Whoa

I always tend to get a little frustrated at this time of year. This time of year is also around my birthday, and so my juices really get flowing, thinking about what I want in the new year. I get excited about the little tweaks that I want to make in myself and in my habits, and I get electrified about the adventures that I want to plan, and to go on. I get revved up like a racehorse, chomping at the bit, in a starting gate. I want to “Go!” And sometimes the holidays feel like an annoying distraction. Sometimes the holidays feel like this inching along, tedious, busy work detour to go through, before I get to the place where the starting gate is able to be open once again. And as I write this, I realize that this is a terrible attitude.

You have to get to the finish line before you start the next race. And you have to take a slower paced victory lap, in order to build your stamina, and to catch your breath before you are ready to start a new race. You have to process what you did right in your last run, and where there is room for improvement. You must take the time to rest, and to celebrate your growth and the experience which you gained, and to integrate these aspects of wisdom into yourself, before you start galloping off again. A deliberate slowdown is important, and this celebratory, introspective time is not meant to be rushed through. The holidays are the time to cool off, to stand still, and revel in the adornment of the “Garland of Roses”, celebrating another year lived in your own precious life. To run races, one right after another, again and again, is just not sustainable. So, in short, whoa Nelly! (Or in my case, whoa Kelly!) The new race is right around the corner. Take a breath. Rest, reflection, and revelry is every bit as important as racing onward.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Monday – Funday

credit: @woofknight, Twitter

Our eldest son came home for the holidays yesterday. If our son didn’t realize how excited his mom and dad were for him to be here, our dogs made sure to show him. To be as uninhibited as a happy dog, should be on all of our holiday wish lists this year.

Speaking of dogs, I had sort of a mystical experience this weekend, when I opened up a box of a Christmas wreath which we never put up, but we keep in our attic year after year. In the box, was only the wreath and a small, white satin pouch. I opened the pouch and I found an ornament with a picture of Lacey, my first collie and the dog who transformed me and loved me like no other dog in my life. I do not recall ever buying, or seeing this ornament. It touched my heart deeply and I felt connected to the spirit of Lacey and all the love she gave to me and our family. This ornament will be the centerpiece of this year’s tree.

I wrote about Lacey, years ago, here:

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Friend Zone

****Happy Birthday, to my blue-eyed (yes, they’re blue!) baby. Your intelligence, truthfulness, humor, and resilience has me in awe, always. I’m so proud of you and excited for your next big steps! Your mama always has your back.****

“a sitcom about a friend group where not everyone is in every episode because they have other friends they like to hang out with sometimes” – @Dave_Horwitz

“We need to start talking about abusive friendships where there’s shaming, jealousy, or different levels of emotional manipulation. Abuse isn’t something that only happens in romantic relationships.” – Dr. Nicole LaPera

I had a fascinating text exchange with good friends of mine yesterday. One friend was lamenting as to whether she wanted to go to a neighborhood Christmas party or not, because a “frenemy” in that group recently posted a picture of a more exclusive holiday experience with just a few people in their long-standing neighborhood friend group. There was a lot more to this story, and it’s not my story to tell, but it brought up a broader, interesting conversation about friendships, in general.

Who hasn’t been in situations like these? When our children were little we lived in a huge neighborhood in North Carolina with a neighborhood pool club, which served as ‘neighborhood central’. Our local elementary school was primarily just for our neighborhood. Our friendships were mostly created by having children in the same age groups. It was honestly a wonderful, love-filled experience for us, and for our children, and we all have fond memories of living there. But, of course, no friend groups exist without drama. There were inevitable cliques, and underhanded, toxic situations that demanded that people “take sides”. There were brutal betrayals, and as children grew up and many of us moved on to different pastures, “what was” is now just a fond memory, with the hazy edges of letting the bad stuff fall off, and the good stuff still be at the heart of the memories.

In our discussion about friendships, one friend noted that she has been burned enough in friendships, that she finds that she experiences more social anxiety than she ever has before. Even with us all being in our fifties and older, and being older and wiser, we still worry about what people think about us, even though logically, we all know better than to do so. As the wisdom is often said – “What someone thinks of me, is none of my business.”

