September 7--Silence IS Golden

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.  --Mark Twain

    From a master of words! What happens in a pause? We can breathe and listen, both internally and externally. That pause may make all the difference in what ensues from there. 

    I'm a big advocate of breathing. Yes, we've been doing it our whole lives, but unless you've put some effort into learning it, most folks don't know how to breathe to their best advantage. Trust me--as a yoga teacher, I know this! You can change how you feel just by altering your breath. For example, making exhales longer than inhales is a calming practice. Using the breath in a "rightly timed pause" can make the difference between a successful interaction and a complete breakdown in communication with escalating animosity. 

    I also think of the pause or rest in music. Each one is equally important as the notes surrounding it. Music would not be the same without rests. 

    I would offer that in most interactions, listening is the better choice. Shut up. Pause and listen. That's a "note to self" that I need this morning!

        Leta

 

September 6--Be Truly Useful

Don't find fault; find a remedy.  --Henry Ford

    Oh, boy, how I wish everyone on the planet would adopt Ford's mantra. There is simply too much whining going on. How's that for whining!?!!? I believe it was Einstein who said that one can't solve a problem with the consciousness that created it. 

    I grew up with a much-older brother and mother who were poster-children for the blame game. Most of the blame was aimed at my dad, but no one was immune from their accusations. And that was it--all fault and no remedy. Alas, I have to go with my oft-repeated mantra: sometimes a bad example is a good thing. 

    Our lives have meaning and purpose. . . . We either help build this world up in love or tear it apart. Either way, we bear the responsibility for the world’s future.  
--Ilia Delio

    Love is the remedy. 

        Leta

September 5--What is Success?

Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable. 
--Coco Chanel  

    If even the slightest possibility of failure kept us from doing things, we would never get anything accomplished. Enthusiasm, persistence and faith have carried humans through and beyond an extraordinary number of potential failures.  

    I am pondering "success." There is the huge and visible success that Ms. Chanel created. Entrepreneurs and inventors have made our lives richer and more productive with technology and products that most of us would never have considered. How many times have you said, "I wish I would have invented that!"? (Velcro, post-it notes, etc). I wrote my first book preventing myself from considering failure, and likewise for the second book. To me, it is a success that I actually wrote and created finished products that one could hold, read and use. Financially, both were big failures. But here I am, still writing. Our only hope for success is to keep after it, whatever "it" is.

    Today I drive with Barney to Colorado for another week of fun and chilling with my kids. Guaranteed success there!

        Leta

"The Success Iceberg"

September 4--"Surrender" is not a dirty word.

Dream big--dream very big. Work hard--work very hard. And after you've done all you can, you stand, wait, and fully surrender.  --Oprah Winfrey

    We have to do our part, do the footwork, accomplish the "baby steps" without forcing. Along with that, we recognize that Something Bigger has our backs and It is supporting us and orchestrating "behind the scenes." A simple example... I have decided that I want to lead an online book study this fall. Therefore, I need a suitable interesting book. I bought one possibility, and within a week, friends offered me two other great options without my even asking. I love synchronicity!

    I was given an interesting look at surrender earlier this week talking with some recovering addict friends. Addicts have to learn to surrender their substance of choice if they want to recover. Surrender can be quite challenging for folks whose lives have depended on a (false) sense of control. The point was made that we had already surrendered our lives to the substance of choice, so we know how to do it. We just need to surrender to a Higher Power rather than to the substance. Huh! I've learned my HP is infinitely more dependable than a box of Thin Mints. 

    Let's have some bumper sticker humor... "A dog is the only relative you can choose." 

    Dreaming, working, surrendering, loving life,

        Leta

September 3--Understanding

Do not weep; do not wax indignant. Understand.  --Baruch Spinoza

    Brian McLaren, a teacher at the Center for Action and Contemplation, describes a mystical experience he had in his youth:

    A few friends and I snuck away to a hillside and found ourselves sitting under one of those sparkling autumn night skies. I walked several paces away from my friends and lay back in the grass, fingers interlocked behind my head, looking up, feeling strangely quiet and at peace. Something began to happen.
    I had this feeling of being seen. Known. Named. Loved. By a Someone bigger than the sky that expanded above me. Young science geek that I was, I pictured myself lying on a little hill on a little continent on a little planet in a little solar system on the rim of a modest galaxy in a sea of billions of galaxies, and I felt that the great big Creator of the whole shebang was somehow noticing little, tiny me. It was as if the whole sky were an eye, and all space were a heart, and I was being targeted as a focal point for attention and love.

    I had a similar experience as an adult lying out on the Kansas prairie one starry night a few years ago, with the sun setting on my left and a super-moon rising on my right, watching a million stars "begin" to shine. I was leading a retreat, and I came back from that hilltop knowing that everything is OK and all would go just fine. And it did. And I remember that experience often when I go "off the rails" with fear. Understanding is a powerful thing.

    Ever so grateful for Something Bigger Than Me, 

            Leta

September 2--Perplexity

Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge.  --Kahlil Gibran

    I don't know that I've ever seen the noun "perplexity." I think I've only ever seen and used the adjective "perplexed." I love new-to-me words.     

    Wonderment. Curiosity. Confusion. Perplexity. The feeling of now knowing, not being certain, wanting to figure things out--that keeps us humans going. What a world we have to inspire the desire to know! Life is full of mystery. We need look no further than our human bodies to find infinite perplexity and many lifetimes' worth of investigation. 

    I must say that I am not always comfortable with perplexity. I enjoy feeling like I have the answers and I'm in control. The pandemic has given us a huge dose of perplexity and a huge dose of knowledge. Personal confusion and uncertainty has led me to many great and fun things in life. I know that Gibran's statement is true. The key is to keep the faith through perplexity until the knowledge comes. That requires openness, patience, and self-trust. 

    Last night I stayed with a friend who lives way out on the open prairie. This city-dweller saw the stars in all their heavenly glory. I even saw a shooting star. Talk about perplexity--a whole universe of it!

    Staying curious,

        Leta

Astronomy Picture of the Day,
The Andromeda Galaxy
July 18, 2021

September 1--September = Purpose

Try again. Fail again. Fail better.  --Samuel Beckett

    September's theme in "Daily Joy" is PURPOSE. 

    Speaking of joy, I have returned to my much-missed Friday morning ritual of going to estate sales. It is treasure-hunting at its finest. Sometimes I find nothing of interest and other times I hit the jackpot. Last Friday was a jackpot day, which literally included joy. I found a throw rug in my favorite color (red) with JOY in big letters in the center. I expect it would be considered Christmas-y, but "joy" is my word, so into my bathroom it went. It makes me smile. 

    Life is like estate sales--keep showing up, and you never know what you'll find. I've been to a few sales where I didn't even go inside because the house looked and smelled so gross. I've been to huge, lavish homes, the exploration of such being a treasure all its own. Life is like that--yuck moments, "mountain-top" experiences, bummers, wins. We keep at it. The drive to live out a life of joy, expansion and freedom is profound and potent. I love that about us humans!

        Leta