Writing sustains me.
Sitting down with paper and pen to journal or opening my net book to string together a few sentences and paragraphs brings me joy and smooths out the rough patches that I’ve created in my life path. Yes, you read that correctly. I have created and/or invited every single pebble, stone and boulder that occupies space along my otherwise powder-sand trek through my days.
I know that when I focus on writing, my mental beach is pristine and free of debris. So why has it been more than two weeks since I’ve posted here? Because–and this will shock those of you with a predilection for the 12 steps–I don’t always do what’s best for me. In fact, there are times when I dig my feet in the sand–and get stuck.
Sticky-stuck times
Here’s the really cool part: It doesn’t matter because I’m learning to love those quicksand times.
Huh?
At the core of all purpose work–my purpose being to create–is love. Mindy Audlin believes–and I agree–that every step, even the ones that take us to failure, must be approached lovingly in order to fulfill my purpose. (for more about Mindy, go to http://whatifup.com/)
That sure eliminates the need for resentment, fear and anger. But if they come up, I hit ‘em with love.
I gotta love it all?
Yes! Loving the wrong turns, the slipping into quicksand thinking, the actions of others that cause me pain, the circumstances that are circumtances that are way less than desirable–really loving them, not merely accepting or tolerating them–is the one surefire way to live on purpose.
We all have an unending supply of love available to us. The well never dries so that I can dip my cup into love whenever I want and then upturn it on the top of my head. Can’t you just picture love flowing all the way down your body, forming a protective shield? Don’t you LOVE that image?
We have the power. We have the tools. We have the choice. I do, you do, and if we throw God into the mix, heck, we can truly accomplish anything!
To Be or Not to Be? Why not B Here Today? (that Billy S., he was way before his time, wasn’t he?)
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Engaging in electronic media provides an open road of insights, opinions and opportunities to connect with both like-minded and completely diverse travelers.
You get to choose your direction, your pace, how much ground you’d like to cover during a certain travel period and in what manner you abide by the journey’s signposts.
Lately, I’ve been flying down the road faster than I would like and consequently I’ve been missing some signs. Fatigue and other health concerns crop up. Not taking breaks to nourish myself results in mistakes that need correcting. Without time-outs, my mind can’t rest and I become grumpy, gritchy and snarly.
I wonder if anyone can relate.
Meandering Off-Road
Fortunately, I’ve learned that side-trips are a necessary element of the journey. These jaunts, which in my case, are a few hours of perusing my favorite stimulating blogs, catching up on my personal writing and reading articles and books rich in mental upliftment, are my lifesavers because they force me to slow down. Moving slower means I’m more likely to see the signs meant for me.
If I’m lucky, as I have been recently, I’ll see a sign as a result of a blog entry, RSS feed or hard-copy article, that nicks at the edge of a personal challenge. That’s when I know I’m following Good Orderly Direction, or as an acronym, God.
Steps Toward Good Orderly Direction
Set an intention. Regular readers know that with the start of the new year, I set an intention to take better care of my body and to listen to the messages it sends. Acknowledging that intention automatically set me on a path where I will eventually arrive at a more healthy goal. But as is often the case, the path is a little rocky.
I’m experiencing neck and back pain that is interfering with my ability to comfortably do some day-to-day tasks. The neck stuff–arthritis and bulging discs–is causing periodic debilitating headaches. On those days, I don’t function well and I certainly don’t care about my steps to Good Orderly Direction.
But I did set that health intention and I am NOT a quitter, so . . .
Use pain to activate motion and motivate action. It’s true that pain is a great motivator. If you’re like me, though, sometimes the thought of taking action causes more pain! Loopholes and workarounds are far too common in my life; I can be the queen of “yeah-but’s” and delude myself into thinking that a little bit of action is good enough. I’ve learned though, that settling for “good enough” can come back to haunt me.
An intention to take action must be accompanied by a secondary action to change the thinking or behavior causing the pain and then MOVE. An action in motion serves two purposes: it keeps the body more fluid and limber and it also acts as a forward-motion propellant toward your intention.
Stay in-step and focus on the intention. Yes, it’s possible to do both. You can concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other and be present to each step while keeping your eye on the prize.
On March 1, I embarked on a 21-day trip to crave food less and crave God more, courtesy of Lysa TerKeurst’s “Made to Crave” teaching/action plan for losing weight. (for more information, go to www.MadetoCrave.org). Right away I realized that trying to not crave my comfort junk food while being in pain didn’t work so well. I started to give up.
