Bon Voyage....(again!)

And so, another trip 'round the Sun begins.

It's always a bit weird for me. This whole time thang. It doesn't seem possible that I have been on this marvelous Planet for six decades. But, according to the records, I have. Each time someone asks me, "How old are you?", I always need to stop for a moment to think about it. I even do the math in my head. Like somehow, it will make more sense if I do the math.

Weird, I tell ya.

So yesterday, whilst at my darling sister's home, watching her prepare the Feast, I said aloud, "Sixty. Can you believe THAT?" My sister said that she, too, had to do the math (she is eight years my junior) and the tone in her voice suggested a bit of bewilderment too. As if it weren't possible that I could be that age. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that, despite her being the "younger" sister, she's always taken care of me as an elder sister would. Such is the makeup of our respective personas. She is much more the "grown up". I am...not so much.

Funny how that works.

Anyhoooo...

This morning, when I rose from my bed, it occurred to me that I was beginning yet another voyage 'round this fiery ball we call our Sun. And my first thought was, "Guess I ought to pack my bags." An odd thought first thing in the morning. But there it was. Pack your bags and get ready for another year-long adventure. Because now, that's what it is for me. An adventure. I don't know what's coming. I have no clue about the surprises around the next turn. There is no way for me to foresee the challenges OR the bounties that lay ahead. And, near as I can tell, that is precisely what makes it so much fun. The not knowing is no longer scary to me. Now, it is what makes every day feel like Christmas morning. What new gifts will appear, waiting to be unwrapped?

I've never been good at "long-term" goals. I used to try. Really I did. But somehow along the way I realized that I'm just not one of those people. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda gal. In some ways, it's made for a pretty exciting Life. In other ways, it's been my curse. But no matter how I choose to look at it (and, let's face it, it IS a choice.), the bottom line is this:

I love my Life. It has been hard and easy and fun and scary and full of deep Love. For that, I will always be grateful. And what is to come...well, I'm happy not knowing.

That is, after all, the FUNNEST part of Life.

Put on Your Cape

Nearly two years ago, I set out on a glorious new adventure into the world of Art. Since that first day, when I began gathering the tools of my chosen art form, my box of goodies has grown, as has my skill. When I look back on those first pieces, I'm astonished at how far I've come. And pretty thrilled with my progress.

Braving new paths can often be daunting. Lots of folks never take that first step, allowing their fears of inadequacy to stunt their expansion. I'm not one of them. I have come to know that Life is nothing but a string of first steps, waiting for us to rise up to the challenge(s). Now, more than ever, I embrace those challenges. I look forward to facing my personal doubts. I giggle at the voices that try so hard to stop me. I do it...anyway. As a result, the happy surprises keep coming. With each new piece I create comes a clearer picture of what I CAN do. It's as much a thrill as it is a liberation. In short, I have found, daring to brave the dark waters of doubt is worth every goose bump those waters evoke.

And sometimes, I wear my cape.

how do YOU do it?

Are you a person who invites new experiences? Are you someone who enjoys the unknown adventure? Do you find yourself excited at the prospect of trying something you've never tried before? Does the idea of "new" foster exhilaration or dread?

I've often wondered why it is that most "grown-ups" are loathe to try new things. Not in the sense of a new car or a new couch or new clothes. Mostly folks get pretty excited about that kind of new. I'm talking about the "new" of experience. A new job. Or a new city. Or a new path. "New" as in "never-before-experienced". For the most part it appears these same folks view "new" with great apprehension....and large fear.

Why is that? When do we lose the eager anticipation that was so common when we were kids? How is it that we view "new" as "scary"? Doncha wonder about that?

As I prepare to embark on yet another new adventure, I find myself as eager as I was the first time my parents told us we were going on vacation. I was about 12 at the time; we'd never been on a real vacation before and the prospect of going to some new place, doing all manner of new and exciting stuff was almost more than my little head could handle. I was so excited I could hardly sleep. I was bouncing off the walls for weeks, likely driving my parents nuts. I was....AGOG! They told us there would be horseback riding and hay rides and hiking expeditions. They said there would be lots of other kids to join in the fun. They said that we would be there for a whole week...and when you're 12 years old, a whole week seems like a life time. I couldn't wait to get there.

