Your Dreams - the source of infinite power?

If you love what you do, you can never fail! Why? because you will never run out of juice. You will always be motivated. During the inevitable times when you are discouraged, you will find a way to simply acknowledge the state you find yourself in, take a break, and the juice will be back in no time. If you live your talents you will be empowered by the universal source—a source that is beyond your wildest imagination, and it is of infinite supply.

No argument can make you stop doing what you love to do. Many people have wonderful reasons for what they do and for what they want to accomplish. These reasons are as varied and personal as anything in the universe. If you take away these reasons and ideas, people fall into a black hole because there is then no longer any substance behind their reality—their dreams have been cut off at the source.

If there is only one important thing in your life, then surely it must be this: to find and live your dreams. Don't waste any more time doing things you don't like. Yes, you are taking a risk, but you will never want to go back once you have made this choice.

Is this possible? What do you think?

A Letter to "Nowhere"

Prologue:

What do you do when you can't figure out people and their motives? What do you do when their conversations are manipulative, or at best, strange? If you're like me; you write a letter to “Nowhere.”

“Nowhere”: a place where thoughts can go and dissolve into particles of energy that mesh with the rest of the universe... and hopefully will not bounce back and bite me in the saddle.

• I do not look lightly at the self-serving attitude that stands at the door waiting to take me in. Humility bids me to continue my journey without judgment, lest I enter the door and not come out. And sometimes I fail and have to write a second letter to “Nowhere.”


Dear “Nowhere”, and to the person who would rob me of my joy:

I wanted to do a special thing. A special project allowing me pleasure to use my abundance of time that becoming disabled had shared with me.

I would write. I worked hard toward my goal and utilized patience to watch it grow. Feeling an immense joy and a good tiredness, I set about adding other things to keep the project going. Maybe I could photograph some of my paintings and use them to accompany my writings?

• I thought I was impervious to complications, ugly remarks, and judgments from people.

Then I got a phone call from a relative; her advice was sharp. Keep in mind that she “called” me; I did not call her! She concluded that my focus of “having abundant time” was like a person “exhibiting an abundance of self-worth.” She pounded one more nail before I excused myself from the phone: “You and your project are insignificant; time is relevant and you are wasting it on this foolish project.”

Having left a time period where time was dead for me, I could not fathom why the robber defined my project as insignificant and foolish? Maybe she’d never heard of the pair of shoes I was forced to wear? Those shoes were uncomfortable; I made the change to walk barefooted.

• I didn’t need to re-do it all over again; but I wanted to be able to close my eyes and remember it. Remember the passion of sitting down and writing a song, or creating charcoal and black conte sketches on the finest papers I could afford! If no one wanted me to exist on this earth, this beautiful earth, then why put me here?!

My joy came from the fact that I was busy, and having daily goals to meet and people wanted what I was doing; a very big surprise! Living became inventing and the foundation I had as a child was still there, moving to the surface to re-teach me. Get past the heat, get past the desires, get past the enablers, and hold hands with the disabled who will reach out to those who need healing too. Just because we look whole, doesn't mean we are whole.

Epilogue:

There are many projects that we do and never expect anyone else to give them a thought. We do them for the sheer joy of doing and sharing. We exist and hopefully our special activities give lessons to anyone who is ready to hear.

• I do not look lightly at the self-serving attitude that would exclaim: "Look at what I'm doing, but rather: look at the higher power who has given me wings to fly.” Humility bids me continue my journey, without judgment, exclaiming… time is HIS.

Lousy weekend, new day...

I had a lousy weekend, and now it’s not going to do any good to complain about it. It’s the same old stuff… and I’m really, really, tired of feeling the way I feel. So wonder of all wonders… I am going to change my attitude. I mean I am really going to shake a few apples from the tree. Fall where they may, this girl has had enough!

The widget “following” thing is going. I click on it and get every blog in the world, but the one I’d like to read. Besides I like my blog list just fine. I don’t get some 18-22 blogs hanging onto one of my “followers,” such a demeaning name any way. No offense, but I like to be the one picking what I want to read.

My personal life will be changing as well. A certain revelation has finally penetrated my skull and I see light at the end of the tunnel… and it’s not a train light!! There’s nothing like a bit of the surreal to wake up reality. And, damn it. I’m wide awake. Maybe I’ll let you know how it goes or else I’ll hide my embarrassment of being a “fool” and get on to new stuff. More will be revealed.

When its time...

Treat your mind to some peace. Detach. Get calm.
If you’re facing a decision, big or small, get peaceful first, and then decide.
If you absolutely can’t make a decision on a particular day, then it’s obviously not time to make that decision.
When it is time, you’ll be able to do it.
And do it well.

