Friday, January 17, 2014

Happy All The Time?

     Because I am generally in a good mood, someone asked me recently if I'm happy all the time. That question makes me giggle. Hell, no, I'm not happy all the time. If I were, I wouldn't appreciate all the time I am happy. It seems the downer times prove to be a good contrast in life.
     Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying, "Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be." I fully agree with the wise Abe that happiness is my choice, independent of outside circumstances. If I'd allow outer circumstances to gauge my happiness, what a powerless drag that would be.
     Today so far is a rather "shitty mood" day. I also note that during those times when I'm not feeling very cheerful, there are a lot of instances of "should" or "shouldn't" in my self-talk. Hmmm!
     I also know what will support my drawing upon my inner well of happiness. To set aside those things that are annoying me, and let something greater than me handle the details for awhile. Everything works out just fine, this I'm sure of.
     So I'm off to tap into my "happy" reservoir.
     Have a great weekend!
Leta

Friday, January 10, 2014

Oh, well!

     I'm reading the awesome book, Inspired & Unstoppable, by Tama Kieves. (I'll be doing a yoga series and then a book study on this book in Feb/Mar/April.)
     One anecdote Ms. Kieves relates is about a therapist she saw for a while. Ms. Kieves would go into a therapy session ranting, whining, crying over something, and her therapist would just say, "Oh, well." Ms. Kieves considered this an inadequate, insensitive response, until she learned the wisdom of it.
     She could hang onto the distressing situation, make it her story, and put lots of energy into indignation and making others wrong. Or she could say, "oh, well," let it go, and move on to more meaningful things.
     Letting go makes pretty good sense, I'd say.
     "Oh, well."
     Leta

Saturday, January 4, 2014

I've figured it out! What enlightenment is for me...

     First some background. I'm a dedicated lap swimmer, and for 16 consecutive years, I have swum over 100 miles each year. Being a "numbers person" and quite anal-retentive, I keep track of my laps in a spreadsheet. In 2013, I decided to be exceptionally rigid with my swim schedule, swim 90 laps a week, and once a month, swim a full mile (36 laps), and see if I could break my previous record. I did it, ending with just over 133 miles.
     Start 2014. I have decided this year to give myself complete freedom in how often and how many laps I swim. My inner roommate (that voice in my head) has gone bonkers. "How can you be sure you'll make 100 miles?" "What if you miss one or more swims a month?" "Are you sure it's a good enough swim if you only do as much as you FEEL like doing?" The inner roommate is quite nervous about my intentions!
     I was discussing this with my husband in a most comical way, which led me to the enlightenment about my enlightenment. That will be when I go swim and don't even count my laps, much less record them in a spreadsheet. I've planted a seed here, but I can tell from my resistance that this seed will take a LONG time to sprout. It's certainly a worthy freedom to aspire to, swimming for the pure pleasure of it, not to reach some mileage goal. I'll just have to keep you posted on my progress. Baby steps...
     Life is good!
           Leta