Wistful Wednesday: Today I stole a moment just for me—with the help of a really pretty picture
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Wistful Wednesday posts are my moments for me. I search out a really pretty picture, a quote that touches my heart, something that makes me sigh out-loud. I ramble along letting my mind take me wherever it wants to go. There’s a difference by the way, between an internal sigh and the type that actually graces your lips and leaks out into the great big world, and because I also teach Yoga and value the art of breathing so much, I love those giant type of out-loud sighs. :0)
The Quote:
“They both listened silently to the water, which to them was not just water, but the voice of life, the voice of Being, the voice of perpetual Becoming.”
― Hermann Hesse
The words—my words.
I stared at the rush of water this morning until I could almost hear it pouring over the rocks, until I could almost smell the wet earth along the edge of the stream. My face relaxed, my eyes drifted closed for a brief moment and I pictured the sun’s gentle fingers brushing my cheeks and hair, warming my toes.
I woke up for a second, blinking my eyes and staring out the patio door at home. A huge smile lifted up my face. Sometimes I just need a moment to remind myself, I am in the present and there’s magic to be found in every moment of life.
I stumbled upon this quote on Goodreads.com. It took my picture to a whole new depth comparing water with life, two beautifully complicated words, and I think I agree—one rushes into the other. Water gives life. It’s a basic need for all elements and beings. Animals, plants, people, even a car engine needs a little water. Water changes with the world—a little rain, a rock in the way, and simply adjusts to the sudden obstacle, flowing around and over it. Life feels like that to me, too. How you’re flowing along, thinking everything is sunny and wonderful—something happens. Your sunshine becomes a cloud, rain pours down on you and many times, I might have forgotten my umbrella or a jacket.
Life and water are in a state of constant change. They’re both chaotic and beautiful once you step back and take a good hard look at what lies at your feet. Water is forever changed by a rock, or a dam, or a new life that may take home somewhere close by. And just like life, you never know what you’re going to get, but you keep going and growing and hopefully, changing for the better.
One final thought about water and life, you live, you learn, and it’s great to teach. You can take someone’s hand and help them climb their rocks. You might even show them a new way to swim. That’s how I take comfort in difficult moments—helping others when they need it the most.
Why We Have To Begin Again
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Was there ever a moment in your life when you didn’t know something, you thought you could figure it out, so you tried and flopped, and felt so incredibly embarrassed you didn’t know what to do next?
This is a common feeling I have inside of me. Always wanting to figure out a problem on my own, thinking I can do it, stressing about it, and trying when all I had to do was ask.
It is kind of funny, because as I watch my kids, I see my daughter at three going through some of the same feelings. I give her a task, like putting on her shoes, or picking up her toys, and she runs off eager to do it, “all by myself.” Minutes later, I check in on her and I find her sitting on the floor, without her shoes, or her toys, looking up at me with big green eyes and a trembly lip. “Mommy, will you help me, please?” She asks.
Embarrassment. Pride. Afraid to ask that one simple question.
This past week, I flopped in the process of submitting my comments back to the publisher. So caught up in the content, and the grammar, and how to make the words perfect on the page, I didn’t focus on the method. I made my notes in the comments thinking it was the more respectful manner of submitting return edits, instead of directly editing my piece in track changes. Sigh. I tried. I honestly gave it my best effort in the moment and then I received the note back saying, I hadn’t done my edits correctly, and I felt terrible.
I took several longs breaths and I did what my mom always tells me to do when I make a mistake. Shake it off. Get back in the game and do it as quickly and respectfully as you possibly can. Next thing to always remember, feel good about yourself when it’s done. You learned something. You recognized a learning moment and you had and have, the opportunity to change.
I’m much wiser now, knowing I need to read everything out-loud to process, and above all things, ask questions.
So thank you to you, for taking time to explore this journey with me, and I hope you have a really lovely week.
Hugs!
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When the Unexpected Happens
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Brilliantly put by one of the best word smiths I know. A timely quote as today, I’m thinking about the unexpected and how we handle these moments and the choices we make.
Let’s say your car breaks down.
Now what if it’s your phone?
Is your phone still something personal to you? Do you have a special little case you picked out because it just fit your personality in color or design? Does your phone say something about who you are?
I bet you can guess what I did. :0)
So now, I’m without a phone for about a week, and the shocking news might be to you, I’m sort of okay with that. I miss checking in with all of my friends, but it’s also a good reminder to live firm in the moment and just be you without a whole lot of interference. I’ll adjust. There are ways people can reach me, if necessary.
Bottom line: Know who you are and what makes you happy, because no matter what comes your way down the road, well, you’ll also be happy with that too.
Hugs!
Erika
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The Greatest Gift You Can Give…
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…is to believe in someone else.
Every once in a while, we all fall down.
Maybe a meeting didn’t go right. We said all the wrong words, someone got mad, left, or shook their heads at us with their arms crossed and their eyebrows pressed down in a mean looking frown. Maybe we misinterpreted something someone else said, and inserted foot, leading in a direction neither party wanted to go. Or maybe the day just spiraled out of control with unexpected hiccups, throwing off our carefully thought out routines, like traffic, or spilling something on your shirt as you walked out of the door, or a recipe that flopped in the kitchen. Maybe a sudden call from school saying your kid was sick and you had to pick them up—now.
Recently, I received line edits on my short story, Stage Fright from the copy editor. My first ever serious line edits, and I didn’t think I would get emotional about them. I do have a thick spine. I’ve worked in corporate training where I received daily evaluations from peers in the adult classrooms, and I’ll just say, some people can take their stresses out on anyone but the right person, and I became okay with that.
Line edits were a new sort of feedback, and it was difficult to see someone else remap pieces I created. I freaked. My stress went up. My heart rate went up a few notches and my worries took my head down all sorts of wrong paths.
Later that day, I received a sweet email from J Keller Ford, one of the other authors in One More Day. She pumped me up. She shared her own personal story, and then above all things, she offered to help me in any way possible, telling me to breathe. Relax. She reinforced my belief in my abilities and how I created something different and unique the audience would love. Jenny believed in me when I needed it the most.
My point today is to show you a moment in my life when I needed someone to take my hand and lift me up. We all fall down, and maybe you know someone who is still down. Reach out. Be curious. Take interest in another person’s life. And maybe if it’s you, take the risk and confide in someone you trust. Stress does bad things to our bodies, and sometimes it’s as simple as these words from someone else: “I believe you can do this.”
Because I do. No matter what’s going on in your life. You can do this.
Cloud Nine Girl 