Blog Archives

Imagine a world without friends

12/30/2019

No one to talk to.. To tell your latest secrets. To share your joy or sorrow or fears.
No one to bolster you up. No one you can help through the mud.

When I travel, I often find myself in beautiful places alone. My first thought is always to call a friend to try to convey the beauty around me. Or take a picture in an attempt to recreate it for them. But they never can truly experience it the way I did. A story is my only hope.

The world has become a lonely place lately. Division, fragmented families. You can see it in the road rage.

The thing that makes it better is knowing I have someone, even if is just one person, who sees me. Truly. As I am. Connected. Shared.

I have found connection in The Marketing Seminar. Also I rediscovered my creative voice in the process of digging deeper. Another one starts in January. I highly recommend it.

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The work I get to do

12/26/2019

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Photo by Sasha Yudaev on Unsplash

Is work a choice?
Is it a means to an end?
Or is it the end?
Does it feel like a drudgery?
Or a privilege?

Do you use your days teaching others?
Helping others in some way?

Making the world better?
Making a difference?

Sure you can spend your life in the pursuit of money, of material wealth.
What if you left a legacy of generosity?
Of kindness?
Of hope and possibility?

Would they miss you if you were gone?
Who can you share your learning with?

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Keeping the lights on

12/22/2019

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Photo by Jarrod Reed on Unsplash

When my children were teenagers, I would keep the lights on for them when they went out. It was a way to let them know they were home. Welcome. Expected. It was assurance that things were as they left them. And made it easier to get in the door. Because the light was on…

Passing by the home of my recently deceased teacher, I see cars parked out front and his diligent students keeping his dreams alive. They are keeping the lights on for him. He will never return but his spirit lives on. His dreams live on in his students. I hear his voice constantly as I work. Reminding me to pay attention to this or that. “Did you notice this, Michelle?” “How do we deal with this condition?” “Are you awake, Michelle?”

If I can be a beacon of hope for another, I am full. If my light can light the way for another, I have kept the lights on. If I can be awake rather than sleep-walking through life, I can make a difference.

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Sounds in the night

12/19/2019

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Crickets chirp.
Stillness.
Beating of the night.
Road / cars in the distance.
Not close, but sounds travel in the desert.
Like across a pond.
The pond / the desert.
Same?

Voices of the night.
Pierce the dark.
No, they announce “time to rest.”
Time to hunt, for bobcats.

What if I were a bobcat?
What would I hunt?
Rabbits…
So springy and fun.
Furry and cute.

What will dawn bring?
Hope? Joy? Despair? Worry?
It’s mine to paint.
Which colors today?
Orange, yellow, red, I think.
Vibrant colors.
I want this day to leap off the page.

Why are things different in the dark?
I can be anything in the dark.
Anything’s possible.

Darkness is a down blanket.
Comforting, safe, protective.

Christmas is coming soon. If you find yourself in need of a gift, consider a gift certificate. Send me a note.

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Divisiveness

12/16/2019

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Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

There is so much division in our country and the world these days.
It seems that we can’t even agree to disagree.
It seems that people want to listen to those who speak hate.
Who believe that we are losing something if we give hope to the hopeless.
That divisiveness and division is more important that embracing differences.
That if we could just all be the same, there would be no more problems in the world.
As long as we are the same AS THEM....

As a woman, how can I be the same as a man?
I am not a man.
I am fundamentally different.

As Michelle, how can I be like anyone else in the world?
I am unique.
The only Michelle that ever will be.
Why would I want to be like someone else?
Doesn’t that negate the beauty that only I can bring to the world?

What if we all became just like each other?
Can you see that world?
It would be dull, grey, uninteresting.
Nothing vibrant, exciting or different.
All the same.

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Embracing Fear and Making it Mine

12/12/2019

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Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

I’ve spent my life unhappy about the fear,
It sometimes keeps me from doing what I want to do.
I try and try to push it away.

Lately I’ve found that if I can embrace it,
As if it were a small frightened child,
I have better luck moving forward.

Hand in hand with my fear.
Stepping into our future.
What wonders await us?

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Children grown and gone.... What happened?

12/9/2019

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Photo by MI PHAM on Unsplash

I built my life around my children.
I had them young from 24 - 29, thinking I would travel with my husband when we were still young enough to enjoy travel once the children were gone.
Life has a funny way of working out differently than our plans. What happened?
No husband, no children.

I created this, no one else. My choices. But I was unprepared for the shock and finality when my youngest moved out. What am I supposed to do now? All those happy memories, games, songs, blanket forts, Saturday morning cartoons, the pranks they would play on me, the beautiful art they each created. They filled my life with joy. I feel the loss like a knife. Still… It’s been ten years and it still hurts.

It’s hard to cook for just myself. What’s the point? No one to share it with.

If you are lonely, know that you are not alone. There are others of us. Maybe we can create a new family. A family-like community.
What do you think?

Did your life turn out the way you envisioned?

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Habits

12/5/2019

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Photo by Lê Tân on Unsplash

Autopilot.
Actions taken without conscious thought.
Could be thought patterns.
Assumptions.

Are your habits healthy?
Do they serve you?

Or do you replay old records in your head?
Does your body repeat patterns that damage it?

If we can pay attention to the background noise,
We can find the assumptions there.
And we can change them for the better.
But first we must see them.

What are your habits?

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Grudges

12/2/2019

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Photo by Peter Forster on Unsplash

“Holding a grudge,” what does that mean?
Holding onto something.
Refusing to let go of it.
Why? How does it serve you?

I get to be right. To be justified in my anger. To feel vindicated.
But I’m stuck. Stuck in the past. Glued to the offense.
When I think about it, my blood boils with new anger… old anger?

What about grudging? The verb?
“He begrudged the time and work the meeting involved.”
Unwilling to grant or give.
Certain of the outcome before it even starts.
Closed to possibilities…. Outcomes unforeseen.

What if it is better than you think it will be?
What if you learn something brand new about yourself, others or the world?

How often do we cut off possibilities without even thinking?
Imagine a life open to unexpected gifts.
One that assumes the best will happen, not the worst.
Freed from the glue of the past.

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Imagine a world without friends

The work I get to do

Keeping the lights on

Sounds in the night

Divisiveness

Embracing Fear and Making it Mine

Children grown and gone.... What happened?

Habits

Grudges

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