When did you last dance with the universe? July 4, 2008

I’ve been running all sorts of topics through my head the past 2 weeks, deciding what to write next yet not making the time to choose one and run with it.  When this video came into my inbox this morning, it made me weep with joy.  It is so beautiful and the music is so lovely, that I wanted to share it with you and continue to expand the awareness of this video and how we are all connected.  Enjoy with love and gratitude…

Dancing With the Universe By Jim Walsh

The video was downloaded to the web on Saturday, June 20, 2008. By Sunday, it had 500 hits. By Thursday, it was everywhere – imbedded on Facebook and MySpace pages and flooding email inboxes and translating into millions of viewers, thousands of comments, and official “gone viral” status.

But this one is no YouTube vanity trip.  This one is different.  This one feels important, necessary, and artistic; a concrete manifestation of the change that the world’s leaders have been preaching at a time when the human race could use a little pick-me-up, a little jig in it’s step.  This one is a high-definition television commercial for hope.  

“Pretty cool, huh?,” said Matt Harding, when it was suggested to him that, for the first time in history, someone – him – got the entire planet dancing together to the same song.

The song and website is noted at the end of the video.

Excerpt from a Too-Honest Good Girl June 21, 2008

I was raised a good Catholic girl.   I admit I may not have followed the rules of the Church but I don’t stray too far when it comes to the rules of Life and interacting with people.   The Golden Rule of doing unto others as I would have them do unto me is foremost in my mind.   I have been accused of being “too honest” and “too loyal.”   (When did those fall out of fashion?)

When four of us entered the Moulin Rouge in Paris last week, we were asked at the door if we had cameras.  Two of us did, only one of us admitted to it (guess who).  We didn’t have intentions of taking photos as we knew it wasn’t allowed, but we had our cameras in our purses the whole week (what tourist doesn’t in Paris?)!   Being the too-honest girl, I of course nodded my head “yes” and was asked to hand over my new digital camera in exchange for a coat check tag.  The others muttered comments like “good luck getting that back.”  My husband shook his head in that you’re-too-honest-for-your-own-good sort of way that he’s done before.   Part of me did have some hesitation as I removed my digital card before handing it over.  No scrapbooker worth her photo-safe adhesive would be separated from her photos… a camera is replaceable, but photos of a dream vacation are not.  How else would I prove to you I was at the REAL Eiffel Tower?  It was a non-issue as I collected my camera easily at the end of the show.

To the defense of the others, I understand their skepticism as just 10 minutes later the guys were handing over 50 euros to the waiter in order that we could have a better table.  Considering we arrived quite early and there were many open seats, I guess I was naive to think my polite request of the maitre’d would get us a better view.  After all, he explained, the rules of the house would not allow a group of 4 to sit at the (better location) tables for 6 people.

My request being dismissed, the guys made the traditional offer to the waiter to ”make it worth his while” which was apparently familiar to him because he was quick to ask us to show him the money.  It seemed the house rules could be broken for a price as we were promptly seated center stage to enjoy the show.  (I  noticed later that various groups of 2 and 4 were sat together at the tables for six.)  Many would say this is simply how the world works.  I prefer to see this as an exception rather than the rule.

Examining my conditioning to follow rules, I’m reminded that if we follow them blindly opportunities are missed.  A perfect metaphor of this came to me last summer in Lake Tahoe when I was attending a self-discovery retreat.  My new friend said that she wanted to walk to the end of the pier.   The pier had a big gate with chains, a padlock and a sign that said Authorized Personnel Only.  ”We can’t,” this obedient girl said, “it’s all locked up.”   “Just go give it a push and see,” her new friend replied.   Of course, it opened easily with a slight push.   I had her take a photo as a reminder to include in my spiritual scrapbook - obstacles sometimes look bigger than they really are, it’s our fear that holds us back.

Just another example of the Universe opening doors to match our desires.  Our job is to be willing to take a leap of faith and awaken to opportunities in disguise.

