Bravery, Freedom, Guides, Hanging In There, Happiness, Living Fully, Mindfulness, Patience
LET IT BE or SOMETIMES DOWN DOG IS ENOUGH
Sometimes in life you just have to let things be. Now, this is not always easy for me and for many it’s often easier said than done. It’s a topic we address here are at Gratitude and Trust from time to time. But last week I was blown away by an example that I just had to share. I tend to be a serious type A. I worry when I’m not accomplishing and doing, and I have the not so… Read More
Addictions, Forgiveness, Happiness, Kindness, Living Fully, The Right Stuff
ON FRIENDSHIP
After all this reflection, I came to the conclusion that I am lacking the gratitude and trust that friendships require. I am taking my friends and friendships for granted. I am expecting way too much from those around me and possibly not enough from myself. I believe I need to change my perspective on what it means to be a friend. Right now, my expectations within friendships are somewhat unrealistic. This includes holding friends up to standards of inclusion and sharing… Read More
Ego, Gratitude, Living Fully, Mindfulness
STINKING THINKING
There’s an old joke about a fellow going to borrow a shovel from his neighbor. Walking over he remembers that during the summer he borrowed a screwdriver that he never returned. He begins imagining the conversation with his generous friend who he begins to see as a self-righteous ass. By the time his friend answers the door he’s fuming and screams, “Keep your fucking shovel.” I think we’re all guilty of that little role-playing exercise. We become the designated hero… Read More
The MASK OF FEAR
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. ~ FDR ~ I’m one of four children. I have two older siblings; the oldest, a brother, the second in command, a sister and a younger brother who was born when my parents decided they didn’t want to deal with “empty nest syndrome”. But for a good while I was the youngest. Somewhere in the research of family personality tests, the youngest child is suppose to be the spoiled one… Read More
“SLOW DOWN”
My grandmother has been dead for close to fourteen years, but I can still hear her demanding, reminding, pleading with me to slow down. I do everything at a break net speed. Ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you I motor through life. I write fast, so fast Paul says smoke comes out of the keyboard. I eat so fast I tend to choke on my food. I can get through a store as if I was… Read More
The Right Stuff, Understanding
COMPARE AND DESPAIR
I have spent a lifetime creating an image of relative ease. I’m seen as happy, fun-loving and it looks like I have risen above struggle. All of this is true, and all of it is an exaggeration if not a lie. A partner once pointed out to me that my perfectionism was not only driving me crazy but it was hard on him. He felt pressured to live up to my standards and always felt like he was failing. … Read More
I NEED TO CALL EDDIE BACK
“I need to call Eddie back.” I remember having that distinct thought the last time he left a message a few weeks ago. Ed Lauter was a close friend, but I was up to my ears in work. We’d been pals for almost forty years so I knew he’d understand if I didn’t get back to him for a day or two. Returning his call was soon forgotten and a day or two turned into ‘never’. Eddie passed away last… Read More
ADDICTION AS ATTACHMENT
Addiction can be seen as an extreme case of what the Eastern spiritual traditions call attachment. The wise ones advised us not to be attached to the attractions and aversions of worldly life. Because all sensory pleasures, all relationships, and all material possessions are transient, their satisfaction will invariably fade, giving rise to discontent, followed by brand new cravings, and when those are satisfied … well, you know the story: the cycle continues. And continues. The only lasting happiness… Read More
Living Fully, Moving Forward, Patience, Trust
WHELMED
I’ve been whelmed the last few days. Not ‘overwhelmed’. Just whelmed. So fully preoccupied with responsibilities and deadlines that gears creaked to a halt and everything creative or clever just quit. Stopped. Unproductive as a government shut down. In the dictionary ‘whelm’ is described as a transitive verb 1: to turn (as a dish or vessel) upside down usually to cover something; cover or engulf completely with usually disastrous effect. 2: to overcome in thought or feeling Disastrous effect. That’s… Read More
Clarity, Living Fully, Mindfulness, Moving Forward
MOVE LIKE A JELLYFISH
A very interesting article appeared in the science section of the New York Times this week. It discussed the way jellyfish move through the water. Stick with me on this. I am going somewhere, maybe not like a jellyfish, but you will see. The article states – “In the first phase, the jelly contracts its open bell and pushes water behind it, propelling itself forward. Then, the bell returns to its original shape and fills with water again. Earlier studies had… Read More