I did not, in all my musings, ever feel one iota of dread or fear. I didn't think about poison ivy or bee stings or getting thrown off the back of a horse. I didn't even consider there might be kids I didn't like. None of those things even occurred to me as I waited for the day of departure to arrive. All I thought about was all the fun "new" stuff I was going to do.

I can still remember those feelings of anticipation. I can still recall the thrill of arriving at that resort and seeing all the other kids playing in the pool. I remember the smells and sights and sounds of that place as if I'd gone yesterday. And every time I think about it, I get excited all over again. Feelings that I carry with me any time I am faced with something "new" I am about to experience.

I think it's so much more fun to anticipate new experiences with this kind of attitude. It sure beats the hell out of dread. Beyond the fun factor, there is also another huge advantage to that kind of eagerness: it is the difference between enjoying the "new" and .... not so much. It is the difference between expecting the best and fearing the worst. It is....the driving force behind every end result.

What I mean is: you get what you expect. Every single time. If you're expecting something awful to happen, you're most likely going to have something awful happen. If, on the other hand, you're expecting the very best to come from this new experience, you will, more often than not, get exactly that. The very best. Even if the "new experience" happens to be something that is, by most others, considered to be terrifying. It just depends on your own personal perspective. If you're terrified, it's most likely going to be a terrifying experience. If you're anticipating some fabulous result, then you're quite likely to see that fabulous result in short order.

Know what I mean?

I'm offering this up today in joyful response to a brandy new adventure I am about to embark upon. I want very much to share the happy expectations so that you might tweak your own perspectives just a tiny bit. So that the next time you are met with some "new" thing, you can make up your mind....immediately...to enjoy the process with the eagerness of a 12 year old going on her first vacation.

Pack your bags! It's gonna be a BLAST!

The Soul Will Not Be Denied

It never ceases to amaze me; this aversion to change that we, as puny humans, have. Why is that? Why do we fight so hard to remain where and who and how we are? What is it that makes change so danged scary? 

Just think about it. We 'start out' as a smear of body fluids. Two different fluids that come together to create 'new life'. Then, as these fluids converge and incubate, they become a mass of actual tissue. And then...a 'being' with toes and fingers and organs and such. Without 'change', those fluids could never become the physical beings that come forth into the world. And from conception to birth...and beyond...change is the only constant. The alternative? DEATH.

{and that's a whole 'nother story. but we don't need to go there right now.}

Anyway, the whole 'change' thing is really the mystery here. Or rather, why so many folks are averse to it. Without change all the world would cease. Without change, we would never experience all the loveliness and excitement and bliss of growth. Even when it seems so painful, change is essential to our ongoing evolution. We MUST change if we are to live. Really live. Change is the yeast required for expansion. Change is the only constant. Change is....L-I-F-E.

Maybe the reason we resist change so much has more to do with attitude than anything else. Were we to see change through our child's eye instead of our stodgy curmudgeon's eye we might not be so frightened. Tell a child about some new adventure they're about to begin, and they get all kinds of excited. Tell an "adult" the same thing, and they cringe in their skin. 

NO! NO NEW ADVENTURES! DON'T MAKE ME DO IT! I LIKE IT WHERE I AM!

Funny thing is, even when we don't like where we are, we're still averse to change. We'd rather stay in the familiar ickiness than explore the unknown.

How's that again?

Seems to me there's something very disturbing about this aversion to change. It is unnatural to want to 'stay' where we are. It is simply not the way things work. Change is essential to evolution. On all kinds of levels. Change is not something that need be feared, but embraced. It is the Life Force in action. It is what allows us to become who we came here to become. In short, it is the Soul's way of telling us that It will not be confined. The Soul speaks of change as the Sun speaks of warmth. The Soul knows that it must expand, continually, else it returns to the Ethers from whence it came. The Soul will not be denied.

There is a marvelous surge of powerful energy that comes when one opts to not merely accept change but to actually invite it. To say out loud: YES! It is time for a change. Let's get to it!

When one approaches change from this perspective, everything becomes more alive, more exciting, more MORE. And the beautiful thing about this perspective is that it allows one to address the emotional pieces beforehand. It allows for the child's emergence. It makes the whole experience an adventure rather than a dreaded 'task'. It is, to this Changeling, the thrill of the ride we came here for. 

So why fight it? Why be afraid? Change is what Life is all about. I say, seize the chance to change! It's really the funnest thing of all!