Inner Voice: "I'm So Happy When You Hear Me!"

Has there ever been a time in your life when an experience changed you forever even though you didn’t know it was going to at the time.

When I was a kid living and growing up in Houston going to the movies was something we did to amuse ourselves.  I remember going to a movie called It Happened to Jane starting Doris Day and Ernie Kovacs.  It was a cute movie with lots of middle of the story angst and Doris winning as usual but that’s not what caught my attention.  In the opening scene, Ernie was sitting at a table making his way through a lobster.  Now this might not seem significant to most people but I had not been exposed to lobster eating.  I thought, “So that how it’s done.”  I was mesmerized watching him, but at some point, something stirred inside me.  I  realized there was a lot of world out there I wasn’t part of.  I was witnessing an evolving world I wasn’t evolving along with.  I felt I was living in an atmosphere that wasn’t in step with what was going on in other places.  I questioned, “How could these things be going on without me being involved?” 

After leaving the theatre, I went on with my daily life.  I didn’t go out and shout that I was leaving Houston to find that other world but eventually that is what did happen.

I look back on that experience and think:  are we given glimpses that someday we will use to propel ourselves onto a different path?  Even if we forget them for years are they there in our subconscious mind growing and getting ripe for the right time and opportunity to be expressed?  Are they some sort of hidden catalyst that eventually surfaces causing us to make some of the decisions we do? 

So, the question here is:  Can we look back at some of our experiences and say, “Hum, I wonder” and start connecting the dots?

💟 Marian

Yeah Baby! Bring it On!

Driving through the Rockies

What do a 3,000-mile drive across the United States and one of the worst hurricanes in northeast history have in common?  The answer to that is nothing unless you happen to be the one doing the driving heading toward the forces of Mother Nature and her aftermath which varied depending on where you lived.  But whether or not one is directly involved or just feels the remnants of a particular happening, everyone is affected on some level meaning we really can’t escape forces that are destined to be part of our lives.  This was my experience as I drove from Portland, Oregon to New York City in October 2012 arriving just three days before Hurricane Sandy.

Life shows up.  It’s as simple as that.  The question is, though, will we grab life with both hands saying “bring it on” (active) or are we more inclined to throw our arms up in the air reciting “whatever” (passive.)  If we knew in advance what would be coming our way would we wait to move forward until we considered it safe or would we plunge ahead anyway?  Is it worth the risk to take on something without truly knowing all the ins and outs?  And what happens when we don’t have much of a choice?  Would we be willing to allow our experience to grow us or would we fret and complain at the inconveniences that come our way which force us to lay aside our current activities so unwelcome things can be dealt with?

If we come to the conclusion that life is going to be what it’s going to be can we actually give a resounding “yes” to everything that comes our way.  And if we can, will we decide to allow a passive approach to linger or will we take a more active approach using it to catapult ourselves forward as we take hold of the reins once again proclaiming that “come hell or high water” we will survive the storm.

💥 Marian

Not Just, "Thank You" but "Really Thank You!!!"

Reverand Virginia Ellison of Unity in Long Beach, Ca. recently delivered a message on the topic of expressing thanks to those who do things for us.  She talked about how saying ‘thank you’ is a great way of expressing gratitude for some act that we appreciate but she added that when we say thank you for things in a specific way such as “thank you for opening the door for me,” “thank you for the compliment, it made my day,” “thank you that we were able to spend this  holiday dinner together” and things of such nature that it opens the door to conversation between her and the other person.  They are more receptive and are no longer strangers.  Those who are more timid now open up.  A door for interaction that might not have been there before appears.    

So, can we be willing to go further in our expression of gratitude knowing it might detain us in our busy schedule or even put us in the position of having to engage in conversation we’re not inclined to want?   Would we be willing to do this if we knew we were doing a service to those extending their offering?   Expressing an extended “thank you” is such a simple act which can be very powerful even though we may we never know the full impact it will have on the receiver.  And, although we might not realize it at the time, sometimes the giver needs to be given the opportunity to give.  Likewise, when we walk away, we could find that our own lives have been changed in a positive way that we had not anticipated and all because we decided to let someone know we were grateful for our lives entwining where we were both giver and receiver. 

💝 Marian