Shake It Off

The problem is no one in school ever taught us how to enter a topic or gave us permission to write what really happened.  Write the truth.  "Keep going.  You're doing fine.  Don't think."  Develop a "sweetheart" inside yourself who whispers in your ear to encourage you.  Natalie Goldberg

Oh, to have had that sweetheart a long time ago when I felt like I was out in the wilderness alone, with no one to come to my rescue or to tell me that I was on the right track.  Even now as I contemplate my present, I wonder what is next for me, or what it is that I need to do in order to continue to feel fulfilled and satisfied. 

Life changes and as I continue to heal my mouth, a major side effect of all of that has been a reduction in body mass.  My body is shrinking!  And the wonderful part is that I was able to maintain the "shrink" while on a vacation trip contemplating my present.  

In the process of deciding what's next, I developed my sweetheart and the message for me is to just relax, stay in the moment, rest, look what's in front of me, and release it all into its higher and better good.  

Or as the song goes, "Pause and listen then shake it off."  I really like the shake it off part.  This has not been an easy spiritual lesson, but one that I think as assisted me more than anything else.  Shake it off.  

Another important lesson is to encourage yourself when things happen that are beyond your control.  I know we create the lives that we are living, but there are things that I know I didn't ask for.  I think that there are times when "stuff just happens."  

We have a motor coach that we travel in and every once in a while something strange happens to remind me that "stuff just happens."  I remember a story my sister once told about a car that they bought used and while driving down a city street, the back window just fell out!  Stuff happens.  Shake it off.

We don't plan on the stuff that just happens.  I think I would have been better equipped for my life is someone had just told me that you can't prepare for everything.  Stuff happens.  Shake it off.  

Ask For What You Want

Learn to make known our requests with thanksgiving and in acceptance.  And having done this, in that silent communion of your soul with its Source, believe that the Law of Good will do the rest.  Ernest Holmes

In a telephone call this week, I had another wake up call that almost brought me to my knees.  The person calling wanted to know how I was doing and what my prognosis was since my oral surgery.  After talking about it for awhile, she said, "Not to diminish what you have experienced, but another friend of mine in Texas was told she had bone cancer in her mouth and she had to have all of her teeth removed and some of the bone taken out."  

All I had was a decayed tooth that lead to other things and I am so grateful that was all it was.

No matter what life hands us, there is always someone set up as an example for our gratitude.  I know we all create our experiences but I want to create some that are less painful and more easily recuperative.  I remember reading in one of my journal exercises to, "Write a story; create a future!"  And I added, "Or at least a compelling present."  When I am in the midst of the experience, I forget that I am in charge of creating a compelling present.

I forget that I can enchant myself with my choice of wonderful details and that it is up to me to put the excitement into my life.  I forget that I am in charge of life and that it is up to me to attract and see my good.

In a very conscious effort of experiencing more excitement, of creating a life that is compelling, sweet, filled with joy and happiness, I am taking the next three weeks off in order to use the time to contemplate my present.  I invite you to do something similar in order to more fully enjoy the rest of your life.  Time is of the essence.