For all of the peoples and the nations of the earth, may not even the names disease, famine, war, and suffering, be heard, but rather, may their moral conduct, merit, wealth, and prosperity increase and supreme good fortune and well being always arise for them.

Let humanity sing this mantra. Let it wake up to the truth of our connectedness.  Let LOVE touch hearts and minds and let us be kind to each other and to this earth that is our home.

In kindness and in Love.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

International Women's Day, today. Way to go ladies! So how far have I really come? To frame it in a time capsule I'll put it in the context of my life.

I've had a little of 60 years to "experience" life as a woman. And I have to say that, whether I like it or not my gender has majorly shaped my life and continues to do so. That being said. I am also very clear that despite the parameters life hands me, I WRITE THE STORY.

I am reminded of that quote by Mahatma Gandhi, "You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind." I have always taken great care to ensure that my mind always had the opportunity to know and experience FREEDOM, even if my body did not.

I have lived with societal pressures and dictates and mores for many, many years. In that time I have managed to break free of these societal bonds at various times and really know the delight and exuberance and pure empowerment of total acceptance and expressive freedom. 

The moments of pure freedom I have known? They have been a sustaining torch, a light, that has kept me moving  during those other times when all I really wanted to do was curl up in a ball and quit. Is this just a "women's thing"? I don't believe so. The human struggle for acceptance and equality is universal.

The journey from birth to death is about figuring out what works and doing it. It's about honoring all the other journeys that you come up against along the way and celebrating each other's wins, each brilliant spot in each other's path, knowing that there will also be dark moments, and long nights that these moments of brilliance will help us each move through.

After 60 years, for myself, Love has become the common denominator. When I peel away the layers, the behaviors the mores and dictates and look at the brilliance and the FREEDOM I see only LOVE.

Wishing you Love on the most auspicious International Women's Day.

Hugs,
Betsy

2014 Year in Review

I have been spending a lot of time lately transcribing some year-in-review material and it's caused me to think about that: what this last year was all about. Reflecting isn't always easy when the year was a challenging one.

The year 2014 started off in the worst possible place for me. I was, for all intents and purposes homeless. I had closed down my life in Wisconsin to move to Florida and live with a friend. Our plan had been to spend our silver years enjoying each other's company and living out our days in the Florida sun, on the beach.

Suffice it to say it didn't work out as planned. The details aren't important. I've accepted that "shit happens" and it certainly happened at the start of the year. So I was reborn, yet again, as a "carpet bagger". It wasn't my physical condition that was dragging me down as much as it was my mental condition. I had slipped into a very dark place.

My daughter, bless her heart, took me under her wing. For being all of 105 pounds, she's fierce when it comes to defending and protecting those she loves. I so appreciate that about her. Even when she was little, a tiny child on a school bus, she stood up to a bully who was taunting her friend and paid the price by getting physically tossed around, and yet she came back just as fierce as ever in her friends defense.

She took me in and made sure I was taking care of myself, and yes, I was that far into the darkness of the hopelessness that I wasn't really paying attention to even some of the basics. She nurtured me, cajoled me, taunted me at times to get my "sorry ass" in gear and get back to living. 

My friends in Wisconsin rallied around as well. They are such great people who have hearts of gold. They ensured I had things to do, people to connect with, places to go. They took me in, like my daughter, and helped to bring light back into the darkness I had fallen into. 

In all honesty, it was nip and tuck for awhile, but slowly, slowly, the light started shining into the corners, the heaviness that weighed on my heart so terribly started to lift and even when it seemed that I was just going through the motions, it felt like I was moving away from the "suck zone" that the depression I was battling had me trapped in.

I was able to do some work for the company that I had retired from. I was able to get more work to do online with people that I enjoyed, and by Spring, early Summer I was doing much better. I am forever grateful to my "ladies" who made sure that we had regular lunches together and just chatted and laughed and shared.

I did break off all contact with my friend in Florida. I had to in order to move on. I have come to the place where I wish her well and hope life holds only good things for her. There is no fault in what happened, just events that spun in bad directions.

