what's in your tool box?

In order to do a job well, one must have the proper tools. You wouldn't try to build a house with a paint brush any more than you could paint a mural with a hammer. Well, you might be able to paint with a hammer, but it's not likely you'd do the job as well. My dad used to say, "No job is hard if you have the right tools."

I know a thing or two about tools. I am the daughter of a master carpenter, so I've been exposed to what works best for what (job). Among them are various saws (power and hand), drills, hammers (of course!), and assorted other cool tools that will can carve details into the smallest spaces. I love power tools. I'd rather go to the Home Depot than Nordstrom's any day.

Really.

Then there are the other kind of tools. Those used when one is building a different Life. Tools like breathing and focusing and awareness. Books and audio tapes, DVDs and posters. Drums and wind chimes and bird feeders. Oh...and let's not forget Chocolate. An absolute essential for the toughest jobs. (grin) All these are the tools that are most often reached for on a daily basis. Handy tools, all. Tools that I would rather not do without. Ever.

Even the most devout Spiritual Adventurer is going to run into some foulness (on occasion). When this happens, I reach for a tool. Like when someone calls and spews their nastiness. I could have not answered the phone. I could have ignored it completely. And sometimes I do. But then there are times when I'm feeling all empowered and centered, and I think, "Hey. Why not give it a go? How will you know if you don't give it a try?"

So let's say I answer that call. And it turns out to be just as nasty as I suspected. Instead of allowing it to ruffle my groove, I can reach for a tool and handle it. Right then and there. No waiting. No stewing. No suppressing. Handle it. NOW.

Got to give it a go just last night. In the midst of a very fun and happy show, the phone rang. I saw who it was and thought about ignoring it. But then I opted to pick up. Not surprisingly, the caller was just as ugly as ever. I kept it short and did not react to her attempts to unnerve me. Just said what I had to say, calmly and ever so quietly, and hung up the phone.

The moment I did, I realized my heart was racing and my breathing had become shallow. SHEESH! In less than two minutes. But rather than staying in that sweat, I got up, went to my outdoor sanctuary, with drum in hand, and just sat for a while. Beat on that drum and breathed deeply with every stroke. Closed my eyes and listened for the Tree Whispers. Within moments I was back to Center again. Just like that! I'm talking moments here, not hours. Wind and Sun and Nature Songs...right back to Center. Right back to calm.

I love that I reach for those tools now. Because there was a time when I'd have gotten myself in a tizzy over something so lame. I'd have carried that crap around with me for days on end. I'd have made myself sick over something so stupid as ugly words. But no more. Not ever again.

Today I can reach for that tool box and choose the most appropriate tool for the job. And that, my friend, is a marvelous thing!

So tell me....what's in your tool box?

No lingering. No loitering. No wallowing.

Even the most joy-focused folks have their moments. It happens. No need to get all freaked out, you know? I mean, I'm guessing that even people like the Buddha had his moments of imbalance. And if you believe the bible stories, so did good ol' J.C. Remember that one about him going off in the temple? Come on. Nobody has their bliss 24/7. So, if or when it happens, best thing you can do is just take a breath and ride it out.

I am blessed to know lots of very positive people. 'Course, most of that has to do with the fact that I won't abide icky energy in my world. I can spot that stuff in a New York minute, and when I do, I high-tail it for the nearest exit. No thankyouverymuch. I'd rather have fewer friends than load up on long lists and have them bringing me down at every turn. Just doesn't make much sense. Besides, when you are positive, you tend to draw the same kind of folks anyway. No work, all good.

In those moments when I'm wrestling the demon, I tend to do one of a few things:

• Find something to laugh about.
• Look around at all the treasures of my world.
• Go for a walk with my curly white dawg.
• Put the headphones on and just B-R-E-A-T-H.

OR

• Call one of my darling friends.

I listed that last one last because I don't often call when I'm in a funk. Just don't like to spread the germs. Also don't want to tell the story. Just makes it grow. Not smart. Not useful. And certainly not conducive to getting out of the funk. Most of my friends know this; some of them are so tuned in to my energy (and vice versa) that even if I don't call, they'll call me...at just the perfect moment...and ask, "You doin' okay? Getting a real weird vibe over here."

Uncanny.

They also know that I don't like telling those kinds of stories ("Oh. I'm in a snit. I have this and that going on and it's making me NUTS. Blah blah blah.") I prefer to tell the good stories, even if I'm just making them up. I do that sort of thing when I get too "real world". Because for the most part, I think this thing we call "real world" is pretty much an illusion anyway. It's gotta be. Otherwise, how do you explain one person seeing a thing one way, and another person seeing the very same thing in a totally different way? Illusion. We think it. We create it. We see it as we think it. The more I remember all that and put it to practical use, the more I'm convinced that it really is an illusion. And for me, it works beautifully.

So then...back to the funk....

I'm thinking that every now and then when we hit those spots, we might like to have some "tools" handy. Tools like the aforementioned things I do when I arrive in said "spot". Those tools are not only handy, they're efficient. Efficient in that they allow me to get outta there right quick.

No lingering.
No loitering.
No wallowing.
Because, after all, joy is a CHOICE.