HungryForLife

Journals, Chickens, and Zack

Thanks for the loving support and ideas for what to do with my journals. I saved all of my childhood books, and those written for and about my daughter. Then I started with the tough years: the ones with pain and drama that I was definitely ready to let go of. I shredded and waited. Oh there was no regret! I immediately felt released from those bonds and ties of the past. I am complete with what happened in my past, the choices I made, who I used to be. It felt good so I kept shredding! I read a few entries here and there I picked and chose a good sampling of years to keep and filled one crate. I kept many of my smaller gratitude journals as they give a good quick look at what my day/life was like at the time. Huge task complete and it only took a couple hours!

I’ve located a source for organic produce shipped in via a co-op from local farmers and have ordered a free roaming, antibiotic, and hormone-free chicken. They are slaughtered locally (in PA) not at a processing plant—may not be any more humane, what are your thoughts? I’ll let you know what it’s like to eat meat after this whole month; mostly I haven’t missed it.

My daughter (who thinks I’m crazy by the way!) found me this excellent website to locate healthy humanely raised chickens: Just Bare Chicken. Packages of meat have a traceable code so you can track which farm your chicken came from. Unfortunately there are no local distributors for my area but I’m working on that! Their mission:

To provide natural, healthy chicken like nature intended. Unadulterated. Unadorned. Just delicious. With a straightforward, honest commitment to respecting our people, animals and planet.

Our nephew Zack is home with his family! He has a long road of recovery ahead of him and is not ready to see family and friends yet but we think of him and send Zack, his mom Sue, dad Sonny, and brothers JP and Matt all of our love and blessings. I hope you’ll send some love and healing thoughts/prayers Zack’s way. 

Me an artist?

I have followed Patti Digh’s blog and Tweets since I discovered Life as a Verb and gave copies of the book to our maven and CVO and her right hand and COO at AssistU's Community recognition Awards in 2008.

When I missed Patti at a book signing a few hours away from me in Florida she responded via Twitter! I was able to order personalized signed copies as Christmas gifts directly from her. Patti rocks!

I have dabbled in photography and desktop publishing over the years and consider myself a creative person but not a visual artist. Yet when Patti announced the opportunity to create artwork for her upcoming book Creative is a Verb I didn’t hesitate to volunteer.

In the meantime a side project was conceived from a Twitter post she wrote that folks loved and Four-Word Self-Help will be birthed this fall. Patti needed art fast and her devotees produced—fast. My prompt was, “Give up toxic people.”

I decided I would stretch myself and trust my creative urges. I gave myself one day to find and edit the perfect photo and here’s my contribution! My experience was fresh, fun, funky, & fabulous! Yes, this is my head in  a bookcase (don't ask!) with some cool Adobe effects added.

What art lives inside you?

Ancora Imparo

I’ve been Honoré’s Virtual Assistant for just over three years. I met her through my past ideal client Antonette Artiz—thank you AA for introducing us and seeing the fit!

Our partnership has been a dynamic, open, collaborative, fun-filled, continuous learning journey! Our partnership has been all about relationship. Relationship is what a VA client partnership is built on. Relationship is what makes working together exciting and challenging. Relationship is the mold that visions are made from. Relationship is the essential ingredient for success—however you define it!

Honoré retired last week. And although our relationship as client and VA has come to its conclusion a whole new door of opportunity has opened—a new relationship based on a journey of friendship, creative collaboration, inspiration, and learning. Always learning. Here’s to Honoré and her personal quote from Michelangelo, “Ancora Imparo” or “I am still learning.” Honoré, what a priceless gift you’ve given to me and so many others! Thank you.

I am immensely honored and grateful to have worked with ideal clients like Honoré and Antonette—I’m touched deeply by their words of gratitude and appreciation: Honoré's post Vugs! and Antonette's post Sharing Good News. These relationships are why I do what I do and love it so much!

Colored in fun!

On Monday I got a UPS package. Jeff and I play a game to see who can make our delivery guy smile or interact— I have never won this game, which makes Jeff laugh. The UPS man is immune to my finely honed people skills. My first wish: that Mr. UPS has someone in his life to smile for.

The package was from Amazon, my favorite! Inside were colored pencils—a gift from my lovely client, coach, and friend; the note read....and may your 2010 be colored in fun! Hmmmmmm. Interesting. I supposed I could dig out a blank notebook to color in; I don't think of myself as an Artist but maybe I could get SARK's Playbook and Journal. Hmmmmmm.

On Tuesday our man in brown was back in action and moved with such velocity I didn't even get to dazzle him with a smile or wish him a Happy Holiday before he was a blur in our driveway. Another Amazon box; oh goody!

I laughed out loud as I opened part two of the colored pencil gift: Susanne Fincher's Coloring Mandalas: For Insight, Healing, and Self-Expression. Now the colored pencils made perfect sense. I pulled them out and immediately curled up on my couch and colored my first Mandala.

The experience was pure bliss: undiluted creative juices flowed, I was totally present, I colored with childlike innocence—no rules or judgments, I was empowered by the joy and freedom of playing. ALL this with paper and colored pencils! My second wish: (I can have two, it's almost Christmas!) I wish you the joy of coloring.