My dream of living back by the beach never completely faded. I grew up on the ocean and I wanted to spend my last years by the ocean and in warmer climates (Wisconsin winters are brutal). So I packed up my things, once again, and sight unseen rented a place in Florida on the east coast and headed back down to the Sunshine State. This time my daughter decided to come with me.

I have been in Florida, on the east coast now for three months. We are settled into a small apartment that is just perfect for the two of us. I continue to do my work online and to build my book of business, and Jess has a new boyfriend and is working to build a life for herself down here.

I love getting up in the morning and opening the patio doors to hear the sound of birds singing and to enjoy the warm air. I love to hear the children playing and people going about their lives as I enjoy the indoor/outdoor lifestyle that this region affords. 

I have found and explored every farmers market, and every health-food store. I am over-the-moon pleased that we have a Trader Joe's here. The beach and ocean are a short drive away and the sun shines a lot more than in Wisconsin this time of year. 

I love the spiritual opportunities here: the church I've connected to, the Buddhist monastery that I am a part of. I love the rich culture of the area. The delightful parts of the city that have eclectic coffee shops and tantalizing import bazaars. 

Life is slower here, but that feels right as well. There is an ease of life that doesn't have to be crammed into a few short months before it's driven indoors. There is something satisfying to be able to smell fresh mowed grass year round.

I miss my people in Wisconsin. They are a forever part of my heart-space and my extended family. I still stay in touch and call and correspond and connect whenever possible. I will go back and visit when the leaves are on the trees.

So as I look back on 2014 I am grateful for all of the good that so very much outweighed the not so good. I am grateful for the people who cared about me and for me, I am grateful for my dear daughter and my dear friends, and I am pleased to be in a substantially better place than I was at the start of the year.

The year 2015 is beginning with me in a good place physically and emotionally. I have a lot to work on this year and I am excited to do that work and move towards that future me that I am excited to connect with.

Sending you all hugs and best wishes for the coming year.

Love,
Betsy

Thought 20: Labor of Love

It's taken me 60 years to rest in my truth - Life should be a labor of Love.

Believe me, I tried it a LOT of different ways:
- Work hard and you get rewards.
- Give, give, give until you absolutely can't or don't have anything more left.
- Plan it and then stick to the plan.
- Don't even try, just let it happen.
- Let others tell you how to live and then at least you have someone to blame.

The years have peeled away the reasons, one by one, showing them for their misguided approach or failed founding principles.

When I was finally empty. When I finally let go. When I stopped thinking so long and doing so hard, Love found its way to my heart. It quietly entered in, and washed over my view of the world. 

It is simple now. It is Love based, and it just is. I don't have to try, I don't have to be anything or do anything. I can if I want to, but that is not the path of Love, it is simply a potential expression of it. When love entered, so did peace.

I still wrestle with my humanness, but it's more of a friendly arm wrestle now rather than a life or death, self or other struggle. 

Love embraces and that is enough.

With Love

Thought 18: Simple Gifts

Give yourself permission to be outrageously kind, irrationally warm, improbably generous and to feel the sheer joy and celebration in doing this.  If a day were to have a theme, this is certainly a great one. I see the benefits of a day spent like this of being very similar to the benefits that Shakespeare speaks about in his quality of mercy speech from Merchant of Venice:

The quality of mercy is not strained; 

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. 

It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

To be twice blessed is a win/win. Remember, a warm heartfelt hug provides the hugger and the huggee with a healthy burst of oxytocin which is a key hormone for promoting trust, bonding, and devotion - key to human connectedness. So every time you hug someone, think of it as your own personal act towards nurturing world peace.

Love and hugs,

Betsy

Thought 14: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

Sometimes it's easy as a parent to get wrapped around the axle of wanting for our children to the point where we're not passing on a healthy appreciation for today's blessings, but an unhealthy wanting, wanting, wanting, for whatever lies down the road. The problem with today's world is that things are loved and people are used, when in truth it should be the other way around, people should be loved and things used. In the end the world won't likely remember how much we made or what kind of a house we lived in, or what kind of a car we drove, but how we make people feel may be passed down for generations to come. This is what we should be passing on to our children. This is what will change the world, in the end.

