(219) not a lot to say today

Good morning.

The spinach is vibrant and nourishing, and the coffee has just kicked in. I'm listening to the soundtrack from Star Wars (A New Hope) and admiring the genius of John Williams.

I'm tired and hoping that I'll make more time for sleep.

Faith, sleep, exercise. When those pillars are in place, anything is possible.

Back soon. :)

(222#) Be In the World, But Not Of the World

Good morning.

Would that be the correct phrasing? "Be in the world, but not of it."

There are times I find it truly remarkable how blind I've been. Almost as if I were sleepwalking through the first half of my life. I'm not disrespectful of the trials and tribulations, joys and wonderful encounters that have been sprinkled upon the thread of my life, and yet there seems to be so much more substance to the nature of things lately. This is life, and it's definitely worth living.

And so this sunny Friday begins with the promise of blue skies and bright eyes. I will be mindful of my thoughts, for they create my universe and determine destiny. I will be in the world, but not of it. After all, aren't we actually infinite and unlimited energy, interconnected with everything and yet temporarily bound in these corporeal forms? What a wonderful opportunity to consciously bring our very best to one other. :)

I hope you're well. I've missed you.
Namaste,
Frank

Something I've come to learn about you...

My dear friend, I hope this email finds you well. I'm typing this note next to my bedroom window. The sky is a gorgeous light blue, and the sun is both bright and hopeful. I think this is the best day of the month so far. We've had the opportunity to discuss character, and specifically, what makes us tick. If you'll allow me the indulgence, I'd like to elaborate a bit more on this topic. You were created on a very special day. The angels cried and laughed with joy. One of their own was going to be human, and never before had a soul such as yours existed. It was a truly remarkable day. You have a heart big enough to love the world, and eyes that see with great kindness. Your ears hear the words behind the words, and your hands are the hands of a healer. You have also been given great gifts: ample strength, an inquisitive mind, a generous heart and a restless soul. You have walked many weary miles down dark, torturous roads, challenged persistently on your character and your faith. For all of that, you have come through to the other side both stronger and kinder. It seems to me that you've flown through the eye of a needle. All things unnecessary to your character have been burned away, revealing the light and strength inside. You caught my eye with your beauty, and yet it was your spirit that has held my heart. I am grateful for all that has passed to bring you into my life. I am compelled to remind you that your character was made for a purpose. You were meant to shine forth, be a Messenger, and to live in (and freely give) Abundance. The challenges before you are numerous and draining. You have the option to deny your basic character, to live a life below your talents and abilities, to "hide your light under a bushel" and live with a diminished spirit. There are advantages to this choice: a secure life, few surprises, the only challenge to "tow the line". You could live through and for your children, and hope that they would not see the growing emptiness inside, the "hollowing out" of your soul, all life removed... replaced with only a flickering light. Please don't deny your spirit. It is a thing of beauty and it is limitless in its capacity to heal and inspire. Set it free and spend the coming days learning who you are, and bask in the love that created and sustains you. Love has never diminished...it is merely our awareness of love that changes. You are a strong and loving person, with a heart big enough for the world, and you were meant for great things. Please don't turn away from yourself. The reserves are spent, and the tanks are nearly empty, but take the time to allow them to refill and for your soul to recharge. It will blaze forth anew and be a beacon to many. My vision is not great, but I can recognize beauty. Yours is a beautiful spirit, and I'm asking you to be no more than (or less than) your own sweet self. This is something I've come to learn about you, and it's reminded me of the magic in the world. Thank you!

Actual Insight and Really Nice Hair

I hope this note finds you well.

A piece of my Life's puzzle fell into place today. It was revealed to me, and I pray that I may have the love, strength, patience and cleverness to see my way through to the other shore.

Thank goodness for faith, family and friends. All those Fs.

Along with that, I was reminded that I have a nice head of hair, especially when it's cut well.

Lucky life, full of challenges and hope.

We'll talk soon.

In gratitude,

Me

216 and Fully Hydrated! (aka: the Loneliest Workout, the Best Sleep)

Hey hey, good morning!

Something is in the air. Nearly everyone I've spoken with today is in a good mood! I love these chance moments, like we're all gears, and we've all just aligned for awhile, in synch, meshed beautifully, eyes shining and hopeful.

I slept the sleep of the very innocent last night, awake and alert at the first alarm. My roommate's puppy, Maddie, was nestled by my feet and quite content to be gently pet for a few minutes. A slow and steady rising to the surface of wakefulness is an ideal start to my day.

Made it to the gym early! 4:15 and time to visit my friend Jim, working the front counter. We enjoyed catching up (my early morning appearances have been inconsistent this week), and a few minutes later I was on the first machine of the day, an elliptical that has been a long time favorite.

Best laid plans.... so I was early on the ONE DAY when my two workout friends did NOT make it to the gym! Mitch is nursing a post-vacation cold and Richard was on his 2nd cup of "I'm not working out today" coffee when he answered my text. Ugh! Narcissist that I am (business card is a mirror, ha ha), how can they point out my marvelousness if they're not there to compliment the early arrival?

