Watching the sunrise is such an awe-inspiring experience. I hope you enjoy this and are inspired to walk into the world today with your heart leading the way!
After a life-shifting trip, I am missing the beautiful sunrises and sunsets on the Nile, so got up before dawn and moseyed myself down to the beach to catch this beautiful site. I am allowing the sun, Ra, to warm my heart and soul. I wish the same for all of you!
I have names for the two bookends in my life. Some may call them husband and daughter. I call them Rex and Miranda. They are the bookends that hold me up, keep me in their minds and hearts, hold me up on the shelf of life. I am a treasured book of a person. I am important. I am special. They make me feel like my words have meaning, are of value, others will want to ingest my words for thought and consideration.
These bookends hold me up in so many ways. It’s been more than a year since I began my business and I am reflecting back on the beginning days. My bookends were hard at work supporting me, not only in heart, but in action. I recall hearing a knock at the back door of the building I started in. It’s my younger book, Miranda. She found a couple of wall hangings and a table that she thought I could use and was hauling them up the stairs and through the hallway for me. I then looked out the window and saw my older bookend, Rex. He was hauling a heavy container filled with sand with a mounted, brand new mailbox. Not only had he cut a wooden post and mounted the mailbox, he designed a container sturdy enough for our town’s requirements. When I went out to see him and look at all the wonderful work he did, I saw that he even placed number stickers on the mailbox for the address. That specific detail, although important, could easily have been overlooked. These bookends support this book, me. They are like a hug, wrapping their supportive arms around me.
My book is open, has been read by many people and has continued to be supported by my bookends. If my words reach others and make a difference that is wonderful. My book, me, will have done its small part to help serve the world. My book is on life’s shelf, ready to be taken off by those who are supposed to read it!
I’m one book or the many millions of books in the world. Each book is unique, has value and is worthy of being supported by loving bookends. Who are the two bookends in your life?
I happily set off for a brief stop in my town’s family-owned grocery store to support the first annual Supermarket Employee Day this afternoon! I happily walked the aisles appreciating all of these wonderful people who have come to work day in, day out, throughout the pandemic. They continue to bravely show up, sharing themselves in such unknown circumstances to help support the community at large. As passed by the manager’s desk, cashiers, and traveled through the one-way aisles, I took the time to look at each of them with a big smile hidden under my mask. I just wanted to take the time to appreciate something I’d been taking for granted throughout this year of upheaval around the world. It felt good!
Placing my groceries in my reusable bag with gratitude in my heart, I chatted with the friendly cashier who recognized my last name which opened up a nice conversation. I then looked up to see a friend from the past. Feeling so happy, I said hello! It sounded like I squealed with joy – which I did! My friend giggled with a friendly hello. After I sent a delightful goodbye to her (and the friendly cashier), I headed out to the parking lot with a bit of a skip in my step, feeling just that much lighter.
Within seconds, I heard, “Hey, Jodi!” My friend and I took the opportunity to commune, catching up from years of not seeing one another. The joy of my day continued as I connected with my community, a friend from years past and myself. Today, despite the fact that we were all wearing masks, I saw people and they saw me. It felt good! Thank you to all of the supermarkets & employees for keeping us fed and taken care of…for giving us a place to feel supported and for brief, six-foot distant visits with long lost friends!
I am standing alone in a large black and white expanse…I don’t know where I am but know that no one is anywhere in the area. I can see no one, feel no one, hear nothing but my own breath. Where am I? All I know is I am alone and there is no one or nothing around me. I can reach no one and no one knows I am searching. I feel alone. I am alone.
I look at myself standing there, the little girl thinking she is all alone, her voice silent. Her heart breaking and shaking with fear. ‘What are you afraid of little one?’ I ask. She looks up at me with big watery eyes and I remind her, ‘You are not alone. You are surrounded by love, love from people near and far, those you don’t even know love you and those you’ve forgotten. Love is unending, never forgotten. It is always here, always in your heart if your mind forgets. Look into your heart and see that you are not alone. You are never alone. You are always connected to others.’
‘Now, listen to your breath. Listen with your heart, not your mind. Listen through your heart. Breathe in and out through your heart. Feel your breath. Feel love in each intake, love from the Universe, love from others, love from our own inner self and your grown self.’
