Sometimes if you hold your head just right, you can see the magic happen.
I might as well confess and thus face the fact that I do, yes, most certainly, believe in magic. But before you start telling me there is no such thing as magic, that it is all just hocus-pocus and trickery, hear me out. I truly believe we create our own magic. Just by setting our intention and aligning ourselves with that which is greater than ourselves, the Source, we open ourselves to the magic that happens when focus and faith join hands. Yesterday I spend quite a bit of time making a list of all the to-do's I am currently focussing on. They include the shoulds, the coulds, the oughts and the musts of life. From getting ready for taxes to working on my creative endeavors to pursuing healthy, meaningful relationships to organizing my office, garage and attic. It fast became a very long list. In fact, when it was done, I had to take a nap. Seriously, it really seemed almost daunting to write it all down. On the other hand, though, there was something liberating about getting it down on paper and reviewing it. I thought I would develop a system to track my progress. I would categorize each item. Label priorities by A B C or D or maybe 1 2 3 and so on. Then I realized I was using the creation of a system to avoid actually acting. When I go to the grocery store, I often make a list. It is usually specific and succinct. Then, as I get to the store, I discover, much to my chagrin, that I have forgotten the list! But you know what's amazing to me is that I remember what's on the list and almost always get everything on it and have a very successful shopping trip. That is what making my To-Do list was like. It is in mind at all times now. Today surprisingly enough, I accomplished many of the things on my list. I took my car for its regular maintenance. I took my laptop to the Mac guy for service (the charger had fried we discovered). I took my auntie's mantel clock to the clock guy for repair (it sprung a spring). I investigated some other jobs I need/want done. I did my homework for a workshop I'm in. I of course wrote my morning pages before doing any of the above and I filled a big bag with unwanted, unused clothes from my main closet and cleared another table in my office. It was a productive day. I also made two appointments I had been putting off. Whew. All of the above were on the list. It just seemed to easy to follow through after writing the intention out and pulling up my bootstraps and getting started. It was as if something magical had happened just from the act of writing things down. God* is listening and God will meet you and greet you along the way. Tomorrow I will look at the list again. I am sure as soon as I cross some things off, others will appear. That's called circulation and its a good thing. The point is you can't always get where you are going without some kind of map. Feel free to remind me of that the next time you see me suffering a bit of inertia or lack of focus. The magic happens when you state your intention. ************* *What I call God some call Spirit, the Source, High Power or whatever is your inspiration. I also know some don't believe in any of that. Yet aligning yourself with all the Universe has to offer you is not really a bad idea.
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I received the following in an email earlier today from a dear friend. It was surprising to me how many of the phrases I grew up with now seem like a foreign language. Then I remember the 60s, the 70s, the 80s and so on. Each had their own "language". So whether you are a native speaker of the following words and phrases or a young'in who dabbles in archeology, have a read and see if you understand what is being said. I could and I fear that really dates me. LOL "Are you Copasetic? Those of you who are seniors will have a great time with this. The rest will only wonder what some of this means. The last two paragraphs are a must read. WORDS AND PHRASES REMIND US OF THE WAY WE WORD. There are old expressions that have become obsolete because of the inexorable march of technology. These phrases included "Don't touch that dial," "Carbon copy," "You sound like a broken record" and "Hung out to dry.” A bevy of readers have asked me to shine light on more faded words and expressions, and I am happy to oblige: Back in the olden days we had a lot of moxie. We'd put on our best bib and tucker and straighten up and fly right. Hubba-hubba! We'd cut a rug in some juke joint and then go necking and petting and smooching and spooning and billing and cooing and pitching woo in hot rods and jalopies in some passion pit or lovers’ lane. Heavens to Betsy! Gee whillikers! Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! Holy moley! We were in like Flynn and living the life of Riley, and even a regular guy couldn't accuse us of being a knucklehead, a nincompoop or a pill. Not for all the tea in China! Back in the olden days, life used to be swell, but when’s the last time anything was swell? Swell has gone the way of beehives, pageboys and the D.A.; of spats, knickers, fedoras, poodle skirts, saddle shoes and pedal pushers. Oh, my aching back. Kilroy was here, but he isn’t anymore. Like Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle and Kurt Vonnegut’s Billy Pilgrim, we have become unstuck in time. We wake up from what surely has been just a short nap, and before we can say, “I'll be a monkey’s uncle!” or “This is a fine kettle of fish!” we discover that the words we grew up with, the words that seemed omnipresent as oxygen, have vanished with scarcely a notice from our tongues and our pens and our keyboards. Poof, poof, poof go the words of our youth, the words we’ve left behind. We blink, and they’re gone, evanesced from the landscape and wordscape of our perception, like Mickey Mouse wristwatches, hula hoops, skate keys, candy cigarettes, little wax bottles of colored sugar water and an organ grinder’s monkey. Where have all those phrases gone? Long time passing. Where have all those phrases gone? Long time ago: Pshaw. The milkman did it. Think about the starving Armenians. Bigger than a bread box. Banned in Boston . The very idea! It’s your nickel. Don’t forget to pull the chain. Knee high to a grasshopper. Turn-of-the-century. Iron