Different

Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret. 

Don Miguel Ruiz

My husband tells the story of when he was taking a philosophy class in college and the awful truth first hit him. Descartes did not think like him, at all.

If we all think differently and see the world differently how can we possibly understand each other?

  Always assume others are doing their best. What? Can that possibly be true? If that statement is hard to believe of others then we probably don't believe it of ourselves. But, think of the freedom this idea brings to our relationships. If I believe I am doing my best and I believe you are too, then I will be at peace with my actions and be more at peace with yours. 

Do you need a good book this holiday season? Take a peek at my new novel Rubato, a musical mystery involving a dead piano teacher. Yikes, I'm a piano teacher. No, this is not a biography.

 

I have been writing with the Five Minute Friday group for more than three years and I really enjoy the talented writers who share themselves each week.

Nurturing Monday- A Ritual To Remember My Word

I'm a big believer in the way ritual can put us in connection with our spirituality. 

Sue Monk Kidd

In 2015 I wrapped up my black plastic word 'ribbistrate' in beautiful paper and returned it to my friend Jenni who made up the word and introduced me to it in a meeting of women. 

 Combining the word ribbies, which is baseball slang for a batted in run, and monstare, which means to show we get the meaning. It is  unparalleled joy. It can be for yourself or seeing the achievement of someone else.
In 2016 my word 'mindfulness' retired as my focus word but it stayed very much front and center as a way of being. 

This year 'nurture' is retiring with honors because the reminder to nurture has changed my view of what I can do. I thought is might be a call to serve others but it has also worked to give me permission to enjoy a beautiful sunrise, to pursue a goal for the sake of learning, and to take stock of what I nurtured subconsciously, perhaps to my detriment.

To say goodbye to my word I will move the painting from above the mantle to a new location. There is already a canvas waiting for paint, to hold next year's word. I'm waiting for mail from Colleen Attara to see how next year's word looks in red. Someone asked about buying the painting with the word 'nurture' but I'm not ready to let it go. It will be in a less dominant place but still influence my actions.

              What year end rituals do you have? Do you think about them before the holidays or just as the old year slips away?

To go to the overview of My Year of Nurturing click  here.

Only

              The word 'only' is so exclusive

   If I accept only this or that into my life I, by definition, exclude the other choices I might encounter. If it is a matter of choosing good and bad, only choosing good is a positive thing. If it is a matter of choosing good or better, then things get more difficult. Add in choosing only the best, then many, many things will be excluded.

     I don't know for sure where I'm going with this but here is an example. I am a very visual person. I decided one day to organize my books by color or color harmony. That process of choosing, let's say, only warm colors for a shelf made me exclude many books that were similar in subject and even the same author was shelved differently. Visually the whole bookshelf was very satisfying to look at. Only, it was hard to find a book because as yet I hadn't memorized the color of every book's spine. Did I abandon my exclusive shelving idea? No, I did not. The visual appeal, for me,was better than the shelving by author or subject. Paul admonished us to choose the better way, which he later explained was the way Christ loved. His charity for others was only based on pure love. I am here on earth to learn to choose. How I organize my life should reflect my best choices. How I shelve my thoughts should attract more good thoughts which should ultimately turn me outward to others, more than inward to my own self.  

"If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

 

I have been writing with the Five Minute Friday group for more than three years and I really enjoy the talented writers who share themselves each week.

Nurturing Monday- Giving Myself A Look At The Facts

                             Just Give Me The Facts, Ma'm

With lights everywhere reflecting in windows and mirrors at Christmas time my thoughts move to reflecting back on my journey with the word 'nurture'. Today in this post I give you the facts.

• Nurture is an active word that invites connection.
• I nurture everyday in some way or another whether I am aware of not
• I turned my word around to explore the negative side. There are things I nurture which are not positive
• When I observed how I nurture I often discounted the action because it was easy
• To nurture a relationship, eye contact and time alone count 80% more than any other way of giving

• Nurturing good practices brings peace and contentment
• In April, I nurtured reality, or accepting things as they are, which proved to be challenging
• In March I nurtured the skill of giving a heartfelt apology. That changed my habit of saying, "I am so sorry, but......
• In November I nurtured the "wilderness" of doing scary things. I joined in with other writers and wrote everyday to try to write my first novel. I wrote 25,000 words and 19 chapters. Want to take a peek?

These are facts about how I have learned to use the word in 2017. 

To go to the overview of My Year of Nurturing click  here.

Near

                         Christmas Is Near

        Yesterday I took an unexpected trip to Target. The nearness of certain events caught my attention. My favorite celebration of the birth of my Savior invites me to bring more light into my life and the life of others.

  

   And then there is special birth coming of my 19th grandchild, a boy who has been desired for nine years. His two siblings asked for a brother or sister, with hope, countless times. It seemed like it was not to be. But, unexpectedly he made his presence known and he is due just before Christmas. The box of diapers and sweet pastel rompers sitting on my table make me feel a wee bit giddy. I'm so  grateful for births and new hope in a better tomorrow.


 

I have been writing with the Five Minute Friday group for more than three years and I really enjoy the talented writers who share themselves each week.