My own experience in my friendships, since I was a kid, was to stay in my comfort zone, i.e. “on the peripheral.” I’ve always been a wanderer. I’ve been included in a lot of different groups throughout my life. My nerdy book club friends have always been every bit as important to me as my fun, party friends, and my longtime, “I knew you when” friends, and my intimate soul sisters, who got together in an organic fashion to understand how to help each other to feel better. Thankfully, I am married to my best friend, so I’ve never felt a need to find “a bestie” outside of our relationship. I’ve always been welcomed by a lot of different kinds of people, but I’ve never been anyone’s “maid of honor.” And I’m cool with that fact. I feel safe and free and less committal on the periphery. I find that there are less expectations, less drama, and less likelihood of really angering someone, when you are on the periphery. It helps that I like being by myself a lot, too. Perhaps I am my own best bestie? I don’t know how to armchair psycholize myself in regards to my friendships, other than to say, I am mostly pleased and satisfied with my friendships in my life and my place in them. Do my feelings occasionally get hurt when I am not included in something? Of course. I’m human. But ultimately, I’m satisfied with the relationships in my life. Being a satellite sister is the right place for me.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Feel Good and Figa Friday

Below is the feel good video of the season, in my mind. It’s my favorite holiday video that I’ve seen so far. You know that this little girl is deeply loved. (and she knows it, too)

https://twitter.com/i/status/1600992072571330560

I needed this video. Yesterday I was running holiday errands. We have a teeny little UPS store right around the corner and it was filled was people. I was sending numerous packages and I was being helped by a sweet, but obviously newbie employee, so the process was painful and crawling. A horrible cat fight ensued right beside me, by an enraged “Karen-like” customer (who had her dog in tow) and the equally enraged female manager. The f-bomb was poppin’ out like Rudolph’s red nose, fully aglow. They were screaming at each other and saying things like, “You should have remembered to take your meds!” and things were being thrown. It was like something out of the Real Housewives. It could have escalated to that crazy scene with Beth and Summer in the last episode of Yellowstone, but thankfully someone called the police. I was so tempted to leave, but the line behind me was out the door. Needless to say, my nerves were shot. (But my packages did get sent.) One old man behind me muttered, “I wish that these New Yorkers would stop moving here!” (which didn’t help defuse the situation and I honestly don’t think either woman was a New Yorker. In my experience, New Yorkers are usually very nice.) Anyway . . . .

Today is Friday!!! And Friday’s are devoted to favorite things, products, books, etc.! I don’t get deep, introspective or philosophical on most Fridays. Today’s favorite of mine is fascinating. This is the artwork of Alexis Berger who has a wonderful site on Etsy. She makes a lot of interesting glass jewelry, but my favorite items that she designs, makes and sells are her figas which can be viewed (and purchased) here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AlexisBerger?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=1098881296&section_id=13920727

What is a figa or “mano figa” (meaning fig hand)? Alexis writes her explanation here:

Did I purchase one? You bet your figa, I did! The fabulous figa does not disappoint and Alexis also sells lovely beaded, crocheted cords to hang your figa on, to wear or to display. Mano up and buy yourself a figa for Christmas.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Full Moon

credit: @STONEHENGE, Twitter

We experienced an absolutely gorgeous full moon last night, didn’t we? It’s the last full moon of 2022. It is said that full moons are an excellent time to let go of things that no longer serve your greater good. What needs to be let go for you at this time? What are you hanging on to that needs to be released for your well-being? What can you release to lighten the load as you travel into 2023?

Lately, I’ve been doing daily guided meditations by Chani Nicholas and I love the wording that she chooses to use. When doing a body scan meditation she asks, “Where on your body do you feel a “grip?” Where is the “grip”?” She says to get “curious” about yourself (not judgmental, just interested). Why might you be feeling a “grip” in a certain part of your body? What can you let go that might soften that “grip” – that “grip” that has a hold of you?

“Channel the energy. Don’t let the energy channel you.”@bigempressenergy

 “I feel like the moon is a very beautiful woman. She’s in control.” —Ravyn Lenae

 “There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.” —George Carlin

“Those are the same stars, and that is the same moon, that look down upon your brothers and sisters, and which they see as they look up to them, though they are ever so far away from us, and each other.” —Sojourner Truth

Be both soft and wild. Just like the moon. Or the storm. Or the sea.” —Victoria Erickson

“With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon who could not be happy?” —Oscar Wilde

“Don’t worry if you’re making waves just by being yourself. The moon does it all the time.” —Scott Stabile

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Get Your Sh*t Together, Portia

I am an ardent fan of this new season of The White Lotus. Sunday’s finale can’t come soon enough, even with everything that I need to be getting done this week. If you are squeamish about sex and nudity, avoid the show, but otherwise, indulge! The White Lotus is so intriguing and the characters are fascinatingly flawed, and thus extremely interesting to get to know. Jennifer Coolidge plays Tanya, the only main character from the first season to return. Tanya is an insecure, emotionally immature, aimless, only child who has inherited half a billion dollars. She is ridiculously needy and oblivious. In short, no one really should take any advice from Tanya, but in the scene below she doles out advice to her assistant, Portia. Her bottom line is “Get your sh*t together, Portia.” (I imagine that this line is quickly going to become one of those cultural meme taglines, if it isn’t already)

There was a time in my life, that if I were Portia, I would have thought, “You must be kidding, Tanya. Who the hell are you to ever tell anyone to get their sh*t together?” I would have scoffed and brushed it off quickly. In short, I would have “shot” the messenger.

