An Invincible Summer - A Woman's Journey

WORD FOR THE DAY May you embrace this day, not just as any old day, but as this day. Your day. Held in trust by you, in a singular place, called now. CARRIE NEWCOMER What an incredible quote and a lovely reminder. It can be so hard to not let the world steal my peace but today I did pretty good. There were some big things that came up and I did what I needed to do to get back to breathing regular and remembering that today is the only day I have. No more, no less. Right now, this very moment.  Live and Let Live helped me a lot today. I think I'll get take my silly dog on a walk and embrace some quiet calm. It's always good to remember that we all have CRAP. And we can use that crap as an excuse to throw our serenity out the window or give someone else the power to take it from us.  I am wishing you peace despite all the nonsense too!

22 years ago my former boss and good friend asked me for a favor. In addition to my own business, would I mind handling the accounting for a new endeavor he was considering.  Little did I know what I was getting myself into when I answered yes (which was the only answer I could give). A skateboard park, an indoor skateboard park, with a retail outlet, a cafe and about 25 to 30 employees. Much of my accounting experience had been with a well established business that purchased nothing on credit and had a full time CPA to do the tough stuff. It was baptism by fire. That baby opened its doors a few months before I gave birth to my fourth baby. It was a crazy time of life; overwhelming but we all got through it. That business had some major changes through the years. Employees came and went. One of the founders was killed in a motorcycle accident at 32, one went on to do other things, but I stayed.  It went from skateboard park to music venue to gaming for kids to mission out...

My inside self is outside of time and space. It doesn't have an age. I'm every age I've ever been, and so are you. ~Anne Lamott Isn't that the truth? Like in the David Whyte poem I posted the other day, we are still those people we were when we were 10, 25 or 49. What was your favorite time of life? When did you feel most yourself, full, rich and settled? At first, I would say it was when I was a young mom. I loved that time....the caring, the being needed, working hard at being a good parent and the gorgeous, unconditional love of a young child. But on second thought I realized it is right now. RIGHT NOW.  Yes, the body doesn't quite work as well and the lovely skin of my youth is now softer, thinner and graced with lines of laughter, longing, heartache and love but now is where I truly belong. Otherwise I am either living in the past, which is gone, or waiting for the future, which never really comes. Loving freer and caring deeper than ever ...

Death can come at any minute, in any way. We do not know what is in store tomorrow, or, whether there is a tomorrow, or even a tonight! But still, we have the golden present. Now we are alive and kicking. What should we do now? Love all, serve all. SRI SWAMI SATCHIDANANDA

Facts fly out the window and behaviors will be ignored. The enemy, FEAR, causes logic and peace to become scarce. Another situation that leaves me open to the "what ifs" and the "I am not good enoughs".  The action of others will disappoint and I wear it like a heavy cape...weighing down on my shoulders. Al-Anon tools are too often set by the wayside and default emotions take control. Is it that I lack the courage to believe that life should feel richly abundant and deeply connected? Or perhaps I know that is exactly what it is suppose to be like that but that, somehow, I am not deserving. Not so, there is enough love to go around. Today will be better. Today I will remember the following: 1. My thoughts are not necessarily truth….in fact, often times they are far from it. 2. Remember that fear was once a needed coping mechanism; that was then and this is now. I have the intelligence to use reason and logic rather than emotion and reactions.  3. Using ...