Nearly 2 decades ago…not really sure of the time frame…I made a decision to “practice positive”, switch around how I focused on things, situations and people around me. My well-entrenched habit was to look at things as though the bottom was about to fall out of any situation, if it hadn’t already. What I know now is that a shift in what I focus on in any given situation determines how I move through it and how it it affects those around me.

This weekend I made the decision to euthanize my little, wacky, beloved Shih Tzu, Chloe. “Put her to sleep” is more preferred as it portrays a loving kindness that was inherently wished for in taking the action.

My dear friend Amos stood through it with me. She helped me to stay grounded. Just by her presence as she freely and lovingly fed back to me my open thoughts. Guiding me to a stronger self.

The circle of fine women who gathered. Divinely given.

The support team at the vet hospital. Beautiful.

And Chloe. Brave Chloe. Strong Chloe. Loving Chloe. Feisty Chloe. Insistent Chloe. She kept us captive of a bit of tension in her later years. Still she delighted with her latest toy, the green alligator. Molly hasn’t touched it since Chloe has been gone. Molly is sad. She is my big briard that Chloe bullied. A site to see with the two of them playing tug of war inches from each others face. Chloe was a daredevil. Or she simply didn’t let size be a unit of measure of worth to her.

I pray she is at peace with my decision, that she is happy about it. That she is free of pain. That she knows she is loved and missed. That she is playing with Luci. Chloe and Luci. Namaste.

Short and lovely visit with Kathii in Minneapolis…

If the definition of jet setting is getting on a plane to spend less than 24 hours in a city, well then I am jet setting. I am sitting at the airport waiting for a flight to Minneapolis to visit my sister. My flight was schedule for 7 am and I would have been laughing it up by now if Delta had not cancelled the flight. Instead, I land at almost 2pm and get back on a plane tomorrow at 2 to come back. In between promises to be a great time with Kathi who I last saw in July in LA.

Kathi is 3 years younger than me which makes no difference now but certainly did when we were growing up. I got when she was still in high school…me just barely out. We became best friends, talking nearly every day for 26years until my divorce somehow also ended our best friendship. Kathi pretty much kicked me out of her life which I don’t quite understand to this day. However, she is back in, I am back in. Our trip to LA put us there. I was scribing for Marianne Williamson and Kathi came out to help. Somehow we found each other again.

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The week has quieted down today. It started with a couple earthquakes here in Oklahoma City right before I arrived on Sunday. Monday brought storms and a tornado warning, meaning tornados had been sighted and we prepared with the knowledge of a room to rush to that has 3 foot dense walls. Didn’t have to make that dash as the toughest weather went around us.

Later in the day I got the news from my dog sitter (who is great, by the way! Asheville Pet Steward…check him out on fb) that there was an “aggressive” bear in my neighborhood. Though there are some woods across the street, the mall is literally over the fence in my backyard! Seems an odd place for a bear to show up.

And just to make things crazier, I had written an email to a friend (before the bear showed up) that was titled the same as the title of this blog post. Oh, yeah, and I had drawn a journey map for a client based on the wizard of oz theme. Life imitating art or some such thing. I imagine if I were looking at my life from “above” it I would be laughing…I guess I am laughing a bit anyway.

I have been traveling quite a bit in the last 6 months, working with consulting groups who support companies to have meetings that are focused on humanity rather than the profits they hope to gain as a result. I think that is okay. It is a fine switch in mentality and definitely on the road to healing what ails corporate America. People seeing people. After all, corporations are made up of people. Without people is there a corporation?

So all this traveling puts me out of touch with a consistent social network at home and my socializing seems to be primarily the teams I work with and a few really great friends I mostly hang out with via cell phone. One of those friends is my sister. We are having a renewed relationship as we both seem to be needing the other for a landing place in the rough seas. It is really nice to have her and the other women I talk with, of varying ages. My children are also a big part of my life, all grown up and growing families of their own. In fact we just added the newest family member last Saturday with the birth of my daughter’s daughter. Holding her today was a little slice of heaven and a big dose of what is real and important.

I am hoping that with my latest technological purchase of my iPad and downloading wordpress app that I will write more frequently and share what I hope is Interesting and inspiring. That remains to be seen.

Tomorrow I will talk to a group of artists, entrepreneurial creatives who have come to a free workshop about the legal side of their business of selling their art. What I bet is that these are people who are determined to make their world happen as they have envisioned. Though I am not sure of what I will say exactly, I am sure that my intent is for as many people as possible walking away with a renewed sense of appreciation for themselves. And a knowing that they are part of the change of this world, looking to organic beauty, looking to peace, looking to love.

I am excited because this is what I have planned to be my future, offering conversation with an audience, encouraging those people to be who they are because it is so much more than enough to make a difference in this world. I experimented with this last year when I thought I might be dying. I had no medical reason to think so, it was just a fear because my father died at my age most likely. Well I made it to this next birthday a couple weeks ago and, as life would have it, it seems rather than ending my life is just beginning once again. Perhaps that is what I sensed was dying, that person I had been being because I was afraid to be me.

And now, now that I am allowing myself to see myself, all kinds of wonderful things are showing up. Things that I had been trying so hard to  make happen are flowing more easily into my world. I am most grateful for all that I have and am getting pretty demanding that a couple that are outstanding find their way in. One is more wonderful work and the other is a romance…pretty standard fare. Match.com and eHarmony are not the answer. Are you possibly reading this? Dare to dream

A Hope Elder Speaks

“You have been telling the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered…

Where are you living?

What are you doing?

What are your relationships?

Are you in right relation?

Where is your water?

Know your garden.

It is time to speak your Truth.

Create your community.

Be good to each other.

And do not look outside yourself for the leader.”

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, “This could be a good time!”

“There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly.

“Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

“The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” –attributed to an unnamed Hopi Elder, Oraibi, Arizona

While the world waits to see just how it will all completely resolve in Egypt, we honor the men and women who stood up courageously, facing their fear and doing it anyway. Peace and love is a force for change.

Okay…I’m back again blogging. Ready to inspire and be inspired. For a while I just couldn’t get here, using the excuse I don’t want to lose the TEDx talk as my first entry for people to see. Even after I posted that video on my blipstudio.com site as well, I continued to use that excuse. The truth is that I was going through some stuff. Not tough stuff, just stuff. And I didn’t want to let it end up on the page, so to speak, until I moved through it and could write about it from the point of view of having done that. So here’s the gist of it… Read the rest of this entry »

Here is my TEDx Asheville talk. It’s funny to me that all I could see at first are the places where I messed up and how I wished I didn’t wear those boots…be who you are, it is so much more than enough Guess we teach what we most need to learn.

The title of this post is the same headline as the secondary headline of Monday’s Asheville Citizen Times. With a great big photo of me. You can read the article online. It was an exceptional experience and one I count as one of life’s best days. I’ve dreamed for years of being on stage and inspiring people. In fact, when I played the game of “when I am taking my last breath, what would I be sorry I never accomplished?” and this was it. My hope is it is the first of many. I was in awe of the people who told me that I inspired them and particularly in awe of the 2 women who had so much emotion it spilled out of their eyes. It is a life worth living to have that ability. That gift. I am careful not to take credit as I do believe it is a gift to have the desire to inspire in that way.

Though I did lead off the evening, what followed were people I am most humbled to be in the company of. Please take some time to watch the livestream. The day before was TEDxNGA, the kid’s version though there was nothing childlike about their talks, other than their innate wisdom pouring through without barrier. A lovely way to be childlike.

Enough said. I’d rather you spent your time checking out the talks. I’ll write more at some point. Big life changes.