Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The Climb



“It is good to have an end to journey towards: but it is the journey that matters, in the end”
Ursula K. Le Guin, American author.

The other day, I was listening to the radio and heard a song that just grabbed me. The words were so inspiring and spoke volumes. I didn’t recognize the singer and waited for the DJ to come on and tell me who this artist was who had inspired me. No luck. Just commercials after the song! Bummer. I eventually heard the song again and learned that it was Miley Cyrus singing. Well, I am no Miley Cyrus fan, but I really love that song.

“There’s always gonna be another mountain,
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s The Climb”

As we are rushing through our crazy, busy days. . . . . . day in and day out. . . . . . . . . just trying to get through the day filled with. . . .
the meetings that bore you to tears. . . . . .
the dirty dishes and the laundry. . . . .. .
errands, picking up the dry cleaning and going to the bank. . . .
traveling to meetings far away from your family day after day after day. . . . .
commuting on the bus or the train or in the traffic that drives you to road rage. . .
picking up the kids’ toys for umpteenth time. . . . .

. . . . . . . . whatever it is that you have to get through in your day so you can go to sleep and then get up and do it all over again.
STOP

Think

This IS your life.

Enjoy this journey that you’re on. .

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Snap, Crackle, Ahh










I have a dog, a small dog. A small dog with a small bladder. Small dogs with small bladders equals frequent trips outside.

I hate the cold. With a passion! Small dogs with small bladders, frequent trips outside in the winter = cold exposure and an unhappy dr mimi!! Brrrr!!!

I also have a beautiful wooded reservation right across the street from my house. I rarely go into the reservation unless it is below freezing (small WHITE dog, muddy trails = dirty dog indoors. YUCK). I also avoid the reservation due to the deer ticks which always seem to hop a ride home on Cody, my little white dog with the small bladder.

So, today, I walked in the reservation with Cody since it is snow and ice covered and I knew he wouldn’t come home dirty and the ticks were wherever ticks go in the bitter cold. Not likely to be hitch hiking in teen and low twenty degree temperatures!

Even though I don’t like cold weather, there is something very refreshing about walking in the woods in the cold all bundled up as long as the wind isn’t cutting through your clothes. I noticed that the fallen leaves that carpeted the trails were covered by a crust of snow and made a most pleasant crunching noise under my boots and Cody’s paws. It sounded like crunching bags of potato chips under our feet. The woods were quiet and the sun was shining and I must say, it was a very pleasant experience. I almost forgot that it was cold outside. You just have to look for the positive where you least expect it. I am going to remember that next time I am experiencing a negative moment!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year


Hello? Is that the Universe talking?

Sometimes, it just seems like someone or something is trying to get a message to you.

I receive daily emails containing positive quotes, inspirational messages, and motivational subjects from different websites. Today, they all seemed to have a similar theme:

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face . . . You must do the thing you cannot do." ~Eleanor Roosevelt
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." -Theodore Roosevelt
"No matter how big and tough a problem may be, get rid of confusion by taking one little step toward solution. Do something."~George Nordenholt~
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

What a great message for the New Year! Take action, do something, and don’t worry if you fail—action is better than sitting on your butt! So what if you fail, you are actually choosing failure by choosing not to take action.

One of the most inspirational stories of the past decade has been the story of someone who took action when she saw a need. Maggie Doyne lives by these quotes. She did it by taking one step at a time. She has saved the lives of many children because she realized she “must do the thing you cannot do” and because of that, she won the “Do Something” 2009 award http://www.dosomething.org/programs/awards . Read about her inspiring mission at http://www.blinknow.org/ and follow her blog http://maggiedoyne.squarespace.com/.

Today marks a new day, a new year, a new decade. What are the things that you’ve always wanted to do . . . . but didn’t? What are some of your dreams that you thought you would never be able to do for whatever the reason (insert here—“I’m not smart enough, don’t have enough money, time, energy, or support”. You get the idea—we all have dreams but put them away for reasons that only WE know). Write down what you really want to do and then take action . . . . . “Do Something” to get it done!


Happy New Year!!

(Photo by Alan Zegas)