grateful moments

Today it begins.

The movers are here for the first load. And they’ll return on Saturday to finish.

Meanwhile I’m still filling up boxes and going through all the usual motions involved with moving cities. Nothing looks the same, every room is in disarray…and we keep losing the scissors. But we’re down to living just one moment at a time.

“Where’s the tape?”

“Are we keeping this?”

“Does this box go to the condo or to storage?”

“We need to eat!”

And in-between all the busy, robotic activity and increasingly long lists there are these amazing moments that keep happening, and while I don’t always have my camera…

I’m taking pictures with my heart.

Stripping away the layers of one’s neatly constructed life is a fascinating process in which you suddenly become acutely aware of what matters.

Do you want to view life with a clearer lens?

Pare down all your material possessions and let go of excess stuff and something happens to your inner world. Gazing over the empty rooms in your home is a transformative experience that I’m still learning about every day.

Simple, little moments suddenly take center stage and become refreshing reminders about finding joy in the ordinary….

Having coffee with girlfriends and meeting a new puppy…

Neighbors who come over and get emotional when they say goodbye.

Mary and Kirsten and Tracey who are busy planning a special farewell party for us…

 

Friends who surprise me with dinner out of the blue. And remind me that you can have a precious conversation when you’re standing in middle of chaos wearing an old sweatshirt and tights.

Bottles of wine. Tasting delicious from a Styrofoam cup when you’re talking about kids and life in a barren kitchen..

And how grateful I am for my parents. Who have become fixtures in our house, laughing with me. Helping me wrap furniture, fill up our boxes, and make decisions when I’m too tired to think.

I could keep going on with my gratitude list but power will be going off shortly and this computer will be packed away. After our farewell party on Saturday night we will return home to sleep in an empty house and greet the housekeepers in the morning. We head out of town on Sunday stopping to stay in San Luis Obispo to meet up with Patrick, before arriving at our rental in Huntington Beach.

We decided to find a house once we were down there.

If you’re still reading this, I thank you with all my heart for sticking with me through my erratic blog schedule. I’ll keep you posted on life in our new city…

in the meantime here’s a few moments of inspiration….

 

 

 

beautiful beach cottages

books

 

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on the topic of Worry and Fear: Four Questions for You

 

 

You think you know the future, life, yourself, and responsibility. But you don’t.

Thoughts are not the future, they are not life, and they are not you.

You may find value in examining Byron’s four questions regarding your (worry or fearful) thought:

1. Is it true?

2. Can you absolutely know that it’s true?

3. How do you react when you believe that thought?

4. Who would you be without that thought?

With regard to starting a new life, you could believe the thought that you are afraid of it. Or you could take the statement “I am afraid of life” and turn it around to “I am excited for life.”

It may sound simple but Byron’s approach is very useful. Your current suffering is entirely thought-based and by shifting things around, you can change that. You will find a lot of value through exploring her works.

In the end, nothing can be taken from or added to you. Whether it’s a new outward life or the challenge of responsibility,

our preferences deceive us into thinking and feeling that our wholeness and happiness are in jeopardy.

Peace, on the other hand, is not seeking nor avoiding change

but simply Being… the whole way through.

Come back to yourself HERE AND NOW  instead of trying to know yourself through future possibilities and current judgmental fears.

 

Namaste-

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13 things Mentally Strong People Avoid

 

 

 

xo

Leslie

 

 

 

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