You know, it's time I let go of the whole "me, me, look at me" mentality. It's an old outfit that no longer suits me. The laws of Nature will support this in favor of my goal to be more service-oriented....create a vacuum in your life, and the Universe will rush in to fill the void. :)

Today is shaping up to be full and rich with varied characters throughout the coming hours. Laundry to walk, puppies to fold, salad to shred, paperwork to eat, and then a call with my coach, racquetball with a friend, dinner with family and hopefully lots and lots of laughter along the way. I also need to update my resume again and apply for more job openings. I have no doubt there'll be lots of great emails today, and with luck, some good insight. I like coffee, but I LOVE insights.

I'm lucky and blessed for all that's come into my life. Thanks for being part of that.

Take care! May today be a mix of luck and humor for you!
Frank

p.s. I swam into the wall yesterday in the first 25 yards of swim class (triathlon training). So focused on breathing, keeping hips up, shoulders down, kicking gently and thinking smooth thoughts.... I swam right smack dab into the edge of the pool, headfirst! Ouch! And yet, weren't we just on the topic of physical injuries (clumsiness) being one of the best elements for humor? It was worth the all-day headache to be able to laugh about it today.

(219) Do you make your own luck?

Hi there!

Happy Tuesday!

Completely exhausted but about to catch an afternoon nap. It's a beautiful day outside, 36 degrees with a hint of spring in the air.

I think we make our own Luck.

A friend suggested I pray for guidance with the challenges set before me. Good advice.

Today's workout was solid, even though it was without having any sleep beforehand. Richard thought today was a good day for 45 minutes on the stair climber. Felt like penance, but it's raised the bar, moving forward.

Take care. More when I'm coherent. Today there is a strong feeling of Serendipity.

:)

ser⋅en⋅dip⋅i⋅ty

 –noun

1.	an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.

2.	good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting the first job she applied for.

I was distracted by the messenger...

...and what a lovely distraction she was.

It's taken time, longer than I would have guessed (when it comes to love, I'll linger a moment more), yet here we are, clear minds and open hearts. It took a while to separate my affection for a friend from the joy in the direction she was pointing me towards. A slight misstep in an important neuro-association, but an easily-remedied error.

Did I mention that my thoughts and actions are a poor translation of the incredible love and service of my parents? "If you think I'm nice, this is NOTHING compared to my Mom and Dad...". Such a bittersweet admission, but the clue on how to rise above what I've done until now is buried within that statement.

On a different note, we learned last week how to slow our heartbeats in the pool. Bob up and down with the rhythm of the water and we quickly get tuned into something larger than ourselves. In a wider sense, the same is happening elsewhere and everywhere in my daily life. There is a growing sense of Calm.

I pray it's Compassion, not Indifference, that has entered my life.

Time will tell.*

*my sincere apologies....this particular line causes a justifiable eye-roll with one of my friends. And yet, it is STILL the best line for this occasion.

There are very few absolutes in Life, and I absolutely believe that.

Thanks for reading this.

Woody

(217) Seven is an Auspicious Number

Walked into the gym at 7am.

7th child from a loving family.

7 loads of laundry to wash and fold today.

I'm stumped on more at the moment.

It's been a beautiful, thoughtful morning.

The way is being cleared. I have no idea what's coming, or how I'll be called, but my next steps are clear: listen, love and laugh.

I've added "practice yoga" to this list. Flexibility will be needed.

Two thoughts for today:

Thank you for what you've given me.

Subtle energies are ever at work.

Frank

(weight unknown) I could've been an 80's rock lyricist

"My efforts are half-hearted and wasted. I give in to despair and float on an ocean of pain under a melting sun. Hope is a cool blue raft upon which I lie, eyes closed and dreaming of rain."

wow. Solid gold lyrics there. ha! So Life squirts lemon juice in your eye. Or as Jillian says... flat tire? Don't slash the other three....fix the flat and move on!

Good Afternoon! I hope this Friday finds you well.

I'm at the keyboard, about to take the dogs for a walk (my roommate has 2 of the best lab mixes out there), and my schedule is upside down today. Dinner last night ran til 11pm. The next thing I knew I was asleep on the couch at my sister's house. Dragging my sorry self home at 3am, I went back to sleep (missing the morning workout) and then went in to my old office to solve a printer problem. Yes, the place that downsized me right before Christmas... called and asked for help. (I'm unsure who I'm angrier with, them for calling, or me for responding). I was there at 9:45 with donuts, an honest smile, and the goal to be out of there before too long. I felt like a ghost, seeing my old life a month after I'd died. But I was a genuinely happy ghost. So, I'm a fool. But at least it's true to my nature.

Trainer at 3 today. Left elbow still sore. My engine is revving but I'm in neutral (possibly in Park). How does a person narrow their focus down to a laser's point? Love, hope, energy, faith, excitement, anger, talent and LIFE! Channeled correctly, the power to move mountains, yet right now, positively crackling with potential (without direction).

I think a conscious decision to relax and stand ready. Yes, that's a start.

A friend reminded me of the pain and suffering and loss in the world. I'm winging my thoughts and prayers out to the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. Not much, but a start.

Thanks for listening.

Less turbulence in a bit...

