June 30--WHAT!?!?!!

Communication is truth; communication is happiness... to conceal nothing; to pretend nothing; if we are ignorant to say so; if we love our friends to let them know it.  --Virginia Woolf

    We're going for the goofy here...

    This is one of those big unanswerable, meaning-of-life questions... why, since they can fly, do Canada geese walk (i.e. mosey) across the street? If I could fly just with my current physical body, I'd be flying all over the place at every opportunity. 

    Today is the last day of June, half of 2024 behind us, and we close out the month's topic of bravery. Living as Ms. Woolf suggests is certainly a path of bravery. 

    On Friday night, I went to the Artichoke to hear my husband and his friend play music. There was a guy there wearing a t-shirt that said, "I'm fat because every time I fu*k your mother, she makes me a sandwich." Dennis' musical partner read that aloud over the mic, and I about peed myself laughing. It takes some bravery to wear a shirt like that. 

    Alas, the Cubs have been sucking. But at the beginning of the game, Michael Busch hit a homer on the first pitch he saw. Boog Sciambi (announcer) said that he has done that four times this year and leads the league in that happening. So JD (other announcer) says, "Does that mean we should call him Am-busch?!?!" Boog couldn't talk for a while because he was laughing so hard. Even though the Cubs suck, the announcers are my favorites!

    Humor--can't live without it!

        Leta

"The Big Mosey" on my drive home Friday night

June 29--Freedom!

You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free. 
--Thich Nhat Hanh

    My husband and I have done a fairly good job of this. We have very different interests which each of us gets to enjoy a lot. He is into music, bicycling, catering work, and projects, and I am into pickleball, swimming, baseball, gardening, and travel, to offer up a few examples. Every now and then I will jokingly say, "Will you let me do that?" We get a good laugh out of it because there is no "let" involved. We work out our schedules and do what we want. Therefore, when we reconvene, we have much to talk about. I would also note that we did not include "obey" in the wedding vows. 😉😉

    Onward to more adventures,

        Leta

More beauty from my garden

June 28--Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.  --Lemony Snicket

    I've been sitting here attempting to come up with times wherein I have stayed put and what I wanted came to me. I'm much more the type to go out into the world and find it for myself. 

    However, I am sitting here waiting for my cup of coffee which my husband sweetly delivers to me each morning after completing his "first thing" ritual of making excellent pour-over coffee. 

    So I finally gave up on staying put because my husband slept through his alarm. So what I wanted did not come to me!

    I have done some things in my life that I consider, in hindsight, fu?*&%$ing crazy. Part of my MLB 30-stadium quest was to go to three games on three consecutive nights in Atlanta, Tampa, and Miami, driving the whole gig by myself. Given my quest, I had to go out and get it. I have also gone skydiving, one goal of that being overcoming fear. You can't do a lot of fear-conquering by staying put. 

    Generally on the move,

        Leta

An anchor to help
with the "stay put" 
option...

June 27--Are We Good?

It is essential that we be convinced of the goodness of human nature, and we must act as though people are good.  --John Cage

    I do believe this in my soul, but everyday life makes me wonder quite often. There is an extraordinary amount of old white male greedy corrupt power-hungry patriarchal energy out there--I believe that it is having a slow kicking-and-screaming death that can't come soon enough for me. Much of the goodness of humanity, and especially in politics, has been buried by this. Then there is the pariah that is former President Trump, who has made nastiness, rudeness and revenge the modus operandi of his flock of supporters. (Note that the word "flock" is very specifically chosen!)

    On the bright side--I see headlines nearly every day about folks working to help clean up the environment and create sustainable energy. Folks work tirelessly in communities to help heal long-term wounds and bring people together in high-functioning ways. I do believe the overall consciousness of humanity is changing for the better. Alas, it's a slow process.

    We can do our part by having a "good" day,

        Leta

The goodness of Nature--
the basil seedlings have flourished!

June 26--Always Choosing

Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.  --Nora Ephron

    I can say for me that the off-and-on depression I have experienced over the past couple of years has felt very much like I'm the victim of my life. I don't like that, because I have many more instances of being the heroine. This quote is a good "wake-up call" to continue with my intentions of 1) to stay healthy and active, and 2) to encourage and allow myself to be a happy human. Those are heroine rather than victim intentions. 

    What other ways might demonstrate being the hero or heroine of your life? Practicing good self-care. Doing work you love. Putting your talents out into the world. Life-long learning. Being kind and useful. Dreaming great dreams and making them happen. Allowing emotions to flow freely and move on. Letting those you love know it. 

    What ways of living emphasize the victim's stance? Blaming. Resentment. Disappointment. Giving up. Self-pity. Fear. 

    I have been both the heroine and victim in my life, probably always will be, even being both on any given day. I prefer the heroine role.

        Leta

In my front yard!

June 25--What's Your Impact?

Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make a difference.   
--David Nicholls

    "Good and courageous and bold" can mean many different things to us humans. On some days, just getting out of bed and engaging the world fits the bill. It may be climbing a mountain or skydiving or bungee-jumping. It may be telling someone, "I love you." It may be facing a serious illness or grieving the passing of a loved one. 

    What about "making a difference"? We all have interactions with others each day that make a difference. Then there are the "save the world," life-changing differences like the inventions of the printing press, light bulbs and airplanes. We all need to make a difference whether it be large or small--every one matters.

    Circulating love makes a difference--do that boldly!

        Leta

Coneflowers blooming in my garden

June 24--Loving Grief?

Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. 
--William Paul Young

    I've been dealing with grief nearly non-stop for almost two years now, some related to deaths, some not. The challenge is to trust the love of Spirit for me enough to believe that I can "trust the process." Note "for me" in italics--it is easy for me to know that Spirit loves everyone and everything, but even me, too?!?!?! Sometimes in grief it is hard for me to feel loved. 

    Here is a wonderful descriptive of grief by Richard Rohr:

Perhaps the simplest and most inclusive definition of grief is “unfinished hurt.” It feels like a demon spinning around inside of us and it hurts too much, so we immediately look for someone else to blame. We have to learn to remain open to our grief, to wait in patient expectation for what it has to teach us. When we close in too tightly around our sadness or grief, when we try to fix it, control it, or understand it, we only deny ourselves its lessons... Many of us have been taught that grief and sadness are something to repress, deny, or avoid. We would much rather be angry than sad.

    I have found myself more often angry than sad, confessing to the rush of self-righteous anger. Early life indoctrination that showing anger is inappropriate, however, still causes me to work hard at containing the anger and pretending it is not there. 

    I saw a meme recently that said, "Does the process know we are trusting it?!?!?!" There you have it. 

    One day at a time,

        Leta

At Panama City Beach