tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78816682850261416142024-02-02T04:08:07.455-06:00The Radical VirgoAstrological writer Joyce Mason is the "Radical Virgo," your flight attendant on many round trips from Earth to Sky. This blog is about developing the best potential of your star map, whatever your signs or signatures. Better You = Better World.Joyce Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13462878902674014180noreply@blogger.comBlogger53113tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881668285026141614.post-57464068705310083072023-04-16T21:04:00.001-05:002023-04-16T21:05:36.121-05:00Bump Up Your Positivity Meter<p><br /></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Conquer Negativity Where It Starts—in Your in Your Mind
and Self-Talk</b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Article © 2023 by Joyce
Mason<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Few people see themselves
as negative, even the Debbie Downers or Guys Stalked by Dark Clouds of Toxic Thoughts.
The latter are just like Pigpen from the cartoon Peanuts. They are constantly
followed by an energetic dirt cloud. It’s invisible but feels like a poisonous force
field to everyone around them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I have recently experimented
with cleaning my mindset for spring. I decided that rather than “giving up” any
of the traditional fare for Lent, I’d try giving up negative thoughts and
especially negative self-talk. No picking on myself. One of my friends, also a
Radical Virgo said it would be easier to give up chocolate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">People often tell me I’m
one of the most upbeat people they’ve ever met. Still, even though that’s my
orientation, my mental house is as hard, if not harder, to keep clean than the
one I live in that’s made from brick and mortar.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So, with Lent and Easter
over, I have decided to review my work to date on this exercise and share some
tips I’ve discovered, not just from this exercise by from the life experience I
brought into it. When it comes to self-talk, no one said it better than one of
my favorite artists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">“Don’t belittle yourself. Be-BIG
yourself.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">--Sister
Corita Kent</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Whether it’s your attitude
toward yourself or the world, be big with positivity. Know that all things fit
into a larger picture. It’s a spring cleaning or cleanse you can do any time of
the year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ten Tips toward the Plus Side</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Fast from Toxic Relationships. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We’ve all known them, people who you hate to see coming
because you feel like you need to put on a lead vest<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">like you do at the dentist. It will protect you do from
the fallout of an X-ray or a radioactive person. There is no one worth having
in your psychic or physical space who literally gives you a pain in the gut or
a headache. It’s hardest with close relatives, but if you can’t have a clear
conversation with them about why you avoid them, it’s time to save yourself.
This one is probably the most obvious but often the hardest to do because of
how we “should” on ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">One
of the first clues that a person is toxic is that they cannot admit that they
may be part of the problem. I have met incredibly intelligent people who actually
believe it is everyone else’s fault 100% of the time. From a purely logical
standpoint, how could this be true? What they are really saying is that
everything has to be their way: their perception, their values. You don’t
count. This is definitely a call to be-big yourself. Be big enough to stand up
to them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
sidekick to this behavior is often poor boundaries, especially when it comes to
what most of us would consider nosy questions. They want to know everything
about you, whether or not it’s appropriate for the intimacy level (or lack
thereof) of your relationship. They act as if it’s normal to probe, and the
part of you that wants to be nice buys in. Best to assume they don’t mean
anything by it (which avoids having to confront them).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
way to bust this sort of behavior is to push back. Stand in your truth. “I’m
not really comfortable answering that.” Let them know when you’re angry. You
may be surprised. If they really care, there may be a breakthrough. If they
care more about being right and their one-sided worldview, they may leave you
before you have to leave them. You’re no fun for them anymore once you can’t be
bullied. That’s what this really is in plain English. It’s like the story of
the Emperor with No Clothes. The unspoken rule is not to speak up or speak out.
If you wonder if it’s just you, it rarely is. Check with others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Monitor Your
Dialogue, Inner and Outer. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If you keep a journal,
reread key entries now and then. Your journal it is a chronology of where your
head is at. If not (or in addition), read your personal emails. They will
provide eye-opening data about how you perceive the world. Are you complaining
a lot? Swearing a lot? Woe-is-me-ing? Them-and-us-ing? It’s fine, in fact
absolutely necessary, to express your feelings. What doesn’t serve you is to
generalize the fact that the man at the bank acted like an a*hole means all
bankers or all service people are the same. Anger and other unpleasant feelings
are best let in to be expressed and let go as fast as you can let the wave pass.
Don’t hold onto it. Don’t invite them to move into your house (you)
indefinitely. We all know how fast house guests get old, especially negative
ones. Thoughts and attitudes are strong magnets. If you let negative
experiences build up to worldview like “people are jerks”, guess what you draw?
Just sayin’. That’s how Debbie Downers are born.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Have a Good Talk
With Yourself. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There’s nothing
that pains my spirit more than someone who says out loud to themselves, “Damn
me” or “F--me.” It hurts me because I used to do that, and I’m an empath. OMG, we
didn’t get enough of that from dysfunctional adults growing up?<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">It is every adult’s job to reparent themselves.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We may have been stuck with less than ideal
families, but we are in charge now. We create what we experience, and the best
experiences are created from the inside out. Try this:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Make a list of the 10 top things you love or appreciate
about yourself. For people who have a lot of mental housecleaning to do, this
may be hard. You can expand this list over time. Keep a copy. Read it whenever
you are tempted to beat on yourself. Berating you is never a good thing. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">List your accomplishments every day. Sometimes just
getting up is a big accomplishment. I list chores, entertainment, goals
reached, and times I was tempted to pick on myself and didn’t. (Or started and
stopped myself.) These habits create new pathways in your brain that help you
see yourself as a fully competent, imperfect but ever-evolving human.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Give yourself a pep talk whenever you need one. Using a
mirror when you talk to yourself is especially powerful.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Talk to Yourself
But Also Listen. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This is really an
extension of #2. Stop long enough between thoughts to hear what you just said
to yourself. Is it positive? Is it life affirming? Considering the damage the
accumulation of these thoughts can do to you, yes. You have time.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Accept Your Mistakes
with Grace.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> In the past month, I have
caught myself many times starting to pick on my imperfections or scold myself
for my errors. Apparently, one of my favorite phrases prior to a self-whipping
is “How could I have … (gotten it wrong in some way).” I am starting to catch
my own catchphrases and to recognize I’m about to jump off the deep end of
self-recrimination. “No, Joyce,” I tell myself. “You’re not stupid. You’re not just
getting old or absent-minded.” The longer we live, the more opportunities we
have to get it either right or wrong. Our brains are crowded after decades of
living, and modern technology demands that we process information faster than
we have yet quite evolved to do it. Noticing our mistakes is for righting the
boat, not jumping overboard because we made an error. It’s for course
correction. Treat it as such.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Don’t What-If
Yourself into Worst-Case Scenarios. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This
is the double-edged sword of a great imagination. Over the past couple of
years, I have had my share of health challenges. The scariest was a terrible
case of bronchitis where I was constantly coughing, wheezing and for the first
time in my life, I had trouble breathing. In each of at least four different
health conditions, I worried it was the beginning of the end. It took this
Lenten practice to remind me that health ebbs and flows. Ebbing doesn’t mean
you’ll never flow again. Being determined to have the best possible health is
always the best attitude, even if sickness (which is often a cleansing or a
re-set) has to take us there. If you must do death scenes in your head, do them
intensely and get it over with … and laugh at what a drama queen you are. Then
get on with remembering this whole gig on Earth is a tragi-comedy. Think well
and get well. You only die once per lifetime. Why do it on your mind over and
over? And shorten what time you’ve got or make it miserable with stress?<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If You’re Here,
You’re Still Under Construction.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">
I love the line from Richard Bach’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Illusions:
<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">Here
is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive,
it isn't.</span></span></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Be a life-long learner. Once we adopt
that role, there’s no end to the excitement, even at The End—the ultimate
adventure.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Never Lose Your
Sense of Humor. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Laugh often.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>I was blessed to be raised by hilarious
parents. The two biggest things they taught me were to laugh at myself (mom)
and to admit when I’m wrong (dad). As I often say, I feel closest to God when
laughing. Then there’s that wonderful quote by author Anne Lamott, “Laughter is
carbonated holiness.” Church fonts should contain carbonated water to remind us
of this principle. Stand-up comics are so funny because they take the slings
and arrow of life we all relate to and find their ridiculous, crazy core. It is
a divine comedy, and when you can find the laugh track, it’s impossible to
remain negative about much of anything.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can’t Get Your Meter into the Plus Zone No
Matter How Hard You Try? </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Get Help.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>My niece once told me I’m the sane one
in the family. Ironically, I’m one of the few family members who go or have
gone to therapy. I even go for maintenance when I don’t have something I really
need to work on. It’s kind of like a vaccine with no side effects except one.
It makes me feel better. An objective, caring listener can tell me if I’m barking
up the wrong bush or kidding myself. What’s crazy is to think anyone could get
through something as complicated as modern life without it. If you haven’t,
give it a try. The only thing you have to shrink is your negativity. Most insurance
covers mental health care these days; too, so shrinking your pocketbook might
not be involved at all. If you have to pay out of pocket, you’re worth the
investment.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Find Your Spiritual
Niche. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Healthy spirituality supports
positive living. You don’t have to be religious to be spiritual or a good
person. I know atheists and agnostics who are actually better “christians” than
some who claim that faith. People who are not deity-oriented are often very humanitarian.
It all comes down to love, and whatever thought system you need to create and
see more of it in your life, go for it. It’s the glue that binds together the
disparate parts of humans and their brethren. There are so many good parts to
every faith and orientation. From Christianity I got the Golden Rule. From
metaphysics I got that the Golden Rule is so important because we are each
other. From Judaism I got an extra dose of the importance of ritual, as I also
got from Catholicism. From Druidism I got how nature is a temple, or as I read
in a recent Facebook post, the ultimate Holy Land. From Buddhism I learned that
meditation is the force that rewires our minds for everything I am talking
about in this article. This is just a sampler. We tend to think in terms of
what we don’t like about other faiths or paths. What about studying them a bit
and finding out what parts of them are worth celebrating? I have been an
eclectic in my spirituality for many years, pasting together a worldview that,
as the Dalai Lama says, makes love my religion.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If you try this experiment,
I’d love to hear how it things change for you. My journal showed me that only
4-5 months ago, I was on the brink of despair. Now I am on an adventure in
hope. I feel lighter. One of my favorite things about myself is that I love
others warts and all. I am starting to do the same for myself. It kind of
tickles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">~~~<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Photo Credit: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/meter-positive-negative.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #063d98; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">Meter Positive Negative</a><span style="color: #656565; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="color: #656565; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">©</span><span style="color: #656565; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/flashvector_info" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #063d98; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">Flashvector</a><span style="color: #656565; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="color: #656565; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">|</span><span style="color: #656565; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #063d98; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">Dreamstime.com</a></p><div><div class="postdownload__copyright js-postdownload-copyright-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #656565; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; outline: none;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div>Joyce Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13462878902674014180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881668285026141614.post-58718176803883912382023-03-10T05:00:00.003-06:002023-03-10T05:00:00.204-06:00Waiting<p><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A Winter into Spring Poem</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Poem © 2023 by Joyce Mason<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGwUlm_AiWGqdr31tDQs0h1unpRUWzpV8mIoy9wj0J7r9leendS1AngGh_Iz3OdxrpUl8txrJN6yhu2oqYeqle-RCOOONHSxi_UgQqwNddzd3T567Ul7NAcGYrG7n_u1uNfoDmgX9wRNbb4FqIFRVOvqobbo3YoIBXPmRt7mVdNE_b51bz3OXfrBK/s480/Winter2Spring%20'23.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGwUlm_AiWGqdr31tDQs0h1unpRUWzpV8mIoy9wj0J7r9leendS1AngGh_Iz3OdxrpUl8txrJN6yhu2oqYeqle-RCOOONHSxi_UgQqwNddzd3T567Ul7NAcGYrG7n_u1uNfoDmgX9wRNbb4FqIFRVOvqobbo3YoIBXPmRt7mVdNE_b51bz3OXfrBK/w320-h180/Winter2Spring%20'23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am waiting for
Godot . . .</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">slurping the bottom of an iced drink from last summer <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">through a flattened straw,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">patience drowning in an empty cup,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">hoping to coax Spring to show herself, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">even if only out of pity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am losing my faith in her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am nearly convinced she’ll never come, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">that winter will never die, at least not by natural causes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So much in one season!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sickness, depression, grief<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Isolation, loneliness, cold …<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">wondering if I might be dying.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">sleeping so much, as if practicing—<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">my story for too many winters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yet as predictable as freckles on skin,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">one day the dark breaks open and the Vitamin D Orb<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">is back pulsing heat and hope.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Life courses through my veins again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Buds defy snow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Newness becomes a religion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I leave winter in its catacombs<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To visit with candles<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">in the next Holy Season of Inner Renewal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Join me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now go meet your New Self.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">You’re going to just love you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">~~~<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Photo Credit:</b> <span style="color: #656565; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/rebirth.html"><span style="color: #063d98; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Rebirth</span></a> © <a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/motortion_info"><span style="color: #063d98; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">motortion</span></a> | <a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/winter-spring.html"><span style="color: #063d98; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Dreamstime.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Want some background music for this post? Try George Winston's album, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=PLe1seBFJFklhADHPdm5plXhU3pa1yKtVE" target="_blank">Winter into Spring</a>.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>Joyce Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13462878902674014180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881668285026141614.post-52573500686548861882023-01-21T20:00:00.001-06:002023-01-21T20:00:00.191-06:00Synchronicity: Cosmic Hints and Divine Report Cards<p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqN0E8NoyCyEcD7SBXEzkJkWtohyTjKKnESATlaBcsrLIhQaWWWty-efUIiLLikb8urQ5gpwnUj5lHNsAvdwFpD1d99IrOKpYHglM9DhpeM5LnuBzs7dOoG-AlWUR5mrlIia4SYIOZdYSl8TOeYYM1lvDAxbFEgQu5Pms53odWCLueLUksiyCfSni/s480/Synch%20Follow%20dreamstime_xs_116337160.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="480" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqN0E8NoyCyEcD7SBXEzkJkWtohyTjKKnESATlaBcsrLIhQaWWWty-efUIiLLikb8urQ5gpwnUj5lHNsAvdwFpD1d99IrOKpYHglM9DhpeM5LnuBzs7dOoG-AlWUR5mrlIia4SYIOZdYSl8TOeYYM1lvDAxbFEgQu5Pms53odWCLueLUksiyCfSni/w400-h250/Synch%20Follow%20dreamstime_xs_116337160.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Post © 2023 by Joyce Mason<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The longer I live</span></b><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">,
the more meaningful coincidences I have. They offer everything from a blinking
red light that hollers <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">follow me</i> to
reminders for my to-do list.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">While I’m not 100% sure of
all the ins and outs of how synchronicity works, I am certain of two things. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face="Verdana, "sans-serif"" style="line-height: 115%;"></span></b></p><blockquote><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Synchronicity requires being in the flow of life and recognizing that everything is interconnected. </span></b></blockquote><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The world only appears
random. It actually operates in an order we can’t even begin to fathom. On the
Mr. Don’t Bee side of things, don’t be so preoccupied or stressed that you can’t
hear the universe tapping you on the back or it may have to hit you upside the
head to get your attention. I have experienced everything from dramatic,
life-changing interventions from synchronicities to comical Godwinks, as one
Hallmark movie series calls them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dramatic: In the
mid-1980s, I was minding my own business when the subject of adoption started popping
up everywhere. I am adopted and had never felt drawn to finding my birth families.
There was another adopted woman in my prayer breakfast group who was seeking to
meet her birth father she had never known. Suddenly, a new magazine sprung up
in the window of the local bookseller that was basically an ad exchange for
adoptees and birth parents who were looking for each other. Back to prayer
breakfast, another woman in the group began experiencing adoption-related
issues in her family. By the time the third omen hit, I found myself crying in
my eggs. “Alright already,” I told the Universe. I get it. I’m supposed to do
that thing I never thought I wanted to do. I was stunned, but I could not
ignore the obvious. Also, concurrently, I was having dreams about happy
reunions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There are many more
stories I will save for the memoir I’m writing, but on the comic side, I have
noticed that the Gods of Sync are getting ever more creative in how they ask me
to be a message carrier. I belong to a Facebook group for people who want to learn
more Yiddish, one of my favorite languages. A woman was looking for a name for
her female dog that might have a nice Jewish ring to it. I kept hearing the
name Sadie in my mind. I offered it, as did some others in the large group.
When I went to Christmas dinner at the home of one of my nieces, I found out
that her family had just gotten a dog. The pooch’s original name did not fit
her, they felt, and they starting to call her Sadie. If they didn’t get the
same cosmic message I would have brought it to them. They were astonished at the
mind meld. (They are still getting used to some of my woo-woo ways.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My favorite thing of late
is how TV commercials and other day-to-day occurrences act as reminders to me.
For example, a laundry detergent ad jogged my memory that I needed to order
some. This is starting to happen a lot, which is a real blessing considering
I’m of a certain age where I forget things more often. Today, out of the blue,
my cousin sent me a photo she found online of my investment broker in New York.
That reminded me I had some forms I had signed but had not yet sent to him. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">When synchronicities heat
up, I know I am in tune with the cosmos and the path I am being gently nudged
to take. Once I can see and hear them, they are like breadcrumbs taking me to
the next place I have to go. This is the report card aspect. The more I follow
the bread trail with full faith, the more hints/markers I find. It’s like the
stars we got on our foreheads when I was a kid for a good performance at school. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Boy, that memory makes me
feel I old. I hope whenever my time comes, I go out in a blaze of breadcrumbs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">~~~<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: top;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Photo Credit</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">:</span></b><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="color: #625b53; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242);"> </span>© <a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/beletskaya_info"><span style="color: #063d98; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ganna Biletska</span></a><span style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242);"> </span>| <a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos"><span style="color: #063d98; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Dreamstime.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Verdana","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Joyce Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13462878902674014180noreply@blogger.com0