Surround Yourself

The neighborhood high school was having a marching band event. We went to check it out. We weren't there long and kept a safe distance from all others, but it had a profound impact.

When Zachary came home he immediately went to his instruments and began marching around. He found a mic and did announcing just as they had done on the field. He said he wanted to be in the band when he's a big kid and asked his dad what marching band was like. (Russ played several instruments with his marching band when he was in school.)

I was reminded how important it is to focus on and surround ourselves with the things we want to do. They lead our minds and Spirits in the direction we want to go. News stories about social media and algorithms drove the point home. We need to make a conscious effort to direct ourselves where we want to be, not just be guided by what we like to complain about. Zachary and I spent a little time watching some marching bands and it opened up a whole world of thoughts and actions. More of that please. 

Blessed week...

Love,

T

Uncooperative Muses

"The muses don't whisper as many ideas in my ear as I need, 

and when they do, they can show a complete disregard for my schedule."

- Jim Jaskol 

(Group Leader, Disneyland Ride Control Engineering)

The muses aren't really cooperating quickly enough. I could put Bentley on the case, but I don't think he'd be much help.

SMH
I gotta get the cobwebs out of my head and get creative!

Here's my wagon full of ideas:

Maybe I have to feed those little muses swimming around in my brain.

When in doubt - READ. That's my theory. This is going to be short. I don't have much time to read.

"The best way to get started is to stop talking and begin doing."

- Walt Disney

;)
Love Y'all! xo

Namaste,
T

What If...

"What if you knew you had to go through 32 closed doors 

before you got to your open door? 

Well, then you'd come to closed door number eight and you'd think,

'Great, I got another one out of the way'... 

Keep moving forward."

- Joel Osteen

"I like science fiction, I like fantasy,

I like time travel, so I had this idea:

What if you had a phone that could call into the past?"

- Rainbow Rowell

What if you could build a snowman in April?

What if the dog cooperated while you took a picture?

What if a homeless man you saw on a park bench would go on to become "the most spiritually influential person in the world"?

Click here for Eckhart Tolle on Wikipedia

Click here for EckhartTolle.com

What if attending a high school musical inspired an idea in you that would change everything?

What if all you had to do was one sit up to get in shape? Would you go to the gym? Would being at the gym make you want to do more sit ups? 

What if all you had to do was START a project? Would you begin?

What if you could have any job you wanted? What would you want to do?

What if one belief that you held since childhood was about to change?

What if every single person we meet is really just a reflection of some aspect of ourselves? How would we treat them/us?

What if we actually already have everything we need?

What if the whole course of someone's life - someone that we meet today - will change for better or worse depending on how we interact with them?

What if we allowed our imaginations to run free?

This week - I'm going to remember that there is a whole world of "what ifs."

What if THAT makes something AMAZING happen?

Namaste,

T

Remember the Polka Dots...

Last week, I had the distinct privilege and honor of working with a group of awesome kids! (Tell you all about that project next month.)

At one point, I was sitting at a table coloring with a three-year-old little boy. He was showing me the car he drew and indicating which parts he wanted me to color in for him. There was a mass of dots right in the middle and I wasn't sure if he wanted me to color over them. I asked him what they were.

"Polka dots," he said, as if I should have known.
"Oh! I forgot about polka dots," was my reply.

As I heard the words come out of my mouth, I was stunned. How could I forget about polka dots!!!??? To the other adult in the room, I said, "How sad is that? I FORGOT about polka dots." She agreed that it was indeed pretty sad.

"I remember," said my little friend. He was telling me that it was ok. He had my back. He would remember the polka dots and all would be well.

I smiled. "Good job. Good job remembering the polka dots."

He might as well have been talking about magic or imaginary friends, superheroes, fairies, angels, Santa Claus, even God - or any of the wonderful things children believe in without hesitation. I certainly wouldn't want to forget about any of those, and I don't want to forget about polka dots either. How could polka dots have left my mind? I decided to blog about the polka dots, even though I had PLANNED on writing about "awareness."

I just had some housecleaning to do before sitting down to write today's blog. I pulled out the step stool to dust a shelf and noticed something...

HA! Polka dots! I was still thinking about it when I got in the shower...

HA again!

Then I started looking around deliberately. There was my little cosmetic bag...

The tab on the larger one that I keep shampoo in...

and how about the pattern on the side?

The handle on my old travel bag...

I remembered this dress...

The kitchen cabinet...

My coffee cup...

I had just gone to the grocery store...

Check out my seat cushion!

When you look around for them, you find them everywhere! (So I guess this blog IS about awareness after all.)

I suppose it's the same way with miracles, angels, positive energy, and even God. When you look around for them, you discover they were always right there. Sometimes, we just aren't paying attention. :)

I took these pics last week, before I was noticing the polka dots...

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend."

- Robertson Davies

"All prosperity begins in the mind and is dependent only upon full use of the imagination."

- Ruth Ross

Here's wishing you a wonderful week filled with polka dots - and whatever else you're looking for.

Namaste,

T

Well, Which is It?

Is it THIS...

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land, 

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

- Emily Dickinson

Or THIS...

Hope - that slippery creature of temptation

Shall I let him in?

Is it I, by myself

who allows that slithering beast?

That devil is already inside of me

Waiting...

For any crack in the door

To creep, undetected

Into the deepest recesses of me

And from there

Like a cancer grow.

- T.G. 

Which perception is Truth? Are they both true?  Does it depend on mood?

I have been considering perception and its powerful influence - how we, with the power of our mind, can choose to view any circumstance with a different perspective and create our future with it.

This week, I challenge my perspective of everything.  I encourage myself to see everything from a positive viewpoint.  With faith and gratitude, I know that all is well.  There is really never anything to fear.

Hope can be a beautiful, angelic creature or we can paint it with fear.  Is there something that we are afraid to hope, for fear that it will never be?  What dream is so important?  What idea do we have to guard so fiercely?  What holds that much power over us - that we would choose to kill hope instead of even trying?

This week, I want to figure that out - and make a change.  I want to dare to hope anything!  Isn't imagining something the first step towards creating it?  I don't want to be afraid to imagine anything!  I want to welcome hope and its sweet song!

LET'S DO IT!  

#fearless #daretodream

Namaste,

T