Bliss and color to you Sharon—for always touching my life in unexpected and inspiring ways. Happy, happy Christmas!

Dancing about architecture

So yesterday the care-taking role had me throwing up my hands and asking the heavens, “What was I thinking!?” My mother and I have been coming from different perspectives since I could talk. My baby book lists my first words as, “Don’t worry Mommy” and “Sandy don’t!” (My sister Sandy was 11 when I was born; mom had loads to worry about!).

What wild and crazy brain fart made me think we’d be on the same page now?

Ha!

We’re not.

Not even in the same book.

I took every complaint personally and felt unappreciated and retaliated by making her wrong. About everything.

When I journaled this morning I said I was not repeating yesterday. The same thoughts that got me here are not going to get me outta here. Although I am learning how to laugh at the impossible questions, “How does poop get there!?”, and the pointless ones, “You want to put peanut butter on what!?”

I focused on looking at ‘what is’ instead of my interpretation of what happened. No spin. Okay here’s what is: mom’s unhappy, negative, and blaming. Hmmmm. Okay got it. Mom’s unhappy, negative, and blaming. That’s okay. Now what?

Let me look at myself: I’m unhappy, negative, and blaming. Hmmmm. That’s interesting.

I’m blaming her for not taking responsibility and owning her unhappiness and choosing to be happy. Ha! Now that’s the pot calling the kettle black!

This is known as a ‘racket’ in Landmark Education terminology. It describes a fixed way of being, in this instance: closed, judgmental, being right. With a persistent complaint: “Why can’t you take responsibility for your own happiness—what’s wrong with you!?” I made her wrong. Big time. I got to be right, that’s my payoff. Ouch. As I wrote this out I was blindsided by the epiphany I do this with Brin, my daughter, too. I ‘fix’ her problems and then complain that she’s not responsible, is too negative and unhappy. I get to make her wrong and be right. It's not pretty but it's real and I'm owning it.

Next I did the tough looking: what’s this cost me and my loved ones? Ultimately a racket is designed to avoid responsibility and the cost is love and aliveness. Because of this racket my communications are not authentic and don’t leave either of us feeling good or empowered. I’m willing to drop my racket, over and over as needed, acknowledge and apologize and say I choose to be loving over being right. I truly do.

Yup, mom’s unhappy. Yup, she’s got challenges. Yup, I’m an imperfect caregiver. Yup, our communication is sometimes like dancing about architecture. Yup, love her anyway. Help her put peanut butter on...whatever. Love her exactly where she is as she is. Be happy. Be expectationless. Be loving. My friend Kathy reminds me: love wins. Love always wins.

New old friends

I didn't take the time to figure out Facebook when I first joined. We hadn't clicked. I finally decided to join many of my fellow AssistU Virtual Assistants and delve into the marketing value of social networking. I discovered it's a treasure trove of relationships, connections, and word of mouth advertising for your service or product (more on that in another post). Then it got personal!

Once I 'got it' I couldn't stop digging —who could I find from my past? Could we reconnect? I grew up in Freeport, Grand Bahama. I attended several private schools there and can now appreciate the idyllic childhood I lived in that lovely coral paradise. Facebook had groups for people who used to live in the Bahamas—there were groups from my grammar and high schools! Many didn't recognized me but they did remember me; Laura Tressam was a unique name. ;) I even found the first boy I kissed! I dug out my yearbooks and baby album and started scanning and sharing pix and continued reconnecting with long lost friends.

Many of my chums were actually in South Florida, imagine that! And though Lisa and I were a year apart in grammar school she caught up with me in high school right before I moved to Florida. For the past twenty years we have lived barely ten miles apart. Now that's digging and finding pure gold!

Last week Lisa and I met at her home (just off the same road I live off of) where she prepared a delicious vegan and gluten free meal and desserts (she's creating a cookbook!). We reminisced, shared our lives over the past three decades, reminisced, laughed, cheered, thanked the Universe, reminisced, and laughed some more. Did I mention we reminisced? A lot. I stayed five hours.

We've already made plans for a road trip this week to see my man Wayne Dyer.

I'm thankful for Facebook and the technologies that keep us connected in a disconnected world. I'm thankful for new old friends. I'm thankful for the synchronicities and serendipities of the Universe to align exactly for the ideal friend to appear at the ideal moment.

May you be blessed with new old friends.

Rainy day naps

I'm thankful for napping during a rainstorm and having my hubby at home to listen to my dreams when I wake. 

Acknowledgment

I'm thankful that friends, family, and strangers have taken the time to acknowledge my poems and encourage me to keep writing and sharing. I'm aware that accepting a compliment with grace is a gift to the giver as well as the receiver. I am a gracious recipient and am deeply grateful.  Weeds

My Muse

Today I am thankful for my muse.

Words that move me

Today I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my poetry together with a unique photo or graphic. I'm stretching myself creatively and authentically for my Blogging for Scrapbookers class.