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Purple cauliflower?
Vibrance
When you see a musician grinning, his shoulders bouncing as he nods at the other musicians performing with him, it is obvious he is totally absorbed and in the flow of what he is doing, hearing, and feeling. It was wondrous to see this man play his djembe, an African drum. Vibrantly present in each moment.
Vibrantly present. It is often a challenge to be truly present in the moment, be it in a work meeting, talking through an issue with a family member, at a committee meeting, with one of your kids’ teachers, much less vibrantly so.
Seems to me the vibrance comes from joy. Being truly present is just as valuable as vibrantly, simply a different aspect of being present.
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This passiflora vine absolutely delights me. It is exotic and beautiful. One of the gardeners at a local floral shop recommended it to me when the plant I came in for was gone for the season.
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It is vibrant to me.
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I had never seen a flower like this. Now where to plant it where its vines can grow vibrantly and the deer who are in my yard every day and evening, won’t devour it!
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Passiflora vine (c)MDessein
How am I doing with my 3 Promises of things to absolutely do each day from Jack Canfield’s advice?
Good. Some days one of the things is something I was going to do anyway, some days there are things I go out of my way to do, things I have been putting off!
Yup, I am querying literary agents. I am going to perform at an open mic tonight.
My, oh my, the weeding is ongoing, like for the next decade! Yet, I feel progress even when I only do 10 minutes of it.
Vibrance.~*
Thanks for reading~
Sand softer than silk
Opportunities for personal growth, eh? A couple have gotten my attention and energy in the last few months.
“No blaming, no name-calling, no judging,” has taken more awareness and effort than I expected. I think I do pretty well as far as taking responsibility for when I miss an appointment, forget something or such, and don’t blame anyone or anything else.
Yet I started noticing that when someone pulled out in front of me or rolled through a stop sign, or some action I did not approve of, I tended to call them a body part and judge their intelligence and/or their lack of awareness of the world around them.
My, oh my. This continues to challenge me some, but my awareness is improving. How am I doing on a scale of 1 to 10… we won’t go there yet.
“Let go, release, and trust.” I am enjoying this affirmation from Natalie Ledwell very much. Who knew how much I did the ‘what if?’ mode or imagined negative or half-hearted results. So I do what I can, then I let go of what-ifs, release worries, and trust. Trust the Universe, trust that I’ve done all I can, accept that things fall into place: any of those work.
There is such freedom this gives me. I can mow the lawn, check on literary agent queries, fold my laundry, and put extra pumpkin seeds in my granola without nagging thoughts nudging at me.
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Who knew hen and chicks cactus, sempervivum, grew stalks
that bloomed!
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(c)MDessein
From an article by Jack Canfield I read a couple days ago: he said make 3 promises to yourself each day. Promises that you absolutely will keep, be they simple like drink an extra cup of water today or a larger task you’ve delayed doing. Whatever they are, Fulfill Them each day. He says it will improve your confidence and self-trust. I’ll try it.*
At my daughter’s in the high desert of eastern Oregon last week, my wondrous son-in-law is walking barefoot outdoors and suggested I do the same, as the sand was so smooth and cool in temperature. I was wearing my socks and shoes, thinking that I did not want dirty feet, so politely smiled at him. Later that afternoon, one of the grandkids fell outside and I rushed out of the house to pick her up. As I held her, standing barefoot in that cool, smooth sand, I went, “Ah, this feels so good. Like silk,” and walked slowly back to the house.
May you find sand in your life that is smooth as silk to walk on~
Thank you for reading.
Flamboyant Exuberance
Or perhaps exuberant flamboyance? Either way, these poppies and foxgloves are amazing. And the hundreds of Shasta daisies with some California poppies spouting through. People walking by my house stop to look, point, and some take pictures.
Amazing.
I am amazing.
I am incredible.
I am remarkable.
And some days, I am exuberant.
Say it with me now: I am amazing. I am incredible. I am remarkable.
The stories we tell ourselves, often created and told to us by others. The self-reports we make to ourselves.
Maybe you were taught as a kiddo that you needed to be modest and not say how great you were.
If someone praised your behavior or an attribute of yours, you were not supposed to say, “Yeah! You’re right!”
You are great. You have done wondrous and amazing things.
I get the conceited part. We all know folks who are a bit full of themselves.
Ah, the balance.
Flamboyance can be a wondrous element. Being buoyant is a good thing. Right? Exuberance is joyful and alive. Woo-hoo!
Say it with me now: I am incredible. I am amazing. I have done great things.
I am exuberantly, flamboyantly alive and blooming!
Yes, the querying of literary agents continues. Is all good.
Thank you for reading!
Take Nothing Personally…
Uncategorized
Okay, let’s try that.
So someone says to me, “Those pants look terrible on you.”
I will do my best to respond, not react. And think. Their remark has zero to do with me. It is about their opinion, likes, dislikes, courtesy (or not!), mood, day they’re having, etc., etc.
When I can take nothing anyone says or does personally, it is better for me. If I could learn from their input, I can figure that out.
The excellent book by Don Miguel Ruiz, “The Four Agreements,” has taught me so much over the years, and as I return to it.
– Be impeccable with your word.
– Don’t take anything personally.
– Don’t make assumptions.
– Always do your best.
Take nothing personally is often followed closely for me by not making an assumption about whoever said something off-the-mark to me. O la la.
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Tenacity.
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These foxgloves have it. The little one on the left has a curved stem as it has reached around the steps on my deck to get through and bloom. And bloom.
Tenacity: unrelenting determination , persistence and commitment to completing something.
Like publishing a novel.
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(c)MDessein
Write it. Get it formatted to be acceptable to agents. Do the search for an agent process. Learn about contracts, perhaps contact your attorney.
O la la.
Yup, I am in the agent quest process. I have queried scads of literary agents, will now wait and see who and what turns up. I am excited, pleased, and relieved.
Oh yeah, tenacity! And I take nothing personally as the first few declines come in!
Thanks for reading.