I Wasn't Always Like This

A brief reflection sparked by a memory from long, long ago. A memory of friends showing pure Kindness to me and my family. Which led me to look at the ways we are - and are not - Taking Good Care of one another. In these times, it is more important than ever to pay attention to this. It's not a difficult thing to do. Taking Good Care of ourselves and others is the best way we can "walk each other home."

A reflection on the power and necessity of crying. How crying is good for us (and how a "good cry" can feel amazing), why it's important to not let anyone make us feel "bad" for crying, and celebrating the "ugly" crying that can happen while watching a great movie or listening to a beautiful song. Let those tears flow!!

Thank you for joining me on this reflection about the world-famous - and famously annoying - Knock Knock joke about bananas and oranges. I am still learning how to appreciate living in the beautiful anticipatory "banana" moments while navigating life in a fully "orange" world. Give this episode a listen. It'll all make sense, I promise. Well, I hope it will! And Thank You, as always, for listening.

Sitting with some amazing "coincidences" and the return of long-ago friends into my life. Recognizing how powerful these re-connections are, during these Days of Awe - the Holy Days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Reflecting, remembering, forgiving. It's all about Kindness, folks. Hope you enjoy this one.

The words: Lazman hazeh are the words at the end of a Hebrew prayer, the Shehecheyanu. They translate to: For this time. Between swimming every morning and then watching a Marvel series the other day, I was led to reflect on what it means for me to be present IN each Now moment. In each: For this time. Gratitude. Sadness. And an appreciation for every single thing. That's where I landed.

It seems that many of us - me included - have recently been feeling the weight of depression. Along with the pressure to "get back to normal," there are just a lot of feelings swirling around. Please, take a few minutes to listen and to be reminded that none of us are walking this life alone. AND, that we have the opportunity to move forward in this moment, instead of "going back" to anything that is past and done. Don't give up.  

This episode is a bit longer than any of the others. It covers about 4 and a half years! From the dream house becoming the house of terrors, from the beginning to (almost) the ending of my time at Ursuline College, from the beginning and into the on-going conversation with my Spiritual Companion, through laughter, grief, pain, amazement, triumph, frustration, hope, despair, Gratitude, and - of course - always with Maddie, we have come from there to here. Acknowledging, of course, that "here" is a moving target. Every time we reach "here," it moves! And we're in another "here." I am Grateful to have reached this particular "here" because of the Wisdom my Beloved Michael shared: "So we live and we learn, but we only learn if we live." Although this episode seems like an ending, it isn't one. It's just another "here." I will return in the next "here" to talk with you all again soon. 

The journey continues on, even though we arrived at our destination (so we thought). My time in Ithaca with Maddie was filled with the Love and Support of our dear friend Joan. It was also a time of darkness and punishing depression that caught up with me when I stopped moving. Grateful for Joan, my Mom, Jody, Maddie, and my friend who always speaks the truth to me, for helping to keep me going through those ten months. And then, we arrived back in Ohio, only to face the reality that two very important people were not there anymore. This episode is an up-down-and-all-around ride, for sure. You do get to hear a recording of me singing when I was about 4, though. So, that's a bonus!

So much ground to cover - literally, figuratively, inwardly, and outwardly! The ending of a relationship, the ending of my time in Alaska. The beginning of an adventure, the stepping (or, rather, driving) out into the un-known. Stories of Love, loss, grief, Gratitude, and bison await you in this episode. I hope you enjoy it!