Success

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Fact:  David Hoadley of Falls Church, Virginia, has chased storms since 1956 and have devoted most of his adult life to cataloging them on film and video.  He covered 20,000 miles and waited eight years before he saw his first tornado.  Guiness World Records 2001.


This guy is the poster boy for perseverance.  He got me thinking about success.

For many of us, the old standard of success was measured by a good career, great salary, fancy car and the size of one's home.  Maybe our current economic crisis is a blessing in disguise.  It forces those of us who have been thrust into economic hardship to redefine success.

Standing on the shoulders of giants and inspired by the wisdom of many others who have walked before me, I've created a list of the elements of success.

Please,note: money, career, car and home are not mentioned anywhere.

Elements of Success

1.)  Look for opportunity everywhere, especially in adversity.

2.)  Focus on goals that are specific and measurable.  Work hard to reach them.

3.)  Always be kind, cooperative and enthusiastic especially when you don't feel like it.

4.)  Deal with the facts not what you imagine them to be.

5.)  Surround yourself with positive people.

6.)  Time is our most valuable asset.  Use it well but never forget that most things take
       time,  especially personal growth.  BE PATIENT.

7.)  Be prepared.  Practice. Learn something new every day.  Improve your skills.
      Work on your weaknesses.  Success is hard work.

8.) Never forget that success is built on top of countless failures.
     When you fail, get back up and try again, harder and smarter the next time.
     Keep going.

9.)  Remember that there is a Power beyond you that is much greater than yours.  Always align yourself with It.  

It's a new week and a new world.  Go out and tame it!

Sunday Drive

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Keeping to the Soothing Sunday Theme, we went for a mini-Sunday drive.  It wasn't like the drives of my childhood when gasoline cost less than $.60 a gallon.  We'd drive for hours and explore countless little towns and parks.  Today's drive was very different.   As much as I enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the late summer weather, I was all too aware that I was burning precious money right along with fossil fuels.

Sometimes, I miss my ignorance.

Ignorant no longer, we drove less than an extra five miles.  We took in as much scenery as we could.  We pointed at houses we wished we had and agreed that we'd like to live in the country but still be very close to a larger city.  Our dreams are so much more expansive than our lives.  In our dreams, we have options.  Anything is possible.  Nurturing the capacity to dream is very important.  So is working toward them.

Our mini-drive ended quickly.  On the way home we made up crazy get-rich-quick ideas. Maybe one of them might pay off and we can afford a beautiful place in a country.

Today's List of Ideas


1.)  A rock that has painted on it the words "of ages".

(It appeals to the older Christian crowd. "Rock of Ages"  Yes, I can hear the collective sigh!  Hey, if the Clapper, the Bullet and Pet Rocks can sell why not this?  Especially, if advertised on Sunday Morning during with all the preacher shows.)

2.)  An small electric, thrift-store lamp with a card that reads,

"Comes with Invisible Genie.  Rub and Wish."

3.)  A slightly-used, live Christmas elf in a cage with 6 interchangeable outfits.
(Picture not actual size.  Accessories sold separately.)  This idea was my daughters.  She giggled all the way home after coming up with it.

(I didn't say they were good ideas did I?)

4.)  One slightly-used squirrel.

5.)  Invisible House Fairy.  It/her/him bestows blessing on whomever possesses it/her/him.    This one is my personal favorites.   I blamed a lot of things on an invisible House Fairy when the kids were small.  I also gave the House Fairy the job of watching over the kids.  It/He/She was very dual purpose and more like the very flawed gods and goddesses of Greek Mythology.
  
 My Invisible House Fairy comes complete with invisible condo and invisible interchangeable wardrobe.  (We've very fond of interchangeable wardrobes today.)
Other Invisible House Fairy action figures sold separately.

We squeezed a lot of fun out of a mini-Sunday drive despite my guilt over burning up precious resources.

On the way, home both children spontaneously said, "I love you, Mom."

Those words are priceless.

Free Planner

I love Planners!  Crystal Wilkerson has put together a great one.  Go to her site to get the free down load.

http://www.crystalwilkerson.com/2011/02/2011-planner.html

Vision's High Noon

Recently, I was given a homework assignment by an art coach.  I was to write to my higher self and ask her help with "Vision".  I've tried to complete this assignment but all I have to show for it is a pile of crumpled paper. 

Most of the time, I have to work at harnessing a flood of words.  Not today.

"Vision" was the word that jumped out from a list of nine.  Don't ask me why.  Apparently my higher self is supposed to know but she's not talking.    I think she's afraid.  I know I am.  I'm afraid of almost everything.  It's one of my secrets.  I guess the "cat's out of the bag" now.

Fear and I are very old companions.  Fear often gets in my way.  Over the years, I've learned to ignore this fear, at least some of the time.  Fear has me making excuses, aiming low, apologizing for imposing.  Fear kills "Vision" faster than any thing I know.

The higher self whispers, "Vision is afraid of being slain by Fear.  It has to hide, especially from you."

Great!  More inscrutable, mysterious talk.

As much as I'd like to forget this whole topic, the truth is Vision is afraid.  I'm afraid of Vision, of Fear but most of all, I'm afraid of envisioning something, working toward it, wanting it only to have it taken from me.

How rational is that?

I'm confusing "Vision" with a destination.  Vision is really the guide for the journey.  I'm using fear and uncertainty as an excuse.  I'm grieving imagined losses before anything is lost.

