More of What's New and What's Next...

"The cup of every [person's] acceptance is filled unless the cup is turned up side down."  Ernest Holmes

Since I have retired again, I have been looking for something new and different to engage my mind, heart and activities.  I have in essence turned my cup right side up.  I am looking for new opportunities and new potentials for my attention.

Two days ago, I am walking through JoAnn's Fabrics looking for stretchy thread when I see my sewing teacher from two years ago.  We stop and talk and she tells me that she thinks I need to take another sewing class from her and she mentioned the machine embroidery class.  I almost had to walk away from her.  Not only is the investment in new machinery expensive, I have no desire to embroider my initials on every towel, pillow case, and fleece jacket I own, let alone for everyone I know!  

Yes, I am looking for a new opportunity but sewing?  Come on!  

In thinking about this incident, I realize that my cup has been right side up for something different and it shows up for me.  Now I have to refine my thinking into something that I can get passionate, excited and overjoyed to be doing.  And maybe that something is to just stop, breathe and relax for awhile.  

Finding the above quote also had me stopped in my tracks to wonder about how much of my life has been lived with my cup turned up side down.  I no longer want to live that way.  I am ready to be fully opened up, heart and soul, for what life has to offer me now.

Join me?

Content with so little -

"The mind is a mansion.  But most of the time we are content to live in the lobby," writes William Michaels.  This thought makes me laugh, and in the very same moment it makes me furious that we could be content with so little (or discontented, yet do so little about it).  Stephanie Dowrick.

The above statement really had an impact on me when I read it and decided immediately to get really mad that I have occupied so few levels of my mind.  The next thought, of course, was how to expand to higher and higher levels when life at this level is so good.  

When does good really get better?  I know, it is all perception and how we look at what is going on in our lives and the situations around us.  I remember years ago while teaching a class, that what came tumbling out of my mouth was that "this is the big time.  It doesn't get any better than this."  And I was right, at the time.  Every time is the big time.  

Since life is an upward spiral, my intention is to explore and discover how many more levels of mind I can occupy.  I like the idea that every level is available for occupation.  And that there is something new and different on each level.  

Are you ready to explore some of the levels with me?

Get a Plan...

The last several days in the cartoon series, Luann, has focused on Gunther getting back to the States from traveling in Peru.  After having an adventure just getting to the airport, getting home to find his Mother dating a man, her calling him Gunthie, he has a sort of meltdown.  He and his friend, Quill, are talking about it and Gunther says, "I had a life plan, Quill.  Get my degree, then get a good hi-tech job, marry, have 2.5 kids and live in a nice home with a granny flat for my Mom.  But now...I have no life plan.  I feel totally lost."  Quill's reply for him, "That's 'cuz you've had more life than you planned."  

How true for most of us.  But then, again, most of us don't think about planning out our lives.  We forget that thoughts create things.  I know that I did because after December, I felt lost and kind of set adrift in my life.  I had a hard time just showing up for what it is that gives me a feeling of satisfaction in my life.  I have not planned out this year!

This is a wake up call for me because I have lots more life to live and in order to create it fantastic and filled with adventures, I need to plan it out.  I need to empty the tall closet shelves where I have deposited my dreams and pick some of them for this year.  It is also my year to release some of my long time treasures and reduce the volumes in my library in order to make more room.  I am craving space.  Lots of space around me.  

I realized early on in my adult years that having space required lots of money.  I studies, worked, created more money and was able to "buy" space in my living area only to have it filled with book shelves and more books that I ever needed.  It is time to give them all up.  Granted, I am saving the ones that gave me the most information and the ones that gave me a tremendous amount of spiritual uplift, but the rest are going.  I even caught myself putting some of the older paperbacks into the recycling bin.  Yeah!

The next weeks are for planning, cleaning  and sorting out.  Join me?