drive home.  LOL...what a priceless one, that one!!  I think we'll keep her.

Oh, and today we'll give a try at making a wee fairy garden in a broken pot that got broken again yeserday as I drug it out.  LOL. Ah well, we'll see how that goes...or doesn't!!

I can limp through the day and laugh with that one around!!

And yet another.....

We can start our day over any time we choose. If we wake up crabby, on the "wrong side of the bed," we are not doomed to a day of gloom. Each minute can be a new reality for us. We can start a new day with just an ounce of willingness. There are days when we get stuck in the mud of depression. Part of us wants to begin again and another part seems to like to dig around in our problems. We might even feel like just staying stuck in the dark side of today.  We are used to feeling betrayed, injured, persecuted, and generally sick and tired.

Willingness to try another way is the start. We can take a second to choose to look at our gray day in a more positive way.

Fairy Reminder

We feel safe around direct, honest people. They speak their minds, and we know where we stand with them.

Indirect people, people who are afraid to say who they are, what they want, and what they're feeling, cannot be trusted. They will somehow act out their truth even though they do not speak it. And it may catch everyone by surprise.

Directness saves time and energy. It removes us as victims. It dispenses with martyrdom and games. It helps us own our power. It creates respectful relationships.

It feels safe to be around direct, honest people. Be one.

Fairy Wisdom for the Day

 If we surround ourselves with acquaintances, we never fully share in knowing a few people well. If we surround ourselves with "toys," we never learn how we really want to spend our time.

When we don't take life slowly, piece by piece (one shell at a time), we avoid the greatest discovery of all, the person within. When our attention to persons, places, and things is deliberate and steady, the beauty within the object of our focus shines forth, and we, too, are made more beautiful in the process.

Back before everything became automatic

TFTD (excuse me while I try to not argue.....)

There is a solution to every problem.
 
Nothing is insoluable. Nothing. Do everything that you
can to avoid the temptation of thinking that what is
facing you now is insurmountable. That is simply not true.
 
You cannot see the solution, of course, if you are
convinced it is not there. So you must have great faith
in life. Do you have great faith in life? Now would be a
good time to show it. Smile. Relax. It'll all be okay.
 

Shadowed treasure