Seasons of Change

Watching, as if overnight, the colors change on the trees that surround us here, has my mind pondering change. Even the word evokes a sense of anticipation, excitement, progress, OR a sense of fear, doubt, failure.
Change is like breath...in reality, it is the only thing that we can count on. Change is going to happen, with or without us. Things change, people and circumstances come and go.
Life doesn't stop for anyone. It moves very fast. It rushes from calm to chaos in a matter of seconds. All of us can find ourselves standing on a threshold, the crossing of which will seemingly change everything. We cannot stand in that place of in-between, unable or unwilling to go backwards, but too afraid to move forward.
Don't know about you, but I have had so many pivotal threshold moments!
...moments where I must wear my truth.
...moments of walking away from the familiar and into the unknown.
...moments of acceptance, of letting go and allowing things to be the way they truly are.
...moments of forgiveness.
...moments of enduring the betrayal of fake friends.
...moments of respecting others and judging less.
...moments of no longer fighting fire with fire.
...moments of peace, of resolve...finding diamonds instead of seeing coal.
...moments of Grace, of Faith...those endure forever!
Funny, even as I sit and write these very words, I struggle and don't want to create a reflection of myself, yet....for me, change represents growth.
My growth! My truth!

Friendship...just had to share...

You can go through life and make new friends every year-every month practically-but there is no substitute for the few who truly improve you, these aren't the people who are simply nice to you; they're the ones who help you uncover the things that are holding you back.
In subtle ways, they bring ideas to your attention that change your life.
These friends don't just sit beside you unknowingly; they shake your world up, reveal your obstacles and weaknesses, and remain a part of your life because they care.
Friends like this are the most important people you will ever meet because they tear down the invisible walls you have built in your mind.

In other words, they come into your life and reveal new, valuable layers of yourself that you would never have discovered without them!

Surround yourself with people who reflect the person you want to be, and be friends with people you are proud to know, people you admire, who love and respect you.....WORD!

NOW and My Inner Fool!

WOW! Happy New Year and welcome 2013. I am in awe of people who are in the minority of those who do not abandon their New Year resolutions and actually stick to them. Graci gave up soda for 2012 and has enjoyed her first taste of fizzy since December 31, 2011. I love and admire her resolve, especially being a teenager: football games, concerts, poolside, holiday and birthday celebrations, all of which invite and offer that cherished teenage drink of choice...soda!
Since none of us possess the ability to stop time, we are compelled to welcome 2013 with or without any new (or previous) resolutions. If truth be told, I have always avoided making any New Year pledges for fear of failure and the noted disappointment that would haunt me.
Knowing the resolutions Graci, my Bestie, and others have declared for 2013, as well as completely mindful of the previous year and every single thing it encompassed, I have decided to embrace a word for my New Year.

NOW! The word itself renders immediate awareness and consideration. Life truly can be both brutal and beautiful. I read once that life is about how to use what you got. If you need to start over again, then NOW represents finding strength to begin once more on a new path. NOW does not allow you to stumble over something that is behind you. NOW represents being effective while getting out in front of life and getting beyond what is holding you back.
I wish for NOW to feed my inner fool. Good friends, good music, good art, good food, good books, good rest!

"I must learn to love the fool in me-the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of my human aliveness, humility, and dignity, but for my fool." Theodore Isaac Rubin

"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise,..." 1 Cor 1:27

NOW and My Inner Fool!
I want to dance like Dee O'B!