May 7--Where Might That Open Door Lead?

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open. 
--John Barrymore

    My older son called the other evening to thank me (once again) for teaching him and his brother to golf. He had just finished a nine-hole round with new buds from his new job. Joy in Mom's heart! The door I didn't know I left open--at my first job after grad school, I was invited to join the golf league. I said, "I've never played before." The person inviting me said, "You're athletic, you'll do fine." In hindsight, that was a completely ridiculous statement. But the person took me to a par-3 course and rented clubs for me. In 18 holes (par=54), I shot 127 and totally fell in love with the game. I went out the next day and bought clubs. I was hooked. I couldn't wait for the boys to get old enough to teach them to play. Now there is nothing that makes me happier than playing golf with my sons. 

    Keeping doors open,

        Leta

May 6--Breath

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  --Thornton Wilder

    Let your first treasure be your breath. Follow this link to an excellent 20-minute TedX Talk on breathing by fellow Forrest yoga teacher, Jambo Truong. I gently remind us all that breathing is the most important thing we do, and it is our greatest resource for healing. 

    What are your other treasures? Family? Friends? Good health? Inner peace? A relationship with Source? Opportunity to be useful? Ability to move? Creativity? Home? Pets? Or are your treasures your stuff? A substance to abuse? Control? Blaming? The need to be right? Perfectionism? Us vs. them? 

    I'm thinking the heart prefers the former list.

        Leta

May 5--GREEN!

Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.  --Karl Barth

    Joy is my word. It is the one word that describes who I am, my essence, and also how I aspire to live. Certainly I am not joyful 100% of the time, but I'm working on it. And when I am joyful, I am most definitely feeling grateful. 

    We are receiving much-needed spring rains this week. Everything around our fair city is greening up, and the leaves are bursting out on the trees and shrubs. Tulips are blooming. There are loads of buds on my iris plants. The lilies and hostas are growing beautifully. I have flowers and herbs awaiting planting. This is a photo from a walk with Barney this past weekend:

    There's nothing especially spectacular about it except that it's mostly GREEN, not the brown and gray dullness of winter. The green vegetation, sunshine, and clear blue sky make my heart sing. 

    Joyful about spring,

        Leta

May 4--YUMMY!!

Life is so endlessly delicious.  --Ruth Reichl

    It is! Just look at the very "basics"--food and shelter. Given the variety of people on earth who each have their own ethnic food specialties--the taste buds can explore and be happy for a whole lifetime. Your shelter can be in any number of glorious locations--beach, mountains, prairie, rolling hills, lakeside, dessert. 

    With the infinite creativity of Spirit flowing through us, if we can envision it, we can make it. The light bulb, telephone, computers and airplanes have made life so delicious, increasing our ability to communicate and to explore our fabulous Earth home. I am especially fond of the many ways folks offer their artistic talents. A trip through an art museum is particularly yummy for me.

    The options for exercise have expanded dramatically in my lifetime. My parents built a pool to encourage me to move my young fat body. There were few other options around my way-out-in-the-country home. Now I swim, play golf, walk Barney, teach and practice yoga and Melt Method, and garden, yet there are many more options available which I don't use. The variety is delicious. 

    Enjoying the flavors of life,

        Leta

Sugar Beach, St. Lucia--I'm in!

May 3--BLISS

Follow your bliss.  --Joseph Campbell

    This may be the most famous quote on happiness ever. This may be the most succinct statement of how to live well ever. The Life Is Good Company translated it into "Do what you love, love what you do." 

    But wait!!!! Isn't this a selfish thing, following your bliss? Think of a world where everyone is doing what they love to do, blessing the world with their unique talents, and feeling happy and joyful about it. They are using their innate creativity to make life better for all. Wouldn't you want to be a part of that? I surely would. Misery has WAY too much company these days. 

    Tipping the scale toward bliss,

        Leta

May 2--Balance

Happiness is equilibrium. Shift your weight.  --Tom Stoppard

    I like this quote because it notes the source of happiness where it is--internal to each of us. We make the changes to bring ourselves into a balanced, happy state. It does not come from outside of us. Certainly other people and events can bring us pleasure, but happiness is a choice we are constantly making. 

    It's Monday. Can you "shift your weight" to make this a personal happy "best day yet"? 

        Leta

May 1--Spring Kisses

I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face.  --Langston Hughes

    Writing about love for the whole month of April just about wore me out. 😉😉 Now we switch to May and its theme of happiness. 

    I'm really happy to be back in my garden. It suffers badly from lack of attention during tax season, so I've been doing a LOT of weeding. Things are shaping up. This week I cleaned out the last and worst weedy area, loaded Barney in the truck (DOG is my co-pilot), and headed to the garden center for compost and hosta plants. I worked the compost into the soil and planted two large, three medium and three small hostas. 

    There are loads of garden projects awaiting me. It can feel overwhelming. But I remind myself how much I love spring and gardening, one day, one project at a time. I'm so grateful to be alive for another spring. 

    Happy May Day!

        Leta

In my garden--the first peony of spring 😀