Deer Corn

Life is full of interesting quirks.  I've been watching the deer families outside.  They come hang out throughout the day.  Sometimes they bring their friends so before long there's a deer convention gathered.  Soon they're joined by some squirrels too; and all sorts of birds.

Day after day.

At first I thought it was a fluke and wow, how cool!  Then I started paying closer attention.  To see what they were up to and low and behold, upon further inspection the entire clan was there for a snack.  Some folks up the road came through day after day to throw down a bucket full of deer corn.  Deer get happy.  Squirrels seem happy.  Birds chirp.  People smile.

One problem.

Wild animals think they have a new, free-flowing food source (see gold flecks).  UH OH...  Man, if you give a little, won't they expect it??

Sure enough, the past few days the buckets have stopped... but our deer friends keep coming.  They keep searching.  Keep hoping...looking.

Ever been given a simple gift and then another... and maybe even another and then have it stop?

We've all experienced that.  How did you feel?

Think about first dates.  You're new in a relationship.  You take pictures, you buy cards, leave notes, pick up dinner just because...  You're new on the job.  You come in early, make labels for your folders, are full of ideas, try new restaurants at lunch...  Or maybe you volunteer one afternoon at a shelter and then again the following weekend... you're the one tossing out the deer corn!  Or maybe you're on the receiving end getting jewelry, clothes, steak dinner with dessert.  ;)

Then what?  Somewhere along the way, the deer corn stops... right?

Here's the thing:
It's okay.  It's okay when the deer corn stops coming or when you stop tossing it... enjoy it while you have it.  Enjoy it while you give it.  It's a simple, special thing.  Savor those moments.  Those yummy, crunchy morsels. 

Don't be afraid to give for fear of the expectations that sometimes accompany the gift.

That said, keep in mind not every day can be pre-arranged with deer corn just for you.  And sometimes, you just don't have a bucket handy.  So don't beat yourself up - or your partner/spouse - if there's no deer corn for a while.  If it was there EVERY day, would it really be a special? 

hmmmm...

Okay, the moral of the story is:  every once in a while, a little deer corn doesn't hurt (no matter what your circumstances); and when you DO remember - grab a bucket! 

You might just change your world, even if it is just for one day.

     THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT.

The Need to Pause

We are all so BUSY!  Running errands, shuffling kids and pets here and there, working, going to the gym, or any number of a thousand other things... Life gets pretty crazy, I know.

I read something this morning that was a reminder of a couple of things:

1. The need to breathe and take time to appreciate my life as it is; AND
2. The need to start with where I am... "Here" is okay!

In short, taking time to PAUSE and just BE if just for a moment. 

The saying I read was that "the forest would be pretty silent if the only birds who sang were the ones with the best voice."  I thought that was an amazing perspective that truly illustrated the point that we are all blessed and that we all have something to GIVE.  But more than that, it reminded me too that IF we simply CHOOSE to sing - to belt out our own verse without fear, without hesitation - to just stand and sing in our moment, in our present we get to experience the miracle of our own voice.  Our own power... because I truly believe we all have something to SAY.

Now I can't sing a note but I will SO sing along to a song at the top of my voice in my car when I'm alone!  And how fun is that when we do it?  To just be uninhibited in our present!  To laugh at ourselves and to experience the joy that comes with taking a moment to pause and appreciate where I am in my life right now!  Now imagine if the song on the radio was one YOU wrote!

You are the author of your life's song.

SING in your car, in your shower, in your living room!  (Do the Risky Business "Old Time Rock-n-Roll" dance in your OWN living room one night!)

Find your voice.

Take time to PAUSE and consider Who you Are and What you have going for you already.  Set aside the constant criticism of what you think you don't have and focus on what you DO!  PAUSE... and allow yourself to SMILE.

You'll find that regardless of the circumstances you may be facing, you really do have a great life overall.

Choose to celebrate that - even for just ONE day.  ONE hour.

We all have a song to sing.  What's yours??

       THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT.

When Change Comes...

In this past month I've changed homes, location, and jobs.  THAT is a LOT of change.  As wonderful as my present now IS, I'm still in transition in a temporary home and that too has made me stop and think.  I've been working so hard to get HERE and am so happy to have made it this far but sitting today staring out at the Big Texas Sky, I'd have to admit there's a small part of me that is sad.

