Gratitude and Hindsight

Cleaning off some bookshelves, I happened across a receipt. At first, it was hard to make sense out of what I was seeing. Why would I be in a hotel for several days, around the corner from my house? It was from Feb 16th.

Funny. I remember being beside myself at the time - at how crazy it was that both the furnace and hot water heater failed at the same time, filling the house with carbon monoxide; at how the garage doors stopped working after the fire people came; and at how I had a gig to get to that evening. The baby sitter had to wait at the neighbor's house because I had to take the dogs to the kennel after picking up Zachary from school. She had to come with me to the hotel where the show was and watch him there while I performed, then Uber home.

That seemed like the craziest sequence of events ever.

Little did I know.

How fortunate it was to have had both of those household repairs done then. How amazing is it that everything was falling into place ahead of time - a solid month ahead of all this.

If "today me" could go back in time and tell "then me" to be thankful for all those crazy happenings because they were such Blessings...

Gratitude. Oh for the strength of Faith to understand that all things happen for reasons unknown at the time, but always for the good.

Blessed week...

Love,
T

P.S.
On a totally unrelated subject, can anyone explain to me why my watermelon has a mustache??? Is this normal? #randomweirdthings #whatisnormal

It led me to this song:

xo

Where to Start

My morning run is often the only time I have to myself, to let my thoughts flow. I had just been thinking about how, despite all of the most recent changes in the world, we have the ability to continue being our unique selves when I noticed the pavement looking back up at me.

I stopped to take a picture. It's not often I jog by what looks like a giant pastel eyeball.

Returning to my thoughts, it occurred to me that while we may need to get creative about how we are able to express our individual talents and abilities, it's been positively heartwarming to see people doing what they do and being who they are. Whether it's being helpful by delivering food to those in need, making people laugh, mobilizing teams to raise money, organizing community services, doing yoga, dancing, teaching, cooking, nursing, writing, etc., people all over the world are finding ways to help each other (and the world itself) with a sense of purpose as never before.

We all go at our own pace. We might each, in our own time, stop and evaluate our path deciding how best to proceed. As we are forced to adapt we might temporarily be in what I call a blind spot - that place we find ourselves when we can't yet see our own future. Faith is necessary. Hope is necessary. Even when these are in short supply, we can keep going. Even when we can not see what is ahead, we can continue our journey with deliberate intention. We might take a new direction. When we don't know where to start, we can just start somewhere - anywhere.

As I put my phone away to continue my run, there was another sign...

I love when the pavement speaks! Who knows where our journey will lead? I ran along the chalk outline until the numbers faded away and finally disappeared completely, but by then I was running again so I just kept going.

Have a beautiful week.

Love,
T

Blue Skies

 

Sometimes it's really just that simple.

It's amazing how many things we may have taken for granted. Just carelessly running out for groceries was such a Blessing. Wouldn't it be great if we developed a profound sense of gratitude for the incredible Blessings we still enjoy? The sky is so blue and beautiful. 

 

xo

Love,

T

Moments

Even in the midst of staying hopeful and positive, we can acknowledge our moments of grief or sadness. We've had to say goodbye to so many friends and loved ones; and to so much of life as we knew it before. We can give ourselves permission to feel what we feel - and still stay strong. 

These are lyrics from my song "Everywhere." It's a reminder of how we carry the Spirit of those we love with us, always.

In my solitude

I sometimes think of you

Where I am lost, you'd know what to do

When I can't break free

Gripped by uncertainty

I go searching for some truth to comfort me

Deep in the night

When the answers come

I can smile

Feel the warmth of love rush through my soul

And I know, I know

I know that you're here

I feel you in the air

You're everywhere

And when I close my eyes

I can see so clear

That you are always here

You're everywhere with me

I'm filled with gratitude

Though you never truly knew

All you have done for me

Now I thank you

You have blessed me

Incredibly

Because of you, faith guides my destiny

I pray that you never doubt

What your life was all about

You touched us so

And I know

I know

I know that you're here

I feel you in the air

You're everywhere

And when I close my eyes

I can see so clear

That you are always here

You're everywhere with me

You stand with your wings

And all of these earthly things

Slip away, into the deep (Off to sleep)

The true you stays the same

You remain

Love,

T

Dream

There was this:

Then Zach started singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" (life is but a dream), which made me think of this:

So I looked up the story behind the song and found the poem which inspired it: "God God God" by Paramhansa Yogananda...

"...When boisterous storms of trials shriek,

And when worries howl at me,

I will drown their noises, loudly chanting:

God! God! God!

When my mind weaves dreams

With threads of memories,

On that magic cloth will I emboss:

God! God! God!

Every night, in time of deepest sleep,

When my peace dreams and calls, Joy! Joy! Joy!

My joy comes singing evermore:

God! God! God!..."

Like stepping stones, this stream of consciousness brings me to my most sincere wish for us all this week (and beyond) - that we may find peace and joy throughout our journey.

May the "God" of our own understanding, and the truth in our hearts, inspire and radiate Love and comfort. May we access that deepest part of the soul where dreams originate, and train ourselves to create sweet thoughts there.

Love,
T

60 Seconds of Tranquility

Sometimes the moment itself is more important than words. Here are some snapshots from this week's walks down the lane...

Hope you all had a lovely holiday and that you find moments of tranquility - even if just for a minute. 

Love,

T

Encouragement

"Go Girl! GO!"

An elder neighbor stood in her front doorway, held up her coffee cup and cheered me on. It was everything.

I didn't feel like running that day. I had to force myself. I was just going through the motions trying to keep up with a routine. With a genuine smile and a wave back, I picked up my pace. Soon enough, I had completed my big loop and was on my way home, thinking about how nice it had been for her to spur me on like that.

"You made it! YAY!" 

Before I knew it, there she was again, welcoming me back to the block. How wonderful!

I know we all know this... but what a lovely reminder it was that the simplest gesture of kindness can change the whole course of someone's day. That little act of encouragement truly made my whole week! Let's just keep it going and spread the Love a bit.

With a little encouragement...

Beautiful things can happen.

Love,
T