CHALLENGE FOR YOU TO OPEN YOUR HEART:   When was the last time you did something completely spontaneous and out-of-character?  If it’s been awhile, then it’s time to… sing karaoke in public, run through a sprinkler on a hot day (fully dressed), be seen in public without makeup, bare your soul in a blog… you write the script, you make the rules of your life.  Wear the colour orange - that’s a good one for infusing some colour energy into your spontaneity!  And take a photo… we need these reminders on occasion.

QUOTE FOR YOUR SCRAPBOOK:  “Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Celebrate with Gratitude June 18, 2008

Bonjour mes amis!

Je suis retourner… from a wonderful week in Paris, France and am happy to share a page of my favourite photos.  You will note I am in front of the REAL Eiffel Tower in this post!  And to the right of that, a photo of myself reading a copy of a magazine celebrating the life of the late French designer Yves Saint-Laurent who passed over just prior to my visit to France. 

The message I wish to share with you today is how important it is to take the time to set goals and dreams for your life and that you achieve these through your thoughts, feelings and ACTION.  I wrote earlier this month about my vision board, scrapbook and creation box.  However, it is important to note that some action is required on your part.  The Universal Laws will bring opportunities to you but it is up to YOU to make the decision (this is your first action step) and go forward in faith.    As James Ray teaches, we must go 3 for 3… when your thoughts, feelings and actions are all in alignment the universe will open up and you will step into your full power.

The completion of this dream of visiting Paris has me contemplating all of the opportunities that the universe has presented to me in the past 2 years since I became aware of how the universal laws and principles work.  While in Paris I consciously offered up my thanks each and every day for the wonderment of how I came to be there.  It became clearer with each day there that this was the RIGHT time for me to be in France.  So as your dreams come true, remember to celebrate with gratitude. 

I would also like to encourage you to enjoy the JOURNEY.  Perhaps you are not where you want to be today; perhaps you are facing challenges that seem overwhelming.  Find the lessons where you are today.  Forge ahead in Faith and Gratitude for what you already have in your life.  And know that your true destination never really arrives… we will constantly have new desires, dreams and goals.  Such is life and this is the way that we grow and evolve.  Now that Paris is checked off my list, I look to the rest of my “bucket list” with anticipation and faith that what is meant to be will be.

Paris ne s’est pas fait en un jour.  (Paris wasn’t built in a day.) - French proverb

QUOTE FOR YOUR SCRAPBOOK: 

“The power of imagination makes us infinite.”  ~ John Muir

Dreams do come true June 8, 2008

I am soooooo excited!!!   I’ve been this way for months and it’s finally here, I can hardly contain myself… one of my dreams is coming true!  I am going to the City of Lights for adventure, discovery and romance and will be able to live my dream of living and speaking as the French do!  Since I was a teenager, I’ve wanted to visit Paris.  I love everything French.  

I enjoyed listening to my father speak his native tongue to his aunts on the phone (Alberta francophone slang which unfortunately did not transfer well to the French I was learning in school) .  I enjoy the beautiful, flowing language and find that I am good at it.   Yet I have not become fluent because I haven’t had the opportunity to speak it for any length of time.  

One of my dreams has always been to immerse myself in the language by living in Quebec or France for a period of time.   As a teenager I applied for an exchange program but did not secure one of the few available spots.   I had plans to travel there with a friend after highschool but she backed out and I never went.  As a flight attendant, I flew everywhere around it but never to France.  Then life happened and it did not materialize.

A couple years ago I learned about creating a Vision Board.   The information has been around for a long time but I first learned of it through the film The Secret.   In one of my favourite books Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach suggests creating an Illustrated Discovery Journal.  Abraham-Hicks suggests a Creation Box.    Last year I purchased a beautiful fabric-covered box that says Paris all over it.  Inside I drop papers or objects that represent things I wish to accomplish.  Last November I was in Vegas and asked a friend to take a photo of me with the “fake” Eiffel Tower behind me so that I could put it in my Vision Book (yes, I have a Vision Scrapbook… that should be no surprise)!  Another friend created this collage of me that I could view on my computer.

Just 6 weeks after my return from Las Vegas, Mark and I were having dinner with friends who announced they were going to Paris and asked if we would like to come.  My husband, without even looking at me said, “that sounds like fun.”  I did a double take!  Okay, you’re saying, that’s not a big manifestation.  Well, yes, it is!!   First, I’ve had many opportunities to travel in my life and the circumstances to go to France didn’t seem to line up.  Second, my husband has never been to  Europe.   It’s not that he was opposed to going but it was never first on his priority list and I was beginning to think it would be in our retirement that we would finally get there.  Vacations are usually south or centered around golf (I am an active participant so I’m not complaining, just stating a fact). 

Which brings me to my most important point… Mark plays around 170 rounds a year.  So to get him doing anything BUT golf in the middle of Spring is highly unusual.  I’ve suggested other activities and usually he says, “in the winter, when it’s not golf season.”   

Dreams do come true if you dream it and believe it will come.   Do not place your attention on the not having of it.   Twenty-some years later I am getting to Paris in the Springtime… thanks to The Universe who kindly lined up everything to make it the right time to go.  Because if it wasn’t his golf buddy who invited us, I’m not sure that I could have gotten Mark there on my own in the middle of June.   AND, we’re not bringing the golf clubs.    For all of this, I am grateful. 

Voilà la vérité (that’s the truth of it). 

QUOTE FOR YOUR SCRAPBOOK: “Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.” Henry David Thoreau

CHALLENGE TO YOU:  Have some fun in your scrapbook and create a page of your goals and dreams for your future.  The real fun begins when you have the opportunity to look back on this page and recognize all that has happened.  My example above is only one of many that have come true for me.

Busy, busy, bzzzz, zzzz…. June 2, 2008

It’s been 7 days since my last posting.  Interesting perspective:  that statement sounds like either a confessional or an accomplishment depending if you’re a Catholic or a recovering alcoholic.  I used to be the former, never was the latter;  I suppose I can combine the two and now say I’m a recovering Catholic.   Kidding aside, I have respect for both, just having some fun with words.

Which brings me to my topic… language and the words we choose.  I believe the 2 most powerful words we can say are ”I am…” and anything that follows those words are like a decree, a declaration and an invitation for more of the same. 

I had the pleasure of being at our local Street Festival yesterday.  A large portion of the main street through town is closed to traffic and I’ve heard numbers close to 50,000 pedestrians visit this annual event.  I had a vendor’s table there, as it’s a wonderful way to connect with the community and promote awareness of my business and services.   As I greeted visitors to my table with the usual “Good afternoon, how are you today?”, I cannot tell you how many times the response was “not bad.”   Hmmm, I suppose that’s better than not good.   I’ve used these same words many times; we do it so unconsciously without realizing the intention we are putting out there with our words.   Now, I certainly hope to receive honest answers when I ask the question so if one is truly struggling through their day then I suppose “not bad” is a polite way to say “I’m not doing well but don’t really want to get into it with you, thanks for asking.”   However, when one says “not bad” we are focusing on the negative.  Even if your day is a struggle, don’t you still have much to be GREAT-ful for?  You can walk, you can see, you can talk, you can hear, you can choose to be at a festival, you have freedom, you have a beautiful day, you can read this blog, you have… so much.  Perhaps we take too much for granted.

I’ve noticed my chiropractor doesn’t greet people with “how are you?”  He’s trained himself to greet people with “Good to see you!”  Very smart.

The next time someone asks you how you are, answer honestly… but if “not bad” is your routine response, try one of these:   Great!  Marvelous!  Fantastic!  Super-duper!  Wonderful!  Awesome! 

Another word that is overused is BUSY. ”I am so busy!”  Whenever I hear that response to my question “how are things with you?”, and it’s said in that rush, rush tone of voice like they’re doing me a favour to talk to me, well they’ve lost my attention.  We’re ALL busy.  I don’t think I’m any busier than you or you’re any busier than me.  For the past year I’ve been consciously avoiding the use of that adjective.  

In the world of blogging, apparently a blogger shouldn’t keep their readers waiting too long between posts or they won’t return.  My apologies for the past week… I have a very full life!  I enjoy my activities every day and keep myself occupied doing the things I choose to do or… I’m doing my best to approach with a fun spirit the things that simply need to get done.  I do have challenges; having a fun spirit and a grateful heart allow me to ease through challenges in life more elegantly.

