Hooker Line Proves Profound; Pretty Woman Pretty Smart After All

Summer is finally here and the longer days are consuming more of my time outdoors and in the garden. I don’t want to waste a second when there is so much living to do…and for maybe the first time in my life, writing has taken a backseat to the actual insights of living being served up every day. I’ve used pictures instead for fear I might miss out on something if I took the time to write it down.

I’ve been on a bit of a bender lately (minus the booze…well okay, a little bourbon goes well with most things) and have learned that it really isn’t about what challenges you face in life. It has everything to do with what you consider a challenge. And finding my way had more to do with realizing I was already exactly where I needed to be and not in need of a roadmap as to which direction to take.

There is a little bit of Dorothy (by way of the Good Witch Glenda’s observation), a dash of Mary Poppins, and yes…even the character portrayed by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.

I reached a resting point recently after waking up one day to find I had a completely different view of the world I’ve lived in for most of my adult life. I wish I could tell you what changed, but it was so subtle. I wasn’t holding my mouth right (old fishing saying for when the fish aren’t biting and one that a friend has coined often). It used to bug me to hear it. Never made sense. It was too simplistic in explaining how an activity or event did not net the expected results. And it pissed me off to boil it down to something that had no substance or tangible explanation I could sink my teeth into. Because really…I’ve been a gal that needs to find deep meaning and reason in every single thing. And stuff that doesn’t make sense has been quite the Achilles heel for me. To keep order in my life, I needed to be able to rationalize the “why” behind every aspect of my life. WTF was my past response. I now must concede that it is indeed that simple and complex all at once. Living life with this ecosystem proved exhausting for me. Another phrase I used to detest was “it is what it is.” I have also come to appreciate this as sound guidance for various points in my life where my sheer will to make something happen would have been so much better served to accept and keep going. And as I sit and write this now, I can see that I’m making up for lost time and likely going too long and too deep to keep anyone entertained and interested to the end.

I’ve been on a road trip for a while now. What most don’t realize, though, is my particular journey was unique in that it required me to take the journey standing still. Instead of searching outwardly through experiences and living, I became an observer of pretty much everything I encountered. I also had to have a willingness to put up a white board and erase all past foundational belief systems (including societal norms and expectations).

Having come full circle in deconstructing the life I once lived, I am at the crossroads where I must choose where I take it from here. It’s a little bit of “You’ve had the answer all along” from Glenda, and a twist of “It was here all along in my own backyard” from Dorothy. Throw Mary Poppins in the mix with an innate ability to spin anything negative into a positive and you can pretty much sum up who I am and where I’ve been.

Life didn’t change me nearly as much as I thought it had. In fact, I think life is the constant we all work with. We are the lens that reacts and reflects what we see (sometimes through filters we don’t even know exist). Life doesn’t discriminate. We are all equals in what we start with at the very beginning…that is to say we get this life, we are born, and we find our way.

I’ve learned that working with life and following a natural flow is far better than swimming against the current and denying whatever current reality I am in the middle of.

The final observation comes from admitting that there are people in my life, who simply don’t “get” me any longer. And that’s okay. It’s also proven far easier to simply let go than to try to rationalize my chosen path. That brings me to the final comparison, which is the hooker, who Julia Roberts played in Pretty Woman. Richard Gere stops and asks her for directions and she tells him it will cost him. Indignant, he says she can’t charge him for directions. And in true form of someone who is comfortable in her own skin, she simply says, “I can do anything I want. I ain’t lost.” Kudos to Roberts for delivering that line and ‘nuff said for where I am in my own life. I might be in the middle of a journey, but I ain’t lost. And yes, I can do anything I want!

Pressure Cooker of Life and Recipe for Success!

Sometimes I think life is a little like a pressure cooker.  We turn up the heat, throw a bunch of stuff inside, and stand…hand on hip…waiting for it to finish way faster than it should.

You can’t actually see what’s inside a pressure cooker when it’s cooking or test it to see when it’s ready.  You have to pace it, time it, and even then…you still wonder if you let the whistle simmer long enough.

And with life, it’s kind of the same thing.  You’re watching and waiting all the time…anticipating when it will be ready…complete. But you can’t check on it mid-way to see if it’s coming along or close to being the way you expect it to be.  You don’t always know when there’s too much pressure inside and sometimes impatience releases the steam too fast and with too much force, leaving you ill prepared for dealing with the outcome of any given situation.

So in life as with cooking, my advice is to always watch the burner so it doesn’t get too hot. Let out the steam at a slow and steady pace, being mindful not to burn yourself or anyone else nearby. Acknowledge that you won’t get it right every time and you will learn as you go. And most importantly, don’t worry about what anyone else is cooking! 

Change is good?

My first attempt at writing after months of silence might be disappointing and fall short of inspiring anyone, least of all me.  But it's important.

