Summertime and the Living Is Easy

Where has the summer gone? I know that there's more to come but life has been speeding through 24 hours like a vacationer heading up I95 to Maine. I am not complaining. The weather has been cooperative like no other year in current memory; the garden abundance lush; and so many interesting venues to attend & participate locally no need to travel far. Ideal.

I was chatting with my boss about how each Monday morning quickly becomes a Friday. Time isn't marching it's racing. Yet, I am okay with it. I feel as if I am enjoying the moments in between. Not everything is perfect which is another fact with which I am okay. I suspect that living in the moment is a key contributor to this bliss-like living.

Simply put ... I decided to enjoy myself fully. Take each day and live it to the max. You don't have to be bungee cord jumping off a bridge into a gorge to live life to the max. Just enjoy a tomato fresh picked from the vine will do. Attend a Shakespeare performance in the park. Take the ferry to Boston for lunch. All is perfect.

Life extends a gracious invitation to party every day. You just have to accept.

Misty Mornings

I am definitely not a morning person, but early summer mornings are perfect for thinking. Now having fog introduced to provide clarity seems to fly in the face of reason, but it works. Having a shroud of fog evaporate before your eyes as the sun takes a hold on the sky creates a visual image of the thought process.

Life appears softer, less defined and more intriguing with fog. Fog envelopes you like a cold caress. Fog wakes you to the fact that the situation is transitory. Fog gives solid form to thoughts.

Fog gives permission to take your time, be extra sure of your surroundings, and cautious of possible outcomes. The more you think, the clearer the morning. And the clearer your thoughts.

Reading "tinkers" by Paul Harding

I just finished reading "tinkers" by Paul Harding and I admit that I have to read the book again. Not because I didn't get the plot, but due to the beautiful writing and elegant combinations of thoughts and reality. I suspect I may be haunted by this book (in a good way).

The scene of a dying man's last thoughts as his family life is revealed through vignettes of his memories is riveting. Each carefully crafted detail etches the life, in most cases, hard life of his past and his father's odd life, and the even stranger life of his father's father.

But more than the transitioning of this man into death is the story of his father's life. Spellbinding. Buy the book or get it from the library. No wonder it won a Pulitzer Prize.

http://www.blpbooks.org/books/tinkers.html

Come Together To Remember

The Exchange Club of Greater Newburyport is sponsoring a "Field of Honor" to commemorate the military and first responders who have died keeping us safe. The "Field of Honor" will be row upon row of flags, each a tribute by a relative, friend or group in remembrance of a fallen hero.

The dedication of this "Field of Honor" is Saturday, September 11'th at the Bartlet Mall in Newburyport, MA . Help volunteer by getting involved with one of our committees to make this a time to come together and remember.

To learn more about how you can participate as a sponsor or purchase a flag in memory of someone, please see our website

http://colonialflagfoundation.org/staticpages/index.php/newburyport

Or contact me at fieldofhonor@gmail.com

Memorial Day

I was certain that this weekend would be perfect ... weather, alone time, and gardening. While digging up one of the garden beds, I thought how I was now digging dirt that was my mother's.

Let me explain. I live back at my childhood home and I can recall my mother's tenacious tending of this section of the garden. Her section was relegated to roses,asters and dahlias. The other gardens were the vegetable ones and tended by her father.

It was all nicely divvied up and she worked the soil, lavished hours upon her roses and deadheaded the flowering asters and dahlias (the ones not selected for the indoor arrangement). This activity was repeated year after year starting with the Memorial Day weekend.

There's a certain sense of completion to my contribution this weekend.

Fear - Motivator or Inhibitor

Fear is a funny kind of emotion. It can cause us to behave in ways that are most unflattering. It can also cause us to change our lives, careers and goals in a good way. Some folks will immediately change a lifestyle that has caused a heart attack, yet others won't feel the need.

What is fear about? In the ancient days, when we were cave dwellers, the sense of fear truly was valuable especially where survival was concerned. As of late, I haven't been motivated to check out the backyard for things stalking me as a food source, so where does the constructive fear enter my life?

Am I afraid of changing the status quo because it will mean something will change? Change happens anyway, even if I try to avoid it. Am I afraid of becoming successful or more so? What will happen then? Lose friends, family, a way of being? If I am unsuccessful, will I lose friends, family, a way of being?

Am I operating with my own fear or do I borrow it from other sources like TV news, government press releases, talk radio, my family, friends, or business associates?

As a way of being, fear isn't healthy. It saps your will, strength and peace. So why give it so much power? Because we prefer to think the worst instead of the best. We are on the verge of death, destruction and mayhem or so we think ourselves into believing. Or we could enjoy that we are on our path, experiencing life, and manifesting our dreams. Or not.

The Sting of Winter

If you have read any of my postings, you will know that winter is a tough time of year for a "summer" person. I am counting the minutes of daylight, planning the summer garden, looking for that perfect pair of flip flops. Two weekends ago, the January thaw gripped the NE and I headed out to Crane's Beach in Ipswich for a ritual walk and wonder.

This past week has been a different landscape, cold ... no that is incorrect, absolutely frigid is better. I hunker down into layers of wool, fleece and other wind stopping fibers. I feel like that kid in a snowsuit who cannot bend her arms because of all the bulky clothes. I insulate.

On the other side of the story, I have completed my taxes and am purging all the paperwork that mysteriously congealed around my workstation. I do believe that paper reproduces when we are not looking. And, I am organizing my work area for optimal production. Sort of clearing the decks for something new and wonderful to enter my world.

This notion goes with my actions toward an uncomplicated life. Getting rid of anything not serving a purpose or delight for me. I am not a hoarder but I did keep things that, perhaps, did not add value to my life. It can all go now because I am taking action on my New Year's intention. It's been 31 days and I am still engaged in making the changes I truly want for myself.

What about you? Where are you in your New Year's intentions?

Resolve to Change

Now that we have officially made it into the next year, I have taken some action on a few ideas, committed to some fundamental life changes, and embraced this new landscape of winter. It's what you do for the new year but this particular year is different. How so? I am committed to making some serious changes in my life.

First change ... laugh a lot. Every. Single. Day. Find the joy in living.

Second change, I like being involved with people who like to do stuff. I mean physically involved with doing something. I sit behind a desk for the better part of the day and it makes me anxious to get outside, head to the gym, or just take some breaks for my mental agility. While this may involve tasks like weeding the garden, rearranging the closets, what I am really talking about is getting some exercise. I used to ride horses and now I am riding the elliptical.

Third change, express myself in what I think, write and wear. I have been a little too dull on the wardrobe piece. I think the stats on the contents of any closet is that you wear only 20% of what is available. I have some great pieces of jewelry which don't seem to get worn too often. Time to mix it up.

Fourth change, keep learning and expanding my knowledge base. It keeps me mentally motivated.

So what have you planned for this year?