Day 54

Yeah!! I am in PA and it is, comparatively, MUCH warmer than in Wisconsin.  Here is a picture of a flowering tree - there are lots of them around the Altoona area right now and they are LOVELY!!  I am into day one of a corporate Culture of Service class.  It is a pleasure to be here and a pleasure to explore this subject with this group.  PA Rocks!!

Day 53

 

So, when it's really AWFUL outside and it can't decide whether it's going to snow, or rain, or sleet, or thunder and lighting; when the wind is blowing like there is noooo tomorrow and the sky is gray, I look to the Robin to remind me of what lies JUST around the corner.  This little bird KNOWS that it's just a matter of time.  He KNOWS that the worms are stirring, just under that last blanket of snow.  He insistently hops around on the dry brown grass that peeks through the melting mantle of white, just WAITING for that first stirring that he will feel with his feet.  What a skill set this little guy possesses.  He hops and then stands, hops and then stands, waiting, feeling, sensing the earthworm moving just below the surface.  He's always in the moment...hop... wait... feel... hop... wait... feel.  He's never impatient, and he's always aware, watching for cats, or kids, or dogs, or... hop... wait... feel.  A great lesson in being in the moment and in mindfulness.

Day 52

Jess and I went to Madison, yesterday, to help prepare for the arrival of the Dalai Lama.  I give Jess TREMENDOUS credit, as she worked the graveyard shift from 7PM to 4AM and then got up ad 7AM to drive three hours to Madison and work all day painting and cleaning.  I wasn't the one insisting that we go either.  I knew she'd be tired, but she insisted.  It was a GREAT DAY, despite the exhaustion she was battling.  She did have to go to the car, at one point, and take a quick 1 hour cat nap.  I woke her with some delicious food prepared by the Tibetan women who staffed the kitchen.  Included in the food were some wonderful chocolates that come with a blessing: http://youtu.be/vJ74EKFFqbE

What is Intention?

"Intention is a thought, a blessing, a prayer, any act of consciousness that comes from the we not the me.™ To be intentional is to lead a purposeful life, to create meaning through decisions and actions that do no harm and benefit others™. At the core of intention is love. Any individual who is giving back to society through any number of mechanisms; undertaking a spiritual mission, working with not for profit and some for profit organizations, comes from a conscious thought that is intention. Consumers are making intentional choices every day by being more environmentally and socially aware of the interconnectedness of the world around us."

Day 51

http://youtu.be/k6aXBbI7k5Q
Beckon Lovely:  This video is indicative of the AMAZING things that Amy Krouse Rosenthal undertakes.  I love her vulnerability, her honesty, her integrity, and her drive to move towards something inclusive, loving, expressive, a beautiful.  I CELEBRATE AMY KROUSE ROSENTHAL!!!!

About Amy: Amy is a person who likes to make things. Some things she likes to make: Children’s books. // Grown-up books. // Short videos. // Salads. // Connections with the universe. // Something out of nothing. // Wishes.According to The New York Times, Amy’s children’s books “radiate fun the way tulips radiate spring: they are elegant and spirit-lifting.” Her 20+ books for children include Little Pea, Spoon, Duck! Rabbit!, Plant a Kiss, Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons, and Wumbers. As for her adult work, Amazon named Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life one of the top 10 memoirs of the decade. Her YouTube videos include The Beckoning of Lovely, The Money Tree, Life is a Marathon and The Kindness Thought Bubble. She has been a longtime contributor to Chicago’s NPR affiliate WBEZ. She has spoken at TEDxWaterloo (7 Notes on Life), TEDxSanDiego (The Crevices of Life), and on the TEDYou stage at TEDActive (Wandering). Amy lives with her family in Chicago and online at whoisamy.com

Day 50

I HONOR AMY DEAGLE

I started with Amy because she and I share a special bond - we billeted at Shirley's house in Athabasca while attending Alexandra Franzen's Write Yourself Into Motion workshop.  Amy trained as a nurse in the states.  She has a nursing degree and was inspired to become a midwife in Canada, only the reality didn't live up to the dream.  Instead of being honored for the gifts and talents that she brought to the home birthing process, she found herself fighting against a system that struggled with how to integrate her comprehensive skill set into a laymen's midwife program.  It was an HONOR to meet and spend time with Amy and to hear her story.  She has the capacity to deliver on whatever she chooses, and I'm a HUGE fan!

XOXO

Day 49

The Athabascan 19...my PEEPS...my TRIBE.  They sooooooooooooo ROCK!!!  I'm singing their praises, I'm creating a tribute to this band of DIVAS who are changing the world.  I am honored to be able to count myself in their ranks.  I feel impelled to live up to the examples they set.  They INSPIRE me.  YES!  YES!  YES!

Day 48

 

I taught a great class last week.  This is the remote sales team.  They came from all over the world to spend some quality time talking about a number of key concepts around building relationships.  I learned sooooooooooooooo much about the challenges of languages, cultures, and how these factors impact sales.  You know you are with people who you couldn't possibly understand what they face every day, when you ask them, "What challenges to you face?" and someone responds, "getting kidnapped or robbed".  I quickly realized I have a LOT to be grateful for.

