Occupied

The sign on the door said "Occupied".

I need a sign like that for my brain. :)

Keeping me busy right now - work, extra busy/stressful End-of-Year close-out due to a major construction project, the likes of which I haven't encountered at work before. I'm required to completely empty the facility and prepare the space for the contractors. In addition to all the normal end of the school year stuff. ick. The kicker is that this project was kept secret from me for some reason until a couple months ago, so this major load of extra work has been a surprise that I wasn't given enough time to plan for. My mind seethes with all the things I must make sure are taken care of. The good news is that tomorrow is the end, and I can put it all out of my mind.

Upheaval with my son. First, plans for a vacation with 3 other friends, which involved him driving them, in my car, a long way away, for a week's vacay. That was a lot to prepare for, and I was stressed inside worrying about the what-if's. To alleviate the what-if worries, I requested that the other 3 families sign a traditional hold-harmless agreement/release of liability. One family refused, and they then canceled the trip - this was the family with the connection to the condo the kids were staying in.

Wow - the drama was way beyond anything I'd encountered or expected, and you know me, I felt like the bad guy even though I wasn't. shew. Anyway, the planned week didn't come through, but Master has a timeshare He will exchange for the kids at a later date so they (minus the 1 child of course) can still go. I mean - the mother who refused actually hung up the phone on me! Who does that? But it's all good, Master and I will find a better way to get the kids to Harry Potter at Universal!

And of course, wedding planning. I'm trying not to let this be stressful, and mostly succeeding. There's just still a lot to do, that's all.

Hope all is well for each of you. As Elle has reminded us, being busy is not bad when we view the busy in a positive light. The bits and pieces and busy-nesses of life are part of the Tapestry which is ever-evolving. I am not the same now as I once was, and I will not be the same later as I am now. And the beauty of the picture which is being woven and created, my Tapestry, is that it improves and blossoms with every new thread.

(On a house-keeping note, I've been forced to turn comment moderation on. I apologize, but be patient, and your comments will be reviewed and made visible as quickly as possible. This is has nothing to do with my actual friends and friendly commentors, and everything to do with spam-type things.)

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Insight Is Good

When our minds are cluttered with too many thoughts and information, our bodies respond by trying to take action.
Several of us in this inter-web community are routinely inspired and enriched by the Daily OM, a daily email inspirational newsletter which we subscribe to. One day this past week, the newsletter began with the words above, and even before I read the whole thing I knew it was resonating deeply within me.

I recognized instantly that I need to be more conscientious to both slow my body, relaxing in order to feel, acknowledge, and process all the things swirling in my head; and also to slow my thoughts and feelings so that I could give each of them the appropriate time for dealing with them as well as giving my body the chance to settle down.

It just struck me as a very catch 22 type situation. I'm mentally and emotionally stressed, and my body reacts by jumping up and down, carrying on a great fuss, and ends up run down and ill.
And so while I'm physically ill, I'm completely unable to sort through the mental and emotional stuff, that it just sits there simmering, and possibly being repressed.

I think also, that when there's too much crowded in there, it's like an over-crowded classroom, where 1 teacher is trying to meet the needs of 60 students. It's just not conducive to learning, development, nor growth.

So.

Thank you to the universe for providing that timely reminder. And to Elle for sharing about climate change.

Now to settle in and consciously slow down, and acknowledge, feel, and probably most importantly, breathe!

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Fortune Cookie

Master brought Asian cuisine from Pei Wei home on Friday night for dinner. (Yes, I already know I'm a very lucky little girl, you don't have to tell me!)

The food was, of course, delightfully yummalicious. Pei Wei includes the obligatory fortune cookie with every meal. My fortune last night read:

"You will soon emerge victorious from the maze you've been traveling in."

Immediately I reflected on all the little dramas and trials and tribulations I've been battling lately, (all very well documented here, lol.) And I decided that those little dramas are the maze from which I will be emerging. I'm claiming it, so be it.

And that made me happy.

A little later, Master broke open His fortune cookie, and this is what it said:

"The best times of your life have not yet been lived."

And that was just the icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned. :)

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Real Winners

“The real winners in life are the people who look at every situation with an expectation that they can make it work or make it better.” ~Barbara Pletcher

I’ve never given much thought to the fact that I do view everything in life with the thought that I can improve the situation. I constantly search for and strive to find a better way of doing something, (better being that which improves the outcomes, the processes, or the quality of life for those involved.)

I guess that makes me a winner

:)

Cool beans!
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That Daily OM Again

I know Elle shares the Daily Om message from time to time, and I know everyone can get the email inspiration for themselves each day, but I’m still going to be redundant and share this, because it really spoke to me today! (And after all, this is my blog, tee-hee!)