curtain. Domino theory. Fail safe. Civil defense. Fiddlesticks! You look like the wreck of the Hesperus. Cooties. Going like sixty. I'll see you in the funny papers. Don't take any wooden nickels. Heavens to Murgatroyd! And awa-a-ay we go! Oh, my stars and garters! It turns out there are more of these lost words and expressions than Carter has liver pills. This can be disturbing stuff, this winking out of the words of our youth, these words that lodge in our heart’s deep core. But just as one never steps into the same river twice, one cannot step into the same language twice. Even as one enters, words are swept downstream into the past, forever making a different river. We of a certain age have been blessed to live in changeful times. For a child each new word is like a shiny toy, a toy that has no age. We at the other end of the chronological arc have the advantage of remembering there are words that once did not exist and there were words that once strutted their hour upon the earthly stage and now are heard no more, except in our collective memory. It’s one of the greatest advantages of aging. We can have archaic and eat it, too. I hope you are Hunky Dory. See ‘ya later, alligator!" 1/13/2016 1 Comment On Becoming a Patient PatientIf you live long enough,your doctor develops Alzheimer's and has to retire. Your eye doctor becomes physically challenged and has to retire. Your dentist sells his practice and retires, then your favorite assistants and hygeinists cut back and then retire. And then all your healthcare professionals suddenly are much younger than you. They all look like they just got out of college...or worse, high school. You are putting your care and comfort in the hands of the next generation..or even the next generation after that.
You may not feel like you've gotten any older, but your body tells you differently. And these new healthcare professionals are not the older and wise folk you used to look up to and feel taken care of in their presence. They are not even your peers. The thought crosses your mind that maybe they should be coming to you for advice and sage wisdom as you might know a bit more about certain things that simple life experiences have taught you. But if you are lucky, as I am, they are competent, kind and efficient. Life goes on. Doors close and windows open. There's always a new, innovative way of doing things and, if you wait a while, the old ways become new again. Finally, you learn that's how it is. With age comes wisdom and, if you're smart, patience. That's just the way life is...especially in the realm of modern medicine and healthcare management. Be well. This morning as I was writing my morning pages, I came to wonder whether it is better to have great expectations or to have no expectations. If you have great expectations it seems you hold out for great things to happen in your life. Optimism is your primary state of mind. In your mind's eye, you envision great things happening. On the other hand, if you have no expectations, you are probably never disappointed, but often pleasantly surprised when things go well. Now of course there is the three option...to have catastrophic expectations, but in my humble opinion, that is not really a healthy way to live. Remember the fable of Chicken Little? What a sad way to live.
So, back to the debate in my mind between having great or having no expectations. I have to say there is a middle ground there somewhere. I think it good to be optimistic. Pessimism seldom gets you where you want to be. I also think it is good to be realistic. Taking on any activity or commitment with no expectations of what the results will be, leaves things up to a force beyond our control. But what about having goals? Dreams? Wishes? Desires? I say "Yes!" Those are all very important. I guess what it boils down to for me is that having great expectations means you have some attachment to the outcome. And it is attachment that might cause pain and suffering, especially when things don't go the way you would like them. And, truthfully, how often does that happen to us? Ya, I thought so. So that's what I'm looking for today. A balance between goals and desires and the reality of what can be achieved. It really is only when you are putting your all into whatever you are doing that you have any right to have any expectations at all. I wonder what God expects of us? I expect God just wants us to be who we are, kind to each other and dedicated stewards of all that has been given us. I don't think you even have to believe in God to be able to have those expectations. I went for my sort-of annual physical today. I say sort-of because I'm not real good at the annual part. I seldom let it go too long, but sometimes it can be 18 months or even two years. But mostly it is within the acceptable loose definition of regular. I even remembered to fast so that the labs could be done immediately after the appointment! I have a wonder doctor at Kaiser. She is young...probably in her thirties. She is bright and witty, pleasant and upbeat. And I feel like she is definitely listening and definitely concerned. And she always allows enough time for me to express concerns and issues I may be experiencing. I am fortunate that most of my issues are small. Blood pressure a bit high, cholesterol a tad above desirable and weight...well, we won't go into that. I know I need to pay better attention to what I eat and get more...dare I say it...exercise. So I asked for some help. The doctor referred me to some specialists and programs. I respond better when I am held accountable. I think most people are. I am making some changes. I may even use that gym membership I've had for a while. It's time. Putting out here is just part of the declaring publicly your intentions. Yipes. (I haven't yet hit the save and publish button, so if you are reading this, you can believe I am throwing caution to the wind and moving full steam ahead). In any case, I know how I live my life and manage my health is up to me. Doctors are human. They can only advise and assist. It is up to me to educate myself and take the steps I need to take to "thrive". And so, in this New Year, I take the steps, one step at a time, toward a better me. |
Rob McMurray,
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