Lessons and Gifts

There is a gift for us in each relationship that comes our way. Sometimes the gift is a behavior we’re learning to acquire: detachment, self-esteem, becoming confident enough to set a boundary, or owning our power in another way.

Some relationships trigger healing in us – healing from issues of our past or an issue we’re facing today.

Sometimes we find ourselves learning the most important lessons from the people we least expect to help us. Relationships may teach us about loving ourselves or someone else. Or maybe we’ll learn to let others love us.

We may not know if we’re in the midst of the process. But we can trust the lesson and gift is there. We don’t have to control the process. We’ll understand when it’s time. We can trust that the gift is precisely what we need.

Today, I’m trying to be grateful for all relationships. I’m trying to open myself to the lesson and gift from each person in my life. I will try to trust that I, too, am a gift in other people’s lives.

The one that got away

Painting by dcrelief


Prologue

Not all trips are pleasant ones. Some merely exist to teach us a lesson. A lesson about ourselves: what we've been, what we are, or what we might become. Let us not look lightly at the negative behavior we're ever exposed to, lest we become the same in thought and deed.

The One That Got Away

I caught a fish, a very large fish, and fought my better judgment to let it go. It was my trophy, I had to display it, and so I photographed it to show all of my friends that I was the “best of the best of fishermen.” My ego blindingly held myself, as well as the fish, captive. My overzealous need for "just one more person" to recognize my superiority caused great delay in the preservation of the fish; alas! It was inedible. The bodily damage was such that it could not even be mounted to be observed for all time. The wall in my living room would remain bare.

What was found was painfully ruined, as I contemplated the one that got away. How was it that the joy of the catch did not stay with me? Within my mind I recalled the moment of bringing that mighty one to the surface and how proud I had been. I was the best and here was my proof. How was it that I did not see, that as the fish began to disintegrate, so had my trip? My joy for that fish caused me to ignore any joy for anything or anyone else. When the one that got away, went away, there was no experience left to fill the void. I had alienated all others, deeming them unworthy of my attention.

I sat alone and pondered what I might have done differently. Better yet, I sought a new direction for the next trip. I would leave behind all cumbersome things and ones that would divide the mighty fisherman's attention. I would have my complete joy in the catch, and a large cooler to preserve my new slave. Nothing and no one would hinder my expectations.

Epilogue

Not all trips are pleasant ones. Out of the darkness a line is dropped into the water of our soul. Some come with hooks that are attached to things we'd be wise to avoid. What we've been, what we are, or what we may become, depends largely on what we yield ourselves to accepting. Let us not think lightly on the times when we're allowed to be the one that got away.

MAD?

The little icon will not get up and shake! I don't know how to fix him! lol.

This is not a Facebook commercial

I'm feeling smart!

I forgot about NASCAR...

I planned a sweet little sabbatical in the middle of race week.
Forgot the noise, the fumes, loud cars
100,000 screaming fans!
Off hours they run time trials, and cutesy little races.
Corvette shows………
Lots of dusty rides
Cleaned up hotrods
Motorcycles in every color
Beer on ice when not flowing
Food, food, food
Camper trailers, RV’s, tents and old camper-top trucks
But most definitely…. Not me!

Early

Early, it is morning.
I step lightly without shoes

I step lightly, joy renews
Tenderness gleaned from the light
Precious time is in my sight
Meets me when I feel the dew
When I step without my shoes

I step lightly without shoes
Ii is morning, early

How might it have been ...?

How might it have been different for you? If early in your life, the first time you as a tiny child felt your anger coming together inside yourself, someone, a parent or grandparent, or older sister or brother, had said, “Bravo! Yes, that’s it! You’re feeling it!”

If, during the first time you had experienced that sharp awareness of ego, of “me, I’m me, not you”… you had been received and hugged and affirmed, instead of shamed and isolated.

If someone had been able to see that you were taking the first baby step toward feeling your own feelings, of knowing that you saw life differently from those around you.

What if you had been helped to experience your own uniqueness and to feel the excitement of sensing, for the very first time, your own awareness of life? What if someone had helped you to own all of this… to own your own life?


How might it have been different for you?



(Dedication:JDS)

Jo-Jo's Joke

What do you mean, "GO GREEN"?

I like the PINK one!

Inner Child: living in the moment

She often walks right by my side
In rain we run for cover
It’s from the world that we would hide
And not seen by another

Times of past and times to be
Are different now for us
We’ve found the clue to set us free
Departing illusions’ fuss

A gentle breeze, the birds appear
My inner child sings loudly
We keep our smile in present here
And do so rather proudly

The moment lived dissolves past thoughts
And keeps the future away
Enjoying every moment sought
Gives hope to last the day

Voyage

The real voyage of discovery consists
not in seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes.

