Fall Down Seven Times Get Up Eight

The lesson I learned from the movie The Kingdom of Heaven.

I love the movie The Kingdom of Heaven.  I like everything about it.  It's a sweeping epic that I can watch again and again.

Here's the awareness I got when I surveyed my "state of well being" after the sand storm blew away.  There is a scene in the movie when the main character sees the land he has inherented for the first time. The man beside him says your father was a great man but his lands are not so great. (that's paraphrasing a bit).

The land was desert with little growing.  The main character looking out over the land sees the potential and says they just need water...so they start digging wells and the land is transformed. 

That's what I thought of when I "looked" at my landscape.  There is so much potential there...it just needs some water!  It needs some tending to and nurturing so it can grown into the lush land I know it can be.

So that's what I shall be doing over the next few days...figuring out what "water" is needed to transform my landscape. 

Did you get anything out of your peek at your state of well being?

And the sand storm cleared...

Yes it did! Operation Clear the Sand worked!  I am a great one for doing exercises and seeing what comes out of them. And I never suggest something that I have not done myself.

So when I suggested you visualize climbing a big tree way high up and looking down at your life I did the same thing.  And I was quite surprised to see a sand storm whirling around so dramatically that I couldn't see anything. My "state of well being" where I say I want to live was a whirling blur!

I have to say that was a true reflection of how I have been feeling.  Amazing...self discovery can either send you hiding under the covers or it can lift you up to a new level.  It's a choice.  Hide under the covers and not look at where you are at ( and complain if you are not where you want to be)...or assess it and do something to change it.

I had an awareness this morning about the state of my well being, the sand storm damage and what I need to do now... and it was prompted my my favorite movie...The Kingdom of Heaven. 

I will tell you about that tomorrow.

What did your state look like?

Your state of well being that is.  That was our assignment yesterday.  Pretend to climb a very large tree and look down at our lives...what did we see?

Well sadly to say I couldn't see a thing because there is such a sand storm over my state that it blocks the view!!!  I was in Las Vegas several years ago and the sand/dust/dirt was blowing so hard it was hard to see and it hurt when you were out in it!  That's what it looked like to me yesterday and this morning when I pretended to climb my tree.

And the meaning is quite obvious...I run around so much and kick up so much sand it's hard to see what is what!  I think that happens when you have fallen and get back up.  You have stuff to deal with when you get your footing again.  Sometimes a lot of stuff...sometimes not so much.  For me it's been a lot.

If you have lost your job...you may have debt.  If you have lost your partner...some people date like crazy so they don't have to be alone.  For every reason you may have fallen...there are dozens of ways people cope when they find their footing again.

I work non stop to deal with the income I wasn't producing when I was dealing with my post traumatic stress and the debt that has resulted from that time.  I am also a volunteer guardian for five people who depending on the day can be pretty demanding...I also am working on my websites and my books.  The sand is a flying most days...and because it is... it's sometimes hard to clear the air and see where things are at.

So I would have to say my state of well being is a bit chaotic.  I am thinking I need to imagine a giant fan being pulled into place to clear the air.  In fact I am going to do that tonight when I get home...I want to clear the air.  I want to see how close I am to having the state of well being I say I want.

How about you?  What did you see?

I will let you know how Operation Clear The Sand goes! :) 

Renewal and regeneration aren't just for neighborhoods!

I used some new shampoo this morning that someone gave me...as I looked at the bottle it said it will renew and regenerate my hair!  Fabulous...it got me to thinking that maybe I need to pour it all over me and have it work it's magic on a grander scale :) !

I have been rewriting the past few days about our state of well being...

So how's your state of well being?  Have you been looking at it over the past few days? Need a little renewal and regeneration is some areas? Just asking... I do.

 I am such a work in progress that some days I simply laugh and other days I simply shake my head.  This I know for sure: Life is about being where you are and enjoying what the present has to offer while you keep an eye to where you want to be and continue to move towards it.(I know - that's a lot to know for sure!  LOL)

And three things remain true no matter what:

• things do change
• nothing is absolute
• if you change your view even a bit life can look different.

So with those things being true...with an eye to the big picture...how is your state of well being? 

Need some help...
Try this to help.  Imagine you are climbing a very large tree...it goes way up high into the sky and you are safely climbing to the top with the skill of a very happy little monkey!

Now look down at your life. See the parts from a different viewpoint. Are they working together? Are there pieces missing? If you were to draw a map of your state of well being...what does the layout of the land look like?  HEH!  What a simply excellent idea we just had!  Take out some paper and draw a map of what your state of well being would look like.  Do it now..come on...get some paper and markers. 

I will tell you what mine looks like tomorrow.

PS I do so like markers and big paper but I guess you have figured that out!

 

In honor of David.

I am guardian for a young man named David.  He is something else.  He makes me smile and can drive me nuts.

He lives in a group home and he calls me at least once a day...usually more when he gets home from work to share his day.

This is David.  He called me once and said he and a friend from work were going to sell all their stuff...buy a big RV and drive around the world.  I told him that he could not drive around the world because there was a lot of water and you cannot drive on water.  He would not believe me.  So I told him that I would send him something in the mail and then we would talk more.

I got him a globe. Sent it to him. Two days later we talked about driving around the world again. I asked him to look at the globe. He was.  I said that everything that was blue was water and while to can sail on water in a boat...you cannot drive on water with an RV!  All the sudden he said he had to hang up...he had to call his friend and tell him that the trip was off!

