Take the weekend off!

The quote for today is...

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.~~Lao Tzu~~

We get so busy, so many things to be accomplished. When we have a day off, we run through the day, working much harder than if we had actually gone to our jobs. Running errands, doing chores, paying bills. Often quality time with our families is just one more item on the to do list, characterized by that frantic frenetic need to get everything done. So, sometime we need to ask ourselves, what would truly happen if I just chose to ignore the to do list and relax and spend time refreshing and renewing my spirit? Time laughing and playing with my family? I suggest you try it. Throw the list out the window. Take a day where you accomplish nothing other than being. Where your major goal is to laugh and play. Where the most strenuous thing you do is talk to your higher power.Take a walk with you family, make the long legged husband slow down so you can truly notice the world around you.Take a nice tall glass of sweet tea or lemonade out to the deck and watch the wildlife in your space. Because even the most urban of dwellings has abundant critters of nature living there. I guarantee sitting and watching a spider work on her web is one of the most amazing spiritual times. Contemplating the awesome majesty of creation takes time and effort. The rewards of effort spent thusly are vastly better for you than the rewards of efforts towards running around accomplishing a to do list.

So today, a day which is supposed to be a day of rest for many, do just that. Rest, relax, do something totally useless and unnecessary. Laugh, play, refresh your spirit. Give yourself permission to do nothing, and if you find that you can't quite give yourself permission, tell your mind that I gave you permission!!So there!!

Peace and Blessings,

EB

So Small So Big

My world has gotten smaller and smaller lately. I haven't been able to save enough money (and I have some dear friends who have helped) to get my car tagged and repaired, so we don't get out much. It seems as if our life is on hold, because getting out and about has always been a way for us to work on my sons social skills.

On the other hand, my world is very BIG. It is amazing to this child of the 1950's that I have 'friends' and acquaintances all over the world. I write a blog post and people in Russia, Finland, Indonesia, and China read it. Kind of mind boggling when I think of it.

How awesome is it that I have friends that I can keep in touch with every day, just at the touch of a keyboard and yet, I haven't seen a friend in person in a while. What an odd world we have created.

Not saying it is a bad thing, just thinking out loud. It is actually a very good thing that I am able to interact with people online. If it weren't for cyber connections I would be a hermit living in a cave, and that is not a good thing. Connection is the thing that keeps me going. I participate on a Weight Watchers message board, I spend time on facebook in groups and with friends. These things keep me supported, encouraged and feeling loved.

"When just being together is more important than what you do...you are with a friend."~~Anonymous~~

This is what my cyber friends are for me.We all know those times when we just spend time not doing anything with our friends. Those are times of mutual rest, relaxation, and contentment, and they are so nice. We all need to have those times when we are able to be quiet together. We are just here to share our days. Some days we deal with big important issues, some days we are just silly, some days, we just share the details of our day, and we know that no matter what we share, someone is glad to see that we posted. Just glad to share the same space with us. Doesn't matter that we are from all over the world, different faiths, different life experiences. Just matters that we came here and spent the time to post. Someone cares that I exist, it says to us when we get a word of encouragement, love, and support.

So, today,which is my wedding anniversary and I am nostalgic, I am loved and supported. That is a very BIG thing in a very Small world.

Peace and Blessings,
EB

p.s. I hate asking, but if you feel led to help get that car fixed there is a paypal button over there on the right.




 

Tools of thought

Today's quote...
"We have the tool of thought within us to create a thousand joys or
a thousand ills."~~James Allen~~

 When we choose how we react to situations and things and people around us we are using that tool. We can use our thoughts to create positive ways of reacting to the circumstances we are surrounded with, or we can use that tool of thought to create negative response.

I was reading something on a message board, a very nice article on steps you can take to lower stress. Then along came the poster who said "None of this works when you have a life as stressful as mine" and then she laid out a tale of woe. Posters responded with really good thoughtful ways she could let go of some of the things that were stressing her out, and of course she couldn't hear any of it. It was apparent to everyone but her that her woes weren't as big and bad as she thought they were, and that she was actually creating some of them with her negative thoughts. She was using the tool of thought to create a thousand ills.


Sad really, someone gets really good loving advice and chooses to stay stuck in their misery. Living in the moment allows us to capture those thoughts, choose how to react, and use that tool of thought to create a thousand joys. Imagine what a great day this will be if you experience a thousand joys, or a hundred joys, or ten joys, or one joy created by using the tool available to you. Using your tool of thought today, choose to live in joy.

I know I am working on it.