With Love,
Betsy

Thought 13: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

I wish for you that peace that is your true essential nature. To see the world through the eyes of promise and peace is to see a world that is evolving in goodness, in compassion, in kindness and in love. To start the day with promise is to move into the day with positive expectations - it's a great way to go out into the world and engage. To end the day in peace - in appreciation and gratitude and acknowledging all the blessings that exist today, is to end the day satisfied and complete. These simple acts of engagement can change your world and the world at large in profound ways.

Wishing you Love,
Betsy

Thought 11: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

To change the world, change yourself.

With Love,
Betsy

Thought 5: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

When I see a homeless person, pushing a cart full of stuff down the street I find myself getting angry and indignant about how society is, and how government is, and how the world is, and how people are...

In that moment who has the problem? The "homeless person"...or me?

The personal insight provided in that moment is not about poverty, or the inequities of the world, it's about what I see and how I see it - that I used the lens of anger, and indignation, and righteousness and painted a truly confrontational and antagonistic world.

I ask myself, "what would this moment look like through the lens of love, of curiosity, of wonder, and of possibility? And I run that scenario and it looks VERY different...it feels VERY different...and I realize...WOW!...this is the way to engage with and change the world!

With Love,
Betsy

Thought 3: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

There is a quote from the movie, Mary Poppins, that has stuck with me since I first saw it as a child and that is "But sometimes a person we love, through no fault of his own, can't see beyond the end of his nose."  I believe that there are times we are all guilty of that challenge. It is so easy to get wrapped around the axle of process and loose sight of the simple truth of what is important - minus the stuff, that in the end, "doesn't matter a hill of beans."  What matters is to see the best in each other, to compassionately care, to graciously listen to others and give the gift of being truly heard and understood whether we agree or not...to see beyond the end of our nose.

With Love,

Betsy

Thought 2: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

This quote brings to mind another quote, "People are made to be loved and things are made to be used, the confusion in this world is that people are used and things are loved."

For myself, as much pleasure as things have given me, people have given me more. I can't tell you how amazing it feels to be greeted with a HUGE hug and an enthusiastic welcome. It warms me right to my toes and makes me feel radiant. Sometimes it's easy to be lured by the things we would like only to find out that they diminish the love in our lives. I, for one, will ALWAYS gratefully choose love.

With Love,
Betsy

The Foundations of A "Day In The Life"

Habits are what form the foundation of who we are and what we become. Humanity is a collective of creatures of habit. Our species' history is rich with stories premised on the forming of habits, the sustaining of habits and the dissolution of habits. On a personal level, developing habits that are beneficial or not, is something I have turned into a life experiment.

Let me give you an example: Over the last couple of years I have adopted a start and finish to my day that has several key ingredients. Before I get out of bed each morning I take the time to feel what it's like to be in my body. I express gratitude for this body that I travel this life in. Then I take a step outward and recognize my surroundings, and I am grateful for all of the many things - the roof over my head, the food I have to eat, the many things that make my life easier, more enjoyable - I express and feel tremendous gratitude for all of this. And I keep moving out in my mind, away from myself and into the world recognizing all that I have to be grateful for, all that enriches and blesses my life. And I always end this gratitude exercise by visually opening the door wider to allow more blessings to flow, and to let more light into my personal world. And finally, I release it all out to the world, to humanity, dedicating it to the highest good of all.

When I end my day, right before I go to sleep, I offer thanks for the blessings of that day. And I wrap those blessings in the words of intent for what I would like to see in my life and in the world. I have nine attributes (plus one) that I speak to as I gratefully review the days events. These are:
Peace - That profound peace of deep inner calm that is beyond understanding - that it hold me and the world in the palm of its hand
Power - The ability to create my life as I choose - to make it my glorious work of art and to join with others doing the same
Prosperity - To be blessed with all that I need to accomplish what I wish to accomplish - that my life be abundantly blessed
LOVE - That I be immersed in that AGAPE form of LOVE that is unconditional and profound, that I am a vehicle for its spread in the world
Light - That I be anchored to the "light of the spirit" so that it shines through me, from me, and to me. That I recognize and engage with others who are doing the same
Life - That I be healthy, and happy, and content and balanced, and long lived
Joy - That it be a part of my life every day - in music, in voice, in touch, in dance, in song, in whatever way it plays may it enrich my life
Beauty - That it surround me and fill my environment. That it please me, surprise me, and embrace me in its myriad forms throughout the day
Compassion - That I be able to recognize the suffering of others and that I compassionately respond and help as I can while at the same time reaching out continuously to connected COMPASSION and LOVE to the world at large.
AND recently I added HAPPINESS. As I came to the realization that to feel good and content about all of this was dependent on happiness - on feeling complete and content and delighted with the totality of it all.

