. The Dessert Years .

Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear, and with a manly heart.—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

Right this moment, your thoughts are setting the direction for your future. Choose the thoughts that will lead you to the life you most desire. —Ralph Marston

This photo was taken at sunset on a Saturday. A Saturday at the end of a week that included ice, power outages, creativity and hot chocolate by candle light — as well as numerous other unique opportunities. It was the first day the sun and its beautiful effects upon the sky had been visible. There were no bright rays of light during the day. Only muted brush strokes of color at sunset.

I took several photos … However, this one caught my eye this morning as I remember that day. It is a view of the sky through a maze of Elm tree branches. It is also a view of a large bird nest. Do you see it, too?

What are you focused on? Will you (continue to) press through the immediate and choose the thoughts that will lead you to the life you most desire?

Photo Credit

I literally spent a large portion of my life racing through events and situation — and believing that in order to live the life I desired I had to continue to said mode of management. Although I have no regrets, as I know that everything about today was carved out via the sculpting of yesterday — I have learned a few things …

• Live in the Now. Enjoy this moment.
• Forgive. (Forgiveness is not validating another person’s actions, it is releasing yourself from the pain.)
• Let go of expectations (for yourself and for others). Life will go on.

Each day presents micro-opportunities to think again — to reboot. These opportunities arrive wrapped in moments when it seems “easier” to avoid the next step in the journey (such as living in this moment, forgiving — self and others, and letting go of expectations). Those moments when less complicated options are advertised (ad nauseum) and entice our frosting-driving appetites.

What will you do with your opportunity to think again? As you read this post are there less complicated options locking up your “hard drive” even as you desire to press through the immediate and take that proverbial next step in your journey?

We simply must learn the lesson of these moments or we will not be able to bring our hearts along in our life’s journey. For if these moments pass, never to be recovered again, then the life we prize is always fading from view, and our hearts with it. ~John Eldredge

Skipping around blog-space this morning, I came across a blog with countless family photos from their Christmas celebrations. Which led to this moment; a moment when I am “being mom” instead of completely objective and, well, exercising my skilled (due to years of practice ) ability to “catch and release” … I am not completely refusing to release. Just merely holding a bit longer that I have during other “opportunities” during the past 16 months. And, honestly, here I sit with Sorrow (of broken dreams). We are well acquainted with one another despite our now infrequent visits.

Forgiveness was the fuel for getting me “here” — a destination on the other side of the world from Sorrow (and The Place of Challenge with regard to mothering my two of my children). However, Honesty and Gratitude also faithfully fueled me through my “life goes on” road trip. And these two “friends” also introduced me to Perspective and Possibility — who then introduced me to Fun and Simple Pleasures (now extremely well-integrated into my life-rituals and routine travelin’ buddies on my Journey!).

Fun and Simple Pleasures have blessed me with this moment (the ability to move through — as opposed to the usual paralyzed realities of grieving with Sorrow). They also blessed me with the moment my Candy Man called me from the Oregon beach in the photograph. (I adore the beach — the gritty and sparkley-like-diamonds sands, the rhythm and glorious sounds of the crashing waves and simply being able to breath in a moment of being at the edge of a shoreline.)

He was on a business trip and wanted to share a moment with me “on the beach” … Even if merely via the phone signal.

It was a very special moment with Fun and Simple Pleasures — and the man of my dreams. The man who danced into my life (with our oldest two children) and a heart previously broken by Sorrow (due to being a widower) but healed via Perspective and Possibility.

We continue to live in the moments … Because of our willingness to walk out the countless steps between Sorrow and Fun and Simple Pleasures (and all the adventures in between!).

Taken immediately after smoke from a nearby fire ‘clouded’ the sun …

Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others. ~Winston Churchill

Courage shines through adversity. It is the constant that will create opportunities from obstacles; and allow one to press through the immediate in order to live “on-purpose” (instead of by accident).

Focus on where you want to go from here. There is an entire new year awaiting your willingness to move through this moment and decide that life goes on and your life will, too.

If you want to attempt to excuse yourself from setting goals by making the claim, “I don’t know how to …”) here is a news flash: You do know. We all know the answers we seek in the midst of life’s dilemmas.

Do we get turned around in our emotionally-driven lives? Sure.

But when we exit and check (or create!) the map, we find our way.

Then, we can put our life in Drive and resume our journey. And — this is key — avoid the detour, and ultimately, the dead-end of an all-or-nothing attitude (read: purge the pursuit of perfection)!

Courage shines through adversity.

Light

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. ~Thomas Alva Edison

pos·si·bil·i·ty (pŏs’ə-bĭl’ĭ-tē)
n. pl. pos·si·bil·i·ties

1. The fact or state of being possible.
2. Something that is possible.

Every man believes that he has greater possibilities. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

New Year’s eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights. ~Hamilton Wright Mabie

Mele Kalikimaka!