Everyday success is critical. We move toward the goals, the message on our personal tapes. More is better, kindness is a must, be tough, be cool, be funny, be serious....be dissatisfied. It is all too overwhelming and too much to bear. However, it need not be. Freedom is at hand. Satisfaction may come in small doses and we need to recognize then appreciate them. Don't you think?
Posts
On thing that immediately comes to mind is the saying....Yesterday is the past; tomorrow is the future; today is a gift, that's why it's called the present. I try (keyword here is try) to learn from yesterday, dream of tomorrow, but live the present. Boy, this is really heavy for early on a frosty, very frosty, Saturday morning!
ReplyDeleteI have always had this deep faith in life and in people, even from a young age. Not all people and not every day, but special people in my life who always demonstrated great hope in faith in their hopeless and difficult life circumstances. My life as a child was difficult, full of many struggles and pain, and that is a whole blog in itself. But I always had that little ray of hope inside me and I have carried that through my life, and I have faith that my little ray of hope will continue throughout my life. It is just something in us, and I feel disheartened for those who can't feel that hope and don't have that faith. Every day I open my eyes and jump out of bed, I have a sudden sense of joy that I am still here, and I get another chance to step on the other side of my bedroom door and embrace the day,whatever it may bring.
ReplyDeleteKathy that is so beautiful. I love what you are saying. it is a gift that you have for certain. I work hard to achieve that joy and it is great to have people around who so fully embrace it. You go girl and keep us moving forward. Thanks
ReplyDeleteYou do have that joy, Deb, or you wouldn't be so passionate about what you do. People who care about people have that hope and joy. We have that, and we are okay!
ReplyDeleteI am more comfortable with being curious than being disatisfied. I am satisfied with what I have. I'd like to be like an animal, alert and responsive but with no judgements about what is going on around me.
ReplyDeleteLaurie, not Ailie
I would love to be curious and aware. However I am very much okay with the need for more...I see a community not for the big houses and the white fences lining the street but the shack at the edge with a light on and wonder...can't we do more? why does this shack sit here surely cold inside while the large house with multiple cars sits only walking distance away. Are they both not people, perhaps I fool myself that equality is of material things. Even more to the point perhaps the person reading in the small shack is richer by far!
ReplyDeleteI think the person sitting in the cold shack is far richer in appreciating all that he or she has, and perhaps can feel more compassion for people in the same situation, but I bet they wish the person next door in the big white house would come on over with an armful of wood for the fire, and maybe even come in a sit down for a visit from time to time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful thought...just to come by for a visit from time to time. That is a lost art I fear...Instead I find I prefer to manage when I visit by using things like the internet. I wonder however, what gets lost with that solution. But then I can see, as is the case here in this blog, the wonder of it. So much to learn from one another!
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Scotland, I was struck by how full people's lives were even though their standard of living was palatably lower than Americans. Granted, we all want to be comfortable (and warm) but we also probably need a lot less than we think we need to live fulfilled lives.
ReplyDeletePart of me is very idealistic about a simpler life and yet I wonder, could I ever really live that simple life? I suspect I glorify it just as I used to with a beautiful male specimen. Both as it turns out have significant short comings.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it starts from where we come from. I came from a poor setting, cold drafty house, second hand clothes, government food handouts (the peanut butter was awesome, by the way!)Neglectful parents in many ways, but we always had what we needed to get through every day. Many good memories too. Always a pet to play with, and big back yard to have lots of adventures in. Gramma's house to go to for good baking and lots of love. I remember when we got our first television set. What a event that was!! It was when we still had an outhouse out in the shed. What a contrast! I could give many scenarios, but we lived in a big old house with a little light in the kitchen. Much sadness, painful memories, weaved with happy memories and great adventures created with endless imaginations. No computers or Playstations back then. Now, I often say I would like to give away so much of the stuff we have around here. I could live a simpler life. We don't live in luxury, but we have more than we need. I'm grateful for what I have and for getting where I am, but I am not always happy. I'm not a professional woman, but we all seem to share a common thread of problems, burdens, worries and fears. I find it fascinating and I am honored to share in this with such inspiring women.
ReplyDeleteI think a simple life is one is which we don't over-identify with our possessions, both tangible and intangible. If we define ourselves by what we have, we limit ourselves. But I think it's fine to have stuff. Everything wants to accumulate. Look at rocks with all their fancy lichens! Trees with moss and fungi. And my cats -- they are constantly on the lookout for jewelry and rubber bands and wine corks to play with. But they can walk away from these props at any time. I admire that. They hold things lightly in their little, little minds.
ReplyDeleteWow, I am thinking what roads brought us to this day, to this little place in western Maine and this sharing. Kathy I love the way you describe your growing up--the sweet memories and the sad. The joy, the wonder of childhood and the hardships of a family. Laurie I agree that our "things" do not define us...but yet I still like them. I like my computer, I like my blackberry, my TV and my fireplace. I like giving the grand children cool gifts and colorful hannah anderson, all natural fiber clothes. Though they do not define me I like them..I even like my cats with their little, little minds. Perhaps that is why I like them. Kathy we are all professional women, we wake up, we go to work and try to make a better day for a bunch of folks who deserve better days.
ReplyDeleteThe theme here is "Every Day" and today is a great day. I am so hopeful and excited about the path this great country has chosen to take, and the leader we have chosen to lead us. But today is a sad day, as I learned of the failings of someone who, for whatever reason, was lead to take from those who need us to defend them and protect them from perhaps someone they might trust. It was a day of sharp contrast and reality......
ReplyDelete