These are the nine attributes (plus one) that I close my day with, each day, and then again, in my mind, I open the door wider to allow more into my life and out to the world. And finally, right before going to sleep, I release it all to the world, dedicating it to the highest good of all.

I share this process because these daily habits have changed my life in positive and amazing ways and continue to do so. I have come to trust in these habits and to understand that the daily work of laying the foundation of who I am and what I am going to do, is as important as the actual doing.

With LOVE,
Betsy

TIME - HAVING IT, NOT HAVING IT, WHAT IS IT?

Lately, I have been recognizing time is my companion.  It is not steady.  There are times when it wears on me: dragging out, slowing down, and not moving along.  There are other times when it pesters me to distraction: going too fast, sneaking up on me, catching me unawares, making me late.  That's time.  It is a fickle companion at best.  I find myself resenting it when it moves past a moment that I would like to hold on to.  But then, there are times I love it dearly as it unfolds growth, learning, and awareness.  I love those parts of it that are constant - things you can count on - like the seasons, and the cycle of darkness and light.  Rachel Carson wrote of nature's clock, " There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter." At the same time there is something challenging about time and how it seeps through our fingers; how it flies by unseen and unappreciated.  We may temporarily catch sight of it in glimpses of ecstasy and moments of evolution, but, for the most part, it continues in the background, unseen, ticking by.

So here's my challenge to me - be more mindful of time - my own, that of others.  Live comfortably in the natural cycles and rhythms of time.  Weave LOVE through it all.

With Love,
Betsy

A LOVE Letter to Dreamers and Dream Builders

There is so much encouragement and support for dreaming the dream...living the dream...building the dream...
There are so many dreams out there. There is a sea of dreams rich with hopes, and loves, and wins. What happens when dreams collide?  What happens when someone's "big dream" runs over someone's "little dream"?

We are all so busy dreaming the dream we sometimes miss the point that the dream is the vehicle and that LOVE is the purpose.

Yes, I dream the dream.  Yes, I have goals and vision, but every day, multiple times a day, I physically and mentally let it all go...release it to the universe and I put one simple request out there:

Let this dream build, strengthen, fortify, nurture, and be in sync with LOVE...every moment...every gesture...every thought...in all ways...and let that LOVE that I am a small infinitesimal part of flow back to me in torrents, in waves, in tsunamis of  blessings that fulfill my dreams beyond my wildest imagination.

I envision that each step of my path... each gesture... each word is a vehicle for LOVE to grow.  I see in my minds eye that my moving through this world is a vehicle for LOVE to find expression.

Wishing you all a LOVE filled dream.

With LOVE,

Betsy

Friends...yes, friends - I love them!

Friends...yes, friends - I love them!  They enrich my life and bring such dimension to my purpose, my path. Being a friend is such a blessing and a responsibility.  Being true friends can be even more challenging when there is physical distance between friends, when those who are friends are not privy to the the day to day bits and pieces of life that build their todays.  There is so much of that which is shaping us now, that they have no knowledge of.  So the deep conversations that occurred when we shared the same space is now missing in the exchanges that are limited to emails, phone calls, and Skype sessions.  Some of these life building details will come out in those conversations, but not nearly as much as when you share the same space; when you have that constant contact and those micro interactions that build our collective todays.  I am feeling that distance and loss of intimacy with my dear friends in Green Bay.  I have been gone now for going on five months.  Yes, we do email, write notes and cards, and call on occasion, but it's not the same.  Friendship embraced in immersion in the present is the most connected form.  I miss it.  I feel the distance and the loss and it does require me to adjust.  Yes, I am building new friends in my new home, and yes, they are wonderful, special, and a blessing, but they lack the time and disclosure that is invested in those who you have been friends with for a long time.  So the change that comes with retiring and moving to a warmer climate also includes the realm of friends. Absence does make the heart grow fonder and I am looking forward to reconnecting with my dear friends in Green Bay when I go back to visit this summer.  So to all of my friends - I love you!  For those who are a part of my growing circle of distant friends - I miss you, and am soooo looking forward to seeing you again, until them we WILL stay connected.

