October 1--The GBU

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.  --Dalai Lama XIV

    GBU--the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

    Upcoming--the October theme is generosity. I'll get to that in tomorrow's post. 

    Now it is October. That's the good. It is my birthday month, and I love fall weather and color. I am going on a trip to Europe. Best of all, September is finished with no major personal disasters!!! 

    The bad... today is the final day of the regular major league baseball season. As much as I LOVE Opening Day, I am distressed by the last day. I will watch the playoffs, because I am a fan of the game, and it prolongs the end of baseball season just a bit longer. Alas...

    The ugly... the Cubs were in the playoff picture until they hit their own disaster in September. They went through a stretch wherein they lost 11 of 15 games, and their pitching, especially the bullpen, did them in. It was painful to witness. So today's Brewers-Cubs game is meaningless, but I will watch it ceremoniously because I love the game. And I shall utter the well-known Cubs phrase, "Wait till next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

    So I will be an Orioles fan during the playoffs--they have sucked even longer than the Cubs.

    And basketball season will be upon us soon!

    Your sports nut,

        Leta

September 30--Ideal Day

You cannot live when you are untouchable. Life is vulnerability. 
--Edouard Boubat

    There are some days wherein I would like to just hide out in the woman cave forever. The desire to isolate is common among addicts. Isolation is a vulnerability in itself. 

    Rev. Suellen Miller from OKC offers these thoughts relative to living an "ideal day":

In this morning's reading from A Daily Dose of Sanity by Alan Cohen, he talks about creating a story about your ideal day. One woman created a great story where at the end of the day, she is riding to a concert with her husband in a big limousine so he can stretch out his arthritic legs. Cohen asked her why she would put arthritis in her ideal day? He suggested that perhaps she could change the condition by not continuing to imagine it.

He says: "Be careful to build your intended experience upon your vision, rather than building your visions upon your experience. It is tempting to gauge what could be based on what has been, but that only perpetuates what has been. Your history is not your destiny.

"If you have had a health challenge, a dysfunctional relationship, financial distress, or emotional pain for a long time, you can improve your situation by not including it in your plans. Abraham-Hicks teaches that every moment is changing to something new if you let it. If you are still getting what you have been getting, it is because you keep focusing on what was, so the new moment keeps changing back to replicate the old one. In any moment you can change to something new, not old. So if you are going to ride in a limo to the opera, stretch out your legs because it feels good, not because you have arthritis."

I suspect that most of us are so used to the unwanted condition that instead of visualizing it as not there at all, we tend to visualize it getting a little bit better. Of course, this still includes the unwanted condition.

In my ideal day, I can envision my wallet as being full, my body as healthy, my job as fulfilling, my relationships as exciting. I can visualize health, wealth, success, happiness, fulfillment, joy and love.

    This is a considerably more pleasant way to be vulnerable!

        Leta

From an acrylic pouring workshop
I took at City Arts in Wichita

September 29--What You Cannot See

Learn to trust what you cannot see far more than what you can see.  
--Carolyn Myss

    I offer this Note from the Universe (©www.tut.com, Sept 25) by Mike Dooley:

From where you sit right now, reading this Note, you are held and supported by energies unimaginable. All commanded by you and your choice to think big or small, rich or poor, confident or afraid, easy or hard, fun or boring, play or work, here or there, now or then, fast or slow, happy or sad.

Your call. 

Love you,
The Universe

    Some folks need "show me" scientific proof before they will believe. They want all the facts. I am not so much that way. It has been a lifelong practice to recognize, trust and follow my intuition. Often I cannot say why I know or decide something. I truly do try to go with "gut feel," trusting the talents and divine order of Something Bigger Than Me. 

        Leta

At the CSU Gardens.
I put much faith in the beauty 
of the natural world--
our survival depends on it!

September 28--Flex Those Muscles!

Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.  --Sigmund Freud

    "God only gives you what you can handle." 

    "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

    When we are in the midst of vulnerability, a life challenge of any sort, it can be tough to appreciate the "makes me stronger" part. But our mental, emotional and spiritual "muscles" need to be worked just as our physical muscles do. 

    I am currently having physical therapy for my left shoulder. A large part of the process is to strengthen the muscles around my shoulder in order to alleviate the muscle inflammation, stress and discomfort. My damaged shoulder--vulnerability--is offering me the opportunity for greater strength.  

    The ultimate example in my life of Freud's quote is the vulnerability of addiction. That led me decades ago to seek help. Working the 12-step program has given me strength that I could never have dreamed of back in my using days. 

    Hindsight can help us appreciate our vulnerabilities more.

        Leta

September 27--More Please

Opening your heart and being courageous and telling people that you care about them or like them or that you think they're special only makes you a better, bigger, kinder, softer, more loving person and only attracts more love in your life. 
--Amy Poehler

    Oh, goodie! Coincidentally (not), I wrote two love letters for the special women who had decade birthdays on September 19 (see that day's post). I can feel more love in my life already!! Actually, secret angels arranged a card shower for 80 (read the post), and she reported that she received 96 cards. 96! That's eight dozen! She said that their mailman was worn out. 😉😉

    At least once today, let someone know he or she is special to you. That small heart-opening effort makes two people feel better. 

    Multiply the love!

        Leta

Be a LOVE magnet!

September 26--Heart Healing

What happens when people open their hearts? They get better. 
--Haruki Murakami

    I was pretty sick when I was holding so many secrets in my heart. Part of recovery has been to let those secrets out, and as a result, I got much better. I know there are still secrets in there. I can feel them. Fear keeps them lodged in my heart. One of my fears is growing senile and having no filters, so that all the stuff that I shelter in my heart blasts out. I guess if I'm senile, I won't care!

    I believe we are born with our hearts wide open. Life happens, trauma happens, things don't happen the way we think they should, life isn't fair--these serve to close our hearts. Then we spend copious amounts of time trying to feel safe enough to let our hearts open the tiniest bit. It's a constant practice of safety vs. fear. If we are determined to live a good life, the desire to get better will spur us on. 

    Opening, one chink at a time,

        Leta

September 25--Being a Grown-Up

When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability... to be alive is to be vulnerable.  --Madeleine L'Engle

    Amen to that! We had a sunny, wind-at-our-backs drive home yesterday. It seems we are usually cranky on the way home. It's a long drive (almost 600 miles), and we've just left a very fun time with our kids and grandson, and it's back to "regular life." Re-entry is not my favorite time, but then I turn my attention to the day in front of me. Today includes gardening, swimming, physical therapy (shoulder), and teaching MELT and yoga. I remind myself to be present to the task at hand--that makes each day better and takes much of the sting out of adult vulnerability. 

    Pay attention!

        Leta

Leaves and sand--fascinating to a 1-yr-old