Uncertainty: The Land of Possibilities

Uncertainty is where all the possibilities lie.

When you know everything, there are few possibilities. 

Sink into your uncertainty.

Everything will come to pass as it should. 

It cannot be hurried.

Unresolved

"Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart

and try to love the questions themselves,

like locked rooms and like books 

that are now written in a very foreign tongue.

Do not now seek the answers,

which cannot be given you,

because you would not be able to live them.

And the point is to live everything.

Live the questions now.

Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it,

live along some distant day into the answer."

-Rainer Maria Rilke

Our Most Precious Possession

Our bodies are our most precious possessions.  We often forget this fact.  Many of us take our bodies and our health for granted until something happens to affect our health and well-being.

Remembering the fact that feeling good, having our minds, spirits, muscles, joints, organs, etc. working well is foundational to our happiness, contentment and success in pivotal.  Being grateful each day that we have breath in our lungs, that we have arms and legs that work, brains that function, senses with with to enjoy the world and life we have been given helps us not to take our bodies and minds for granted.

Too often we get caught up in the busyness of life and forget to nurture and care for our most precious possession.  We eat too much of the wrong kinds of nourishment, drink too much alcohol, don’t get enough rest and rejuvenation, don't give our bodies movement and exercise, don’t drink enough water or eat enough live, healthy, nourishing foods.  We often forget to focus on loving our loved ones with our bodies, giving hugs and kisses, words of love and affirmation.  We have these wonderful gifts to give but we forget.  All these things feed our souls and our bodies and lead us to a place where our lives are working well.

It’s so easy to forget to love ourselves, by caring for our physical bodies.  But it’s never to late to start.

Today, we can take an honest look at our lives and our health.  What would we like to be different about our health and the quality of our lives?  What can we do to turn the boat around.  We can decide who we want to be, the quality of life we have?  Are we contented allowing ourselves to go on as we have been, or are we worth the effort to change the game?

The only thing standing between health and well being and the opposite is us- it’s our choice.   No one can do it for us.  We can own our power, or we can give it away by ignoring and denial.  Take responsibility.  No more excuses. No more procrastination.  We are worth it.  

Let’s not wait until we get sick, have a breakdown, or lose a relationship with someone we love because we were not remembering to nurture and tend to our bodies and minds like the most precious possessions that they are.

At the end of our lives, we will never and regret that we changed our lives by caring for our health.  We will regret it if we did not.

More Notes to Self

Be in the moment.

Hold on loosely. 

(Thanks Pablo Giacopelli Author of Holding on Loosely Holding on Loosely: Amazon)

Don't attach meaning that isn’t there.

Don’t be reactive.

Let your fears be your mirrors not your guides.

We invite to us that which we believe will come.

Have boundaries.  Do not give your power away.

Speak less.  Listen more

Live from your core.

Listen to your instincts.

The Flipside of Weakness

Every strength has a weakness and every weakness has a strength.  In fact, on the back side of each part, lies the other.  To remove the weakness, the strength is invariably removed as well.  It is hard not to focus on the weakness, instead of fanning and focusing on the strength.  

Often times companies spend lots of money and time sending their employees to workshops trying to improve on areas of weakness.  If they only realized the return on their investment would be much greater if they capitalized on the natural strengths and aptitudes of their employees.  Spouses focus on the negatives in their partner instead of all the wonderful benefits they bring.  Siblings feel bothered and irritated by each other instead of realizing the gift of brothers and sisters.

It is the same with all of us.  We may not like something about ourselves, or someone we love, or have to relate to.  We may sit around wishing that their shortcomings were removed.  But in doing this, we would miss the wonderful gift and strength on the backside of their less-than-ideal qualities.  And in the end we would lose out on the beauty, imperfect as it may be, that they offer us.

Talking Heads

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.” – Peter Drucker

We have become a culture of non-commitment, waiting for the next thrill, diversion, distraction, illusion of need.  We consume without being fulfilled, participate without enjoying, communicate without being present.  We have material possessions, access to every technology, craft, yet we are disconnected and empty . We are hip, we are now, yet we have no inner peace and have lost touch with our souls.  

Like our worn jeans turned inside out, left on the floor at the side of the bed neglected and forgotten, our souls are right-side-out, exposed, needing the refreshing of a good soak, and the contentment of being folded in the closet eventually to be worn, fulfilling their purpose.  

Overindulged, we have too much.  Overstimulated, we have been exposed to too much.  Status seekers, we have become too needy of affirmation from outside ourselves.  

We have forgotten who we are, why we are here and what matters.  We decry the situation, but we are unwilling to do what it takes to make the changes that will restore us.  

Civility, kindness, goodness, simplicity, prudence, humility, selflessness...the spiritual principles we were made to thrive on, are now difficult to find.  We have been sold a set of values that don't serve us and have left us in a state of spiritual poverty.

We have not worn the jeans that lie beside the bed for so long, we no longer even see them lying there. When we eventually find the time to pick them up and throw them in the wash, we put them on and they no longer fit.  

They have not changed.  But we have.  

We no longer recognize our own souls, our own inner selves.  We have become so distracted, they are foreign to even us.  We cannot attain what we are madly searching for without finding our way back to our true selves.  

Who will do it?  Who will turn the boat around?

We are walking around among a world of zombies; character, virtue, commitment, and discipline having become rarities.  

Talking heads, trying to impress each other.

...when the only person we ever needed to impress was ourselves.  If we find our true selves, our souls as they were designed, we find the peace and joy we have forgotten are possible.

Bono on Art

“If I don't understand it, it must be art.” 

“There is a root arrogance in any writer; a hugely arrogant assumption that anyone is going to listen to them.” 

“There's a point where you find yourself tiptoeing as an artist, and then you know that you're in the wrong place.” 

“Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief, all kill their inspiration, and then sing about the grief.” 

-Bono

Bono on Compassion and Justice

“God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.” 

― Bono

A Tribute to My Father

I am grateful to God for the privilege and great fortune of having a wonderful father.  So many are without this great blessing.  Today I honor and acknowledge my father, an exceptional man.  Thank you, Dad for your presence, your love, your faithfulness, your quiet strength.  I wish for you all the joy and love and honor that you have given me.  I love you.

Handsome

Stable 

Anchor

Wise

Strong masculine hands

Humble 
Tireless servant
Giver

Loving 
Facilitator
Peacemaker
Generous
Meek
Counselor
Wise
Friend

Merciful 
Provider

Gracious

Faithful

Kind

Without guile or ego

Dedicated

Never rude or boastful

Efficient

Faithful steward

Strong work ethic
Football lover
Voracious reader
Walker

Encourager

Relational

Quirky sense of humor 

Simplicity

Well-respected

Loved by many

Faithful and true
Good
Noble
Faithful husband
Lover of God.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..." Galatians 5:22-23, The Holy Bible

The Guest House

“This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.”

-Written by Rumi, a Persian Muslim who lived in the 13th century in Northern Afghanistan

Passed to me by friend Kim Koenig...

A Prayer from St. Therese of Lisieux

"May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing that you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us." -St. Therese of Lisieux

Whittled Down

1.  Face your fears. 

2.  Breathe.

3.  Take ownership.

4.  Breathe.

5.  Create the life you want.

6.  Breathe.