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May 17, 2010
Letting Life Unfold
Present in the Progression

Try to allow your life to unfold like a flower rather than worrying and making predictions which cause stress.

Our lives are guided by natural rhythms that are particular to each of us and cannot be altered by force of will alone. Life itself is a journey made up of processes and events that manifest before us only to be swept away when time marches on. Whether we envision ourselves creating a career, building a family, or developing the self, we instinctively know when the time has come for us to realize our dreams because all that is involved comes together harmoniously. When the time is right, the passage of destiny cannot be blocked. Yet as desperate as we are to touch these beautiful futures we have imagined, we cannot grow if we are not fully present in the evolutionary experience. The present can be challenging, uncomfortable, and tedious, but life unfolds as it will, and the universe will wait patiently as we make our way into the unknown.

The fate that awaits us is not dependent on our pace, which was preordained before we ever appeared in human guise. Therefore there is no reason to rush through life to reach those pinnacles of development associated with the paths we have chosen. Enjoying and fully experiencing the journey of life is as important as achieving goals and reaching milestones. There are lessons we can learn during those moments that seem immaterial or insignificant that we cannot learn at any other time. Appreciating these takes patience, however, because human beings tend to focus on the fulfillment of expectations rather than the simple joys of being.

Like many people, you have no doubt longed for a device that would give you the power to fast forward through certain periods of your existence. Yet haste is by its very nature vastly more stressful than serene fortitude. When you feel yourself growing impatient because the pace of your development is deceptively slow, remember that everything that will occur in your life will occur in its own time. Quelling your urge to rush will enable you to witness yourself learning, changing, and becoming stronger. There is so much to see and do in between the events and processes that we deem definitive. If you are patient enough to take pleasure in your existence's unfolding, the journey from one pinnacle to the next will seem to take no time at all.

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Given the turmoil and turbulence in my life lately, this really shouted at me! No silly little whisper of truth for me, this was a brick wall. I think allowing things to unfold in due time is so powerful, and so completely at the heart of all my unrest. When I look back over the past few entries here, I realize that it is my own lack of being able to control the many situations that is provoking my stressful reaction. Letting go and allowing things to unfold naturally will bring me that illusive inner peace and tranquility I’ve been missing. (By the way, if you’ve seen Chocolat – the movie I mentioned in a previous entry, you’ll hear the word tranquility pronounced in your head the way I do – “tran-key-eh-tay” – or something close to that!)

I’m going to be working on letting life unfold like a flower.

Let’s see what blooms!

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Rose Anew

A lovely song I've known for many years, and never given much thought to was played on the radio today. Listening to it I was struck by this line:

"You remain, my power, my pleasure, my pain."

The song is "Kiss From A Rose" sung by Seal, a beautiful song, which has taken on new meaning for me today. Master is indeed my power, my pleasure, my pain.

Also meaningful:

"You became the light on the dark side of me."

"When it snows, don't you know, my eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen."

Enjoy.




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Drips

I think someone should figure out a way to have a lending library for the kindle. I won't just buy every book out there on kindle, I look for the free or really cheap ones. I'm used to borrowing books and returning them, at no cost. Really special books are purchased for keeps, and books on the bargain table at Barnes and Noble are purchased. Of course those are usually read and then given away for others to enjoy. Can't do that with my kindle. It's a whole new thing for me to explore, this kindle. Someone should figure out a cyber lending library. I'm sure there's a way to do it. If anyone cared to try.

Oh, and some of the mental turmoil has abated. Don't get me wrong, there's no difference in most (if not all) of the situations that were churning in my head, but I'm doing a little better with reacting to and processing those situations. I knew from the get-go that it wasn't the situations that were stressing me, but my reaction to them. So, I don't know how or where, but in the last 24 hours I've regained a small bit of my usual inner calm. I'm not completely back to normal, but I can tell I'm coping better, and feeling a little more like myself. shew! :)

Ugh - my shift key is sticking. If I miss a capital letter just pretend - it's a pain, lol. Do you KNOW how hard it is to type in passwords?? You know, the ones which show up as little bullets or asterisks. And they include a variety of lower case, upper case, numbers, and symbols? And you can't see that the shift key didn't work, lol!

Read a great quote today from Rob Reiner. I feel like sharing it, so here it is:

"Everybody talks about wanting to change things and help and fix, but ultimately all you can do is fix yourself. And that's a lot. Because if you can fix yourself it has a ripple effect."

True that.

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