April 7--Like It Or Not

You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it.  --Yann Martel

    Things are deteriorating for my brother in Ohio. While it is true that one always has a choice, in this instance, none of the choices seem to be good ones. He may very soon get his #1 choice, to be with his wife who passed in 2022. I am so incredibly grateful I was able to spend the last two weeks of March with him. 

    Now there is more grief on the horizon. Is there always grief on the horizon? I guess as one gets to "senior" age and friends and family are passing, grief becomes a nearly constant companion. I can't say I like that much. Grief is tiring. It feels like no one else understands. It can't be "fixed." We simply have to summon the resilience to see it through. 

    One day at a time,

        Leta

April 6--This Nerd Loves Color

Read, or sit in revery and watch the changing colors of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.  --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    I was watching the Cubs beat the Dodgers last night. I love the TV announcers, Boog Sciambi and Jim Deshaies. JD is a former MLB pitcher. They are a hoot together. Boog, a self-proclaimed nerd, was asking JD if he feels he is a nerd, and is he OK with that. JD agreed that he is a nerd and dropped this one: 

I think most nerds embrace nerddom.  --Jim Deshaies

I'm right with you there, JD! 

    I'm back to gardening, and there is plenty of colorful creativity going on in my mind. I'm imagining pots of herbs and flowering annuals, lily bouquets on my desk and dinner table, and juicy tomatoes and basil pesto to nourish us. 

    I would also offer that Longfellow's quote is how my last two straight-line paintings came to be. The idea (wave on my mental seashore) just came to me, along with a sample of colors I like together. My geometry-nerd self chose a shape to work with (quadrilateral on one, odd number of sides on another), and I went with it. It is an awesome energizing experience to let a project grow that way.

    Those waves are creative joy!

        Leta

April 5--In the Garden

You've got to learn to do everything lightly... Yes, feel lightly even though you're feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them. 
--Aldous Huxley 

    Huxley offers a great idea here--clearly it's a practice to learn to not take life and oneself so seriously. 

    I love spring! Yesterday I started seeds for basil, roma tomatoes and serrano peppers. Most of my early spring garden work goes into the trash--weeds, twigs, deadhead material. I'm OK with that, because what is left, so much green, is bursting. There are buds on the peony bushes. My 50 new lily bulbs in the front bed are starting to peek through the mulch. At least some of my hostas are returning. I'm anxious to see if last fall's sowing of wild sunflower seeds will sprout. I have one red tulip that keeps coming back--it is a fighter, and I don't have the heart to pull it out. It's time to get the pots ready to plant annuals in a couple of weeks. Let the battle with the squirrels begin!

    Note the title of this blog. That is an "old-time" hymn and my favorite. I sang it so often as a kid in church that I know all the words to all the verses. 

    Loving Mother Earth,

        Leta

That one very determined tulip!

April 4--Acceptance Yields Serenity

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them, that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.  --Lao-Tzu

    This quote reminds me of the acceptance passage from the AA Big Book, always a worthwhile review: 

And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.

For me, serenity began when I learned to distinguish between those things that I could change and those I could not. When I admitted that there were people, places, things, and situations over which I was totally powerless, those things began to lose their power over me. I learned that everyone has the right to make their own mistakes, and learn from them, without my interference, judgment, or assistance!

    There is so very little over which I have any control!

        Leta

 

It's time to get seedlings started...
tomatoes, peppers, basil, oh my!

April 3--All Works Together for Gooder 😉

Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.  --Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

    I am happy to report good news relative to my brother. He has been signed up for Hospice care. This is no longer a sign of impending death. It is a sign that he will now be able to get consistent pain relief and additional care that has been haphazard or lacking in his living situation. It is a big relief for all involved, especially my brother!

    I most certainly concur with the opening quote. However, it sometimes takes me a bit to know the purpose, especially of things I consider negative. I offer a couple of examples. My mother's death when I was 23 was grossly unfair at the time, but turned out to set me free for a life of exploration and growth that would likely not have happened otherwise. My newborn twin great-nephews needing heart surgeries right after birth--helping with their care created family bonding that continues to this day, and both boys are healthy and thriving. 

    Good can be found in every situation--sometimes we just have to look really hard.

        Leta

Barney loves to lick the dirty silverware.
He is so smart--he stays away from the dishwasher 
when the dishes are clean. 

April 2--I Blame ...

Don't be too quick to draw conclusions from what happens to you; simply let it happen.  --Rainer Maria Rilke

    This is certainly a lofty goal, easier said than done. 

    I've had the topic of blaming in my face lately. It has shown up in several unrelated daily readings. I could blame my mother and brother for inspiring the blaming habit in me 😉😉 This is a character defect that has been keeping me discontent at best for a long time. Serenity (our topic of the month) and blaming cannot coexist. Nor can blaming and gratitude. Something happened within me during my recent Ohio visit. In discussing the good points of the main person I had been blaming, I realized that MY blaming, not that person's behavior, has been blocking my personal joy, love and serenity. Awareness is my first step in dropping the blaming habit. I suspect I will find that I have been blaming in multiple directions. 

    Always learning,

        Leta

Astronomy Picture of the Day, April 2,
by Phil Hart... the solar corona

April 1--Home Again

Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see... Every breath we take, every step we take, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity... The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.  --Thich Nhat Hanh

    As you may guess, April's theme in "Daily Kindness" is serenity. 

    There was very little traffic on my drive home yesterday, I assume because of the Easter holiday. I am so glad to be in Kansas' warm spring weather rather than the wintry stuff hanging on in NE Ohio. I was delighted to see the redbud trees blooming all across Missouri. My journey totaled just over 2,300 miles. When I drove onto the court, I saw my husband and Barney in the backyard. I parked the Spaceship (our RAV4) and walked around the corner of the house. When Barney saw me, he took off running full speed to me and did a wild happy dance. It was so cool, moments of total joy! 

    I'm looking forward to getting back into my routine of pickleball and swimming. My golf league starts soon and the garden is sprouting lots of vibrant green. 

    Hooray for spring!

        Leta

Redbud blossoms--a sure sign of spring!