Peace and Blessings,
EB


  

Summertime

Today's quote...
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.~~John Lubbock~~

What a lovely quote, reminding us that rest is something to be sought after. Something to be cherished, and used as a part of our spiritual practices. As children we knew the value of resting in the summer grass, watching the clouds moving across the sky, allowing our minds to flow with changing shapes. Our imaginations taking us to places of adventure. Sailing away on the cloud that looked like a pirate ship, riding the horse shape cloud across the sky, mounting up with the birds as we watched them soar. And as our imaginations soared our dreams took shape. As we lay in the grass on a summers day we heard the sounds around us, savoring them, because the sounds of summer, the crickets chirping, the birds singing, the children screaming in laughter as they play their summer games, the sound of the ice cream truck playing its simple tune bringing refreshment to hot and thirsty children, the sounds of summer are just for that season, and we savor the fleeting joy that will sustain us through the winter.

 

The memories of a summer afternoon spent picnicking can get us through many a dreary day. The sense memory of the salt and butter dripping from your chin as you relish an ear of fresh corn roasted to perfection, the sweet cold delight of watermelon juice dripping down you elbows as you sit on the sand. All of these things are important as we go through our day to day existence. Rest creates sense memories that we can call on in an hour of stress and weariness. Remember, take a break today, rest a few minutes, refreshing your body, mind and spirit. Take a few minutes to walk barefoot, if not literally, then in your memories from youth, enjoy the sounds and scents that surround you, and save them up for the day you will need them later. Relax, Enjoy, and don't feel one twinge of what needs to be done in that time, because you are doing an important necessary job for your spirit.

Peace and Blessings,
EB

The Little Things

So, being stressed out to the max, I have noticed that every little thing that occurs seems to add to my stress levels. Every little thing. Things I would shrug off on a normal day now seem to add to my desperation.

I noticed this this morning. I don't walk well, haven't for a long time now. On the days I can walk I occasionally stumble and fall. Not often, but in normal circumstances it wouldn't bother me all that much. It happens. In fact it is such a normal occurrence that my son doesn't even look up anymore. So, why when I stumbled this morning did it just add to my feelings that nothing is ever going to be OK again? And more importantly why does something like that get to live in my head for more than the few moments it took to catch myself and move on?

So, while I was contemplating how hopeless my life feels that even a little thing can cause me to despair it dawned on me that little things should be important in the good times too ,and like many of us I tend to not see them then.

So, here's too the little things that I should be noticing instead...

My son watched The Muppet Movie (the original 1979) a couple of nights ago and not only did he laugh all the way through it, he has been singing the songs ever since. Now that is a beautiful thing.

I have good friends, friends who are generous in their encouragement and support. This is a big thing!I need to acknowledge big things too.

I saw my first fireflies this evening. Here we are on the eve of the summer solstice and sitting at my patio door I looked out and the greenspace behind the building was alive with sparkling lights. Considering we had snow in May, the first fireflies of the summer is something to rejoice!

Fireflies are one of the joys of childhood in the Midwest. For me they represent summers spent with relatives that lived in a different way than we did growing up in Los Angeles. A totally different rhythm of living. Summer vacations at my favorite auntie's house. A time when bad things didn't happen and life wasn't hard.

So, to night I am letting go of the stress for a few minutes and reveling in the beauty of fireflies and the treasure of childhood memories.

Here's to the little things!

Peace and Blessings,
EB


 

How to Survive a Bad Day

So, I had a really bad day yesterday. Whined about it, fretted about it, stressed out about it to t he point that I had trouble sleeping and woke up with a headache. None of these things helped.

I am getting closer to having enough money to take care of the situation with the back taxes and expired car tags. Doing without, living frugally and the kindness of some friends has put about half the money in the bank. So I headed off to pay the rent yesterday feeling like I might get this resolved soon.

Got to the complex office and misjudged how close I was to that concrete thing they put at the front of parking spaces, caught my bumper and pulled it off on one side. So now, the car that I count on for any shred of liberty and independence is not only illegal to drive, the bumper is falling off.

Shouted on facebook asking local friends if they knew anyone who could help fix it, and no one. Worried all night, fix the car and there goes the money for the tag issue, Finally, came up with a temporary solution this morning. Duct tape the bumper and live with it! Ideal solution? Not really, but it is a solution. We don't drive many miles in a week, so it should hold for a bit.

Just waiting for the universe to send the money to take care of both issues!! Trying to distract myself I spent some time reading some things I have written in the past and wouldn't you know it, I have written about worrying a problem!!!

The quote for today is...