Have you ever been on the verge of having almost everything you could have hoped for and then stopped momentarily to reflect on how you got there?  ...and when you did felt a flood of unexpected emotions?

Yep, that's where I am today.

Where are you?

• Are you in a place where you're about to get a promotion and a little scared about the new responsibility?
• or maybe about to have a baby which is so exciting and yet frightening and suddenly you feel sad perhaps mourning your 'single' carefree life a little?
• How about when you watch a friend get married where you're so happy for them and yet you feel a twinge because your relationship is going to change?

Perhaps it's nothing that dramatic - maybe it's watching your child play her first tee ball game or your son is about to go on his first (non-driving) date...

As happy as we are for these blessed moments in our lives, there's power in change that also brings with it the reality that there's often something you are letting go.

It's this tapestry of emotion that can stop us in our tracks or bring a tear when we least expect it... even when we are absolutely, fundamentally joyful at our core about the new event.  The thing to embrace here is THE MOMENT.  When you are feeling all this, you are LIVING!  You are precisely where you should be.  This IS your path.  Savor your present!  Face the wind... and allow yourself to sail into it.

And when you can, write that down.  Those moments can often reveal and inform your Vision for your future when you dare to allow the cascade to descend over your heart.  They can tell you what you TRULY want, what's really inside.

When Change Comes, don't be afraid to FEEL!  You'll find these are the very times that confirm you are on your path to your destiny.

     THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT.

Recognizing Your Own Power

Sometimes it's easy to forget WHO we are and how much control we actually do have over our own lives.  We get lost in the tedium of routine and find ourselves sitting in traffic one afternoon wondering 'how did I get here?'

Funny thing about reflection, it can take you down a couple of interesting paths:

1. Shut those questioning thoughts out of your mind because you've already convinced yourself that this is all there is...
2. Linger on the thought and then blame a whole series of circumstances for your 'Now' and you get angry, maybe sad...
3. Allow the stream of consciousness to flow until you recognize the choices you've made but then stop short of deciding to DO something else...
4. OR you embrace the question and seek some alternative to to incite some measure of change in your life.

For me, I generally float through all of these depending on the amount of sleep and corresponding amounts of coffee/caffeine I've had.  And of course this is also directly proportional to the amount of stress I believe I am under .

It's in these questioning times that I think it's truly important to recognize WHY the question(s) are there skipping across our mind bouncing from memory to memory synthesizing past, present, and future.  All of us experience hurt, loss, distress, and other potentially destructive circumstances in our lives.  Often we can be wronged by others and the injustice of that can bring on even more questions...

The key I think is to allow ourselves to experience these emotions, to recognize the pain that comes sometimes from things out of our control and sometimes from things we create and then to figure out how to channel that energy differently.  It's not reasonable to try to NOT feel.  Denying them won't help nor curb the raw emotions under the surface.

So what to do?

WRITE.
WRITE.
WRITE.

Even if it is simply one word:  Anger.  Fear.  Sadness.  Hurt.
Even if it is simply one phrase:  I don't understand!

WRITE.

Write about where you are.  Write down what you feel... and then say it or read it Out Loud.

When you allow yourself to acknowledge the truth of where you are and dare to speak that truth out loud, it IS freeing.  The negativity you may be feeling can begin to be released; and that ACT alone triggers something new.  Something else.

When you DO this and purge those potentially negative thoughts, you allow for space in your mind to consider something positive.  For me, this is how I pray/meditate.  I talk it through... and amazingly, I've found we DO come through on the other side.

Here's what I've realized lately:
Negative circumstances CAN actually be introduced in our lives to force us to do something ELSE, something NEW... something BETTER.  We often are incapable of realizing the potential for this when we are in the middle of whatever IT is but I've experienced enough of these seasons in my life now to pay attention sooner.

So when those questions tickle your mind as you sit in traffic, consider your response... Consider the answer(s) to the questions.  Consider that maybe - just maybe - those circumstances you are in could be God or the universe's way of reminding you of your true passions.  Your true dream.  The Vision for your life.

In those moments, you may be being given a gift.  Choose to recognize this possibility.  When you do, your perspective WILL change and you'll be able to embrace your own power to make choices that could change your world for the better!

I know mine has...

     THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT.