We’ve been out, and now we’re back. Dinner with friends was a delight. Much wonderful conversation and tasty food. We walked, it was only slightly sprinkling. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to pre-write about that astrological phenomenon from my new day-planner like I had hoped. On the plus side, my gift-shoes were pure comfort for the entire three-plus miles.
One of the meal-time conversation topics was the large number of calendars many of us “need” in our lives, and how efficiently we fill them all in. Here’s the one I might not still have to have now that I’m in a MOSTLY empty nest. But I can’t stop loving the pictures.
Who could give up THESE faces?!
Maybe this will be the last year for it. I could totally just pin up a bunch of the old pages in that same spot. I’ll think about it. Looking at the new Louise Hay choice, there was this on the January page.
We might be getting an affirmation a month with this one.
“I trust myself and I trust Life.
I know that I was born a beautiful and trusting soul.
If things get difficult I turn within and anchor my thoughts in truth and love. I ask for guidance from the Universe, and I make my way safely through stormy seas and calm, blissful weather.
My job is to stay in the present moment and to choose clear, simple, positive thoughts and words.
I trust the process of Life in all its mysterious and wondrous ways.”
On our card altar right now, back within the regular rotation, we have a message that would be welcome, any day of the week. Not to mention how nicely it compliments those powerful thoughts above.
“Peace ~
Embrace your confusion.
Let there be peace in not knowing all the answers.”
We’ve talked about Faith before, so this is not a hugely surprising draw. It is validating though. We all have moments of uncertainty, which can so quickly lead to panic or stress. When we welcome that confusion it truly does slip away much more quickly than when we fight against the feeling.
Allowing ourselves to embrace those uncomfortable, un-planned sensations won’t kill us. And in the end, it absolutely DOES help us to learn more, and learn faster. For me, this was originally a foreign and hideous idea, until I did it.
It really does work. Letting go is one of the most difficult lessons there is, it’s also one of the most empowering.
Today’s Deck:
Self-Care Cards by Cheryl Richardson
Today’s Mileage:
3.05, to dinner and back. (Walking, instead of driving, to get a meal is pretty damn fun.) 54 minutes on the sidewalk (for the most part, maybe a third of it was in the road where we don’t have sidewalk), average speed of 3.32MPH. And a correction. The restaurant is MORE than a mile away, so my yesterday MPH was slightly higher than previously reported. (Woot!)
Embrace my confusion. How funny. My confusion is about cooking, lately, and how I can’t seem to get it right anymore. Oh well. There are worse things to be confused about.
Your walk sounds nice. As does your meal with friends. Good to see you enjoying your life!
~
Part of my therapy homework is noting when I’m having fun.
And seeing how I feel, other than, ya know,
pissed off.
J
11:09 p.m.
1-7-13
Wonderful affirmation from Louise Hay, and wonderfully synchronistic card to go along with it. Confusion is something I have definitely have a history of fighting… I have gotten to the point of acceptance (mostly), guess it’s time to take the next step to “embracing.” Trusting Life, The Universe (and everything) is absolutely essential for that. I love the illustration on this card, too… a lot.
Yay for great dinner, fun walk, and comfortable new shoes!
~
It’s a tough one, acknowledging the confusion and chaos is one thing, truly embracing it really is a whole ‘nother step.
J
11:14 p.m.
1-7-13
Ahh, walking to a meal. I really need to get to a city so I can do that some time. I miss being able to walk places.
Also, I’m still laughing about the black-hearted, snarling tahini cookies.
~
I was SO thinking about other people’s “neighborhoods” and how some folks walk everywhere (Hanna and Adam and J.D.) and others just don’t have that as an option (you and Judy came to mind immediately). It is just so ENJOYABLE when you’re aware of it,
and by you, I obviously mean me.
J
11:22 p.m.
1-7-13
Like Delia, I miss being able to walk places, even if it’s cold out. Walking to and from dinner sounds wonderful and a great way to digest your meal! Glad you have comfy new shoes for walking in.
The person on the card doesn’t look too peaceful. But I suppose that they are in the confusion stage still. Letting go and embracing the confusion is tough for me but would sure be a good thing for me to do at this stage. Maybe it will then lead me to my next steps!
~
Well you know that we’ve been in the habit of walking after dinner anyway, so this was just an extension of the practice. And I chose that restaurant on purpose.
No matter where we are, the “constitutional” ALWAYS happens post-dining.
J
11:26 p.m.
1-7-13
“…choose clear, simple, positive thoughts and words.” Working on it. I’ve started Simple Abundance –again– and I’m working on my Gratitude.
If life would just give me a week’s respite so I’m not waking up in the middle of the night on my back with my arms crossed tightly across my chest!!! Grrr.
Glad you had a good night out with your friends.
~
Did you read LondonMabel’s recent post on meditation? The reason I ask is that she mentions how it spilled over into the rest of her hours. And this new autobiography I’m working on (Denise Linn) talks about the enormous and far-reaching benefits of simply relaxing in an entirely mindful way for a few moments every day. Like the Quick Three Minutes that I keep recommending, I really think something like this would help.
But you have to do it consciously.
J
11:32 p.m.
1-7-13
I didn’t see a search function on her site. Do you remember the name of the post? I’ve –seriously– cut back on my blog hopping. It’s so much more fun to read other people’s stuff, but people expect to be fed and have clean clothes and the utilities get mad when you don’t pay them… **sigh**
Meditating has always been an issue for me because when I have ‘issues’ my brain is like a squirrel in a cage. Trying to calm down just makes the squirrel crazy. Which is why I -need- to start running again. AND I need to make the effort to get to the state park on a regular basis just so I can get the hell away from people and noise. That day I spent out on the lake at the park when everyone ran because of the storm was just awesome.
The other night after everyone was asleep and I was twitching around I got the urge to get my Tarot decks and Animal decks out and put all of them in order taking my time and then gently shuffling them and putting them back in their bags. THAT helped a little. But it wouldn’t work everytime.
A lovely affirmation and good thoughts on embracing the confusion. There’s a lot of confusion here, so I’ve gotten pretty good at that! I am working on restoring some order in my house, though, because I actually have a threshold on how much chaos is acceptable. It’s a really high threshold, but even I have to dig out from under every once in a while. Off to work!
~
So great to see you!!! Hey, you need to rest sometimes too, see above comment to Robin.
Ya know, I can’t even imaging the kind of chaos you deal with on a daily basis. (Which is kinda why you are everyone’s hero.)
J
11:37 p.m.
1-7-13
I love that you don’t have to have all of the answers. I’ve been looking for answers, so this helps me to realize it’s okay to just let things evolve. : )
~
I like the letting-go aspect of this too; we CAN’T have all the answers, so trying for them is pure frustration, and a recipe for major stress.
J
11:39 p.m.
1-7-13
Perfect card. Embracing the confusion – lot’s of that to embrace.
I love the affirmation.
~
If we get an affirmation like this for every month on this calendar, I’ll be even MORE happy with it.
J
11:46 p.m.
1-7-13