YOU CANNOT CHANGE ANYTHING (IT'S A LIE)

Addiction.

Debt.

Education.

Exploitation.

Ethnic Cleansing.

Health Care.

Mental Illness.

Poverty.

Suicide.

Taxes.

Terrorism.

 

There is so much going wrong in the world,

I’m sure we could come up with

more than an alphabet’s worth.

 

So much.

Too much.

And our overwhelmed selves want to bury our heads

and wish it away.

 

Each of us knows we cannot,

individually, by ourselves,

change

all

of it.

 

Which leads us to believe a lie.

 

The lie:

we cannot change

any

of it.

 

The truth:

We cannot change anything

if we will not seek to change

one

thing.

 

So we can keep burying and wishing,

or we can choose something.

 

When you choose something,

it changes everything. 

MORE THAN A SKINBAG OF BONES

Looking at myself in the mirror

I thought,

Who are you and where have you been?

 

The memories came rushing in -

first the bad, the painful, shameful,

then, slowly,

the good, the joyous, the beautiful.

 

As I looked at my reflection,

I also saw the imperfections -

too much fat here, thinning hair there -

and got carried away with plans for

my bodily resurrection.  

 

More workouts, less bread,

fewer thoughts of desserts

filling my head.

 

When those thoughts passed,

I saw of vision of who I might be -

wiser, powerful, influential -

with soft focus glory shining all around me.

 

But then, I stopped thinking forward and back.

 

There was more here

than an animated skinbag of bones

needing physical reform and a larger platform,

there was Spirit and Life,

a person who had turned a house into a home.

 

I realized I am not who I was

in memories both

painful and dear,

I am not who I will be flights of fantasy,

and whatever, whoever I am,

I need to be

here.

HUMP DAY

Hump day makes for great

memes and jokes,

and they reveal a truth

with the fun they poke.

 

6 of 10 people are

unhappy,

unsatisfied,

unfulfilled

in their daily work.  

 

And when your work is

a drag,

a slog,

a soul-crushing plod

then

celebrating hump day

makes sense.

 

Another week-long trudge

is half over.

The weekend respite

comes into view.

 

But when this is the feeling you have

about what you do,

it seeps into your

soul

affects your

health

and

relationships,

everything about you.

 

So if hump day is what you most celebrate,

perhaps it’s time

to rethink

the life you create

Every. Single. Day. 

RAGGED EDGE

When a fine woodworker

makes a cut

with her sharpest tool,

it leaves a ragged edge

which has to be sanded and smoothed.

 

She knows how to prepare her tools.

She has made thousands of cuts.

So, it’s not a matter of skill or precision.

 

It is the nature of the work.

 

She doesn’t get upset by it

or

let it throw her off the path.

 

It is part of the process of her art.

 

Ragged edges take time and effort to be made smooth.

 

So why is it we feel we are a failure

when going through a change,

making a transition,

moving from one thing to another

and everything doesn’t instantly go smoothly?

 

The art of living

comes in knowing

there will always be ragged edges.

 

Your craft is doing the work

of making them smooth.

 

Every. Single. Day.  

WHEN SUNDAY EVENING COMES ROUND

When Sunday evening comes round,

are you looking for new adventures

to be found

or

are you taking a deep breath,

gritting your teeth

and hoping for excuses

to spring from the ground?

 

Mondays come whether you are

ready or not,

so if dreading your work

has become your lot

it’s time to stop blaming

your boss and position,

it’s time to rethink

your practice and decisions,

because the only one who can

take away the dread

is the person you talk to

who lives

in your head.

Thank you and a Question

Friends,

Thank you for reading.

Thank you for reading Every. Single. Day.

 

I know how difficult it can be.

One more email.

One more Facebook post.

One more Instagram.

One more...whatever.

 

And while gratitude seems almost cliche

around the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States,

I am grateful.

 

To you.

To all of you who respond to

the emails and posts,

whether with a “like”

or with a reply,

or with a forward or share,

it means much to me.

 

For all of you who purchased and are reading

Every. Single. Day.

and

for those who have given it as a gift,

thank you is too small a sentiment.

For all of you who hosted me in your home

for a book salon,

I am still overwhelmed with your trust.

 

As we near the end of one year

and

the opening of another,

I’m still writing, coaching, consulting, speaking,

and

I’m exploring some new things

(a podcast? facebook live salons? a “tour” of sorts?).

So I’m asking you,

in this world of overwhelming input,

what would be most useful to you

as you live your life,

Every. Single. Day.?

 

Let me know.  I’m listening.  

 

Thank you.