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

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

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

Big Lesson of 2013

     I had the opportunity to reflect on my life in 2013, and one thing bubbled up as the huge lesson I took to heart this year. That is, releasing is a good thing.
     I comically refer to myself as a "card-carrying control freak." I would prefer to always keep my wonderful life orderly, fully good, with minimal changes to rock my boat. (That sounds boring as I write it!) Alas, life has other ideas and inspirations and surprises for me.
     So this year, I released stuff, relationships, beliefs, and many limitations. And lo and behold, the Universe replaced all those vacancies with even more wonderful life riches for me. I have seven new best friends whom I did not even know at the beginning of 2013. How cool is that?!? That's proof enough for me that life continues to expand its good through us if we don't block the flow by clinging to what needs to go.
     Here's a helpful reminder: hold your breath. At some point, it becomes uncomfortable. Let it go. Relief and fresh air flows. This is our physical reminder that releasing is a good thing.
     Here's to an awesome 2014!
              Leta

Perspective

     Somewhere along the way in my life, I became attached to the saying, "It's never so bad that it couldn't be worse." I think my dad used this to stay positive even if life wasn't so great at the time. I don't use this to minimize my own aggravations, or avoid self-care, but I do use it for perspective.
     We just returned from a wonderful Christmas holiday spent with our sons in Colorado. It was great to be together, but, alas, both my husband and I were ill on Christmas Day and days surrounding it. Well, that sucks. Then Christmas morning, looking at Facebook, I saw that a friend's brother passed away Christmas morning, this person also being a dad and grand-dad. Lots of folks mourning. Makes a virus pretty insignificant.
     We are so drama-oriented in our society. There's plenty of one-upmanship claiming, "my drama is bigger than yours!" Do we really want our (mostly petty) dramas to be our life story? What compels us to make sure others know about our "drama of the day?" Experience and deal with the truly life-changing, big events, like a loved-one's passing. Let the others go.
     Another saying I love is, "This, too, shall pass." If you let it...
Leta

Happy Holidays to all :)

I feel that this quote wonderfully sums up the meaning of life, and more so, the meaning of Christmas and the Christ-consciousness:
     The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.    Joseph Addison
My hope is that your life continues to become ever more wonderful and love-filled!
Joy,
Leta

It's a Wonderful Life, but What If?

     On Friday night, I had the pleasure of seeing the radio show version of the play, "It's a Wonderful Life." This production is commonly shown around Christmas time in various forms. Toward the end, the main character, George Bailey, considers ending his life because he thinks he doesn't matter, and then his angel shows him what life would be like if he had not been born. This has a quite dramatic effect on George.
     Hmmm, what if you or I hadn't been born? There are lots of folks whose lives would have been enormously affected, like parents and siblings. And, our children, as we know them, wouldn't be here. Then there are those whom we have encountered in seemingly small or minimal ways, wherein we likely have no idea the impact we've had upon them.
     Your life DOES matter. It matters in a huge way. Everything as we know it would be different if we weren't here. I consider this cause for great celebration of my life and yours!
     Thank you for being you!
                Leta