Because when it’s all said and done… how would you like to look back on your life?  Do you want it to be “not bad” or GREAT!!!  It’s your choice.

QUOTE FOR YOUR SCRAPBOOK:  “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”  John Lennon

CHALLENGE TO YOU:  In your daily or weekly schedule, take the time to feed your soul with activities that give you joy and passion.  Sometimes you need to step back from the busy busy activities in order to be more productive.  Go for a walk around the block, meditate, write in your journal or scrapbook.

Letting Go May 25, 2008

Years ago there was a movie called PeeWee’s Big Adventure.  At 23, when I decided to venture to a new city where I had no job, friends or particular reason to be, my friends who called me BV christened my road trip “BV’s Big Adventure.”  That’s a title in my scrapbook.  But it’s not just a fun title that brings a smile to my face.  There’s so much more in those 3 words, a whole story summed up in one short title.

It speaks to me of a time when I went forth in search of a dream and independence.  It was new and scarey yet exciting to make the decision to go.  I forever look back on it as a period in my life that shaped my character.  It was a “defining moment” for me.

My Dad didn’t agree.  He was angry:  why would his youngest daughter leave all her family to move to a city she new nothing about, that wasn’t exactly around the corner, with no job or obvious means of getting one (considering I had no connections there) and where she had no friends or relatives.  I recall being told I could never move back home if I left and that to forget even thinking of having his blessing to go.

So despite the sadness of leaving my Dad and my family this way, I set out in my blue Pontiac Acadian filled with my clothes, a couple friends hitching a ride to their new life, and some good tunes.  

You see, I knew that my Dad’s words were a mask for his deep sadness in having to let go.  I knew his heart was aching and he thought his “threats” might have a chance in keeping me home.

But in life we all have moments where we need to let go.  (My friend Peter talks about letting go in a different manner in his blog.)  At this time in my life, this was my Dad’s moment to let go, and my moment too.

You see, by leaving, I was letting go of security, my comfort zone, and the possibility of losing unconditional love and support from my family (more perceived than real).

When you let go, you open up to new possibilities.  When I let go, I opened up to:  adventure, courage, confidence, and faith… in life, God and myself.

So as I drove out of the city limits and took a last look in my rear-view mirror at the home of my birth, I allowed myself to let go of the past and move towards a future of exciting new possibilities, people and adventures.

Are you at a time in your life where you need to let go of something?  Great new things await you… when you let go, they will come to you.  

QUOTE FOR YOUR SCRAPBOOK:  “One good wish changes nothing. One good decision changes everything.”

FOR YOUR SCRAPBOOK:  Reflect upon a time in your life that was a defining moment.   When were you faced with a tough decision, but once you made it you knew it was the right one to make?   Journal your thoughts about that time, how grateful you are to have had that experience, how grateful you are to have the freedom to choose.  And because we all think in pictures, I encourage you to see if you can find a photo of that time in your life.  Put it in your scrapbook, or frame it where you’ll see it each day.  It’s like a visual affirmation for you.

OPEN YOUR HEART:  Let go of whatever is holding you back right now from living fully and authentically.  Whatever is not working in your life right now, you have a choice.  It might not be an easy one.  But I guarantee you the sun will rise tomorrow.

When is One Half a Whole? May 22, 2008

Brothers and sisters… I have 8 of them.  To be true, most people express surprise at such a number.  I guess it’s rare in this age of 2.5 kids (or has that number decreased?) to meet a family with 9.  When I continue to explain that we have a span of 21 years from youngest to oldest, most wince when they think about my mother.  After enjoying watching them try to comprehend that possibility for a few seconds, I’ll elaborate and explain the “hers, mine and ours scenario.”  We are from 3 marriages:  4 from my Dad’s first marriage, 3 from my Mom’s first marriage and then myself and my younger brother (now passed on) from Dad and Mom’s union.

Except in those situations, I never use “half-brother” or “half-sister” when talking about family because those labels to me might imply “less than” or “not as complete.”  And that’s simply not the case.  Unless we’re talking medical history, it’s just not relevant.  So, I have 5 brothers and 3 sisters (whom you met in my previous blog; you’ll meet the bro’s soon).   We all get along pretty well.  That maybe wasn’t always the case when we were kids, but underlying our wrestling or tearful childhood exchanges was the knowledge that we were loved, we were a family and we stuck together.

