The Art of Being Human

    You’ve heard the expression, “Think good thoughts,” I’d like not to think any thoughts, not forever, not always. When I need to think I want to think.  When I don’t need to think I don’t want to think. I want to do. I want to be and frankly thinking gets in the way.  I do not need a running commentary on my life and the world at large from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep.  A Course in Miracles says there are no neutral thoughts. They either bring peace or war, love or fear and let’s face it, most of the time its fear and war.      If you wouldn’t say it don’t think it is a pretty good rule to follow and that works….most of the time. I don’t know, maybe it’s not having the television blaring at night and being home more this winter but my thoughts have been like a run away train going down hill fast. And there’s no brake.     Imagining that my thoughts are being randomly projected on a big assed jumbotron ab...

       I was drawn to idealism at a very young age and that hasn’t changed much. I’ve clung to the tattered threads of idealism far longer than some of my peers. It was a virtue, something to be embraced and admired. At least that’s what I thought.     I never considered that my idealism might have a negative side until it came up against reality during a faculty meeting.  Our administrator was looking for feedback about some proposed budget cuts. He didn’t get past the first item before I shot my hand into the air in outrage.  I railed against the proposal because it was in conflict with the way I thought things should be.  I was emotional and verbal. Let me assure you that it is not a pretty combination or a particularly useful one for that matter.  On the ride home I asked my favorite question, what if? In this case it was what if I didn’t know what I thought I knew? (It sounds nicer than what if I didn’t know what I wa...

   The weather gurus were forecasting snow in Atlanta which typically translates into a few flurries and the natives screaming, “The snow is coming, the snow is coming, run for your liiiives!” While everyone else made a mad dash to the grocery store to stock up on bread, milk and everything else they thought they couldn’t live without I went to the gym. You can imagine my shock when I woke up to four and a half inches of snow that quickly turned to ice and five days of getting nowhere in a hurry. I should have gone to the grocery store. Life has a way of taking catching you off guard.        Some portion of everyone’s life will always out of their control. That’s what makes life interesting and gives us stories to tell.   I have fewer new stories to tell the older I get and that makes me sad.  I miss the days of leaping into whatever comes my way with reckless abandon.  I think I might want a few new stories.    ...

    For as long as I can remember words have held a special enchantment for me, I remember learning to read at a kidney shaped table dressed in a plaid jumper and saddle shoes. “See Spot run,” started a life long love affair with reading and language. I saw how words could inspire change and shape a generation. Words could be used to entice, scold, encourage and reassure. Words were power, power that I’ve always had confidence in.          It’s tempting to believe that the right combination of words delivered the right way can transform a situation and they can.  But silence also speaks volumes and I am learning that.  One of the best pieces of advice I ever got came to me from a woman known only as Old Blonde. I was having trouble keeping my mouth shut, a fact that I’m sure that surprises no one who has known me for more then twenty minutes.  I was involved in a situation where it was obvious even to me that anything...

                                                  New Years week is the time when I  reflect on where I am, how I got here and where I’m headed. “What next?” she asks.  It’s not so much my making resolutions and setting goals as it is having a conversation with God and my spirit about what’s next in my life.   Last year I decided I wanted to know love, make that LOVE!  What I had in mind was a blue eyed guitar playing cowboy from Montana who paddles a red Caption. Yeah, that pretty much sums up what I thought love was. You gotta admit it’s original.  God must have had other plans because what I got was a 90 Day No Negativity Challenge that frankly kicked my ass sometimes. It seemed like a good idea at the time and in the end it was if I didn’t let my self think about it too much. I removed negativity and what was left was love,...

      I took my television to the curb today.   I couldn’t resist the impulse any longer. Sometimes these urges just hit me, bam! Then I’m off and running. I don’t always understand the hot pokes that I get, however I do trust them. It’s called faith, blind faith to be sure.   You would think that they would steer me towards some profound, deep meaning of life and sometimes they do. Mostly though they point the way in the ordinary tasks that make up my life, which might be same thing and I just too dumb to know it.   I do know that my life is better when I pay attention to the silence. I listen to the urge to make an extra box of cookies and a neighbor drops by. I follow the impulse to call a friend and it turns out she needs a ride that I can give her.   I jump off the couch and run to a jam at the last minute and have a blast. Never underestimate the value of a good time. It’s the secret to my success.      The little nu...

    Christmas is two days away.   The house is cleaned, decorated and the presents are wrapped. I’ve made brownies, six batches of Heath Bar Crisps, Potato chip cookies and I’m headed out the door to the farmer’s market to pick up the ingredients I need for   Christmas breakfast and Tim’s Ginger Cookies. You can never have too many cookies especially when you eat them with champagne for dinner.   I’m diggin’ myself and lovin’ my life. I am truly blessed.   I’ve always been blessed and deeply loved. It’s always been there even if I’ve haven’t been aware of it.  Keeping free of negativity helps me see the blessings that are in my life and there are more than I can count. Keeping free of negativity is a way of wiping mud from my eyes. It’s amazing how much goodness there is in the world when you can see clearly.      “Negativity is an addiction to the bleak shadow that lingers around every human form ... you can tra...