I attended a meeting in the city where a woman stood up and wanted to discuss the rights of pixels. Yes, pixels - the little dots that comprise the picture on your television and digital images everywhere. Apparently, people worry about the rights of those little dots. I was almost convinced the evening would prove to be a complete waste of time, and was teetering on the fence between amusement and irritation. It seemed I had trudged my butt all the way into the city for no apparent reason. Thankfully, my attitude turned all the way around when a lovely and perfectly sane casting director got up to speak. She was inspirational and motivational. I was fortunate enough to meet her and she invited me to submit my résumé to her. Suddenly, I was launched forward into résumé updating, photo shoot scheduling and online submission forms, etc. I felt good leaving the city that night and had a nice sense of accomplishment. It turned out to be a wonderful way to start the week after all. I fully expected this blog to be about forcing yourself to just put one foot in front of the other until something makes sense, as it had done that night (Just keep going! One step at a time...), but as the week evolved that idea changed.
It was a busy week of travel and photo shoots, but I also managed to spend some time in nature...
"Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee."
- Job 12:8
I don't normally think of this as my favorite time of year. It seems kind of depressing when it gets cold and dark. The winter coats come out of the closet and the patio furniture gets put away. I start thinking about shoveling and I get the snowblower tuned up. Air conditioners, bikes and summer dresses are put away. (Sigh) I wanted to get out and take some pictures of the pretty trees before all the leaves disappear.
Funny how nature reflects everything...
Change and growth...
The beauty of things...
The climb...
Out of the darkness and into the light...
The sometimes ominous look of things...
The fork in the road...
Crossing that bridge when we get to it...
Everything I saw inspired thought. I thought about that fence between amusement and irritation and how easy it is to go over the brink. I thought about falling back (just like the clocks) into old habits and how effortless it is to just write off other people when we don't understand them. (I'd been battling irritation all week and posted this link on Thursday: "Sometimes, the first step toward forgiveness is realizing the other person was born an idiot" -DJTOD.) I was searching for a way to keep from sinking into the negative and to keep a bright, positive spirit - even in the face of challenge.
On Sunday, I met the most wonderful and amazing woman. She wrote a book, "From Stage IV to Center Stage." She was diagnosed with stage IV cancer in her throat/neck, and was given three months to live. Twenty-two months later, she sang the National Anthem at Fenway Park. Nine years later, there I was, sitting in church listening to her story and hearing her say, "Challenges are nothing more than doorways to transformation."
"Denise DeSimone is an ordained interfaith minister, an inspirational/motivational speaker, a singer, and is also certified in multiple alternative healing modalities. She is a wellness coach to cancer patients. Denise also created Pray Peace, a multimedia offering of personal and global peace."
- from the back cover of her book, "From Stage IV to Center Stage"
I attended her workshop on sound healing and had a most wonderful experience. Before beginning a guided meditation that utilized vibrational sound energy, we set deliberate "intentions" for the experience. My intention was "love space" - the place of positive energy. I don't want to be in a negative space, or think that other people are idiots, or waste ANY time being anything but joyous. I know that we can transform any thought, any idea, any pattern. I know we are capable of letting go of old ideas and habits, and capable of change. I wanted to bring in the happy and the new, and weed out all sources of irritation at the core. As Denise introduced us to sound healing, she spoke about how easy it can be to transform an irritating sound to the point that you don't even hear it. :) :) :)
Perfect!!!!!
This week, I'll continue the meditation practices she taught us and learn more. (I bought her book and her CD.) I will not have to resort to thinking of anyone else in a less than favorable light just to make myself feel better. I'll train myself to hear joyous sounds and see miracles everywhere.
"There are two ways to live:
You can live as if nothing is a miracle;
or you can live as if everything is a miracle."
- Albert Einstein
"We cannot love without evolving
and we cannot evolve without love."
- Denise DeSimone
Namaste!
T
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