It’s interesting and insightful to develop friendships and deeper relationships with siblings as adults.  Travel with them in your mature years and I guarantee you’ll learn things about them you never knew.  They become people with hopes, dreams and problems just like you when you really get to know them.

And, if you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of packing up one’s life after they’ve passed on, you may learn things that could warm your heart… once you get over the feeling that you’re invading the privacy of someone who is no longer present.  Heck, as kids, you didn’t think twice about getting into their “stuff” but in this situation it’s completely unsettling.

My eldest sister loaned me a book once called Birth Order and You and I remember it said that each child born into a family is born into a different family.  Circumstances, economics and the environment change with each baby.

I wouldn’t change growing up in a large family for anything.    I don’t love them half, I love them whole… and the fact they’re in my life makes my life complete in many ways. 

OPEN YOUR HEART:  Today, tell your brother or sister you love them.  If you don’t have one, tell someone who is like a brother or sister to you.  Blood may be thicker than water but water is just as precious to our body, in my books.  If you’re not sure that you love your brother or sister, it might be time for some introspection and forgiveness (for yourself primarily - and that’s a lesson for another time).   

 

Lessons from 3 Sisters May 19, 2008

In my Gratitude Scrapbook Album, these are pages of life lessons learned from my 3 elder sisters  (Scrapbookers, see tips and notes at the end of this blog).

 The 2 eldest were teenagers in the ’60s and on their own around the time I was born.   Regardless of the age difference, it was often said how much Jo and I were alike in character traits.   Good humour is important in our family, although I admit acquaintances may not see this side of me until we become closer in friendship.

I appreciated learning stories of JoAnn’s independence and adventures and can identify parallels in our adult lives.  My 2nd sister Chris gave me a profound piece of advice.  When I was debating a trip to Australia to follow my heart, she wrote, “You never regret the things you do, only the things you don’t do.”   Ponder that one when you’re faced with a decision.     

My 3rd sister Donna is 6 years my senior, so we had the usual sisterly quarrels.  We shared a bedroom and I was the kid sister always getting into her “stuff.”   She slammed my head with a pillow one night to stop me from grinding my teeth (there are better cures these days, but her method worked).   Donna had to shoulder a lot of responsibilities for looking after me and 2 brothers.  However, it is in our adult lives that I’ve grown to really know and love her.  My favourite moments are during our recent 3-week tour of Italy with Mom.  (My spiritual teacher James Arthur Ray  quotes Ram Dass: “If you think you’re enlightened, go live with your parents.”  I’d like to revise that to say, “… travel with them as adults!)

“When mom and dad don’t understand, a sister always will.” - Author Unknown

Too sweet? How about: 

 ”If sisters were free to express how they really feel, parents would hear this:  Give me all the attention and all the toys and send (Brenda) to live with Grandma.” ~ Linda Sunshine

For Scrapbookers or wanna-be Scrapbookers:

CHALLENGE:  Adding to the challenge posted in my 2nd Post, take your time, this isn’t a rush project.  I encourage you to focus on a positive lesson from a family member that you consciously implemented in your life.    Highlight this on a page with a candid photo that really captures who they are.   Write their descriptive character traits as a border around the page.

OPEN YOUR HEART:  After writing a sincere letter of love and thanks to them, send them a copy of your page or offer it to them as a special birthday or holiday gift.  I was pleased to learn that some of my family framed their pages.   Telling them today will mean you can leave this life without regrets of not telling them what you carry in your heart.

The Truth, the Whole Truth, Nothing But the Truth… so help me, God? May 16, 2008

I’ve loved to draw and create ever since I was a small child and even entertained the idea of being a professional artist after highschool (watch for future post “regrettable career move”). So visual arts was my first love. Followed by music which inspires and surrounds me every day (although I am not musically gifted, unless it’s karaoke and wine… then just try to take that microphone out of my hand). Last but not least, I appreciate being entertained by talented actors, comedians and dancers. Clowns and mimes, not so much, sorry.

