Your Unique Path

Who’s Asking?

Who are you, anyway? Do you know?  
 
If you’re struggling with this question, welcome to the club. It’s a hard question to answer. 
 
In actuality, you’re like a prism or a mosaic. You’re multi-faced, a diamond in the rough, virgin territory to be explored, a flag looking for a place to plant its stake.
 
 You’re like a three -course meal. Childhood is your appetizer, adolescence is your chopped salad, adulthood is your entre, and old age is your dessert. Of course, this is only if, by chance or design, you’ve been the least bit introspective about your life.
 
The easiest way to discover yourself is through your gifts. These are the places where you shine.
You don’t always know what they are. My 8^th grade teacher, Sister Bernarda, signed my yearbook with the words, “I hope you will use the gifts you’ve been given.”
 
 Even as an adult, I find myself wishing she’d been more specific. I think it boils down to what I’m good at. I sort of know that.
 
Thoughts To Ponder
As a student of metaphysics, I’ve learned that the Sun, astrologically speaking, is where you shine.
 
It’s your gift both to yourself, and to the world at large. In that way, your happiness and sense of fulfillment through utilizing your gifts is far reaching, blessing others in ways you may never realize.
 
To quote the Chaos Theory, “according to The Butterfly Effect, something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wings can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.” Similarly, that’s the effect of using your gifts. You’re that important. 
 
Yes, we all have shadow characteristics. But hopefully, in the time we’re given on the planet, we can transform them into the part of us that shines. Maybe knowing our gifts and transforming our struggles is our life purpose, or mission.
 
It’s Not People Pleasing
Maybe that’s a good definition of who you are. It’s very personal and unique. Taking up your life mission simply to please others, or remain conventional, doesn’t tend to end well.
 
Ultimately, it’s better to follow the unique path your heart knows is true than, to quote Robert Frost, regret “the road not taken”.
 
 
 
 

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Has The World Gone Mad?

Ask Alice

I never read “Alice in Wonderland”, but I‘ve  heard enough about it to know she fell through the rabbit hole and her world turned upside down.

In my opinion, that’s what’s happening here. Our world has turned upside down. The world has gone slap- crazy mad.

Watching the news or reading the newspaper is now fodder for my blog. 

I’ve always considered myself to be open minded, but this craziness is akin to the dentist telling me to “open wider.” This is as far as my mind can stretch.

The Avatars

I can remember when the use of avatars first came out. I was psyched about this. I thought having a little character represent me was a novel idea. However, I wasn’t techie enough to create my own avatar, so I cooled on that trend.

 Actually, not having an avatar represent me hasn’t impacted me in the least. But, avatars are now allowing people to do things they would never do, or at least I hope not, outside of virtual reality.

Let me give you a couple of examples, and this is just from yesterday’s news.

There’s a new virtual world now, and don’t ask me how to get there, but yesterday a woman claimed that her avatar was molested by several other avatars. Really? Did she report it to the avatar police department? I’m sure Lewis Carroll is turning over in his grave. Has he been bested?

Howling at the Moon

The next piece of news, which falls into my “let’s get real” department is the woman who’s now identifying as a wolf. Yes, you read it right…a wolf. Even though she’s two legged, she goes blissfully running through the woods, howling loudly. She’s even designed a wolf outfit, complete with a tail.

I reiterate, the world has gone totally mad. I don’t know how the media anchors report this with a straight face.

I’m all for freedom. But I feel for the wolves. I doubt they’re into inclusion when it comes to two legged adults.

 I don’t know what the answer is, but for now, I think I’ll identify as a mole, and go underground until the world turns right-side up. 

The Great Transport

Ahh…
This morning I used a great little app called “Oak” to meditate. For years, I’ve used the word “one” as my mantra. Today I switched to the breath as my method of focus. Neither is particularly easy, but because the goal is to bring my mind back when it wanders, both methods are effective, albeit equally challenging.
 
As I tell my clients, it’s the bringing the mind back when it wanders that gifts you with the myriad of benefits meditation offers.
 
Fortunately, your mind is just as capable of drifting to a pleasant memory as it is to a present worry.
 
Where Am I?
Today I was transported to my grade school classroom. I attended Catholic school and the entire grade level was comprised of twenty-five students and a Benedictine nun. 
 
I loved school. What gave me the most pleasure was the memory of the open windows in my classroom. In those days, there was no air-conditioning. We were bombarded with fresh, although often steamy, unpolluted air.
 
Why this played such a dominant part in my recollection, I can’t say. I suspect it’s because smells are potent direct transports to the past. Just think about bacon. Where does that take you? If that doesn’t work, think about honeysuckle!
 
Fun At the Red Lights
Open windows also remind me of my first car, a 1971 Toyota Corolla. For some reason, the air-conditioner didn’t work at red lights. My friend, Linda, who was riding shotgun, would humorously suggest I roll up the windows so people wouldn’t think I had no air-conditioning. Ha!
 
Back To Class
As a young junior high school teacher, my classroom had no air-conditioning… again, the reappearance of the open windows. This was not quite the pleasant experience I’d remembered from elementary school. Teachers and students alike were prime candidates for a deodorant commercial!

 So, thanks for accompanying me on my trip, to be trite, down memory lane.
 
That’s my history lesson for the day.