Power of DOING OUR BEST

When we do the best we can,

we never know what miracle is

wrought in our life, or in the life

of another.

  

Helen Keller 

Time & again, that message comes home to me, especially when well-meaning friends entreat me to go back to the business world, to return to hefty, steady pay checks.  Happy to say, am never tempted.  Everything around & within me tells me that my contribution to improving our culture's current abysmal attitude about aging might be small, perhaps no more than James Baldwin's famous millimeter, but that by doing the best I can, other miracles can be wrought.

 

That is entire WHY behind the crowdfund request I'm submitting this month.  I believe in the importance of my calling, that I am the only one who can answer it directly, but only through the belief of others in the value of what I offer.  

Skeptical friends doubt that I'll raise the funding needed to do all I want to accomplish in 2015.  They don't get it.  Just writing the request will be reward.  There is NOTHING more powerful than letting the Universe know what you truly want, especially if that happens to be doing your BEST.  

It might turn out that I might not get to more than next month's Leading to Well-Being Conference, might not get a back-up car for when the Grannie Mobile is out of commission, might not get out to Iowa to interview a remarkable "best practices" couple.  But forming those intentions in my mind & setting them in my heart - knowing what I believe will be the best use of my time & energies over the coming months - can only bring great good.

 

There is remarkable power in doing our best.  I was reminded of that yesterday, hearing tributes to a remarkable man who was a pleasant acquaintance & unforgettable role model.  What set Gerald Hurst apart from most of us is that he always brought his best game to whatever he did. To Gerry, there was no small or large, only what was in front of him that beckoned attention.  He brought his best & brought it out in everyone around him.

There is great power in doing our best.  In showing up.  In knowing what we want & giving it our best efforts.  Always.  In all ways.

 

 

makes sense to me

Certain things always made common sense to me.  Other things have always left me scratching my head as to why I did limiting stuff like that.  

I was born believing we are meant to live lives that make sense.  Doing what creates the highest vibration of happiness makes sense.  Dumb & dorky to let less-than take priority.  Going for the highest happiness vibe is also a great way to not block others seeking what brings them the same.  

For me, that includes an orderly house, work that matters, a vegetarian diet.  

Look at our teeth - they're designed to mash, not gash & tear.  Fruits & vegetables are meant to be oicked & cut down - they grow back.  Try that with a cow.  Or a fish.  Or a shrimp.  Common sense.


Life is really very simple.  Choose wisely.  Choose based on seven generations out.  Choose based on what serves us best.  Don't make it into an epic struggle.  Hand over the chaos & embrace the simple best.  Live life the way I dreamed the other night when a scathingly brilliant business plan came to me, one that was remarkable in its simplicity & accessibility, yet which others had overlooked.  Many benefited from its roll out, including friends & family.  

Someone asked me if I remembered what the idea was & I said, "Nope."  But that seems wrong.  It feels like the idea was living life as a high happiness vibe.  Makes sense to me!

1280 × 960 - inavyn.org

Letting go

Feeling the WHOOSH! of letting go.  Sitting inside, snug in the computer studio, but swear I feel wind rushing through my hair.  

Back a lifetime ago, to letting go of Mom's finger, taking first steps on my own.  My bike's handle bars, feeling close to flying.  The rail at the skating rink, wobbling for a bit but finding my center as I sailed along.  letting yourself.

The rueful smile, realizing how long I've been holding on, like a butterfly with the teeniest tip of a wing still touching its cocoon. The glorious freedom of letting go. 

Fly!

  

greyed out

Next month is March, next month is March...

That's become my mantra, as I eagerly await spring.  Greyed out by overcast, dank, cold weather.  Even when temps hit the upper 40s, as they did yesterday, the damp still creeps under the skin.

Bring back the sun!

Do you see what I see?

A friend noted on a birthday greeting that I always seem to see a bright side to everything.  

Oh my gosh, I should hope not!  In my experience, that never ends well.   

I hope what i see is the lesson.

easy & elegant

Ruth Anne Wood - I apologize for being such a dimwit explaining what helps  trigger positive change in my life.  While my nature is to think strategically, my nurture is just the opposite.  In fact, my nurture despises anything resembling strategic thinking.   

How to express what my nature needs to make changes without naturally slipping into the language & images of my nurtured past, a crazy language designed to invert rather than illuminate, enable rather than empower, that appears to leave the stalk & leaves & bloom intact, but kills the roots?  

What IS my ultimate goal?  To become the best possible ME, to let MY loves rise & shine, to have the discernment (love that word!) to know which reflect interests that catch my attention – worth a tip of the hat – and which few capture my heart, worth my energy & time.

HOW does this happen?  If I knew the answer to that, I'd do it on my own.  Haven't a clue.  But my guess is it’s going to take experimenting, fooling around  to see what works.  Being anything but rational.  With, I suspect, mind-body work - feels like messed-up messaging is imprinted on my tissues.  

Here's where I don't expect it to go.  I don't expect it to be arduous.  Or time-consuming.  If anything, I expect it to be easy & elegant once my hungry soul hears home truths it's longed for all my life.  

It's happened before.  Falling in love with John took no time, no effort - everything clicked because the time was right.  We both enjoyed our wedding, ditto everyone who came, yet it was about as simple to put together as packing a July 4th picnic.  We've had  relatively <> strain & heartache in our marriage and  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<  loving & learning.  THAT's how I expect this current process to go! 

recovery & preparation

The older I get, the more I find myself pondering stuff that's tripped me up over the years.  Each awareness brings an opportunity to keep making the same dorky calls, or better ones. 

In her late 80s, my mother went through a remarkable recovery process, which was about moving forward with joy rather than looking back with regret.  In her early 90s, she wrote about nature forcing her into more meditative states & a slower tempo, a state & tempo she found richly rewarding. 

I want that contemplative experience, 

not one of being bored to tears. 

Mindfulness training starts this Thursday - may Mom's gentle spirit be with me!