I attended Swan Lake when I was in grade school; I believe that was the first professional “grown-up” performance I had attended (other than Disney on Ice which I don’t count as an adult show). The first major theatrical performance I attended as an adult was The Phantom of the Opera in Toronto, about a year after I had moved to the city. There was Drama with a capital D around that performance, and I’m not referring to inside the theatre!

My then-boyfriend (I’ll call him Mr. Nice Guy) and I thought it would be a great idea to see the show on Valentines Day 1990 so we booked tickets months in advance. The show was in it’s first year in Toronto (it had a 10-year run here). Speaking of first year, Mr. Nice Guy and I had been dating in Vancouver about 7 months when I was hired as a flight attendant, completed my 7 weeks of training and then learned the (sad) news that I would be based in Toronto. I was so disappointed as I loved Vancouver. I loved Mr. Nice Guy too, I suppose, in the way that 25-year-olds who’ve been dating less than a year love each other. But Vancouver was my real love. I had moved there just 18 months earlier from landlocked Edmonton, settled in nicely and was enjoying my newfound independence and social connections. Now here I was being uprooted against my pleasure and being sent away from the majestic mountains and Pacific Ocean to the Gardiner Expressway overlooking Lake Ontario with the CN Tower piercing the skyline. Oh joy.

Before we jump ahead to the Opera, let’s examine the details of my life in Toronto at that time, shall we? I was 25-years old, in a new and exciting career that jetted me across Canada and around the world to exciting destinations. I was young, attractive and single (not married but in a long distance relationship). My four roommates were also young, attractive and single flight attendants. Mr. Nice Guy, my boyfriend of less than a year, lived on the West Coast — a 5-hour flight and 3 time zones away. We managed to see each other about one weekend a month. So the relationship was surviving (not thriving mind you, but it was being given attention). Things were very exciting at this time of my life.  My mid-20s was spent flying on jets as much as most people take the subway.  I had always dreamed of being a flight attendant so I could travel the world in style, and my dream was now a reality. (In hindsight, Law of Attraction was working although I was unaware of the universal laws then.)  Are you beginning to see where this story is heading?

Now it’s Autumn 1989 and our theatre tickets are waiting for February 1990 to arrive. Anyone who has lived through their ’20s will tell you that a few months can be a long time to wait and a lot can happen in that time (this is called foreshadowing for those who skipped English class).

I’ve neglected to mention that a previous boyfriend with whom I had a brief but passionate affair after we met in 1987 on a BC Ferry enroute to Nanaimo was living in Toronto. I will clarify it wasn’t a cheating kind of affair, I was single at the time and it wasn’t brief like you may be thinking… we had a relationship for many months. I don’t know which Voice in My Head decided this would be a good idea (rarely as women, can we understand or admit to these sorts of things until we are in our ’40s writing in a blog for the world to read), but in October 1989 it was coming up to his birthday, so I decided to call to wish him a Happy Birthday. Probably wasn’t a wise idea. He is a Scorpio… no need to expand on that for those of you who follow astrology.

Around December, I found myself writing a Dear Mr. Nice Guy letter (followed by a visit to him), suggesting our long distance romance was not being fully realized and it was time to take a break.  He agreed (okay, I might have left out a few important details with him… this is known in our culture as “little white lie” or “partial truth”). As noted in my manifesto, you can’t outrun the Truth. It seems like you get a pretty good head start and when you think you’ve gotten away with it, Truth finds you! Sooner or later, it always does. Things seemed fine and Mr.Nice Guy and I parted amicably (vowing to keep in touch as friends, of course). By February, the Phantom of the Opera tickets were demanding their rightful owner. Since I was resident in the city, I made some assumptions about now owning those tickets. (Remember the TV show The Odd Couple? Felix said, “when you assume, you make an ASS of U and ME. I’ve always remembered that.)  As friends, Mr. Nice Guy thought he would fly in and we would attend together as originally planned. Oops… a hard lesson for me in not being 100% truthful months earlier. The show was on or near Valentines’ Day… how would I explain attending the show with an ex-boyfriend-now-friend when Mr. Scorpio expected to attend this romantic evening at the theatre with me? Truth had emerged and I had some ’splaining to do with both gentlemen.