Woody

From the Glow of the Computer Screen

First a famine, then a feast...

Okay....I was trying to think of one of the funniest things that's happened in the last few months.

Given a choice, anything that results from TRYING to look good but ends up with a clumsy finish...that's solid gold in my book. There was a time I fell down a waterfall, slapping at my face and waving my arms all about (I had walked smack dab into a spider web and saw a fuzzy something in my peripherals...yeah, thought it was a spider...ugg). or (laughing) there was the time I thought I'd try to jump over a garbage can on the sidewalk, totally flubbed it and went sprawling. Of course, doing a hand stand (ta-da!) and then splitting my pants in front of my girlfriend...well, my face never turned so red, so fast. Cool and clumsy...perfect combination for humor.

Thinking on it now, what REALLY made it funny was that my friends were right there, seeing it all unfold. Shared pain is lessened, shared joy is increased, and shared laughter... well that's just a beautiful thing.

I guess the funniest thing that happened recently was convincing my coworker back in November that the word "gullible" had indeed been removed from the dictionary. It was priceless. J's got such a good heart, she went along with it hook, line and sinker, going so far as to say: "Thank Goodness! Now when my kids tell me I'm gullible, I'll say, 'Sorry, not in the dictionary!'." We were laughing about that one for a few weeks.

On a funny/yet darker note... Yesterday, I popped up at the gym, totally scaring my friends as they were winding through a workout. I was running late, and simply "appeared" at their elbows, between the treadmills. Richard jumped about a foot in the air, and Mitch and I were howling with laughter for 3 minutes.* Poor Richard. I didn't mean to scare him that bad. It was funny, but next time, I think I'll just go with a joke about a bartender.

*this scare is second only to 2 other classic scares: my brother hid in a hamper for 20 minutes to pop out at the exact right moment. Years later, my brother-in-law hid in a closet for one of the best all-time scares around! I was in on it, and I jumped about a mile, too.

Life is tricky, no doubt about it. Thank goodness there's laughter along the way to keep things lively.

So tell me.... why was the little ant confused?

-because all of his uncles were ants.

Share a joke with a friend today. Chocolate works pretty well, too. :)

Be the Change You Want To See In the World

A good friend reminded me of this famous Gandhi quotation. It's an elegant reminder for me. I read the same quote in Memphis this last weekend, on a poster at the National Civil Rights Museum. Funny how there is so much wisdom out there in the world, and yet we're not ready for it until, well, until we're ready.

This quote makes me want to learn more, much more, about the people who've given so much to the world, stirring us to action, to care, to love... Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, to name a few that've been rattling around in my head for some time. How did they cross the the gulf between Self and Service?

Ah. Here is, perhaps, a clue (also from Gandhi): “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

In truth, this was part of the problem with the last decade in my life. I did not know myself, nor trust that I had the tools to bring about awareness (and ultimately, action). I'm starting fresh, this time with faith and a healthy appreciation for the ridiculous. To live well is to laugh often, and to humbly offer service to others.

I now have the time to study the lives and works of these humanitarians, live in a state of love, catch up on laundry and work on syncing body, mind and soul.

But next up, a lovely afternoon nap! It's the simple things, really. I fear I'm becoming hobbit-like, including the hairy toes.

More to come.

Thanks!

221 and The Sleeper Must Awaken! (Dune)

Good Morning and Fond Greetings!

I've missed you a great deal, and yet for all that, you never felt far away.

Good heavens, where to start?

I live a lucky and blessed life, and I try daily to model Isaac Singer's protagonist in the classic story "Gimpel the Fool". A loving heart, quick to laugh, slow to anger, flexible in life, sincere in forgiveness and ever ready to live in expectancy. Sometimes I even make progress in these goals! :)

It helps to be surrounded by loving family and wonderful friends.

My heart expands as my eyes open wide and Life beckons.

And it's January. Happy New Year! ha ha, have you noticed how I'm stalling for time? I feel guilty for posting so infrequently. My apologies (for the delay, and the guilt).

So.... The Sleeper Must Awaken. Great line from a great movie (Frank Herbert's DUNE). It has resonance with me. I feel as if I've been asleep for so long, and now I'm waking to discover strength, purpose, life, laughter, color in the world. Thank goodness.

The workouts continue. 2 and a half hours each morning, and I'm lucky to share time with my friends Mitch and Richard at the gym. I can count on them to be on the ellipticals each morning at 4:30, and to text me at 5:20 if I haven't appeared yet. Ellipticals, stationary bikes, treadmills, stair climbers, weight resistance and thorough stretching ensue, along with laughter and interesting conversations. 7am sees me in the pool, working on "swimming downhill" for the most efficient swim stroke possible. I feel strong and fast and alert and energized. One sore elbow, but that's coming along, too.

2010 will be a year for triathlons and multi-sport competitions.

I lost my job at the end of December. 13 years as a graphic designer. The rest of my life to follow other dreams.

Thank goodness for family, friends, full schedules and prayer.

I've never had a problem talking. I hope I can become a better listener.

last thought today: if anything matters, then everything matters.

Take care! More to come! As always, thank you for reading, and thank you for your good thoughts.

Frank