I could talk about the past few months and all the twists and turns that happened before finally landing in my own home again.  But lately, my focus has been on a different kind of journey.  It’s been equally daunting and it hasn’t been as simple as driving down winding roads, without purpose or direction.  Turns out a map or general sense of the direction you’re heading in can be helpful, especially when you are headed in a direction you’ve not yet been before.  And trust me when I say I have never been here before.

For now, I’m foregoing the move details except to say that a big part of this move involved a lifestyle change and redefining what success looks like, which served as a catalyst for all the change that followed.  

I know what you’re thinking.  It’s some mid-life crisis, where she goes off to eat, pray, and love…not even close!

I believe that our entire life is a journey and there are so many moments that fill up the time between destinations.  It’s our choice how we decide to live those moments. 

As a kid, I think I let the best moments rise to the surface, choosing to let the less than stellar moments and experiences sink to the bottom.  That has not always been the case.  There were times when I was consumed with the past, wondering about alternate outcomes and endings.  And as time went by, I realized that looking back served little purpose and actually felt like a hindrance in trying to move forward.

So I moved forward, fully believing I’d left all the bad stuff behind.  And when I say I moved forward, I’m talking decades…not the past few months.  And when I say “bad stuff” I mean the same kind of dysfunctional shit we all have to overcome unless you’ve lived a charmed life and grew up within the proverbial white picket fence.  I know very few people who can claim that childhood.  But I’m not denying it could exist for some. 

I have lived ahead of the past, not realizing it was lurking in the present and impacting the person I was.  I never realized that every bit of who I am is made up of every bit of where I’ve been.  Sure, in principle, that’s pretty basic.  Experiences shape who we are and give us perspective.  But in my case, it went a little deeper. 

Without going off on a tangent about self-help and self-discovery, suffice it to say that my past has impacted my future in every area of my life for most of my time on earth, thus far.  At this point, my first observation (one I’ll make more than once) is that change is hard.  Especially when you set about to change the very nature of how your life has been shaped…things like unconscious behaviors and tendencies…I’ve come to compare it to the equivalent of learning to breathe under water like snorkeling.  It feels so weird and can put you in a panic.  It doesn’t feel right.  It feels off.  The idea of breathing in air, while submerged under water, shit…why would you even try? But that is precisely what I had to do in order to break a cycle that has dictated the way I have lived for my entire adult life. 

I have been writing this blog for a little over two years.  I’ve covered some tough issues and shared a lot of personal struggles.  I think this past year has been one of the toughest….re-setting my normal and choosing to change parts of me that were unhealthy, yet still felt vital for every day living (and importantly, breathing!). Change is fucking hard and so is breathing under water.  I’m learning to do both. 

What do I mean by unhealthy?  I need to be cautious in my approach and attempt at self-analysis in the presence of strangers and friends of varying degrees of closeness.  People who know me well are going to know that I’m just moving to a new level of learning.  They’ll know that learning is what I love the best, but resist the most (yeah, I’m always the one that in spite of my own stubbornness and need to believe I know what I need to know…time and time again, I am surprised by how very little I really do know).   I’ve learned to accept that my view on life is constantly shifting and changing.  I think life would be easier if we all kept an open frame of mind and were willing to adapt and adjust expectations when we actually have a little more information.  Because fuck, ignorance never changes if that’s the only reality you’re willing to accept…the one you started with.  I guess you could follow life with blinders on, avoid people and situations where you don’t understand something.  Okay, yeah, remaining ignorant is an option for some.  It could never be for me.  Every time I face something I don’t understand, I ask questions.  I want to know and learn.  I want to grow.  Growth is synonymous with change, and I’ve already said it’s fucking hard…but growth?  Once you’ve moved a little further along and reached a moment where you can feel the growth?  It makes the rest worthwhile.  Growth is something you sit with at the end of the day…hell, probably even more so at the end of your life, and can feel the solid strength within your spirit…you’re centered and standing firm in life, still ready to accept new learnings, but with a rock solid base that represents years of fine tuning and growth…I imagine it to be like the way you feel on those days when you wake up and conquer something big.  Maybe it’s a meeting, something you did for your kids, or something as simple as speaking your mind instead of remaining silent when someone said something you knew was wrong and felt it was important enough to defend.   

Learning to grow more and in ways I didn’t know where to start…I finally realized that it boiled down to my own reflection and how I see myself each day. I am my own worse enemy as the saying goes.  No one is harder on me than me. The very biggest hurdle I face is something most of us fight every day of our life, which can also determine how aggressively we tackle life.  It’s fear. 