Day 47

Enjoyed the translation that Jampa Khedup provided at the Deer Park Buddhist Center in Madison today.  The teaching was on equanimity.  There were some great conversations when the questions came at the end of the teaching about meditation, and the application of meditation to contemplate key challenges to achieving equanimity.  Even though Jess wasn't feeling all that well, we had a good day.

Day 46

This is Cesar Kuriyama.  He INSPIRED ME with his One Second a Day project that he presented at a recent Ted Conference (the link is below).  So I was inspired, through his actions to start this Blog.  I calculated how many days I have left, given my standard life expectancy and started counting down, one photo at a time.  I undertook this project, like Cesar, to remind myself of ALL OF THE AMAZING and IMPACTFUL things that happen every day.  LIFE HAPPENS and as it unfolds, paying attention and being mindful can make the difference between being at the beck and call of life to being a creator of life.

http://on.ted.com/Kuriyama

Day 45

Sometimes life challenges us and causes us to grow in interesting and unexpected directions.  Life WILL find expression and beauty can be found in the most unexpected places.

http://www.betsymcdowell.com/

 

Day 44

Alright PEEPS!  It's time to demonstrate the POWER OF POSITIVE THOUGHT!  Everyone, all together now....THINK SPRING!!!    THINK SPRING!!!    THINK SPRING!!!  It has been snowing all day here, ughhhh!  See this picture, that's what's in my heart.  That's what's in my mind.  That's what my body and mind are CRAVING!!!  After I finish these posts I'm going to the grocery store to get a bunch of fresh flowers.  They will sit in the middle of my kitchen counter to REMIND ME that winter can not last forever (at least that's what I keep telling myself)  Soooooooo, everyone, THINK SPRING!!!

Day 43

Thinking about MY PEEPS from "Write Yourself Into Motion" with Alexandra Franzen and the FAMOUSLY FABULOUS "Athabascan 19".  You ROCK ladies!  This retreat served as a pivotal point in my commitment to break free from some ruts that I found myself in and move towards a BEAUTIFUL life that truly makes my dreams come true.  YES! YES!  YES!

Day 42

LAUGH OUT LOUD!!  I was at the airport and saw this door.  Next to the door is a short 1/2 wall that you could easily walk around to get to the other side of the door.  I'm thinking they might want to rethink the signage and the padlock!  :)

Day 41

Sometimes embracing your future means you have to let go of your past.  Letting go isn't always easy, but it can be done.  I find that, for myself, it's a process of looking at what I'm thinking about letting go, imagining what life will be like without it, sometimes putting it away for awhile to see if I'll miss it, and, in the end, sending it out into the world with the hope that it has the opportunity to bless some other person's life as much as it has blessed mine.

Day 40

The web site is coming along famously!  It has leant itself to GOBS of reflection and BUCKETS FULL of writing.  ALL GOOD!
Check it out:  http://www.betsymcdowell.com/

Day 39

Freezing rain this week. Not what I look forward to in April in Wisconsin.  I want to be out walking the trails and enjoying the early spring, not weathering gray skies and a frozen, icy, slushy world.  It's just tooooooo depressing!  WHERE IS THE SUN!!!!  If it doesn't come out soon, I'm headed back to Florida, and I may not come back.  Winters like this are enough to make me think twice.

Day 38

Boo has taken over Rory's dog bed, but doesn't seemed concerned that he's half in and half out.  This is one comfortable cat.  He OWNS!  No worries!

Day 37

The bleak winter of our discontent is still going strong upon my return to Wisconsin.  IS THIS WINTER EVER GOING TO END!!!  It was hard for me not to turn around and go back to Florida.

Day 36

Looking down the beach towards the condos that line Thomas Drive, in Panama Beach.  Blue beach umbrellas providing a visual landing strip for spring breakers and vacationers.  The long stretch of beach inviting shell hunting and just strolling and people watching.

Day 35

Having my morning cup of Joe and watching the beach come to life.  The beach umbrellas have been opened...the beach lounges have been softened with pads, the jet skis have been dragged to the water's edge and fun and sun is waiting for the spring breakers and vacationers to wake up to another lovely day in Florida.

Day 34

This is the best of times...early morning on the Carter Preserve, fishing.  The sun is warm, life is good, and the fish aren't biting.  No worries.

Day 33

The Carter Tract was operated as a popular fishing ranch by its owner, Mr. Fitzhugh Carter, in the 1960's and 1970's.  During drought conditions, some of the old cypress boats Mr. Carter built and rented to anglers can be seen exposed on pond banks throughout the area.  The tract was later leased as a private hunting area.  The primary objective of the Carter Tract is the preservation and restoration of the wetlands and surrounding uplands on the property.  This is one of my FAVORITE places to go, when I am in Panama City Beach, Florida.  There is no charge for using the row boats on the lakes and the natural environment is pristine.  A peaceful day, drifting in a boat on the lakes, soaking up the sun with a fishing line in the water makes for an AMAZING experience.