Happy 2010

My goodness, its 2010. I think about the year of my birth and I'm astounded to be here, and grateful. Of the list of people I know who read this blog, several faced great challenge in 2009 and others have prospered. For me, 2009 was split down the middle and I'm reminded that with all challenge, opportunity seems to be right there along with it depending on how one approaches their life.

I don't make New Year's resolutions. Not really. But I do take stock of things and consider what to let go of: habits that don't serve me, false expectations, superfluous relationships, and what to develop: an ethical income stream, passion for new ideas, improved resilience, healthier relationships. And, as always, I revisit my health and how to tweak it, how to take what I've learned in the past year and be kinder to my body, my mind, my "self" because if I've learned anything it is that I'm the only one who can.

Embarking on my annual enlightening re-read of what has moved me in the past and still resonates, I want to mention A Joseph Campbell Companion - Reflections on the Art of Living....

Don't think of what's being said,

but of what's talking.

Malice, Ignorance, Pride, Love?

The goal of a hero's journey

is yourself, finding yourself.

(Page 154)

Campbell, as you may know, was a celebrated scholar and mythologist and so much more. Even if you don't read his works, reading about his life is fascinating and inspiring (at the link above at his name).

The privilege of a lifetime is being

who you are

The goal of the hero trip

down to the jewel point

is to find those levels in the psyche

that open, open, open,

and finally open to the mystery

of your Self

being Buddha consciousness

or the Christ.

That's the journey.

(Jacket back and elsewhere)

I've always loved Campbell. He was not a religious man. He was a man of profound belief in the mystery of life. He is always a comfort on long nights of contemplation and sunny days when I want to celebrate all the beauty I see around me. Unlike many philosophical fads, Campbell never fades. His words age and seem to me to be a breath of support at the beginning of another year of economic uncertainty as we move along our own paths. Life truly is our journey, at least in my mind, and all that we do is ours. If you haven't read Campbell, you might want to now. And if you have, isn't it wonderful to have an old friend to come back to.

Namaste'

(and Happy, Happy New Year, we begin again......)

The Art of Living Fearlessly

A few days ago I was given a gift. This came on the heels of a conversation about being different, creative, living outside of the box, ceasing to be what is expected and choosing to be what and who one really is. It isn't always easy living outside of the box. It can be stressful, lonely, and often exhausting but it is never dull and always and without fail, it is worth the effort.


The imagination is an amazing place to live but it needs breathing room, places to fly to, journeys to take, battles to win, and it needs fearlessness. I can not think of a better way to live because for me, for many of my friends, for countless young people who are desperately trying to "fit in" and failing at it, there is a time when one recognizes that they are different, that the ordinary rules do not apply, can not apply, and should not apply. Some of us are renegades. Some of us are builders. Some of us are rule breakers. Some of us are peacemakers and healers but absolutely no one should ever have to live in a box of any sort at any time and if we do, we should be able to decorate it as we wish, call it what we want, and turn it into any object we choose because it is ours.


Published in 2006 as a children's book, Not A Box is something that you might want to read aloud to yourself slowly in a quiet room as a reminder of your long ago dreams. And if those dreams have come true, then congratulations, buy it for someone you love who might not remember how to dream, or perhaps a child who needs encouragement.


I love this gift. I cherish it and the people who gave it to me. I think it is safe to say that I am someone who does not live in a box, and for that I am utterly grateful. Life has always been an amazing journey and when I'm very old I will have great stories to tell (some of you know about the chicken accident already). I wish one of them could be as sweet as what Antoinette Portis has written in Not A Box....

NOT A BOX

Antoinette Portis

Go ahead, take a peek, you know you want to.......

Not a Box, Amazon.com

Namaste'