However, I am older and wiser now. Some of the best advice I have ever gotten has come from people who have learned things the hard way, through difficult experiences. Their advice comes from an earnest hope to help others avoid the same miserable difficulties which they have gone through. Experience is always the best teacher, but if you can vicariously learn from other people’s experiences, this really helps to dodge some scary bullets. As an eldest child, I have always felt a special empathy for my own eldest child. The eldest child tends to make a lot of mistakes that the younger siblings (if they are smart) learn to avoid making themselves.

For years, trying to work through “stuff” on my own, I avoided therapy. I was told that therapists just went to school to study psychology in order to fix themselves. I wasn’t going to take any advice from any messed up person who needed fixing. But then I lived long enough to realize everyone needs some fixing. I have never met one person in my life who has all of their “sh*t together” in every facet of their lives. So then it occurred to me that perhaps it is not such a bad thing to get advice from a person who is self-aware enough to admit that they need some fixing, go to school for it, and then try to help others with their gained knowledge. So back in the 1990s, I went to therapy for the first time, and I learned all about narcissism, boundaries, gaslighting, codependency, etc. And now I look at the internet and I see that the whole world is just catching up to these terms and their meanings, which helped me immensely, decades ago.

The gist of this post is “Don’t shoot the messenger.” But don’t put the messenger on a pedestal either. The messenger, no matter who they are: a therapist, a minister, a priest, a yogi, a rabbi, a writer, a relative, a friend, a boss, a mentor etc. is just another flawed human being, just like you and me. Trust your own intuition. If the message resonates deeply, the message is meant for you to learn from it and to gain knowledge and wisdom from it. If the message seems a little “off” to you, trust your inner judgment, even if the message is coming from someone whom you deeply respect. Messages often come from the most unusual, and unlikely sources. And don’t discount good messages either, just because you later find out that the messenger was not the perfect angel of God whom you had built them up to be. (That’s on you.) The message itself was always the gold that shows you that the answers that you need, are always deep inside of you, yourself. The messengers whom we come across in life are just people, who are working on their own sh*t, who are used as the vehicles to pass on this gold of unveiled understanding and wisdom that resonates from the depths and the portals of our own souls.

So I say to you (and to me) today, “Get your sh*t together.” If you feel like this message resonates, run with it. If not, discard it. And know that I am just a writer, a scribe, a person with a passion for the written word. I have my merits and I have my warts, but my message is its own separate entity. Don’t shoot the messenger.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

An Early Gift

How’s everyone doing this holiday season? As I say to my family, “I’m taking your temperature. How does it read?” I’m doing alright. I find that I am only able to handle my extra holiday stuff/chores in spurts. When I feel the mojo, I order some presents, or I make sure to tip the mail carrier. My husband and I still haven’t gotten our Christmas decoration mojo going yet, which is admittedly a little embarrassing, particularly at night, in our brightly lit, merry, “in the spirit” neighborhood, but honestly, not quite embarrassing enough to do anything about it.

I think what is difficult about the holidays is that regular life doesn’t stop. Our kids are headed into their finals, at their challenging universities. We have to help make decisions regarding a family member’s health. We still get the sniffles and various aches and pains. We still have to keep up our “appointments” – doctor, dentist, work, vet, haircuts, etc. Our own family also has birthdays and a graduation to celebrate. When I look at the illustration above, I can remind myself that I can decide how many extra decorations and bright lights (in the form of commitments) that I want to add to my schedule this year. The world won’t stop if my Christmas cards become New Years cards, or don’t even come into being at all. My neighbors will know that I am still their caring neighbor, even if I just put a wreath on the door this year. If we finally break down and buy an artificial tree, it will still house and protect our beautiful, meaningful ornaments and there are plenty of pine scented candles available to purchase and light.

