July 14--Synchronicity

The most exciting happiness is happiness generated by forces beyond your control. --Ogden Nash

    I think of this being synchronicity, when all sorts of tumblers fall into place to create an ideal situation, and I was not the one arranging the tumblers.

    Pre-pandemic I was making a road trip to Fort Collins, Colorado, which involves several rest area stops along I-70 in Kansas and Colorado. I noticed a red pickup with Missouri license plates, and a man walking a small dog. They looked familiar from a distance. The man came out of the rest room and was looking at the Kansas map on the wall. I approached, and sure enough, it was a dear family friend from St. Louis, also on his way to Colorado. What are the chances?!?!?! How many times have you run into someone you know from another state at a rest stop? We were both amazed, and made several phone calls after we hit the road--"you won't believe what just happened!" FUN!

    The Universe supports us in ways beyond our imagining, so I'm thinking a lot is going on with "forces beyond our control." I do love a good synchronicity!

        Leta

July 13--Curiosity is a Must

Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.  --Eleanor Roosevelt

    A lot of things crossed my mental or physical path yesterday. It is truly hard not to turn one's back on life when suffering a serious illness, and likewise seeing a loved one go through such a tough experience. Living life means living through the hard times as well as the good ones (dang it!). 

    Curiosity about my knee aggravation took me back to the doctor for the MRI results. I have two meniscus tears which they don't repair in people "my age." They just snip off the torn part. I don't care for that idea, especially since my knee is improving. When I told the doctor that I had walked over two miles and swam almost a mile that very morning, he said, "I don't think we need to do anything right now." My curiosity is leading me to consider a non-surgical treatment that has worked in the past. A stiff knee isn't going to cause me to turn my back on life. 

    There is an October wedding upcoming in our family, and I will be the "mother of the groom." I have a dear friend who has been anxiously awaiting this so that she can go shopping with me for an appropriate outfit. I'm not fond of clothes shopping, rarely do it, and the whole idea is both too girly-girly and frightening for me. In talking with my shopping friend, I learned that I need to know what the mother of the bride is wearing first, so that I don't get anything too similar, I guess. Given that it's been 35 years since my wedding, and I haven't ever been "mother of the groom" before, there's loads to be curious about. I know the end result will all be great, but it surely is tempting to turn my back on shopping!!! OMG, out of curiosity I just did a google search for "wedding dress mother of groom." Every single dress looks miserably uncomfortable and NOT me. I promise I'll post the end result after the wedding!

    Staying curious and learning,

        Leta

This is more my style!

July 12--Adventure is LIFE!

Adventure is worthwhile in itself.  --Amelia Earhart

    Clearly Ms. Earhart said that before she left on her last big adventure. She lived and died her belief--good for her!

    What is adventure to you? My first thought of adventure is travel. This year I have a December trip to Jamaica planned. There will be multiple trips to Colorado to visit family, as well as a son's wedding there in October. We have plans to broaden our range of golf courses played into Wyoming. There is a September weekend for golfing in Oklahoma with galpals. I love anticipating such adventures.

    Life is more fun, however, if we can see each day as holding some adventure for us. Otherwise, there's the danger of falling into the "I'll be happy when..." trap. Today's adventures include walking Barney, lap swimming, seeing the doc for the verdict on my knee MRI, running errands for goodies for my upcoming Colorado trip, and teaching Melt and yoga this evening.

    What are we here for, if not adventure!!?!?!?!

        Leta

   Barney's sprinkler adventure

July 11--Yes, You and I Are Going to Die

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.  --Steve Jobs

    I'm happy with my life as it is now, and I have this fantasy that it will continue on this way forever, and eventually I'll get to do all the things I want to do. At age 65, there is some urgency, but not with any sense of angst. Maybe there should be. Intellectually, I know that I could be off the planet at any moment. But I know I don't have a visceral feel for my ultimate demise. It is truly difficult to contemplate. I don't feel afraid to die, but I do hate the idea of missing so much fun with family, friends, etc. 

