I am a quick study.
Always have been. Not good at language, math remains a mystery to me, but in non-academic, people-y ways - at that, I can excel.
My sister & oldest brother are quite
different than their baby sis. They took longer to make connections,
to catch on. Mind you, they had the
discipline & determination to slug it out & both did very well in
school, both solid upper 80s in most subjects, a couple higher & one or two
lower.
Not me - I was a bust in elementary school, even in high
school, although to a lesser extent.
While I was quick to catch on to things, I had zip confidence in my
abilities. Worse, I never developed basic discipline,
since my attitude s, “Why bother? I
don’t have the brains to make the grade.”
My middle brother is a lot like me. From
everything I’ve seen & heard, he torpedoed himself a lot in school,
too. As a sister-in-law would say many
years later, Peter & Mim were the bright ones, while Mike & I were the
social ones. Praise be for ancient
report cards & even letters from Mom to teachers, which tell a slightly, different, belatedly empowering story.
And here is a crucial lesson to be learned – it doesn’t
matter how bright or sharp anyone is if s/he doesn’t apply themselves. Could be the smartest person on the block,
but if you don’t DO anything with it, nothin’ is going to happen.
Mike was blessed to join the US Navy right out of high school. No, wait - he joined IN senior year, serving even before graduation. Went directly into full service after graduation, became a plank owner on the USS Enterprise. He came out of that stint with self-discipline aplenty. He owned a successful business in
Australia, which he sold on retirement for a nice packet.
Will always smile, remembering my delight of being at our favorite country inn – Porches on the Towpath, in New Hope – sitting on the veranda with my John, John Byers
& his wonderful pooch Mimi, and two friends of John’s, also staying
at his delightful hostelry. The wife’s
ever-so-slight accent fascinated me – barely discerned it, wasn’t able to place
it. The couple laughed, saying they
enjoyed a multi-national marriage. He
was from the USA, she was originally from Austria; they’ve lived in this
country & that, including ten years in Australia.
“Oh, I have special affection for Australia,” I chimed
in. “My brother & his family live in
Australia. He owns a high-end hardware
store in Sydney.”
The husband cocked his head to the side, then proceeded
to describe my brother to a T. He was a
frequent customer of my bro’s shop, took considerable glee in describing it –
and Mike – to me in pretty considerable detail!
Mike made a considerable success of his life – great family,
good business, terrific partnership with his wife of going on 50 years. I’m enjoying the BEST year of a pretty darn
fabulous life – in some ways nowhere near as successful as Mike’s (while Mike
& Kerry were globe trotters, John & I currently consider a mega get-awayan
overnight in New Hope, downright giddy to be getting away to exotic Syracuse NY
next month), but off-the-charts in lots of ways that matter. Good friends, part of multiple communities,
work we both love & which is meaningful, a strong spiritual life, a
just-right-for-us house shared with beloved cats. And it just keeps getting better, deeper,
richer.
My greatest triumph – perhaps of all time – is a very
recent one. I got past feeling a flub,
got past the negative image of myself that I’d developed as a child &
bolstered throughout my tweens teens adulthood.
Amen & hallelujah! Am turning
65 in a shade over six months & have the joy of this year, those years
ahead, being truly golden.
When the student is ready, the teacher appears. Jane Kerschner & I became pleasant
acquaintances last year, at my first Leading To Well-Being Conference. Some months ago, almost on a whim, she became
my life coach. What a profound impact
our phone sessions have made! She came
easily into my life, the realization, “Hey, that woman I met months ago - she might be the right coach for me,”
seemed as natural as breathing. When I
realized there was personal work that still needed to be done, I took off two
months; we just resumed yesterday, a splendid hour on the phone that sped
by. Finished Daring Greatly this weekend
– just a tad after Saturday’s rock ‘em sock ‘em Daring Way workshop. Last night, looked through my stack of to-be-read
books (Fire In The Soul, Live Happy, The Gutsy Girl, Tiny Beautiful Things, It’s
Never To Late To Begin Again, Help Thanks Wow were among the tempting titles),
plucked out, for no particular reason, Lisa Carr’s Becoming Aware: how to
repattern your brain & revitalize your life.
There, in the introduction, appropriately
on page X, was a the just-right description of my present life, of so much of
my life:
My work is not work.
It’s my life’s passion. It’s why
I’m here. My purpose is to communicate
messages that inspire positive growth & change.
Things do come easily to me. I see connections that slip past others but seem obvious to me. That doesn’t make them, or me, less. It’s just how I process this glorious thing
called LIFE.
Above all, I know that it’s a blessing looking back
over my life at a wide range of work, most of it interesting & purposeful. At a birth faith brought me – as intended –
to being awake aware active. That ALL
that came before has brought me to this now, where I can say, “Wow!” for all
that I’ve been given, the gifts &
graces instilled from birth & beyond, the people who have & continue to
make life worthwhile, the awesome opportunities that show up, family &
friends, pleasant acquaintance & flat-out strangers who make it all so
totally terrific. Life is filled with
abundance. I’d be a fool & an
ingrate not to see that & give a mighty THANK
YOU shout-out to the Universe for every bit of it.
All I have to do now is stay out of my own way, put
push behind my passions, and experience every moment in my best Mame Dennis
Beauregard fashion – LIVE! LIVE!
LIVE!