And then I remembered my intention to treat my body to better health. That’s my prize and it’s okay to have missteps on the way toward that prize. A few. So long as my missteps don’t through me completely off-track.
Step-by-step, I move in a Good Orderly Direction toward my intention.
That’s the bottom line. What are your intentions today and how is your trip going so far?
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I’ve decided that I’m a beach nut and that I adore the seashore, the water rolling in both gentle and crashing waves and the hard packed sand.
Whether walking along the water’s edge searching for sea treasures or sitting 
on a bench observing the myriad teaming forms of life, I am at my most peaceful when I’m ocean side.
This last week found me transfixed by sensory perceptions as we explored the Del Mar, Cardiff-by-the-Sea and La Jolla beaches in southern California. I was acutely aware of being present to the feel of the ocean breezes as I continually turned my face to them and sighed. Same with the sun’s rays that massaged my skin before penetrating to meld with inner, spiritual rays of light.
I heard the beach’s accompanying sounds of gulls and seals and water connecting with land. Waves can roll on forever but their power is only truly known when they touch land. Isn’t it the same as my earlier description of sunlight connecting with inner light? One plus the other equals spiritual power.
I saw the palette of color change from aqua to ocean blue depending on the water’s depth. And those contrasting white foamy waves . . .
There were also the shades of pink and yellow and orange sea-side blooms framed by the ocean’s colors. Stunningly beautiful.
Green everywhere along the boardwalks above the sand hosted great multitudes of dog breeds (often in packs of two’s and three’s). Ah, the life of a SO CAL pooch whether she be Pug or Pyrenees. The tiny terriers, whose weight barely held them above the sand, did fine there, as did the Alaskan Huskies. The blue-eyed creatures we met actually ran a leg of the Iditarod once–quite a climate change!
All God’s creatures, great and small, in the ocean and out. Interconnected beings that whether winged or finned, two-legged, four- or multied, all share the common heritage of the water of One Creator.
It is the circle of life we share on our round planet that takes us from beginning to end, never in a straight line, always perpetually looping out, then back, like the sea rocking the shore.
Let us be every aware of our connections and how we gain our power. I find myself refreshed by the ocean and would love to hear how you plug-in through nature. Whatever your path, I pray you find the strength of your connection there.
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Eric Butterworth’s 1989 book titled Life is for Loving magically dropped into my Kindle a few days ago.
As I read last night, these Butterworth words resonated with me:
“As a word or concept, love cannot solve anything. The statement, ‘What the world needs now is love,’ is normally followed by a lengthy dissertation of the theme. But the world doesn’t need sermons on love. It needs, rather, a new commitment to the activity of loving.” (the boldface is mine)
What do the words, ”the activity of loving” mean?
My blogging colleague, Arvind Devalia is writing a series of 28 relationship articles for the month of February (http://www.arvinddevalia.com/blog/). Arvind believes, and so do I, that the relationship we have with ourselves determines how we intermingle with the people (and even the animals!) who populate our lives.
Just think: If we each committed to the activity of loving ourselves fully and completely, how much more natural would the activity of loving others become?
Who knows what could happen beyond that simply daily activity of loving? The possibilities boggle the mind, but for now, let’s just be here and focus on the action of loving.
That’s it for this edition of Saturday Share. What is in your heart to share today?
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“Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care about time?”
I woke with this old Chicago tune in my head and my first thought was, “Nope, not me.”
I am much better about allowing time to rule me. The long-ago words from my therapist–remove all the woulds, shoulds and coulds from my vocabulary–finally ring true.
For example, I woke early this morning. My mind immediately jumped to my task list that I “should” get up and tackle. My ego told me the hourglass was running.
Right then, in that semi-awake moment, I made a conscious decision to not care about time, or at least not self-imposed time.
I snuggled back under the covers and prayed. I envisioned God’s arms holding Sheri and Cliff in these uncertain days following his cancer diagnosis.
I pictured God’s grace supporting my old friend V. who suffers mightily with the disease of alcoholism.
My dad’s image swept across my prayer screen and I silently sent him peace.
Then I thought about my gratitude list and the opportunities to be of service this day.
God, please use me until you use me up, as Oprah says.
And I really don’t care how much time it takes.
How would you describe your life in song lyrics today?
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In July of 2009, I had an epiphany. For about a month prior, I was emotionally distraught, increasingly depressed and having serious thoughts of drinking again (after 18 years of sobriety).
I struggled to wrap my arms around what could possibly be wrong with me. I had all the trappings of a good life, one others would love to emulate--great job, dream house, traveling for a living, a life mate . . . the list goes on. 