    I do feel as though I pretty much follow my heart. Life is good. I get to do what I want for the most part. I don't feel like I have to prove anything to anyone any longer. What do I think of as "something to lose"? My family is the biggie. But I believe we will be together eternally. Lose status? I have none already. Lose my health? I live/eat/move daily in a way that keeps me comfortable. Lose my varied jobs? I enjoy them, but I don't feel any of them are essential to my survival.  

    When I am in a crowded area, an airport for instance, I spend a lot of time contemplating people. There is such a blessed variety of folks, and each one is simply living as best they can with what they have to work with. I like the idea of "already naked." Can we all just get over the judgments of surface things that would divide us and simply get along? 

        Leta

Check out the Heart-Brain Comics at
theawkwardyeti.com

July 10--Experiment!

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better. 
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

    Experiment = practice. Over and over, day after day. The more we practice, the better. And no, practice does not make perfect. There's no such thing as perfect, at least in human terms.

    The following is a version of the Lord's Prayer I read this morning in Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation from the Center for Action and Contemplation. It comes from the Anglican Church of New Zealand, "which both honors and reflects indigenous Maori culture." 

Eternal Spirit,

Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,

Source of all that is and that shall be,

Father and Mother of us all,

Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!

The way of your justice be followed by the peoples

of the world!

Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!

Your commonwealth of peace and freedom

sustain our hope and come on earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.

In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.

In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.

From trials too great to endure, spare us.

From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,

now and for ever. Amen.

    I really like this version. Experiment with it. 

        Leta

Rainbow Walking Water Experiment

July 9--Young, Strong, Willing

The young do not know enough to be prudent and therefore they attempt the impossible--and achieve it, generation after generation.  --Pearl S. Buck

    For this I am ever so grateful, for the inventors and their perseverance, their energy, their dreams. Our older son and his partner are in the process of landscaping their new yard. They paid to have the front yard completed, but they are doing the back yard themselves. Already they have moved and placed four tons of rock. This weekend they are going to move tons of topsoil/compost, rototill and lay sod. I told my son that it exhausts me just listening to the plans, and he said, "I'm strong." And young. And an enthusiastic first-time homeowner. I'll get to see the results in a couple weeks. 

    I don't know if it is age-weariness, "been there, done that," laziness or what, but I'm reluctant to take on big projects nowadays. I have painted the entire interior of our home twice in our 36 years here, and I have NO desire to do it again. I'm grateful that there are folks who are willing to do those chores that I no longer care to do. Thank heavens for the exuberance of youth!

        Leta

July 8--Risky Business

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. 
--T. S. Eliot

    One excellent thing teaching yoga and Melt Method has taught me is that I'm just a regular human. I tell my classes, "It's a good thing you don't have to have perfect balance to be a yoga teacher." The practices are just as good for my body/mind/spirit as they are for the students. I'm continually learning, and often bring new moves to class, and that's always a stretch. Will I explain it adequately? Can I do it properly? We work with a roller, and I've fallen off many times. No damage done, I just look silly. Sometimes I use that to advantage, to help other folks know that perfection is not required. The search for perfection kills the prospect of finding one's limits. 

    Taking art classes over the past few years has been a huge risk for me. "I can't paint!" I started with one of those drink-wine-and-learn-to-paint-with-girlfriends adventures, which comically enough, rocked my world about how painting is done. That inspired several classes with an infinitely talented and patient instructor at Wichita's City Arts. I've learned much about myself through taking these classes, and the painting I did during the pandemic lockdown kept me fairly sane. You could have never convinced me ten years ago that I would have so much fun with painting.

    I have jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. I organized it as a group adventure, hoping that group pressure would ensure the jump, and it did. I think of that often, and still can hardly believe I did it. That was definitely "going too far" for me, and it turned out to be one of the most terrifying and exhilarating events of my life. 

    Maybe do a check--is life too comfy?

        Leta

From an acrylics pouring class