Thursday, October 31, 2013

But That They Build Nests In Your Hair





















This week I've heard two different people say

I'm delightful

after being asked the standard question -

How are you?


















One was Anne who was working at Target.
I asked, How are you?
She replied, I'm delightful.
I asked, How is it that you're so certain like that?

Anne said, 
I choose it.
I get up every morning 
and choose to be positive, 
I choose to spread joy.

I can't stop thinking about Anne and her delightful-ness. 


Yesterday, at the market, buying raisins and chunky peanut butter, yogurt and celery + a few other things, I heard the young man behind me in line being asked by Kathy, my favorite cashier,


How are you?


He said, I'm delightful. [who are these people?]

Did you just say you were delightful?

















Yup, he said, I'm delightful.

No kidding, you're the second person in two days who has said they were DELIGHTFUL and I just find it...

A sign? the young man said. 

He had a very big grin and he was delightful. I wanted to take his picture but decided to simply savor the moment and carry on with the day. 


His sunny self reminded me of my orange tomatoes.

"That the birds of worry and care fly above your head, this you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent." 


- Chinese proverb


Anne of Target (Tar-je') and the young man at the market may not have heard about birds of worry, and if they have, they are clearly not letting them nest in their hair. 

So, I'm thinking if I say *I'm delightful,











[even if I have the perfect head for worry birds to build a nest]

I'll become delightful ~

*Even though I honestly don't feel delightful, I'm going to give this a whirl. Experiment with delightfulness. Say it when people ask me, how are you? Let me know if you try it too.





Tuesday, October 15, 2013

This Not So Spiritual Thought































I had this not so spiritual thought after dropping Claire off at her middle school, too many yellow buses and streams of kids and my kid taking a deep breath before stepping out into the kid-stream, 














After I said, 


don't let the bastards get you down, honey


mommy's little mantra

After driving back home past the old man lumbering into the laundry mat, thinking how un-shiny this town has gotten, 
really run-down in spots and kinda sad,

and the thought that occasionally sweeps over me,

I gotta get out of here

After that, I had this not so spiritual thought 


waiting for the light to turn green 













that Oprah, after enjoying a meal of fresh organic vegetables from her Maui garden, lovingly prepared by her personal chef, finds herself in the pantry frantically pulling out a big bag of Ruffles potato chips and starts shoving handfuls into her mouth while the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean.

  

Monday, October 7, 2013

Sweet Lizard Brain


There are no pre-requisites to being worthy. 

- Brene Brown 

I love that. It cracks open my messier places, the whole who do you think you are voice that shows up especially when I feel myself leaning into my writing or

my life as it is in this moment regardless of 

work 
bank account
age
____________(fill in the blank)

or the when are you going to get it together voice lurking in the wings to pounce when my small mind starts taking inventory on all the things that seem terribly wrong.

Cheri Huber, Buddhist meditation teacher has a wonderful line:

there's nothing wrong with you

Then she takes it a step further, chuckling when she says it because she says, people just can't handle this one... She says, 

there's nothing wrong. period.

small mind will argue on this one, 
sputtering and poking its finger in your face but that's what it does, 

sweet old lizard brain.

It's just trying to protect us from Woolly Mammoths.


Even full of doubt over pretty much everything these days, I'm whispering these mantras from Brene, Cheri, and the one I began this blog with -  

trust my path unflinching 

even when I can't see the path.

There are no prerequisites to this being alive. 
Stand for yourself today.
Practice kindness wherever you go.
Breathe in the ordinary moment.



xo
b