Listen to the Voice

Some months ago it was decided that I would come to a part this weekend in PA. My bgf wanted to come, but because of her stroke in April she is not able to drive. My coming and bringing her was a gift.

I had no idea why, but I started gathering "camping" stuff for the trip. I bought a small sterno type burner, a kettle, pot and pan. I thought it was for the trip to Tucson in January. I was driven to get the stuff, and could not explain it when asked.

Metro had water on sale last week. Two cases of 24 for $5.00. I had been buying them like crazy, but still had 2 cases in the car when I headed to upstate NY to fetch my bgf, spend the night there, and then head to PA.

This is all related, and I will get to that soon.

Friday we drove down to PA, and spend the night with Archie, and his family. We woke up Saturday morning to snow!! It snowed all day. At 5PM the hydro went out. No heat, no lights, no water, no Internet. It is still out.

Thankfully Archie has a generator, and kerosene heater, and I have an Internet stick! I also have a camp stove, water, ground coffee, and a French Press. All the things that I knew somehow I needed to bring for this trip.

I listened to the voice. I didn't know why at the time, but I knew it was important. A good listen.

Your Destiny

Watch your thoughts,

they become your words.

Watch your words,

they become your actions.

Watch your actions,

they become your character.

Watch your character,

it becomes your destiny.

One day at a time.

*****
You've got to give time, time.

*****
Insanity:
Doing exactly the same thing over and over,
expecting different results.

How are you doing? How am I doing?

Just as the ivy that grows on a windowsill requires water and light, our friendships need care and nourishment. We might wish that a good friend would be there whenever we wanted. But we get so busy scrambling to cover all the bases in our lives that we lose touch with friends, even with our partner. We neglect even to ask, "How are you doing?" "How am I doing?"

In spite of our busyness, the time we take for a brief telephone call can make us feel more relaxed and less busy. These seemingly small attentions are important to friendships and instill the spirit of human warmth and care into our lives. It reminds us again of what gives us meaning and opens us up to the affectionate feelings in our partnership.

Call a friend you have not seen for a while just to renew your connection.

If you're dog-tired at night, it may be because you growled all day.

Negative attitudes wear us out. Assuming the worst will happen, focusing on just our faults, constant complaining, are attitudes that bring us down. If we stumble on a flight of stairs and feel embarrassed, it's going to feel even worse if we growl and curse. We'll feel much better if we laugh at ourselves and see the humor.

People want to be around those who are cheerful. The good cheer we send out will come back to us from others who are healthy. We can choose these cheerful people as our friends, and our happiness will grow and blossom in this good soil.

Everything is funny as long as it is happening to someone else.

We laugh when others do something silly. We're amused when something funny happens to them. But if the same happens to us and people laugh, we might give them the evil eye.

Yet, when others laugh, it can free us. It frees us to see the world through new eyes. Likewise, when we laugh at ourselves, we're free to see ourselves with new eyes. Instead of trying to be perfect, we accept we're human. To laugh at ourselves is to accept ourselves. There's no room for shame when we laugh. We enjoy ourselves just as we are.

My brother and I at Jenn's wedding July/10

I don't always get to know why things happen.

I may spend hours, even days, trying to figure out why bad things have happened to me. I may get caught up in trying to understand other people, situations, and even my own thoughts.

Today I will accept that I don't have to know why things are the way they are. Instead I can pay attention to healing, growing, and learning