For me, fear has manifested in a lot of ways depending upon the situation.  The key here, though, is the response it has elicited in me when confronted with fear.  Being afraid makes us behave in ways we’d rather not.  It quickly turns us into irrational creatures that barely resemble the people we could be with a little more faith and confidence.  I think about the Titanic and the real fear people faced.  Theirs was a clear and present danger.  They didn’t want to drown or die.  I also don’t believe they wanted to cause harm to anyone else.  And yet they swamped the boats, giving little regard to the safety of those already inside, fueled by that primal survival instinct. I haven’t faced that dire kind of circumstance, but I can tell you that I’ve faced other fears that, through my flawed lens through which I filter life, left me feeling just as desperate to cling to a life raft, with an irrational belief that if I let go or even loosened my grip, I would find myself alone and abandoned.  Big observation…it doesn’t matter how hard you try or what you do to try to influence change in an outcome that has already been pre-determined.  In fact, I’d argue that undue effort and influence can actually change the outcome to reflect exactly what you don’t want to see happen.  I have found this to be true in all aspects of life, from careers and jobs, friends and family…end to end, every relationship that has touched my life.

There it is.  That ugly truth I’ve been beating around the bush about.  My truth and fear since childhood…fear of abandonment.  Why?  Because I remember being left behind as a child (no, I wasn’t an orphan and there’s no big story behind this other than the one that makes it clear my childhood didn’t have a white picket fence).  So in every relationship that came after those first few critical ones forged from childhood, I have carried that same fear.  I didn’t know it at the time.  But shit, I know I swamped a few boats in my youth.  I was so sure I was drowning…that the call for help would never come.  History and experience taught me to expect the worse and even when it didn’t come, I think I had some kind of self sabotage happening … like when I felt vulnerable or exposed, I instinctively wanted to pull closer.  I wanted to know with complete certainty that I was safe and would not be left behind.  I can’t think of a better way to destroy relationships than lacking the self-confidence to believe that you are worthy of having one in the first place.   I’ve never liked conflicts and have avoided them whenever possible.  I never learned how to resolve something without ending it.  That had to change as well.

I’ve stayed in places that were rotten and decaying (metaphorically speaking) because I was paralyzed with fear.  This is a broad assessment of relationships and situations.  From career paths to life choices to personal relationships.  Because change is fucking hard.  So hard I sacrificed all else to avoid growth…until now.

Would I have willingly taken myself down this road if I’d known how difficult it would be?  Honestly?  Shit no!  Would you?  So I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t see it coming because this has been one of the most important areas of growth for me and has helped to reset my life in a way I did not believe was possible.  I don’t know many people who are willing to breathe water and learn to choke panic.  I’m not a heroic individual and I know I have limitations.  I nearly reached them over this past year.

But once I was forced to breathe under water, I was able to open my eyes (after a long struggle and period of denial) and see myself for who I was and not who I thought I had become.  I didn’t like what I saw.  Sure, the essence of “who I am” remains and I like who I am.  It was the “how I was” that created issues.  I felt shame and embarrassment just admitting my fears.  I consider myself to be fairly put together and able to tackle most challenges.  I am asked for advice from others often and I think my guidance is sound.  Saying out loud that I have a deep seeded fear of being left behind doesn’t fit with that equity.  And after reading this, I might lose a few people on the list, who see me as a resource for counsel.  What few people realize is that some of the most fucked up people have the best advice!  Because we’ve lived it and while we might not choose to follow our own advice, it’s still sound and born out of life experience.  So maybe still ask…and consider it sage advice indeed!

 If you wake up one day, and realize you aren’t the person you want to be, you’re going to be disappointed and you’re going to want to fix it. I was afraid it was too late to change.  Because change is fucking hard (yes, I’m saying it again and again because it was and it still is).

So I started by taking a more conscious approach to living.  And it’s a way of life many would avoid.  I think about everything…that might not sound different from what I did before.  But the focus has changed.  I used to think too much about uncontrollable things…other people, circumstances, life.  Now I think about how I am responding to it all.  I ask myself every day what I want out of life and remind myself that I am no longer some scared kid waiting for the bottom to drop out.  In most instances, it won’t.  And if it does, it’s not a reinforcement of my inner fear or confirmation that my fear was valid.  It’s fucking life.  Shit happens and it isn’t always what we expected or wanted.  We pick ourselves back up and keep going.  Another observation is that the next logical correlation to the fear of being abandoned is the fear of being alone…thankfully, I conquered that a long time ago and am quite comfortable in my own skin.  I don’t have a complete answer, but I’m on the right track.    

