March 31--Stick a Fork in Me

The first and final thing you have to do in this world is to last it and not be smashed by it.  --Ernest Hemingway

    It is the last day of March. I have now completed one full year of daily blogging, using the quotes in "Daily Peace," a National Geographic publication. While I cannot say that writing is my favorite thing to do, it has become an integral part of my days and my spiritual practice. I would have to say that I have lasted it, as least as far as consistent daily writing effort is concerned. 

    I bought a new book in the same series as "Daily Peace." It is called "Daily Joy." There are several themes in this line of NatGeo books. I chose joy because that is my word. It's what I strive to stay in touch with inside me, and bring forth in my daily living. It's a fun and worthwhile exercise to name your own personal word. 

    I'm feeling burned out at the moment, maybe a bit of what Hemingway refers to as "smashed." I have been pondering a break from writing. Part of me fears that I won't resume. Worse than that fear, however, is having a feeling of dread toward writing. That is no place from which to create, so yes, I am taking a break. It may be a few days or a few weeks, I can't say right now. 

    Thank you for reading. I'll be back!

        Leta

March 30--Suffering

We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.  --Winston Churchill

    None of us has to look far to see someone who has endured great suffering and persisted. There seems to be no end to the forms of suffering available to us. Likewise, there are infinite means of inspiration and survival. 

    Yesterday's installation of a new water heater has vastly improved my short-lived cranky mood. While the drama queen in me considers no hot water a suffering state, really, it is not. I do see my tendency to view as suffering what are really minor inconveniences. We can say we have suffered through the pandemic, but we have also found many means of inspiration and survival, even thriving, under vastly changed life circumstances. Humans truly are Churchill's quote in action. We are resilient!

    Time for a HOT shower! 👍👍

        Leta

March 29--In the Wilderness

The promised land always lies on the other side of the wilderness. 
--Havelock Ellis

    I would have to say that for the most part, I hang out in the promised land. I focus on gratitude and all the good in my life. I'm generally on a fairly even keel. 

    However, at the moment, I'm in the wilderness. I am sick of everything. I'm brain-fried from six days a week doing tax work. We have, in the short year of 2021, replaced our furnace, AC and dishwasher, and now the water heater has gone belly-up. We have had no hot water for four days. My back still hurts (pain in the ass?!?!). My personal rut is getting deeper. I want to go somewhere. I want to both hang out in person with friends and family and be alone. I want to sleep in, which is for me setting the alarm after 6:00 am. These are all first-world problems, I fully realize. And I'll snap out of it relatively soon. Sometimes I just enjoy being cranky. 

    Praise life--Opening Day is Thursday! Go Cubs!

        Leta

March 28--Life in Early Spring

Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try.  For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who said, "It can't be done."  --Eleanor Roosevelt

    Mrs. Roosevelt was quite the wise woman, and her words above ring true. 

    However, I feel like writing about other things. Yesterday afternoon my husband, dog, and I were hanging in our garage enjoying the spring sunshine. A new neighbor family came by to introduce themselves. They were delivering packages of fresh home-made egg rolls to the homes on our court. How cool is that!?!!? And the egg rolls are delicious! It was an uplifting event in a world where it's so easy to be dragged down by negativity.

    I received my second Moderna Covid vaccination this past Thursday. If I had any reaction, I missed it due to my back hurting so much. My back is improving, and I'm really looking forward to feeling safer in the world once the two-week post-shot "waiting" period passes. I have great empathy for folks in chronic pain. Being pain-free after the hip replacement has made me realize that I do not care for being in pain any longer. I remind myself that my body is continuing to adjust to the new joint and alignment. And it's rebelling from so much sitting at work...

    Tax season is crazy. With the ARP act, the laws changed mid-stream, and every day something new seems to come up. In this age of technology, we await the updating of a multitude of computer software programs to handle the changes. I'm not sure if the one-month extension in the filing deadline is a good thing or not. I'm still focused on April 15 as the end of full-time work, then part-time "finishing up" for the month after that. I can hardly wait to get back to the golf course.

    It CAN be done!

        Leta

Auburn Hills, Wichita

March 27--Hope Is Mighty

There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.  --Sir Bernard Williams

    It's a good thing that we can depend on the sun to keep shining. We don't give it a second thought. It will be around, doing its thing, for longer than any human can comprehend. Even when it is cloudy, we are sustained by the sun's brilliance. What we see as darkness or night is irrelevant to the sun.

    Likewise, hope sustains us in the face of any difficulty. If we give up hope, the difficulty wins. Something within us keeps at least a glimmer of hope alive--I believe it is innate within our souls. We come into this life with hope for joy, expansion and freedom. It is the inborn driving force that enables us to continue adventuring through life. 

    This year I hope to stay well and travel, especially to see family to the east. I hope to maintain my sanity through the rest of tax season. I hope to golf a lot. I hope to not gain weight. I hope to add at least one more stadium to my MLB quest. I hope to walk Barney nearly every day after tax work ends. I hope the Cubs don't suck. I hope we get enough rain this summer to keep the lawn in decent shape. I hope my garden is not overrun with tiny maple tree seedlings. I hope to once again complete over 100 miles swimming. I hope my fairy godmother will wave her magic wand and clean my house every couple of weeks. 

    Hope is fun! 

        Leta

Sunrise in Fort Collins, Colorado

March 26--Releasing Old Nonsense

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.  --Ralph Waldo Emerson

    Yep, let it go. Too many of us have carried around too much baggage for too long. Two important life skills assist in this process. Those are forgiveness and making amends. 

    We can't change the past and other folks' unfortunate behaviors toward us. If we refuse to forgive, we add more weight to that baggage, which burdens only us. Forgiveness is freedom. 

    Then sometimes we are the ones who have exhibited unfortunate behaviors. We know, by gut feel, intuition, whatever you care to call it when we have screwed up. That's the time to make amends quickly, and "be done with it." A dose of self-forgiveness also helps the process along. 

    Starting today with a high spirit,

        Leta

March 25--Follow the Sun

Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward.  --Nelson Mandela

    My dad was a great optimist. He transitioned in 2000, yet not a day goes by that I don't think of him. He frequently reminded us that "the Miller family sure has been blessed." Granted, we had our healthy dose of dysfunction, but at least he was upbeat about it! He worked hard, starting his own sawmill business in central Pennsylvania in the 1950s, and building a comfortable life for his family over the decades. He kept his feet moving forward, and I have no doubt that he would say he had a good life. 

    Optimism and pessimism are choices we make each moment. Pessimism comes from the outside, allowing events, circumstances and people to bring us down. Optimism, rooted in the magnificent spiritual essence deep inside, flows from within, not getting distracted by outside happenings. Simple observation will lead one to the conclusion that optimism feels better, so why not choose it? 

    Into the sunshine,

        Leta