David gets confirmed today.  He has studied for two years and today he gets confirmed.  I will be there to witness and to celebrate.  And this trip he has taken to get to this point...attending church and classes once a week for two years has been quite a journey for David and the people who support him.  It's a trip he has taken with joy in his heart and no RV in sight! :)

I love you David and I am so very proud of you!

I hereby declare this weekend free from "heavy lifting".

I hereby declare this weekend is free from "heavy lifting"! 

That would be the thinking and processing and rolling thoughts around in your head kind of heavy lifting.

So I hereby declare that we are...

Free from thinking where we are and where we want to be. 

Free from worrying about what will come in the mail and what won't.

Free from worrying about what people think of you and me. 

Free from any baggage we usually carry.

Free just to enjoy everyone and everything around us for what it is.

Independence Day is tomorrow and wouldn't it be wonderful to celebrate the fact that we are here.  No matter where that is. We always have the opportunity to make it better.  But we are here. That should be our focus this weekend.

Many of us who have fallen...have come a long way back.  And some have just started the process...and then there are some of you who may be just starting to think about getting back up yet one more time.  Wherever you are on that spectrum the one thing we all have in common is that we have made it this far.

It's like looking at that big map when you enter a shopping mall.  The big red X means  "You are here".  And that my dear friend is something to celebrate!

Let the fireworks begin!

How about a nudge from the universe? Mine came at 5 AM.

I got one this morning...and I am taking note!

I have a routine every morning.  I make coffee...I meditate and pray...there are things I read on line and then I write.  Today...when I rotely started my reading...nothing worked.  It was all dead.  NO connections.

The coffee was on...I did mediate but quite quickly I must admit and then I went on line to read and nothing happened.  It said I wasn't connected.

I will not bore you with how long it took me to figure things out...it's after 7 AM and I started at 5 AM but I did figure it out! And I also got a message loud and clear....which is worth sharing as we head into the weekend.

Actually there are two messages I am taking from this morning...How rotely are you living your life? And what do you take for granted? 

I am more rote than I would like to admit.  You know how I know this for sure? There is road work being done on the next street over.  I take that street to get to the main part of town.  There has been a detour set up for weeks which means I have to turn right out of my driveway instead of left.  Want to now how many times I still turn left?  Almost once a day!!!!

And take things for granted...hmmm let's start with being able to connect with you by turning on my computer.

Today I am taking as a nudge from the universe that is saying...life should be a bit different each and every day and be grateful for what you have in your life especially the things you assume will be there.

Taking things for granted is a sure sign of a lack of gratitude and that may come back to bite you when you least expect it...like 5 AM.

I can take this nudge from the universe and will pay attention. 

I am declaring my days of needing to be knocked on my butt by the universe to get my attention when I ignore the nudges are over. It's like my own Independence day from ongoing knocks on the butt!

I got it...

Let the fireworks begin...

A pause for celebration..we are in month 7!

It's a "pause time".  Pause to look at what you said you wanted to accomplish this year.  Where are you so far?  Halfway there?  Have you started? :)

Do you need to regroup, re-evaluate, reassess?

This has a lot of do with checking our state of well being. We are halfway through the year.  A great time to pause.

This isn't a race.  It's your life we are talking about and mine. 

My focus this year is joy.  Having more of it in my life.  Just saying it doesn't make it so. I need to continue to clear the clutter, stay focus and unplug from things that stand in my way of creating more joy.

What are you focusing on?

Yesterday I asked you to listen to you talk.  What did you talk about? What did you notice?

That talk says a lot about the state you are in.  Today do it one more time and see if your talk falls into categories. 

How much time do you spend complaining?

How much time do you spend talking about others?

How much time do you spend talking about money?

How much time do you spend talking about spiritual things?

How much time do you spend talking about love?

How much time do you spending talking building yourself up? 

How much time do you spend talking building someone else up?

How much time do you spend talking about your plans and goals?

Go ahead...listen and tomorrow we will compare and see what that says about where we are.

Here's a way to take a peek at your well being.

I am working on my list of questions for us so we can check the state of our well being. 

But here is a first step to give us a clue about where we really are, where we are really living...listen to yourself for the next 24 hours.

Just listen. Don't judge. Just listen. And remember until tomorrow. Make a few notes if you need to.  Just observe yourself. How and what you talk about.  Just be you.

See you tomorrow.

How about moving to the state of well being? No packing required!

How about it?  Do you live there already?  The state of well being? Or do you think it's out of your price range? :)

We are two days away from the end of the first six months of the year.  What state are you living in? To be honest in my heart of hearts I would have to say I am living in the state of exhaustion.  Not the most pleasant place to be.

I am living there but planning on transplanting myself very, very soon. :)  I think I am ahead of the game...at least I know where I am.  For years when I worked like a crazy woman I never took the time to figure out how I felt.  I just worked nonstop, one foot in front of the other and kept moving.

I have learned much from my "fall"...I can at least identify when things are out of kilter and when I am in a place I do not want to stay.  That is HUGE for me! Really huge.  Now the key is to build on that knowledge and do something with it.

Tomorrow I will give you a list of questions to ask yourself...to check your state of well-being.  No right or wrong answers.  Just a chance to see where you are living and determine if you need to change zip codes.

See you then...