Wondering

Today I was catching up with a friend.  They had recently completed a significant piece of work and launched it into the universe.  To the sound of silence. Left to wonder.  

I made reassuring sounds about busyness and that it didn’t mean it wasn’t well received.  I likened it to many of today’s recruitment processes, stating “only those selected for an interview will be contacted”.  That e-mail etiquette holds the “thank you is implied”. 


Have we forgotten what it is like to be searching for employment, to see a position you believe you could make a contribution in, tailoring your letter and resume and sending it off with a sense of hopefulness.  To hear nothing. 


Should we ever be too busy to let someone know we see them.  That we received their application, read their work, appreciated their message.  A few moments to ask how they are, wish them well, exchange a few pleasantries.
 
As for me, I will continue to say thank you, rather than hoping it is implied, reminding myself that behind each message is a person. 


“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  Maya Angelou


Don’t leave them wondering, dear ones. 

Wondering

Today I was catching up with a friend.  They had recently completed a significant piece of work and launched it into the universe.  To the sound of silence. Left to wonder.   

I made reassuring sounds about busyness and that it didn’t mean it wasn’t well received.  I likened it to many of today’s recruitment processes, stating “only those selected for an interview will be contacted”.  That e-mail etiquette holds the “thank you is implied”. 


Have we forgotten what it is like to be searching for employment, to see a position you believe you could make a contribution in, tailoring your letter and resume and sending it off with a sense of hopefulness.  To hear nothing.  

Should we ever be too busy to let someone know we see them.  That we received their application, read their work, appreciated their message.  A few moments to ask how they are, wish them well, exchange a few pleasantries. 

As for me, I will continue to say thank you, rather than hoping it is implied, reminding myself that behind each message is a person.  

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  Maya Angelou

Don’t leave them wondering, dear ones. 

New Eyes

I consider myself a grateful person. My family and friends tease me at being overly so sometimes. Which I believe is impossible. 

But, I have met my match.  New friends, from Brazil, here to create a new life in Canada.  One suitcase each.  Finding their way together, in a new city, a new language, with some new ways. 

In the ten days since their arrival I have had the pleasure of seeing our life through their eyes.  The peacefulness of our home, the selection in the grocery store, the abundance of water, the safe streets, the beauty of ocean and mountains.  The joy of a new beginning and a dream coming true. 

I didn't have to leave my life behind, in order to see it anew. 

"The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."  Marcel Proust

What do your eyes see, dear ones. 

Possible

It’s been more than a year and a half. A simple fall, with not so simple consequences, took me away – from this blog and, in many ways, from myself. 

Many days it took all I had for the “need to do’s”, increasingly days held more “nice to do’s”, but this was the “icing on the cake” that just never felt possible. Until now. 

I've missed it. I’ve missed you. I’ve missed me - this part of me, that sits to write a few words.

These past months have brought me many things. A new appreciation for what I once took for granted. Countless examples of love and support at the moments I needed it most. A reaffirmation of my own strength. And so much more. 

It has also, eventually, brought me back to this page. I’m so grateful to be here. 

Start by doing what's necessary;
then do what's possible;
and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
St. Francis of Assisi

What is possible for you, dear ones. 

All good things, k

Om Bhvam Namah

I love Deepak Chopra.


He loves me too. He loves all of us.


In need of replenishment from a little too much worry and little not enough sleep, his encouragement for a 21 day detox from stress, caught my attention. That's funny - I just typed "intention" instead of "attention". A good reminder that it needs to be both.


"Nourish your heart - nourish your mind - nourish your spirit - nourish your body" he says in that almost hypnotic and oh so soothing voice. Although his words are always wise, even just the sound of his voice is often enough to remind and reassure me.


I know this to be true and I will be more mindful of eating well, resting deeply and spending some time each day in meditative reflection.


I remind myself that it is when we are at our busiest that this matters most.


I will end as he suggests with "Om Bhvam Namah" which translates to "I am absolute existence: I am a field of infinite possibilities." 


As are you dear ones, as are you.


All good things, k

Peaches

Death does not wait to see if things are done or not done, said Kularnava.


So I am getting it done.


We’re redoing our wills. Many hours of the precious life I have left have recently been spent thinking, planning and meeting with our notary. We will sign them this week and then get on with living.


Our life and what we have gathered together is not so large or complex and yet, it does take some thought.


I catch myself saying “well, if I die”, as if somehow I might not.


Rather like taking out insurance and hoping to never have to use it. I, in fact, hope to live happily to a very old age and then having just tidied up from having family and friends over, sipping a cup of earl grey tea and reading a wonderful book, close my eyes for the last time. And, if I do, then all the nuts that have been stored away for that long winter of retirement will be gone. Taken out one by one and enjoyed.


Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring, and because it has fresh peaches in it. ~Alice Walker


Enjoy the fresh peaches dear ones.


All good things, k

Dance

To live means that we will die.


I know that. We all know that. But, when you get the call that a friend is suddenly and unexpectedly gone, knowing that it is just part of life didn't help. Not in that moment.


There have been two such losses in the past few days. Turn around and they are gone. Friends my own age.


So begins the days of family and friends gathering, food and flowers arriving, rooms filled with stories, memories, tears and laughter. What more can we do but to be there. To feel what we feel. To share what we can share. To do what we can do. To say nothing when there are simply no words. 


I read a piece several years ago and sadly have had occasion to share it on many occasions. I offer it again for myself and for anyone else who may find some comfort from these words. 


“I have survived so much loss, as all of us have by our 40s—my parents, dear friends, my pets. If you haven’t already, you will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of a beloved person. But this is also the good news. They live forever, in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather is cold—but you learn to dance with the limp.” Anne Lamott


Dance dear ones.


All good things, k