WORK

"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream...
                           merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream...."

My Soul has guided me to allow my true self to be seen in all situations...I can say, that until recently, I have tried to stay hidden, in the background. This is the place I have been most comfortable. A mostly silent observer. But Spirit continues to whisper different plans for me...even when I argue about the value of what I offer. I now figure things out that previously I couldn't do. I create plans and strategies for our business. I share my vision with our team. Our future as a company remains to be seen even as this inner me unfolds.

Last night I worked a trade show. This is not my favorite part of my job. These vendors pay bunches of money, then stand in their booth hoping to make a contact with someone, maybe build a relationship and get them to purchase their products. To me, this is so manufactured. So out of touch with the reality of life. Maybe, at one time, this was the ideal but it only seems tired to me now.

The head of this particular association is a strong, powerful women who has run the association like a well oiled machine. She has always been articulate and professional, but real. She may not know it but in many ways, she has been who I have modeled myself after as I learned the ropes in this new venture. I admire her very much.Several months ago she had a massive stroke and doctors had no hope for her survival. But she has survived and is back at work. This is a testament to her nature. As I spoke with her she mentioned that she has amassed more than three years of vacation days. Three years! 

"I feel like I am riding the wave of GOD, watching the future me reveal her Self."                            

 Later I was talking to someone else I have known for maybe fours years...we are friendly but superficial. Business. He shared that he was diagnosed with Non-Hodkins Lymphoma two weeks ago.

It was our most real conversation. I lightly touch on meditation and inviting stressful thoughts to sleep in a different room for the night...not to worry  because they will still be there in the morning.

As we are talking another guy walks by and my "new" friend shouts out, "how ya doing?". The other guy says back, "good man, you livin' the dream?" My new friends answer was "yes, I'm livin the dream." This six second encounter catapulted me off the tradeshow floor. To these thoughts...

Yes...it is true. We are all livin' the dream. Where we focus our attention reveals our values. Whatever we think about what surrounds us, enfolds us, becomes us. Thoughts (concious or unconcious) and the actions that follow create the lives we live.

I want to share a video, it is short and powerful. A beautiful 109 year old Holocaust survivor tells her secrets: (Maybe the video will come later when one of my kids stops by and shows me how to add it.)

She says in essence that Optimism is the key to her life...life is beautiful...to admire...to think...to be thankful...know about the bad things but look to the good...ah yes...I second that emotion....

                                                 

Home

"Ritual is the technique for giving life"

                                                                           Thomas H. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr
                                                                           IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE

Homemaking and creating nurturing spaces is something that seems a little old fashioned today. It may be quietly talked about in the safety of women's friendships...but not often. No matter how much we seem to progress in areas of our work, the art of creating the atmosphere of "home" is mostly left to women...and this creation is likely left to chance. Instead we focus on the decoration of our homes, nervously wondering whether or not we got it right.

Some women seem to be born unto this, others, not so much. Creating a refuge for ourselves and our families can be like everything else in life...a journey inside ourselves. Even if we choose not to put ourselves into it..it is still a reflection of our inward journey...something else is more important to us at this time.

As a young girl and throughout my life I have noticed the difference in houses of the women who invited me in. Admiring the differences and learning from each one. It is ritual that sets them apart.
A cooks kitchen, a room for reading, a massive television or a garden, these things and many more broadcast what is valued most by the family who lives there.

Being organized has never come easy to me...I remember the first time I invited my in laws (a very large family) to my tiny ranch style house for Christmas Eve. It was a tradition started in my family by my Aunt Jean. She was an excellent housekeeper and she planned and prepared for weeks before the party. I on the other hand knew what I wanted to serve and had decorated my tree but even the day before, I was ill prepared for guests.

My sister in law Francis stopped by to help and in her wonderfully southern way taught me the "art of stuffing". (That is placing things out of sight under beds and tables and anywhere else we could find the space.) She knew we didn't have time to put things away and clean as we went along so she graciously helped me "stuff". After that I got more serious about my home keeping habits.

It was a practice. I cleaned and the house stayed neat. I let it go. I tried again. I failed again. Until years later neatness is finally a habit. It makes me so happy when my children say I am a clean freak! I am far from a perfectionist. But I do use the technique of ritual...drop it, pick it up, open it, close it, get it out, put it back. These ideas and others were novel to me. They honestly have no idea. What they do know is I want my house to welcome me home...to feel like a hug when I walk in. To be a refuge from the outside world. For regrouping, refreshing and renewing my Soul before I go back out into the world and I want it for my family also.

Now for the the ritual of dusting.....