I continue to breathe and feel love entering and leaving my heart, I feel that I am not alone, I am connected to others, near and far. I have the Universe as a family, so much love that I start to see it everywhere. As I continue to stand and breathe, I see color filling in on the horizons of my view, a rainbow of colors changing the landscape with plants, animals and people. I feel the love. I see through my heart that love coming to me from all around and from me to everyone and everything. I see so many people, I hear their hearts beating with love, I feel all the energies swirling around, so joyous. I look all around me. Where am I? I am at home, in my heart. I am not alone.
Have you ever heard a story – a real life occurrence – that left you so dumbstruck that you had to take your hand to force your jaw, closing your mouth before the proverbial flies made use of the space? I’m sure you have….but I have to say at this point in my life, it doesn’t happen to me too often, but…
This week, a colleague shared an appalling act that is occuring on a frequent basis! I still can hardly believe it! My heart cried out, “No, people would never let that happen.” My eyes filled with tears as she told me her tale. My ears burned with heat from disgust. Muscles all over my body tightened as I froze in disbelief. Stunned into silence, my body like a steel post, I stood like a statue next to the copy machine and listened, flabbergasted.
She told of an organization that provides transportation for adults with disabilities. I’m sure they mean well and most likely run on very little staff, but the events she mentioned left me dumbfounded. Her words were few, but my mind ran wild with visions.
I saw a joyful adult with cognitive challenges waiting for his ride, excited for a fun day out on his own. He walks out to the sidewalk at the end of his yard and stands there happily anticipating the sight of his driver pulling up. The pickup time passes and many minutes tick by….no driver…no understanding of why. Standing alone, I see a confused and frustrated man whose day turns from a happy sunny-side-up egg to burnt toast, as his body slumps forward in disappointment.
I envision a woman with blindness who walks to her pickup stop, biding her time – for three hours – in the pouring rain for her driver. She knows she must wait for these hours, so she endures the unending shower. Why? The business has explained the only driver that is able to pick her up has other passengers and cannot give an exact time, only a three hour minute window. Would you wait one hundred eighty minutes for a ride as the rain pelts your umbrella, sending echos of its drops vibrating through your body?
These adults, and many, many others like them, have no other choice. They are grateful, as my coworker shared, that groups exist to provide this transportation. Really? Is this how our communities value their inhabitants? For whom do we provide the highest level of service in our society – to those who need it or to those who can afford it? Do we realize the vast discrepancy between peoples with and without dis-abilities? This is just one aspect of the discordance in our culture. Who are the dis-abled? Those of us who are not able to help others, perhaps?
I am shocked.
So many lost souls surround me… next door, down the street, in front of the line at the grocery store… They are everywhere – wisps of wind whispering in my ear. They share their secrets, but I don’t hear them.
I am frightened of the undeniable pain in which these lost souls live. My heart retreats, as fear takes its place. I look down at my chest, checking to ensure it hasn’t caved in. I don’t acknowledge them.
These souls are desperately trying to connect with other souls. They search for just one other, dreaming that their anguish of alienation will melt away. They desperately reach, stretching their arms to try to touch me. I don’t feel them.
They have all the markings of happy souls living in human bodies, but their eyes betray their jolly countenances. The lost souls pray they will rescued from their inner torment. I look away. I don’t see them.
I lie in bed, as they float around in my head – whispering, feeling, seeing the never-ending lost souls. I turn away from them, running, escaping, hiding. There is one chasing me! I turn to look back and see my reflection in the mirror.
Time – when I have a huge chunk of it, like the biggest slice I’m willing to take from a birthday cake without causing others to gasp, I feel free. I am inspired to spend my time doing what I love, moving in a way that feels good and just plain doing something for myself. I feel great, expansive, like I can do anything, be anything, change anything, learn and grow. I am Jack climbing up the magical beanstalk, loving every minute of the journey. I am BatGirl flying across the city, spotting children to save from harm. I am a fairy, flitting through the forest’s flowers, mushrooms and secret hiding places. I am me, thinking, smiling, loving.