So, like Gary Cooper in High Noon. . . (a movie I love by the way!) http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2041381145/

I face Vision alone on a dusty street in an old western town.  The sun burns overhead.  Fear walks beside me with its hand on my pistol.  The music builds.  It reaches a crescendo and I draw my gun.  Instead of bullets, my gun shoots Vision into the unknown, into the darkness and the light.  No enemy awaits me.  The greatest enemy has always been the one that lies within, the one that tries to deny Vision or to stifle it.

Vision longs for expression.  It longs for peace, for stage coach rides, for Sunday picnics, and for late night stargazing.  Vision is what breathes life into a tired body and mind.  It infuses the air I breathe, if only I'll let it.  Vision isn't a burden.  It isn't something grand that must be lived up to or else.  Vision is a guide, a raison d'etre.  It tells me I've been missing out.

So, I walk this dusty street again at high noon.  Instead of Vision, I take aim at Fear.  It's time to put Fear in the grave.  Once deep in the ground, I'll dance over the soft mound of earth covering the resting place of Fear.  Arm and arm, Vision and I will walk into the sunset.

Beyond Me

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Creating a World that Works for All by Sharif Adbullah.  It's the book I'm currently reading.  I've come to dread Topical Tuesday because I'm not finding many things in current events that inspire hope.  In so many ways these are dark times.  This is precisely why it has become necessary to focus on the positive.

Achieving a "new world order" isn't going to be easy.  Individuals will need to commit to the task and do the hard world necessary to get us there but I can't think of many things more worthwhile.

Abdullah begins the book with this quote:

A human being is part of a whole, called by us "universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. ---- Albert Einstein

The next time you're feeling alone, isolated, insignificant, remember this quote.  Read some Jung, Einstein, Buddha or the Bible.  The best parts of any religion share much in common.  Abdullah compares some of the wisest words:

What is hateful to you, do not do to others --- Rabbi Hillel

Do not hurt others with that which hurts yourself. -- Buddha

Do unto others whatever you would have then do unto you. -- Jesus

None of you is a believer until you love for your neighbor what you love for yourself. -- Muhammad

So the next time you see yourself in a mirror or glimpse your reflection in a window really look at what you see.  Look deeply, very deeply.  Through your image you can see the world. 

 

When Most Needed

Morose.  It's how my Miscellaneous Monday started.  I felt sorry for myself.   The day was an uphill battle.  I pasted on a happy face but wasn't feeling remotely satisfied much less happy.

Yet, at days end, someones words touched my life in a way I'd never expected.  This person's life, their words were pure gift.  They came when I most needed to hear them . .  . words of comfort, of love, of God and one's place in the universe.

Tuesday suddenly looks a lot brighter.   

Once while still living in Chula Vista, I went to my favorite thrift store with several dollars in my wallet.  I wanted to buy something "new" but had a very limited budget.  Suddenly, a woman, a perfect little stranger spotted me from across a clothing rack and smiled.  It was no ordinary smile.  When she looked at me I felt as if she could see right through me.  It wasn't an unpleasant feeling but certainly an unusual one.  She came over to where I was standing, gently put her hand on my arm and looking into my eyes, she said, "Do you know how much God loves you?"

I smiled back but I didn't really know what to say.  Not many strangers have eyes that look through you, much less smile and say things like, "Do you know how much God loves you?"

I'm not sure what I said.  Hopefully, I said thank you.  She wandered away and left me standing.  Within several seconds, I collected some of my wits and looked for her.  I wanted to ask her, "What made her say that to me?" 
She hadn't spoken to others in the crowded thrift store.  I looked for her but she was gone.  She wasn't on the sidewalk outside or in the parking lot.  She had vanished.

I believe she was flesh and blood but there is a part of me that would accept the fact that she might have been something more.    I've never forgotten this encounter.  It was at a time in life when I desperately needed to be reminded of God's love.  A tiny gray-haired woman came into my life for only a few seconds but she gave me the message I most needed to hear.  I've never forgotten her.  She touched my life in a profound way.

Many years have passed since then.  No one has come up to me in a store and said anything like that in all the years since.   Tonight, I was again touched by a profound encounter. 

Those who know me best, know I'm not comfortable talking about God or religion or even what I believe about those two topics.  I'm a lousy witness.    I'm uncomfortable with public displays of belief.  Liturgical dance  makes me cringe, hearing others speaking in tongues makes me squirm.  I associate a lot of God-talk with mental instability.   The neighbor who talks about God so freely irritates me.  I try to smile politely.  He doesn't seem very grounded in reality.  His doctrine makes me uncomfortable.  It isn't very inclusive.  It attributes much to God that is really religion talking.   Religion and God are two very different things and may not share much in common.

Religion, God, belief, are all subjects that can spark emotion and conflict.  Look at how long the Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting.  I tremble when I think of venturing into this hot bed of conversation.

And, yet. . . God's love touched my life tonight.  Plainly.  Simply.  You can almost see the lightening bolt scar on my soul. 

The Betrayal of Hope

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On this Soothing Sunday, I struggle with the increasingly limited choices life offers.  Optimism fails me.   Hope fails me.    I know this is a temporary condition.  I've been to this bleak beach many times.  It is not a welcome site on a beautiful summer day. 

I want to feel hopeful, energetic, strong.  I don't feel any of those things. 

Instead of fighting this morass of negativity, I'm simply going to let it be.  I'll let it wash over me like an angry tide and watch it roll back into the ocean.  Tomorrow will be a better day.