So that fear I have of being abandoned?  Did I overcome it?  No, it’s still there and it pushes my buttons at times.  Shit doesn’t change overnight and maybe it will never leave entirely.  But the way I respond to it has.  For the first time in my life, I see myself for the very imperfect being that I am.  I see so many flaws and I just have to laugh sometimes.  I can’t tell you whether or not I’ll fix them all before this journey’s end (well yeah, I can…I won’t…not even come close, but I’ll still try).  I want to be a better person.  I want to feel good about that person staring back at me every morning.  And I think I’ve reached a comfort level now.  I’m still full of the past, but I have not let fear win out.  I don’t see weakness as a character flaw of mine.  Not because I don’t feel weak or scared sometimes…but because admitting it means I will get stronger.  Just like working out and losing weight.  I will get stronger and better.  And just like working out, it’s a personal competition that needn’t be measured against anyone else’s success.  And always…always…still a work in progress.      

M

Life in Simplest of Terms...With a Tint of Rose

Loving Life Exactly as it Comes

I never gave much thought to the old song by The Byrds, “Turn, turn, turn…to everything there is a season….a time to every purpose, under heaven.”  It’s an adaptation from a biblical verse in Ecclesiastes, which talks about there being a season for everything.   Always liked the tune, but seldom gave it a second thought.

But as I look back on 2016 and my own changing seasons, I see a lot of truth in the words to this song.  For me personally, it was a time of great learning and growth…sometimes fed by a hunger and passion to do and know more…and still other times in a way I felt was a bit of kicking and screaming, reluctant to accept new realizations and make room for growth within myself. 

And in thinking of those simple seasons, I am reminded of the garden I grew over the summer…a hodge podge of vegetables and fruit…and how it helped me to come to appreciate life in its simplest of terms.

As I have adopted this new lens for living, I am reminded of a very special person from my childhood.  It is actually my mom’s best friend and I have always considered her to be like a second mom to me.  She is the most optimistic and happy person I have ever met, and lives life through the lens of the proverbial rose-colored glasses. 

For over three decades, in every card or note she sends, she always signs it, “I love you, Mary Girl.”  I don’t know why, but that sweet endearment always gives me a warm feeling inside and though its been at least ten years since I have seen her, I feel loved and feel certain that if I were to see her again, it would be as if no time had passed at all.

She is now in her 70s and has never had a driver’s license.  She found that her two feet always took her wherever she needed to go, and she always enjoyed the journey along the way.  She could turn the simplest of meals into the most elegant affair, simply by pouring apple juice over ice into a couple of wine glasses.  She would create an intimate atmosphere and talk aloud of how we would make a dinner and I would hang on her every word…waiting to hear how we were going to finish off the meal with fresh strawberries and shortcake. 

Her mood and attitude was infectious and I loved spending time with her.  She took pleasure in her own garden, a garden full of plump red tomatoes growing from potted plants on her small patio and front porch.  Each evening, as she sprayed her sidewalk down with the hose, she would seem to become lost in a daydream, with a faraway look in her eyes.   Looking back, I think it was just a true and genuine feeling of contentment for every single thing in her life.  She is the kind of person, who treasures every second and never wastes a minute.

And while I have appreciated that unique perspective, I never really saw myself as the kind of person, who had the knack for turning everything into a positive. 

But in recent years, and in facing a few challenges and struggles, I think maybe her early influence in my life rubbed off when I wasn’t looking.  In most of my writing and in nearly every situation, I seem to take on a Mary Poppins-like approach.  Even in my darkest moments, I’m still making sugar cookies out of whatever ingredients life hands me.  And remembering how she always saw things as a positive or as a sign that the path forward was not meant to be.

I used to laugh when I would see the snapshots she would send to me of her garden, flowers, and vegetables…all carefully and reverently posed on a counter or in a basket, with a note written on the back about where she grew them, how they tasted, and who she was with.

Well I’m here to tell you that she was a woman of vision and innovation…and if Snapchat, Facebook, or Instagram had been a “thing” years ago, she’d be a media maven to be reckoned with.  Because while many of us live our moments online, one tweet or post at a time, this sweet lady has been living and breathing … taking it all in for her own personal enjoyment, sometimes sharing it with her close knit family and friends…since there was film that had to be mailed away to be developed and printed.

So when I think about my own sharing this past year…through I-phone pictures and via Facebook, Blogger, and Instagram, I have to smile at the thought that perhaps I was a late blooming protégé for this wonderful and inspirational woman.

See more here http://oldschooljournaling.blogspot.com/2018/08/a-window-to-my-soul21st-century.html 

I now see my life in the simplest and most rewarding terms of measure …my life is a garden, subject to those changing seasons we all go through.

And in 2016, there has been a time to weep, heal, break down, and most importantly, a time for peace. 

And to my dear friend, Gail…thank you for teaching me how to make every moment in life special…with wine glasses, candles, and rose colored glasses!   May happiness and positive momentum follow us all in 2017.  And may that special lens help adjust the view for times less stellar as we all move through all the seasons of life.

Love,

Your Mary-Girl

 

Taken from my Christmas letter this year...

Lyrics to “Turn, Turn, Turn”

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/byrds/turnturnturn.html