Wonder

What constitutes wondrous abandon? Percipient conversations with loved ones or people of interest? Listening to your favorite sounds? Watching the August Harvest Moon rise?

I like when I get that pit in my stomach of wondrous abandon. The late summer Harvest Moon rising over Lake Michigan REALLY does it for me. The deep, warm red hues, blazing with yellow - shining on the fresh water sea. The mid night of the sky, stars twinkling. The "ah" you feel in your spirit witnessing such sycophancy from nature!

I love summer.

Shaklee

Originally I discovered these products by visiting Oprah.com while I was researching something else. I have extremely sensitive skin so going green has been a lifetime process. Trying different products that won't make me break out. When I discovered that the acne on my forehead was simply from sleeping on a pillow case I washed in a fragrant laundry detergent was a REAL "wake-up" call. Switching to sensitive skin and hypoallergenic things really led me to over a decade of researching and to realizations that we all have sensitive skin! Once our systems reach their own personal toxicity level we break down, break out or get sick! We are all made to be sensitive to harsh products that unnecessarily perfume and enhance. It makes sense. If you can't pronounce it, do you really want that in, on, or around you????

Thank goodness for Shaklee. I am only raving today though because my family and I have just discovered their deodorant! We can not stop smelling our armpits! Really. All day. We just lift up our arms and sniff. All day until night. It sounds gross, but I am serious. This stuff really works.

Well if the sun don't shine

Happy people used to make me sick. All of that smiling. It often reminded me of that old Saturday Night Live skit "Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley" where he talked about "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and dog-gone it, people like me!"
I had fallen into a youthful sedentary place where it was all about me. What about me. What about my feelings...whowho who. I didn't even care about me but I wanted everyone else to! Most of the time I wasn't happy, but I didn't want anyone else to be happy either! I thrived on partying to make me forget who I was, who my friends were and where we were all heading. Is that what the thirties are about? Woo! I am glad that they are over then. While I think I may puke if I read another self-help encounter at Borders, I am firmly beginning to believe, GET WITH IT! This is not a dress rehearsal! This is the show! Get out there every night as if it were your last. Stop trying to figure it all out! We spend so much time figuring! Once we're done figuring, it's over! Spend time living. Spend time loving.

We've covered the pushing aspect. Now let's look at after birth. Once we have moved out of the casing that housed us, we must breathe and embrace. We must engage in life. The sputtering moments of each breath we take. How does that, whatever it is, make us feel at that moment and then onto the next.

It has become so helpful to me to live each day anewed. I don't recollect what someone said yesterday to piss me off. It may be physiological, as I also don't remember what I had for breakfast, lunch or dinner yesterday; and actually I don't really know who I spoke with, or what the weather was like so all this blogging should be helpful for recall. What I do remember is that I felt good. I loved yesterday. I know that each moment of yesterday I was living. Albeit, I may have experienced anger, or even had a mood, but I didn't hold onto it. I held onto the love and spirit of YES! I AM ALIVE! So, I would like to share today to live in the moment. Live well. Live healthily. Live the best quality of life you can and if you don't exactly make it to the level you were seeking to weigh in at, well wake up the next day and give it an equally attentive pursuit. The better you try to live, the longer you will live. Coping is just not good enough. Dig in!

When it rains it pours

Literally. It rained and my basement flooded - AGAIN - it floods everytime there is a heavy downpour. Increasingly there are heavy downpours because of the state of our poor planet. YES - I have turned into the proverbial hippy of the 1960's age from whence I was born! Word for today is "OPTIMISIM"!! Better me, better planet, better you!

How do you find optimism in the face of horrific challenge? The struggles that face us today are many, varied, multipilicative. My challenge today is minute in comparison to those that many of us face, but nonetheless, it took a great deal of self-medication and sheer skill to steer myself away from acting like a natural born lunatic toward the woman who sold me my house! It has been one year. My new house began flooding the first weekend I moved in. The developer, a wonderful woman; with some coaxing began moderate aid but nonetheless, a year later the situation remains unresolved. I would very much like to head her tail right into the closest civil court room! But alas, you get more bees with honey. Unfortunately, there are no more bees -- soon our offspring will have no idea what a bee is. I honestly have not seen a bee all summer...I digress, optimism, in the face of challenges, hmmm. Dig deep. Deep into the bright light which is you. The fundamentals are so basic. Light, happiness, oh hell. It is difficult to stay upbeat. It is difficult to remain composed and not feel rage. For all the times you have and will want to rage, stretch your arms high, take a deep breath! And push.

As Shug sang in her song "Sista" from the motion picture "The Color Purple", "I'm feeling fiiinnnne!".

Taking Time To Be With You

I was recently speaking to someone about forging through this thing called life. Some say it is a rough road. To me it's a constant birthing experience. If anyone has given birth naturally, it is a test of wills. Going against gravity. Going against the natural instinct to rest, stop, die from the hours of agony, yea it is mostly a will full thing. Here inside you is this football that you must pass. The same with life.

Deep in your spirit realm, you recognize a message, whatever that message may be, and your conscience tells you to pursue that message. Be it to move, obtain a higher education, or seek a new job. SO, you push. You push, however small and seemingly insignificant. You make a phone call, or sometimes it begins simply with a thought!
The key to this whole process, I have learned is "uplifting". If you are not a typically uplifting-type person or one who is perpetually happy, well, then uplift others. Staying on a higher road is just quite frankly the only way. Sure you can have a moment of doubt or fear, but in those instances you just reach down and wallow momentarily; feet still uplifted! And keep pushing. You'll be surprised how contagious "uplifting" is!

The other thing is to love you. Not just being arrogant or thinking you are the bomb. REALLY love you and all of your ways. The you inside. The irritating parts of you are still you.

No one owes anyone anything. BUT YOU owe the WORLD everything! Be in touch with your environment. Be in touch with your spirit. Be in touch with Planet Earth. Be in touch with your powerful you. And for goodness sake just push. Whatever comes out on the other side be it a new beginning, a smile or a second chance makes it all worth while. And then you hunker down and do it again.

Welcome to Wellness!

Taking care of ourselves is such a multifaceted task. Where do you begin? Coming from a youthful perspective, "what about fun"?. Once someone has children, they may often begin feeling as if they should be responsible, and certain thought processes begin to fall into place. At least that is what happened to me. I had to keep myself happy in order to keep my son happy! I used to look at happy people and grunt, "What are they so happy about!" Now that I have found JOY I want to spread it!!! Sounds really corny, I know. I just picked up a great word "saccharine". I first heard the word in an old cult favorite of mine, "The Hunger", starring David Bowie, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve. I may have gone a little saccharine, but bare with me. I want everyone to benefit from being well, mentally, physically and emotionally. Too many big businesses are making money off of our misery and it must stop. WE need to be making that money and we need to show ourselves how.