Perhaps the best gift which we can give to ourselves this holiday season is a break. I will help you. Here is your gift, your gift of “a break”. We are giving ourselves this gift of a break early, when we can actually use it and it won’t get lost in all of the wrapping and kerfuffle:

And here is what is inside. This is for you to use whenever you need to, holidays and beyond. It’s your gift of “It’s okay.” Use it copiously. It has the magical powers of reenergizing you, and regenerating itself for whenever you need it.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Monday-Funday

In these parts where I live, our large population of part-timers have come back to town. My superpower is in its glory these days. Sigh.

At the company Christmas party over the weekend, I was speaking for a while to a young man who works for my husband. This young man is in his mid-twenties and he is a superstar. His parents are immigrants from Columbia. They have worked blue collar jobs their whole lives, and this young man worked to pay (and earned several scholarships) to put himself through college. He is one of the most reliable, smart, hardworking people who have ever worked for my husband. He is one of the most upbeat, happy people I have ever met. At the party, after him telling me that his rent had not gone up at all, and also about some winnings that he had won recently, out in Vegas, I said to him, “C, you seem like a really lucky person. Do you consider yourself to be a lucky person?”

He said, “Wow, I was just talking to a friend about this yesterday. I think that I am very lucky, because bad things don’t happen to me.”

This statement jarred my mommy heart and I started panicking thinking about the fact that unfortunately bad things eventually happen to everyone. “C, do you feel equipped to handle bad things when they will happen?” I asked him with sincere concern.

“I don’t think that I will recognize bad things, because bad things often turn out to be good things, you know,” is what C said to me. Wow. C is a naturally lucky person. He has learned to have a fabulous attitude at just the starting gate of his adult life.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Know Your Personnel

Years ago, our middle son played on a travel soccer team with a lot of the same boys year after year. One of the players he played with was an extra-tall, sturdy, solid, brilliant young man who would later go on to college at one of the military academies. This young man was a great defender because he was strong, stubborn and he was hard to get past. He was like a wall. But, he wasn’t fast. He wasn’t tricky and nimble. The defender position, standing solidly, right by the goalie, was the perfect position for this player.

In one game, one of the players passed the ball to this young man and then criticized him when things went awry with an opposing player who was small and crafty and quick. “Know your personnel!” is what my son’s solid teammate loudly barked back to his critical teammate, and rightly so. The teammate seeing the quick and nimble opponent right by the tall, lumbering defender should have known to pass the ball elsewhere. We parents all got a chuckle out of the “Know your personnel!” comeback and so did our son’s team. It became a catchphrase that was often used by all of the team, and even our own family adopted the saying. Here I am, years later, writing about it.

Being fully cognizant and aware of your own strengths and weaknesses, and the strengths and weaknesses of those with whom you live with or you work with, and utilizing these strengths and weaknesses effectively, can make the difference between creating a masterpiece or creating a disastrous mess (all with the same group of people). Taking advantage of placing people with particular strengths matched to tasks that lend to those strengths, is a win-win for everyone. Knowing your personnel, helps to manage everyone’s expectations and stops setting people (including yourself) and projects up for failure.

Know your personnel. Be observant. Be humble. Be amazed and appreciative. Be open to different ways of doing things. Be impressed with the well-oiled machine of a group or an entity that knows their personnel very well, and has strategically placed everyone in positions where they can blossom and grow. When you find yourself disappointed, ask yourself, was this a situation where I ignored what I already knew about my personnel? Can I use this knowledge for better decisions in the future? KYP – you know me. Knowledge is power. Know your personnel.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Differently

I read an excellent article by Karen Nimmo this morning. She writes that when deciding what we want in 2023, we should ask ourselves this question: “What do I want to do differently next year?” She also suggests that we spend some time with this prompt: “I’d like to spend more time . . .”

If we spend some time seriously pondering these ideas, and then actually write our answers down, we can have a template to reflect back on when nasty old habits, routines, and living life on auto-pilot starts inevitably occurring in the new year. We can remind ourselves of what is truly important and nourishing to our souls and we can live 2023 more purposefully than we have ever lived before.

This can be so much for effective than making new year’s resolutions that most people break before February even arrives. I’ve written this before but it bears repeating: Run towards what you DO want, not away from what you don’t want. If you just “run away” you tend to run aimlessly into the first “escape” that appears. If you run towards what you DO want, you have an aim and a purpose and a mission. If you ask yourself why you want what you are running towards, and write those reasons down, too, this will give clarity, passion and understanding to the needs you are trying to meet for yourself.

What do I want to do differently next year?

I’d like to spend more time . . . . .

If you care to share your own answers to these questions in my comments section, I would be delighted to read them. They may spark intriguing, inspirational ideas for me and for my other readers. Thank you in advance. Happy December!!

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.