With Love

To Love Another Person is to See the Face of God

"To love another person is to see the face of God." - Jean Valjean, Act II, Les Miserables

Hi my friend,

Remember back in high school, when secret admirers would leave little notes, shoved into your locker?

This note is kinda like that. Except, I don’t want to invite you to the homecoming dance.

I just want to say how much you — your sharing and putting it out there — have already changed my life.

You've shown me that it’s totally possible to connect and share ideas, thoughts, insights, and personal experiences, even when it seems like no one would care or be interested.

And you've inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and put thoughts and experiences out there. I honestly don’t think I would've done it, if I hadn't discovered you first.

Imagine that on this Valentines Day I have left you something special on your virtual doorstep, or in your virtual locker — there would be chocolates, roses and champagne, waiting for you.

Even though I can only leave virtual tokens of my appreciation and caring for you, I can offer a very real and heartfelt thought -  let me simply say:

Thank you.

A Love Letter to Shy People and Beautiful Introverts

Have you ever lost yourself when you've looked into the eyes of someone else?  Where your words leave you speechless, and your sense of self seems threatened with extinction at the personal nature of the contact?  That was me when I was a child.  I would describe it as falling into their eyes and losing myself.  This inability to connect without losing myself, coupled with the sense that because of my shy nature I was, for the most part, invisible caused me to avoid people.  It wasn't that I didn't want to be with people.  On the contrary, I desperately wanted to be with people and belong.  I so wanted to fit in - to be seen, heard, and appreciated.  I wanted to have a sense of belonging and being a part of something.  I was desperate to connect, I just couldn't seem to find the words and behaviors to make it happen.  It seemed that I always had just the right words and knew just the right things to do in hind sight, but in the moment I was awkward, frozen, and speechless.  I found myself standing on the fringe, trying to be a part of a group conversation, but shouldered out of the the circle of engagement.  It was only in my art, my writing, in music, and in nature that I ultimately found comfort.

So here is what I have to offer you.  There was never a moment - ever - where you are, or were, invisible.  Your presence, no matter where you stand, no matter how engaged you are or aren't is still uniquely and wonderfully you. That simple kind word, that gesture of stepping out of the way so others can go first, is grander and bolder and more brilliant, and says more about the quality of how you connect to the world than any popularity vote could ever communicate.  Your quiet way of being, your thought filled analysis and retrospect is needed in a world where life get's lost in the next shocking expose or demand to be entertained.  Stay true to who you are, and continue to make the art that is your life.  You are loved and appreciated.  It would be an honor to get lost in your eyes.

With LOVE

My Wish for the World on this Shortest Day of the Year

For all of the peoples and the nations of the earth, may not even the names disease, famine, war, and suffering, be heard, but rather, may their moral conduct, merit, wealth, and prosperity increase and supreme good fortune and well being always arise for them.

Let humanity sing this mantra. Let it wake up to the truth of our connectedness.  Let LOVE touch hearts and minds and let us be kind to each other and to this earth that is our home.

In kindness and in Love.

Day 10

Wake Up to Your Dreams - that's the heart of my WHY,  I am on a quest to wake up to MY dreams.  I will be truly awake to my dreams when I am by the ocean, when I am with those who love me unconditionally, and when I am with those who are as THRILLED with what I am doing as I am with doing it.  I will be truly awake to my dreams when my heart song has voice, and rings clear, resonating with all that leads to highest good in myself and in others.

Day 5

BOO  LOVES RORRY!  I think Boo looks at Rorry as one of his stuffed animal play toys with a little more life.  Rorry puts up with Boo, but, for the most part, it's unrequited love, which doesn't seem to phase Boo in the least.  He freely loves Rorry despite her reluctance.  Not to worry, as Rorry easily stands up for herself at the point that she needs her space.  Boo is a LOVER, not a fighter.