~Marcel Proust

The Plan

I began this quest of “orderliness” because I needed some way to help me work consistently, not perfectly, but consistently, so I would not wear myself out. I have a dream and for once I would use my daydreaming in detail for planning.

So I envisioned my dream and saw some goals I needed to complete it. Now it was time to write down those goals. Then it occurred to me, how many times do I get “right here” and stop. What was that about? What caused me to stop? Wisdom from one of the books on my desk, spoke loudly:

“To put feet to you goals and start moving ahead, you must realize that reaching your goals requires behavior change. Have you thought about the behaviors that get in the way of your dreams or about the habits you must initiate to get where you want to go? It’s time to evaluate them, decide how to deal with them and move forward.”

Out popped “The Plan” as I call it: STOP, START, CONTINUE. You take a sheet of paper and make three columns; labeling them Stop, Start, Continue.

In the first column, write three habits you want to stop because they are hindering your journey toward your dream. (Stop watching late night TV if it’s zapping my energy level I need for the next day. Stop being president of the moose lodge because I already work for two organizations, and have no time for the kids.)

Under heading number two, list habits you intend to start. (Do a load of laundry every night. Rise a half hour earlier to write. Increase savings deposits by 3%.) The point here is to at “upgrade” if you cannot totally change things at once.

Column three are the behaviors you want to continue. They are useful and successful. For this to work you need at least three items or more, added to each column. Writing your planned behaviors and reviewing the written goals daily will dramatically increase your chances of sticking to them.

This is what I’m doing.

Happy Mom or Subtitute Day!

Mom, Dad, Step-parent, Aunt, Uncle, Grandmother, Grandfather, Adoptive

(Sung to the tune of: “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands…)

If you love your little peeper(s), clap your hands.
If you love your little peeper(s), clap your hands.
If you love your little peeper(s), even more when they are sleepers,
If you love your little peeper(s), clap your hands.

*More and more we see single-parents performing both Mom and Dad duties. Theirs is an awesome task as role models for their children. This my personal tribute to friends I have, and know they would never begrudge their child anything. Indeed, many tell me that the child keeps them going. Bless them all.

Gooeyduck hunting: sea food commercial

Gooeyduck digging: dig it!


Gooeyduck or Elephant Trunk Clam?




Pick a word, any word:
Goouiducks
Geoducks
Gooeyducks
Gweducks

No matter how you spell the name, all are pronounced with a beginning prefix of gooey. They are clams! Very large clams. They range in shell size from 7"-9" inches; that's a lot of gooey for the hooey. The siphon or long trunk-like object can be 1-3 feet long. They taste like scallops, often much better. They can be eaten raw or cooked.

They are very expensive, which means a lot of molooey to buy the gooey; oh phooey!Gweduck is a native word meaning to "dig deep". So dig deep in your pockets to pay for this delightful gweduck!

They are found in Japan, British Columbia, Canada, and Northwestern U.S..

In Japan they are called, "Elephant Trunk Clams."

(I seem to have a thing for ducks.)

Affirming the good things in Life*

Gratitude can help us learn to acknowledge what we have now,

face the fearful “what ifs” we create,

practice the art of acceptance,

and expect good things from life.

Part of my plan for moving along, choosing the goals and dreams I want, is to use “affirmation cards” that focus on gratitude.

“Today, I will be grateful for the choices available to me, and I will make choices that are good for me.”

Photo: I am grateful for any participation you’d add to help me spread my wings!


*See blog titled: “I have the making of a plan. I do.”
Coming attraction: “The Plan”

I have the makings of a plan. I do.

You’d think that after all of these years I’d know exactly how to change my life. You’d think that I could set my goal or place my dream before me, and beat a path straight to it. Then again, if you’ve been reading along for the last few months you’re wondering: did she get there or are we still traveling?

My old friend Fibromyalgia often stops to play but doesn’t leave as soon as I think it should. It interrupts, and before I know it, I am back to square one in the planning stage of a goal or a dream. My cognitive ability leaves me and I feel sad. I’m learning how to use these interruptions as times to help someone else instead.

Lately the “fog” has begun to lift and I feel “Dixie” coming to the surface. Now is the time to plan step by step the way for me to get going on that special goal. Reach the goal and live the dream! Hooray!

This time I plan to document my progress. My Fibro coach is most interested in learning what stops my mental flow towards accomplishment. You are most welcome to join me in my trek. Don’t worry, I’ll have ‘commercials or cartoons’ so you won’t be bored… lol. Okay, I’ll get back with more in a day or so.

ALL STOP

Mother's Day Parade