Another.
Another.
There.
You are alive. You are breathing.
So am I.
You might be asking what we should do next, in a world offering up plenty of crazy at the moment.
So am I.
Years ago, on Sunday, July 20, 2008, to be precise, this blog went live with an essay about my existential crisis. This morning, I have a new existential crisis, one brought on by my continued breathing in a world where the loudest, brashest, greediest, rudest, scariest
Yes, I still have a penchant for melodrama, but I've also developed a habit of gratitude over the past eight years that kicked in almost as soon as my brain finished screaming, "Nooooooooooooo!"
That's when this thought popped into my head: there's always, always, always something to be thankful for.
I turn 50 in less than two weeks. That's something to be thankful for. It's also galvanizing me to write. Things have been dormant on my blogs for a while, and there's not much point in exploring whatever writerly angst or malaise kept me quiet for so long. What matters is that I've found fresh words and renewed focus.
I invite you to join me on my quest to put more good words out there--words of peace, love, compassion, kindness, cooperation, unity, inclusion. We need to pour forth good words until the ugly words are drowned by a tsunami of love.
My inner Pollyanna flower child is blooming. Care to bloom with me?
Thought for the day: We cannot transform the world to be kinder until we first transform ourselves to be kinder in the world. What one small thing can you do today to make yourself kinder?
Love LOVE that sign/ saying. It is too early for me to have any comprehensive thoughts so I'm just going to enjoy breathing. 😉
ReplyDeleteBreathing with you. That sign stays on my mantle year-round, except at Christmas when it's replaced with a framed "Peace on Earth" print. It's a great place to put a reminder!
DeleteI'm going to be kind by complimenting people on their talents. Susan, you're a terrific writer and I enjoy your writing. Regarding the election, I'm thrilled with the results of it. Not saying that to upset you or any of your readers who agree with you, but as a reminder that this day is not viewed as a "dark day" by many. Hope your day gets better and you continue to bloom :).
ReplyDeleteWell, thank you so much, Maria! I miss seeing you and talking with you. Congratulations on yesterday's victory for your candidate. I was going to be sad no matter who won. As a lawyer, you can, I think, appreciate my message of the harm that rhetoric can do in service to divisiveness. So much negativity and ugliness in the past two years came to a head last night. Let's all work toward cooperation and celebrate protecting our freedom to vote without fear and with integrity.
Deletehttp://transformingcommondays.blogspot.com/2016/11/what-are-we-all-afraid-of.html
I do love two quotes by Mother Teresa:
ReplyDeleteGo out into the world today and love the people you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of others."
and
"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
I want to spread love out to the world. My kind of it is to send out a bunch of cards soon, just as a remimder there are so many wonderful, friendly people around the world, no matter which race, age, gender,... let us stand together and spread love out into the world...
I will take a very deep breath and then start to stamp.
Sweet Susan. Thankful for you.
ReplyDeleteVery sad times--not just here but around the world. So true that there is always something to be thankful for & in my head I know things could be worse, but not always easy to feel that in my heart. I am enough of an optimist to have a glimmer of hope that he may not be as awful now as he's been throughout the campaign. I also would not have been joyful if she had won. I am baffled that so many Evangelicals (much of my family included, I'm afraid) could ignore his rhetoric & character & think just needing change & wanting his party in office justified voting for him. Yes, deep breaths needed. Thank you for your post, Susan.
ReplyDeleteHello Susan: I'm also shocked, sadden and angry this man won this election but, what can you expect when he appealed to the fear and prejudice a lot of people feel about immigrants, legal or otherwise, that made all of the people who voted for him feel that his horrible, insulting, demeaning, disgusting and disgraceful behavior didn't matter at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm an immigrant from Mexico who became an American Citizen more than 25 years ago, my husband's entire family came to this Country back in 1970 looking for a better life and an opportunity to grow and learn, which they have done amazingly.
But there is no turning back now, what's done is done and all we have and need to do now is hope that our new President is going to serve our Country with honor, he has in his politically inexperienced hands the future of our Country, for the next 4 years and possibly beyond because, what ever he does during his term, will affect our future generations tremendously.
Thank you for your posts, I read the one about your husband and his friend doing the Iron Man earlier this year so, as a 3 times Iron Man myself, I enjoyed reading about their Journey.
I'm 65 years old now, been married for 43+ years, our daughters and grandchildren are thriving and happy in this amazing Country we all call home.
I'm still breathing deeply, over and over again and will continue doing it for a long while.
I want to see our new President unite our Country, not divide it further, lets all hope for the best.
Big Hugs,
Maria A. Rodriguez.