I am not very proud of how I conducted myself in those relationships at that time in my life, not properly ending one before starting, or resuming, the other and mostly for telling a half-truth, which we know does not exist — there can be only Truth or… lies (ugh, such a harsh word).  I have a letter from Mr. Nice Guy written after our last conversation; every 10 years I’ll come across it and it gives me a hard reminder of how delicate the heart is and that all hearts need to be treated with care.  So in my 26th year, I lost a friend.

How was the Opera, you may be wondering? With all the drama and heartache going on outside the theatre, I attended the evening as planned to watch the drama and heartache unfold inside the beautiful Pantages Theatre. At the end of the performance, I turned to my girlfriend in the seat beside me and said, “what a beautiful but tragic love story.”

CHALLENGE TO YOU: Think of a time in your life where you weren’t 100% truthful with someone and it caused heartache.

OPEN YOUR HEART: Write a letter to that person from your point of view with what you know now and apologize from the bottom of your heart.  Accept all responsiblity.   You don’t have to send it, but write it… feel it… and then tear it up. The Universe will know you’ve made amends.

QUOTE FOR YOUR SCRAPBOOK:  “When a woman tells the truth she is creating the possibility for more truth around her.” ~ Adrienne Rich

My Manifesto and Musings May 13, 2008

Use the good china.   Every day this side of the grass is a special occasion, so celebrate!

Tell people how they’ve made a difference in your life.  One never knows when life will come to a close; take advantage now of all your opportunities.  

Take time each day to be thankful.

Make a difference:  Be inspired and inspiring to others.

Learn about yourself… grow and evolve.  Remove yourself from the comfort zone.

Be inclusive, not exclusive.

Listen to uplifting music and watch movies with positive stories (Pay it Forward, Peaceful Warrior, The Ultimate Gift are a few).  Feed your mind as carefully as you would feed your physical body.   Well, maybe allow some popcorn for those movies.

Make a list of things you want to do and make plans to do them in this lifetime… because if you reincarnate as a cow, that won’t be very condusive to sitting in a Venice concert hall enjoying Vivaldi (whew, glad I checked that one off my list in 2005)!    I actually had this list long before The Bucket List was released to movie theatres, but that’s another good flick.

Have a sense of humour and don’t take yourself too seriously.  Be goofy some of the time.

Choose wisely the times to be goofy; and if not, the good news is you will perfect the motion of “open mouth, insert foot.”

Know your limitations and embrace them… they are a part of YOU!

Love fully.  Holding back results in your receiving only as much as you give.  You want it all, don’t you?

Remove “can’t afford” from your vocabulary.  It speaks of lack and poverty, which begets more of the same.  Be financially responsible and choose where and when to invest your money and time.

Protect your time.  Others will spend it easily if you allow them.

Choose wisely who you spend your time with… I recommend energy uplifters, not energy suckers.

Welcome Change!  It’s the only true constant.

Save  yourself the heartache - you can’t outrun the Truth, so don’t even try (I’ll have a story for you on this another time).

When travelling, do your best to speak the local language, even if it’s just a greeting or please and thank you.  Hello, Goodbye, Aufwiedersein, Adieu… I draw the line at wearing leiderhosen though.  It might look great while in Austria, but back home in Canada you’ll get some looks.  (Apologies to the Germanic languages for any misspellings.)

Now and then, put your face up to the sun, close your eyes and soak in the warmth and life-giving energy.

Always see the bright side.

Wear sunglasses if it gets blinding, there’s a reason common sense is a highly-sought-after quality. 

Be willing to take responsibility for everything in your life experience.

Apologize when necessary and be the one to take the first step to forgive. 

Respect everyone equally, and remember to include yourself in there, too.

Bless those who challenge you for there is learning in every encounter.

Handwritten notes and cards are always in style.   Failing that, video email  is a lot of fun and more personal than text email!

Embrace technology. And when it frustrates you, think of typewriters.  How did we ever run this world without computers?!

Don’t burn the candle at both ends, get plenty of rest.  So on that note… I bid you goodnight.

I’d love to hear your additions to my manifesto.  It really could be endless.