FYI:

My writing will commence in January.

You've been warned.

Yeah, well...

I prefer the number 7. It, however, doesn't prefer me. The number 5 seems to. Not that Numerology *really* has anything to do with my personality, but dang. I seriously could have written some of this myself. It kinda scares me a little (a wee tad).

Lil' smidge from ofesite.com. Curiosity led me there--after facebook told me I was a 5.

"Your Life Path Number is the most important number in chart. It shows your 'true' self, the ways in which you are best able to lead a fulfilling life and the challenges you will face."

1 + 9 + 7 + 5 + 5 + 1 + 4 = 3 + 2 = 5 = 5

Your Life Path Number: 5 The Wind. Those born under a Life Path Number 5 are as hard to catch, and as freedom-loving as the wind itself...

LIFE PATH 5.

"The key to your personality is freedom. You love travel, adventure, variety and meeting new people. You posses the curiosity of a cat, and you long to experience all of life. You love to be involved in several things at the same time, as long as you are not tied down to any one area.

You like change, new things and new horizons. You can make friends easily, and your personality is upbeat and often inspiring, attracting people form all walks of life.

You have a way with words, and an uncanny ability to motivate others. Highly suitable vocations for you include sales, promotion, entertainment, investment, science, medicine, the occult, public service an all careers that require travel and verbal skills. A person with 5 Life Path is often comfortable in front of an audience particularly as master of ceremonies or in comedy.

You are sensual and you love to taste all of life. You find it difficult to commit to one relationship, but once you committed, you can be faithful as an old dog.

You likely lack discipline and order. You can also be impulsive, doing or expressing things you regret later. Freedom and a need for adventures sometimes are not properly controlled y those born with this life path, which can cause problems with drug abuse, overindulgence in food or sex, or general abuse of the gift of life. You are multi-talented and posses a variety of diverse abilities. However, discipline and focus are the true keys to your success. Without these, many of the tasks you begin will remain unfinished and they will fail to realize the true fruits of your abilities. With hard work and perseverance, the sky is the limit.

You may have been perceived as a wild child by adults and a source of concern by your family. However, do not be obliged to hurry your choice of career. You are often a late bloomer, and you need to experience life before you can truly know and commit to your heart's desire.

Your challenge is to learn the true meaning of freedom. Change is constant in your world, requiring adaptability and courage. Try to maintain an exercise program, keep your body in shape and limber. The flexibility and durability of your body will promote security and confidence within you.

You yearn for freedom, and self-employment attracts you powerfully. Your challenge is to settle into one area in order to cultivate your ability sufficiently to earn a living and to attain success. Once you find the niche, the motivation and inspiration you supply to others will bring you much in return. You will find your friends and colleges supporting and promoting you in the road of success."

Well, hell. Bring on the niche.

Clarity.

I love that word, and I use it whenever I stumble across an appropriate insertion point in writing. Clarity. It just rolls off the tongue.

I think I'm intrigued by it simply because, it has a (self induced) tendency to elude me--at times. I'm pretty damn talented when it comes to appreciating the beauty and benefit of even the dimmest of circumstances, so accepting something even though it's clouded has become a common practice in my life.

I have another tendency (okay, I have way too many). I play the mental music of responsibility to others over self. You know how the song goes (feel free to sing along): This isn't best for me, but it sure makes me happy making (insert others here) happy so it must be the right thing to do (cha, cha, cha). Then I sit and wonder; why do I feel crappy?

Don't confuse this with true selflessness. I commonly offer up huge helpings of selfless giving, and do so with an intensely joyful heart. Those moments never feel crappy. They feed me, nourish me, and do provide true clarity. The reward of selfless love is crystal clear.

It's the habit 'friend' we're talking about here; the habit of putting self second. I came across a passage in the book I'm reading (obsessing over), "Let Your Life Speak, Listening for the Voice of Vocation" by Parker J. Palmer.

Take a gander at this:

..."self-care is never a selfish act--it is simply good stewardship of the only give I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give it the care it requires, we do so not only for ourselves but for the many others whose lives we touch."

He quotes the poet Rumi: "'If you are here unfaithfully with us, you're causing terrible damage.'"

Then continues: "If we are unfaithful to true self, we will extract a price from others. We will make promises we cannot keep, build houses from flimsy stuff, conjure dreams that devolve into nightmares, and other people will suffer--if we are unfaithful to true self."

The consequences of ignoring our true selves, the voice deep inside that guides and directs us, are far reaching. Our actions have a way of coming around full circle, whether they are honest and done for the right reason, or dishonest and done out of fear. We may be 'helping' in the short term, but future suffering is sure to follow.

The point?

Don't follow the herd. Don't stick with it because it's the easiest way. Don't move forward knowing you shouldn't--only because you are afraid.

Listen to yourself. Act on those true feelings.

Parched.

Yeah, yeah. I haven't been "writing." It appears my cut & paste antics are pissing a few of you off. Guess my personality is somehow missing when I merely share, and don't partake in the creation. Funny how that works...

Well, my smart-alec little mouth has been a tad on the dry side. Not to mention, I've been in the abysmal pit of sponging up information from multi-paged, fat little squares I refer to as books. Okay, most of them are rectangles, let's not get annoyingly technical. And, I tend to only write when the urge nudges me (can you imagine? A nudging urge? I'd like to see that...) rather than labeling it a time wasting (or absorbing, since we're talking about sponging) activity.

I'm learning a lot these days. I'm figuring out that post-nudge writing is more therapeutic than I remember it being. I'm also busy cultivating my strengths and lavishing extra attention on my towering goals.

There. I shared today. Happy?

Something New.

From Parker J. Palmer's "Let Your Life Speak, Listening for the Voice of Vocation."

A HUGE thank you to Rhett Smith for the recommendation.

Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.
--William Stafford, "ASK ME"

This is beautiful, and incredibly piercing.

Dreamers...

Listen up. Take a moment today to appreciate life. Stand outside, whether it's warm or cold. Close your eyes, and just feel the air. Appreciate what it feels like to be alive, to be loved, to have your family, friends, and the many blessings that surround you. Life is precious, amazing, and such an incredible gift to each of us. Sometimes the day to day routine can cloud what life is really about, and how generous the miracles around us really are. Appreciate today. Take a second look at the colors around you, the sounds around you, and the people who smile at you today. Be open to happiness. It just may make an appearance.

p.s.

::speechless:: (I know, shocking)

Eric & Me

Sorry, I just took it upon myself to rename Marley & Me. Is that bad?



I just figured you'd rather listen to me rant about this guy, than the galling whining about the 13,467 tears I abandoned at the theater.

I read the book, so I expected the crying jag.

But, I certainly don't remember any mention of a hotter-than-hot-sidekick-writer-reporter with an impossibly curvy smile, and an enigmantic ability to make me squirm in my chair like an exuberant, yappy toddler gripping a Red Bull and a bag of skittles. It's ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong, the puppies were adorable, and yes, I know it was a dog movie. But dang. Even puppies can't compete with Eric Dane.

This is the part where I (cautiously) admit I must have been either sleeping or studying while Grey's Anatomy was on, or you would have welcomed this rhetoric long ago, I'm sure of it.

All I can say is, Rebecca Gayheart is one lucky broad.

Oh, and don't tell Edward (you know how he gets).

Happy First Monday, 2009!

A little sharing of something I love:



Secondly, a little resolution time.

There are a few things I'll be working on. I've got some old issues that need resolvin'. It turns out that not dealing with things doesn't make them go away.

Who'dathunkit.