Not as in "and now the adventure continues" or "once again, the adventure continues" - no how, no way. As in "it's ALL an adventure, from first whatever to last."
I say "whatever," because who knows when the jostling & joy begins - my guess is from the moment of conception, because what could be a more awesome part of our forever adventure than all that happens getting to, staying in, and moving out of the womb?" Seriously - what a WILD beginning to all that follows!
Have taken the plunge writing a book ~ Badass Grandma ~ inspired by & about my mother, Katharine Reynolds Lockhart. Tackling the first bit had me struggling to describe just what I mean by badass & why, in my mind & heart, Mom epitomized one.
First heard the term used as praise by Brene Brown in Rising Strong. That made me notice Jen Sincero's You Are A Badass, which took me deeper into appreciating how Mom nailed it. Especially at the end, but with glimmers & outbursts throughout her life - the little girl who rescued a peach sapling that was headed for the trash bin, in spite of adults insisting, "Kay, it will die" - was a total badass.
Am not meandering away from my topic as woefully as you might think. Writing the opening, went back to a 12/29/15 posting on my Dream Reweaver blog, about my first response to Jen's book (subtitled How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life), which lead me to a quote from her that totally shouts YES! to me, right here & right now:
We are so unbelievably blessed
to have all the things we have,
all the
opportunities and ideas
and people and tasks and interests
and
experiences and responsibilities.
Amen, sister!
I was talking with my oldest brother on Valentine's Day. He'd had a visit earlier from his daughter & her family - beloveds who'd lived in Australia for the past 3+ years & he hadn't seen or regularly Skyped over all that time. He should have still been on a legal high, having just seen his adored daughter, her terrific husband, her daughters. Instead, he sounded disheartened, busily kicking himself for not getting them different Christmas presents than he had so carefully purchased.
Knowing my properly raised niece, I doubt she showed any displeasure with the gifts; knowing her apples don't fall far from the maternal tree, am sure the girls didn't either. But there was Peter, focused on what he felt he did wrong instead of babbling about the joy of seeing them all.
According to the online Urban Dictionary, the opposite of badass is douchebag. Sad, but true - that fits how I felt about my brother, hearing him beat himself up instead of radiating rainbows of happiness.
Was shaken with momentary sadness. the sense he's missing the adventure, which brought home to me - hard fast true - what a waste it is for us to waste so much of a single moment in regret. Fra Giovanni totally aced it, writing, "The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet within our reach is joy. Take Joy!"
By nature & personal nurture, I am a bright & sunny soul. No matter how bleak things might get, I know that low moments happen for a higher cause, that every moment - no matter how glorious or gory it might feel - invariably leads us to a deeper connection to our own soul, to a stronger connection with the Divine.
Am forever grateful to my older siblings for all the sadness & even darkness they've shown that I might have never vicariously experienced.
Ian's death at 11 drove home that life's fragile, that it can never be taken for granted - a boy went out to play & never come home. Am grateful Ian died adventuring, being with a friend, basking in the fun of making his beloved model airplanes.
My sister couldn't see life as an adventure - as described by a super close friend after her memorial tribute, Mim was terrified of everything. When everything about it terrifies you, there's no opening up to life as adventure.
And Peter - he got a call from his baby sister on the very day he'd finally seen his adored daughter & her family and all he could talk about was how it felt like he'd messed up on presents. Peter - YOU were their best present! No sense of adventure.
But there's still time for my brother to shake himself out of deficiency thinking & embrace the adventure. It's in his bones. His mother was a badass, his father most certainly was (he had to be to start his own business & succeed). His brother, Mike, is a Down Under badass. And I like to think his baby sister is following in our Mom's footsteps!
The adventure continues, am moving with it. Found myself a guide, setting my current itinerary for the next destination, willing to learn how to better stock provisions ~ trim my sails ~ navigate a true north course. Then let go & let the adventure unfold, always remembering to take joy in my moments!
Credits:
openclipart.org
valentineweek-2016.com
pngimg.com
thegratitudehouse.org
stylepinner.com
sarahherrin.com
demilked.com
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