March 15, 2010

I Believe…

Give to us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for—because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.“~~Peter Marshall (1902–67) Senate chaplain

water-lilies Since I started blogging here on the interwebz, I have struggled with the desire to say what I want, when I want  and still maintain my privacy and some sense of anonymity. Sounds strange I know. However, a good writer has to sometimes set their other half free, otherwise you just become some chick with a marketing blog, right? Right, so this morning I was thinking about what I believe to be true (not what some unknown “they” tells me is true) and good and right; and why it is that I think we the people  have strayed off the reservation so to speak.

I believe that life is more about the journey than it is about the destination and you absolutely have to live in the “NOW”. If you are the one sitting in the backseat impatiently asking “Are we there yet?” then please let me remind you that the only “there” involves a box and a hole in the ground (or ashes in an urn, your choice).  Life is after all, to be lived – that means that you have to experience everything in equal parts whether it’s the high of being in love or the messy events leading to the breakup; your first paycheck with 4 figures before the period or the check wrapped in a pink slip. Today’s lows will be tomorrow’s memories, heck you will probably talk about them with a smile someday.

I believe in Karma – I agree that the game of life is a game of boomerangs and “what you throw out comes back to you star”. Someone called me the other day to explain why they were unable to do something that I desperately needed them to do, their excuse was word -for -word one that I have used frequently in similar situations! The higher your spiritual awareness, the faster those boomerangs come back, so be careful out there and temper your truths with kindness – it’ll soften the blowback:)

I believe that it is done unto you as you believe.  For example, if you believe that the world is a bad place, then your world probably is, or is surely about to become so. If you believe that things are “getting better all the time”, then your conditions will begin to improve and will continue to do so . On the other hand if you are the patron saint of gloom and doom, whining and complaining constantly to anyone who will stand still long enough to hear it – well then you know where that puts you.

I believe that there’s a little God in all of us, which gives us the ability to formulate and create the life that we want to live. I believe that if we use this ability in a bad way , we will eventually reap what we sow.

I believe that before you can receive a lot, you have to give a little.

I believe that we’re doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past, until we learn our lesson.

What do you believe? Do you believe that I am full of it?

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March 8, 2010

I Wish You Enough

Sunny yellow flower by Sharee Basinger

Sunny yellow flower by Sharee Basinger

Shortly after Christmas last year I received one of those sappy forwarded emails which I usually scan and then delete. I kept this one because the message it contained resonated on some level. It was the story of a father saying goodbye to his daughter at the airport, and he told her “I wish you enough”. There was a lot more to it of course, but this is the part that drew my attention.

The question is what is enough? Once upon a time in America, a good job, a roof over your head, clothes on your back, and food in your belly were always enough. This was the good life , when cars and vacations were paid for in cash; “bills” meant utilities such as water, heating, electric, and a home phone; and a house large enough to fit the family was  more than enough.

Very slowly, we decided that enough was no longer enough. Suddenly we needed a cell phone(for everyone in the house) in addition to the home phone, two cars instead of just one, vacations that cost several months worth of paychecks,  a mini- mansion in what used to be the country and is now the suburbs. And suddenly, home cooking wasn’t good enough – I know stay at home Moms who buy the kiddos lunch at McDonalds!

Of course we could no longer pay cash for all of this, so we had to have a credit card or two or three. For the most part we took out  large loans with exorbitant interest (any interest is excessive if you ask me) for the cars. And I won’t even cover what we’ve agreed to so that we could have those mini-mansions in the suburbs.

When the economy tanked in the past couple of years, I think (I hope) we all realized that we had gone past having what we needed, to having things that we wanted just because we could pay monthly on them.  I hope that we have learned to pay with cash, and that buying “on time” means giving up years of your earnings for something that will have very little value at the end of that time.  I know that many of us have had “enough loss to appreciate all that we possess” and I hope that we take this lesson learned with us and pass it on to our kids.

In closing I wish you enough:

  • Enough money in your bank account to pay your bills .
  • A roof over your head that is paid off or at least paid for on time each month.
  • Enough time to enjoy your children because they are grown and gone so quickly
  • Enough gratitude for the people and things in your life so that you may attract more good things and people
  • Enough winter so that you appreciate spring and summer when they finally arrive
  • Enough despair that you appreciate hope and the smallest bits of happiness
  • Enough clarity to explore the alternatives
  • Enough hate and war,  so that you appreciate love and peace