Reminders of the power of NOW

Reminded this morning of the importance of not dilly-dallying doing things that speak to your heart.  As I stepped out of the shower, had a full view of the elm tree outside the window.  It's leaves are still glorious yellow, but it struck me how fewer there are then yesterday.  Smiled, grateful that I'd dragged John back upstairs yesterday morning to see the view out our back bedroom window, FILLED with a lush mass of yellow gold leaves.  Had I waited until today, there would still be some, but not the MASS of color that I knew would stiir his artist's heart, a beauty we took a moment to share.  

Glad I skipped breakfast to quickly dash off an older2elder blog posting about the experience, about the wonder of the tree itself, which has quite a back story of its own.  Glad I took the time & energy, because it's just not the same today. 

That experience got me thinking about hauling out my Mary Engelbreit Christmas Journal the other days, reviewing suggestions made in '14 for '15 celebrations, looking over what we'd done last year.  As I looked over Christmas 2014, my eyes brimmed with tears.

Under a section on moments that mattered most from Christmas 2014, the very first thing noted was "connecting with Peter & Mim."

Oh, how different my life is, having written those words under moments that HAPPENED.  

Don't wait to reach out, to make the extra effort to reconnect, even where there's still confused feelings.  Imagine if I'd put off touching base with them until some later date?  

The opportunity to wish Mim a Merry Christmas! won't come again, but I'll always have the comfort & joy of knowing my longtime heart's desire was a reality in 2014.

A simple, if not easy, outreach made all the difference, for which I will always offer up heartfelt thanks!

Vocal lessons

How to describe the sense I felt hearing Stephen Covey's opening message on the cd of his 2004 book, The 8th Habit?  The eighth habit builds on the original seven, so I was expecting something that deeply connected.  Hadn't a clue what it was.  Where would he go?  Intentionally, I didn't read any reviews or even author's blurbs - just bought it (full price!).

It's turning out to be a recap of the original seven, but taking them another step to something left out of the first - using them to find your voice, to help others find theirs.  Moving deeper into it, I will be surprised if it goes far beyond being a recap of the earlier work, with a tip of the hat to some of the messages developed by others inspired by Dr. Covey - one last shot at getting his message across, with the added kick in the pants to pull it all together then get out & LIVE it.

Dr. Covey's died in 2012, after transforming countless lives, including mine.  I listened to him read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as I drove from Philadelphia to my first women's retreat, outside Woodstock, NY.  Remember buying it at the Willow Grove Barnes & Noble, picking it up as something to listen to on the long ride.  No idea what it was all about - looked promising. 

Sweet serendipity, listening to the cassette tape - heard the last line as I turned into my destination's driveway - before experiencing the weekend.  I didn't expect to see my sister there & she certainly didn't expect to see me. There was a moment when Mim went up to bed early, around 10:00 p.m., and my automatic response was to think, "Oh, she's leaving because of me," my typical assumption.  But then a voice kicked in with, "Or not."  What a surprise!  Even more amazing, I accepted what it said as true!

Confession - after listening to the book last night, getting ready to write this posting, I slipped over to Amazon to read some of the many reviews.  Glad I did.  Not because of any great insight any of them gave, pro or con, but because of an unexpected insight they provided.  Most of the reviews were written when the book first came out, over ten years ago.  A common thread of criticism was how it's more ponderous than previous Covey books,a bit of a slog to get through, not as sprightly & highly readable.

Glad I read that before hearing more, because it will help me appreciate that this is an inspirational teacher's last great lesson.  How many of us experienced magical teachers in the last years of their career, when they still touched & changed their students' lives, but without some of the verve of earlier years.  The change didn't make them less - in most cases, it made their lessons deeper, richer.  
  
Dr. Covey clearly wanted to help his readers find something contained in the earlier books, but not spelled out - the importance of finding our individual voice & helping others find theirs.  The cd might turn out to be a bit ponderous, long & repetitious, but bring it on.  The book was Dr. Covey's last great opportunity to share an important message.  

Here I am, committed to doing the very thing he opens with - finding my voice, helping others of all ages find or reclaim theirs.  As I listen, will be appreciative of an exceptional teacher delivering his last lesson.  

 

With thanks, to Barack & Mitt, Rachel & Sean

John & I are going on four years without a television in the house.  When the t.v. we purchased when his house became ours went kaput in 2012, we decided against getting a new one until after the November presidential election (too many political ads).  But the time 11/07/16 rolled around, it was clear that life was considerably richer without one.  

Wonder of wonders, I rediscovered reading.  Almost four years down the road, it's not unusual for me to layer my reading, with several being savored at the same time.  That certainly makes for interesting experiences perspectives insights.

             

 

Interesting, combining Richard O'Connors' Rewire with Stephanie Dowrick's Seeking the Sacred, layered atop a review of the already savored Writing from the Heart by Nancy Slonim Aronie.  

Our brain is informed by our experiences, not the other way around.  How we choose to direct our mind, our brain, is crucial - but how does our brain allow us to see, given it's been formed by the influences of what we've previously seen? How do we free our shackled mind to recognize & release the actual ME waiting but buried deep within?

Oh, the wonders that burble up, thanks to layered reading.

All my thanks to all the 2012 candidates, the political pundits & talking heads who made it so easy to skip replacing the telly, to all the current crop who make it such a no-brainer to not even think for so much as a second about getting a new one!  To the American political apparatus - thanks for my enriched life!  

 

I love Nancy Slonim Aronie!

To the moon & back!  

Actually, to Rowe & back - the plan is to start my new year off with the very best sort of BANG, attending her 01/08/16 Writing from the Heart workshop at Rowe Conference Center in northwestern Massachusetts!

I've never met Nancy, never heard her (that I recall) on NPR or anywhere else, but felt an immediate kinship the moment I started reading her book.  It felt like a home coming, a reconnection with an old friend, someone I'd unfolded to, shared my deepest self without fear or shame.  

In some past life, we sat around a cozy fire, as she introduced me to Rumi...

Inside you there is an artist you don't know about...  

Say yes quickly, if you know, if you known it 

from before the beginning of the universe.

Two magic words - positive & constructive

Good thought - but not complete.  Seeing the good in every situation is an important step, but only if you also a) see the LESSON in every situation, then b) practice practice practice until it's LEARNED.  Every situation - especially the rocky ones - are meant to be lessons that we take the time & energy to nail down.  

Seeing the good, or the positive, is a great first step, but mere fluff if it's not backed up with the rest.

Three cheers for anyone who teaches & role models this simple truth.  I was raised to "see the good in everything & everyone."   That's where the lesson stopped.  See the good. 

"See the good" not only goes partway, sometimes there isn't something "good" in a particular situation.  Ah, but there is always something waiting to be spotted that we can build on to make life better.   

 

Positive & constructive - two of my favorites words & ones I don't remember hearing much at home or school or church (my three big influences).  Praise be, those two became magic words in my life.  I don't think they were learned from anyone - they're just common sense.  My guess is that, seeing the results of friends with positive & constructive lives, it hit me - that's the way we're meant to live. 

Everything that happens, everyone who crosses my path, is there for a positive, constructive reason.  The friends who enjoy apparently golden lives, the ones who claw through each day as if it is something to be endured rather than celebrated - there are lessons to be learned from each, from all.

Spot the lesson, learn it, then practice practice practice until the lesson's been mastered!  That's as positive & constructive as it gets!