Letting your mind play is the best way to solve problems.~~Bill Watterson~~

Sometimes when we get a problem in our life we worry that sucker to death. We look at it, and dissect it, and second guess it. Sometimes we make elaborate plans to deal with it. Sometimes we decide to ignore it, and we have to construct wieldy ways of pretending it just isn't there. Like the elephant in the living room, we have to find ways to live around it without acknowledging it. We spend tons and tons of energy without accomplishing anything. Sometimes we just try to hard. Perhaps we need to let our mind just relax, and play for a while. This is not denying a problem, we are aware that there is a problem, we are just allowing our self a time of relaxation, so that we can come back to the problem with renewed energy. Sometimes when we allow ourselves to relax a bit, and we all know this is true, the answer comes to us, seemingly out of the blue. Perhaps, out of the blue, is just us having let go long enough that our higher power could get the message through. Sometimes when we are in crisis worry mode, we make so many plans in our own power, that the answers we have been praying for can't get through. Our Higher Power is calling us, but the line is busy, our inbox is full.

So, no matter what is going on is your life, always, always remember that taking time to relax and take care of yourself is not a selfish act. It is a necessary act for your good and the good of those you love. If I didn't spend my hours meditating and praying, my life would be much more complicated. And we all know my life is way too complicated as it is! So here is to letting go for a few minutes today. Let your mind play, let your spirit relax so that you are able to make the best choices you can from a place of renewed energy. Choose to let go for awhile, it's a good choice.

Peace and Blessings,
EB

p.s. the donate button is to the right, I hate saying that, but you never ever know.

I Cried This Morning

So, I had a good cry this morning. Now I am not a person who cries easily, in fact I rarely cry.Really, the thing that caused me to weep would not normally affect that that way. In fact, it was an inspirational quote posted on one of the facebook pages I follow, and I should have smiled, nodded and agreed with the sentiment, because it is a sentiment I have always believed in.

At any given moment you have the power to say "this is not how the story is going to end."~author unknown~

Now, this should not have made me cry, because it is right in line with everything I believe. Everything I try to share with others. But weep I did. Because this morning, in the midst of troubles and problems, it felt as if my story is ending badly and there is just no way for me to change it, and I hate that I feel that way.

I don't give in to despair often. Even though I struggle with depression and a host of other health issues, I tend to be the cockeyed optimist most of the time. Sharing and teaching those around me that we have choices, and that our truth is that we author our own story. And I believe that, I really do. So, it was totally out of character for me to cry in frustration this morning. But I did.

Surprisingly, it helped. No, it didn't change anything, I still am desperately struggling. I still have no grocery money, no money to take care of the bad situation with the car, no money to pay the electric bill...but crying actually helped. It doesn't make sense that crying helped, but I feel calmer now. Sometimes, you have to let go of the need for things to make sense and just accept the that you feel better after you had a good cry.I think the unexpected tears helped me to change my focus.

We sometimes get so focused on what we don't have, what we haven't accomplished, that we don't realize how blessed we really are, if we never get more than we have right now. Yes, I would love to have some money in the bank, and all of the bills paid instead of living paycheck to paycheck and juggling and afraid all of the time.But this is where I am and I choose to believe it is not the end of the story.Like everyone I have my moments,when I am in the midst of a life situation that involves suffering, it seems as if the suffering is all there is, we often can't see how we can possibly overcome what is causing us pain.I know, when in the midst of troubles, we are often at a loss as to how this could possibly turn out good, but we have the choice to believe that it will.

But, no matter what the problem is, there is a solution. It often takes a while to find it, and often it takes stepping outside of what we think we know about ourselves to see the way out, but once we find that way out we are onto the overcoming part, and learning that we can overcome whatever life throws at us is the most wonderful feeling. What freedom there is in knowing that yes, we will experience suffering, but where there is suffering there is always a way to overcome.

So I cried this morning and the tears did what they are designed to do. After crying, our breathing, and heart rate decrease, and we enter into a calmer biological and emotional state.Crying makes us feel better, even when a problem persists. In addition to physical detoxification, emotional tears heal the heart.

So, even though I don't see how to change the end of the story, even though it seems impossible today, I choose to believe that this is not how the story is going to end. I choose to remember that I have to power to believe that. My faith wavered, and I cried. Turns out crying is good for you. Now that I am calmer I can remember that at any given moment I have to power to choose how the story ends. I can remember that even when I am feeling most out of control,something as simple as releasing the fears by crying can help me change the end of the story.

Peace and Blessings

EB

p.s. I dislike doing this but there is a paypal button over there, just in case. I told a friend who was embarrassed about asking for help that if we don't make our needs known how does anyone ever know we have needs. So, just as embarrassed, I am pointing out the button. Blessings.