I was sappy this morning, full of a sort of emotional reckoning that seeped into my bones overnight as I slept – a settling of the many thoughts that passed through my brain yesterday as I searched into my history, into their lives. The gratitude is too much to contain and I do not seem to have the vocabulary to properly express it. There is a debt I owe, best paid back by living as well as I can, keeping in mind the privilege bestowed upon me, mostly by chance. The privilege of being able to turn over the stones, look beneath and bring to light what I learn there.
I have been thinking lately in a different sort of way. It is not the kind of thinking that is trying to solve problems but can be best described as pondering. I step into nature for a break and let my mind wander into the places it wants to go, sort of like letting a kid out of the house to play after the homework is finished. You know what I have found there? All I need to know in that moment.
Learning to hear what is calling us is not as hard as we think it may be. Think about what brings you joy and go from there; listen to the quiet pull. And keep listening because it keeps calling, even when we think we have arrived.
Why should we love ourselves? As I mentioned in my last blog post, I believe with all of my being that each of us has a purpose to live into and are called to be the best versions of ourselves in order to do that. Living into our potential is also our greatest reward because when we are using our gifts to their capacity, we feel whole. Loving ourselves is part of this equation.
As far back as I can remember, I have always been 100% certain that each of us has a unique purpose in life, a gift, and that when we find it and live into it we feel whole. I still believe this, more than ever now.
After decades of trying to fit into that square hole, I am finally letting go of the idea that I have a sleep disorder. Even though I read Walker’s book over a year ago, I am just now deciding to try finding my natural sleep rhythm.
We are all at risk for disease (cancer, diabetes, infection, dementia, etc.) so why not focus on prevention before we have symptoms? Why would we wait until we are in a disease state? What holds us back from doing that? Perhaps it is the same reason many of us don't start saving for retirement in our 20's: we cannot imagine ourselves at 70 years old and often make an assumption that all will be fine because we are fine now.
My comrades taught me that I am not alone. I had forgotten this too. I did not want to show fear because I did not want to show weakness but their reaction to it was to prop me up, to help me through it. As Joe so beautifully said, “I got you.” I felt got.
I’m going to be in Sedona this week for the third summit this year of Aubrey Marcus’s brainchild, the Fit for Service Mastermind.
My mother and step-father are in their 80’s and regardless of their conditions (when they have conditions!), they still wake early, move as much as possible, read, eat well, socialize, go to the Hollywood Bowl and Disney Hall, to dinners with friends, laugh heartily and have deep discussions about the complexities of life. They represent to me what health means.
Wholeness and the journey toward it is going to force us to encounter struggle, or the dark side of things. Without the darkness we cannot get to the light. I believe there must be a juxtaposition in order for us to see the path at all. We need the contrast and we need to learn to rise, to get back up after a fall.
All I had to do was make the best decisions at each moment; not for tomorrow, not for next year, and not for 10 years from now. It was about staying the course step by step. Sometimes that is all we can do and that is okay.
