Flo

In her book “Prosperity Pie”, SARK quotes her friend Zoe age 5 “Oh Susan, why don’t you just BE how you ACTUALLY are?” SARK continues with ”I thought about how often I’m NOT how I actually am, or more important WHO I actually am…I’m often pretending, hiding, in disguise or wearing a mask of some kind.”

Isn’t this true of all of us at one time or another and maybe at more times than we’d like? Saturday night I watched a little boy who gleefully yelled out “I want a present!” during an awards ceremony (with gift wrapped awards).  I laughed at his unabashed enthusiasm and his ability to state what he was honestly feeling – in the moment.  He did not care what anyone felt or thought and he wanted us to know what he wanted.

We go along in life, trying to building strong, self-fulfilling relationships – ones that are empowering, increase our self confidence and make us feel great about ourselves.  I’m not sure we can do that without revealing our honest selves.  It seems like we have to figure out who we our, to ourselves, before we can share it with any one else.

So, I’m challenging me to reveal a little more about who I am to someone I trust in my life.   I encourage you do to the same.

Namaste’

Flo

The snow storm didn’t show up last Friday.  United and Frontier airlines cancelled approximately 40 flights out of DIA in anticipation of the storm.  Needless to say, I got up at 5:00 a.m. and drove to Denver to the conference I was bemoaning.  Am I ever glad I was there.

Bryan Post was the keynote and provided great insights into the behavior of children and adults. He has a compassionate response to people that is palpable.  That, plus his waist-length dreadlocks made him highly intriguing, very inviting, and utterly captivating.   If you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, don’t miss out on it. 

I’m glad the storm headed in another direction.  5:00 a.m. or not, I was exactly where I was supposed to be all day.

I am a big sister.  As the oldest of four children, today I found myself falling into my “big sister ” role, in my head.  While not meditating, I decided to go for a run – another way I deal with my angst or stress or whatever you’d label the pile-up that happens in my brain.

In my head, I started playing out a conversation with my mother, one that hasn’t happened.  In it, I calmly tell her what needs to be said to stick up for both my sisters.  I keep running.  left right left right.  I’m thinking this is a good idea, I’ll call mom as soon as I get home.  left right left right.  Well, really, it isn’t my job to have this conversation.  left right left right.  If my sisters have an issue, I guess they need to tell mom.  left right left right.  I’m doing them such a disservice by talking for them.  I keep running and find I’ve talked myself out of a conversation in an appropriate way and I could discern I was very much being the Big Sister.  All in my head.  It’s not what is necessary, however it was so natural. Instinctual.  Had I gone ahead and taken action on my thoughts, the issue would not have gotten better.  They’ll all figure it out.

Today I stood in line and gained an admirable amount of appreciation for mothers.  A woman behind me displayed the fine art of management as she placed the items from her grocery cart on the checkout stand while telling one daughter not to hang on the rope for the adjacent checkout stand, she guided her son to hold the coupons, and she calmly discussed the swimsuit her second daughter had chosen. While explaining how easily the snags would show up on the new swim suit, particularly getting out of the pool and asking her daughter if she wanted to take it back, she gave her store card to daughter number one and asked her son to walk her second daughter back to the swimsuits.  Daughter number one was asked to get the coupons and stay close with the card, while daughter two yelled across the store “can I pick out another one?”  The woman instructed her daughter how to find the right size and continued moving the groceries, while she remained calm, focused and on task.  She displayed amazing organization and the family, great teamwork.

 She couldn’t have orchestrated it better. 

Hello to everyone, out there in the ether.  I’m honestly not sure I know what “the ether” is but I feel like I’m writing to no one right now and that may just lead to a little jabbering on my part.

I looked up “ether” in the dictionary, and low and behold (one of my oddities, I quote my father’s little cliche’s) I actually do know what ethers means and used it quite correctly in the above sentence.  “Well, I’ll be”.

This is my first blog.  In fact, I haven’t even really read any blogs.  I think I’m a bit surprised to be asked to join and excited at the same time.  There are many times when my writing is just about daily stuff; sometimes needing a prompt to get started, I amble off and am soon trotting or running with the words flying fast and furious behind me.  I typically don’t type knowing or planning what I want to say, so this blogging will be a little different for me, actually trying to have a bit of a focus when I write.  We’ll see if that really happens, or not!

Flo