This is the last week of April, 2010. Where did this month go? That seems to continue to put people into an awe state…time moving so very quickly. Is it a result of getting older and having so much left to do when it is extremely possible that most of our days are behind us? Or is it across the board, younger and older alike who are experiencing the swift movement of the days? I’d like to know.

Recapping my own month is a habit as I near toward the end. I normally measure it in “how much money did I make this month” because I am keenly aware of the following month’s bills coming due. Oh, I know that success is not measured ultimately in dollars and yet it is what allows us to function in this world. Some days it is enough to simply have enough, though I am most happy when it comes through doing something I love doing.

This month’s end finds me physically tired. It’s been lovely to begin working in the yard, planting new and rearranging old. It also adds to my plate of things to do and my perception of so little time is reflected in the chaos of my house and car interiors. There are things left out that I hope to eventually find a home for, either in storage or recycling or (last resort) trash. Those things pile up while I am taking care of the immediate. It seems I am simply moving from one task to the next and not making any headway, though I suppose I can turn that look around and see that the fact that I am continuing to work as headway. This time last year I was borrowing money to make it through the month of April and May. Feels very good to be handling it well myself this year. That’s headway.

Money aside, what kind of headway have I made? This has been a month of growth in the relationship department. My son and his family have made plans to move here from Aspen and they will stay with me for a moment as they find their own home. I’ve been cast in a play that revolves around my character. The drama off-stage rivals that of on…relationship building. Some stronger steps are being taken to express myself in truth to my myself, which is easily the norm rather than not now. Headway.

The world seems to be truly shaking things up this month. So many earthquakes, volcano. It is becoming the norm to see that there has been yet another large earthquake causing devastation in someone’s life. We are becoming numbed out by the tragedies, so much so that we must shake ourselves and remind ourselves to be grateful for what we have right now.

Yesterday my daughter and granddaughter were driving through an intersection on a green light when a woman did not notice her own red light and crashed into my daughter’s car. When seeing the car coming at her, my daughter’s instinct was to turn and look at her own daughter in the car seat. My heart turns to a puddle when I think of the possibilities of that split second in time and gratitude overwhelms me to know they are unhurt and still lighting up my world.

Well we have officially been dubbed the coolest town in the United States, at least for the moment. The President and Michelle are here in our town. Asheville, North Carolina. The “spiritual mecca of the the western world”. People come here to live life in a quiet way. A loving way. We are good to each other. We recognize street people and Presidents alike. We have theatre groups such as Immediate Theatre Project to bring us productions such as the most recent “Dead Man’s Cell Phone”. Lauren Fortuna is our resident star of theatre here. She is brilliant and perfect for stage. And apparently screen too. As well as billboards. Our restaurants are hip and cool, each in their own way. I am partial to Scully’s as my daughter and son-in-law are the proprietors. I know how much they care about serving people well and providing a workplace home for the servers and bartenders and management. And it is good food made with care, prepared as for a comfortable guest. Then there is Beans and Berries, their smoothie, coffee café on North Merrimon. I created the look, logo and graphics from their intention to “build a place where people come and feel happy”. The intention is to offer healthy and tasty food quickly rather than fast, whether driving through or eating inside or on the patio…now that it is spring.

This town is a place where you can reinvent yourself to be who you have been all along and afraid to live it. We are a town of misfits and out of the boxers. We lead the way for so many to follow.

So what’s our life like from an outside viewpoint? ?Google Obama’s and Asheville and read the stories. If I didn’t live here, I’d at the very least visit here. And of course, once here I would have to move here. We are a cozy town. We are an arts town. We are the Paris of the South. We are a town that recognizes each other. Those of us who have been here a while are home easily. The family shows up in friendship and taking courageous steps together. This weekend was “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” in downtown Asheville. Men walking a mile in pumps to raise money and awareness for a women’s shelter.

Love this talk by Derek Sivers at TED. He says “The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader…”

I just watched this feature story on CNN.com touting yoga. It’s a beautifully powerful story. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/04/21/dnt.mans.yoga.weight.loss.plan.WXYZ?hpt=T2

“Today is the tomorrow you worried about, and all is well.”

I ended the previous post with gratitude, claiming a new story is emerging. So what’s the story? A very Brooklyn-like accent punctuates this question. Humor, y’know. Humor is a respite from a world that has seemingly gone mad. I’ve just read through the headlines once again on cnn.com. Oye. Don’t want to go there this morning. Humor. It’s a way of looking at the world with a smile that comes from the head and lands in the heart. A purposeful thought of twisting a situation into a laugh.

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Lately my blog postings have become fewer and fewer. As the list of things I have to do pile up, the blog writing gets put further behind. Not because I do not have the desire to write. It is because my head becomes so clogged with thoughts that I feel I have nothing of any significance to say. “It’s all been said before” kind of thoughts run through my head. Kind of bored with myself. I’ve had the same story running now for 11 years. Read on.

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