All of a sudden I realize my slice has been devoured, although enjoyed tremendously, but gone all the same. The only slice I have left of my own, is the thin slice that the skinny girl at the party takes after saying, “Oh I better not…well okay, just the tiniest slice.” This slice I will not consume greedily, but savor it like melting chocolate on my tongue. This lone slice may be miniscule compared to the large one I delighted in, but I will make this just as satisfying. With this piece of the never-ending clockface tick, tick, ticking away, I will soar like an eagle seeing the beauty of my life below. I will wave my magic wand like the Good Witch from the North, helping to heal the universe. I will feel the beat of my heart replace the tick, tick, ticking of time. I will feel, I will experience and I will love every second of it.
C
Covid crisis
Craziness
Calamity
Chaos
Confusion
B
Being
Breath
Belief
Becoming
Beneficial
A
Awareness
Acceptance
Adaptation
Allowance
Appreciation
Where are you today? If you’re in the C‘s, experience the B’s to get to the A’s! 💜
When I am down in the dumps, really down…I reach farther down, usually down into the bottom of a pint of ice cream, or two. I’ve admitted this recently to some friends….It’s been especially rough weeks recently…unique and unexpected happenings – and these incidents did not bring my usual workplace smile to my face!
Even today, I felt like I was kicked while I was down. Or maybe it was a punch – a sucker punch. I was not expecting it at all and am pretty sure a boxing referee would easily have determined it a TKO – a technical knock out. I didn’t fall, out cold on the floor, like Bluto after being slugged by Popeye…but it was a mental KO for sure… and strike three in three weeks.
Anyway, after I spent some time cooling down and dreaming of driving to Cumby’s, our neighborhood convenience store, for a container of some frozen milky deliciousness, a former student popped into my mind.
I don’t need to take this one occurence in my day and carry it into my afternoon-evening-night-morning-next day! I could reach out to someone, just as she does when she needs a lift!
She has reached out to me various times over the past five years. As we know (or have experienced), all manner of events occur in a young person’s life and not all adolecents have direct access to a constant, dependable person. When these times arise, she doesn’t go down the rabbit hole, even if she wants to jump in feet first…
Instead, she makes the leap, back through time, back to a place that is familiar and constant. So I look in the mirror and think, really, Jodi? I pick up my phone and ring a friend.
I am inspired but this young lady, spanning the years to seek out the support she needs. Her strength and determination inspires me to look up for help, move past the bumps in the road, learn from tripping over them and leave them behind.
I am inspired by a parent. As a teacher of elementary and middle school students for 30 years, I have seen the drastic decline in parent support of teachers. Teachers seem to be under a warped magnifying glass by the general public. What does this magnifying glass see? The truth? Or the distorted sense of the word?
This skewed view is seen on the television news and in newspapers, depicting teachers as lazy, over-paid bon-bon eating babysitters that hang out in the teachers’ lounges with summers off to frolick without a care in the world. Most recently this lens is depicted via a town community page of ‘concerned parents’ which is full of misinformed people shouting out their disgust at the schools and the teachers they entrust their very own children to for seven hours each day – longer than many of them spend with their own children on a daily basis. I’m not interested in defending my profession, nor am I an advocate of watching the “news” chosen to be reported on the popular networks, or reading gossip columns that trash talk under the guise of being concerned, but I am interested in sharing how I am inspired by one parent.
One parent, on this day, this 5352nd school day working with a group of the overall 6000+ students that I’ve worked with over the years, stood out in a way that I haven’t seen in a long time. This parent’s voice would have echoed the voices of hundreds of parents years ago, but not today. Today this parent stood strong, stood behind a teacher, stood up for a teacher, supported that teacher’s work, prior work and faith in her future work. This parent voiced her belief in the dedicated intention of this teacher, of her past work with one of her own children and the confidence that all of the positivity seen over and over again portrayed by this teacher occurs each day and will continue. She stood up, as an advocate for a teacher, at a time when teachers seem to have such small voices in our communities today.
Those few words held so much power and remind me of how a small effort of one parent can show teachers that they are supported. Although teachers may often feel defeated in this age of testing scores and staff cuts, I smile at the thought that this magnifying glass was polished. A clear picture of what is truly happening in schools by this teacher and thousands just like her – daily focused time and effort, supporting and teaching each and every student with enthusiasm and dedication. What a gift was given today!
I am inspired by a parent.
