Molly Davis's Blog, page 24
February 7, 2020
Milestones
“I’m going to say three words, and I want you to remember them.”
Chair
Lemon
Sunrise
Yesterday I had what is called a Medicare Wellness Exam. We covered all the basics of a normal exam, with the addition of a few new twists now that I am old enough to be a card carrying Medicare recipient. Like remembering those three words, which the PA asked me to recall and repeat several times throughout the visit.
That exam was a milestone event even if no one said so. It was a stark reminder that I’m on the far side of youth, and that my final horizon here on this planet is getting closer every day.
Milestones aren’t reserved for those of us with at least 65 trips around the sun. They belong to the forty-something with their first pair of readers, new parents with someone other than themselves to care for, a high school graduate paying their first month’s rent, a recent retiree with time to spare, or a child wobbling off on a bicycle without the steadying hand of a parent.
We are all heading in the same direction, and there’s no turning back.
Every milestone is a reminder to be all-in, and if we aren’t, then today is the day to start.
(And yes, I still remember them.)
Chair
Lemon
Sunrise
Photo by erdinç ersoy from Pexels
February 6, 2020
Power Outage
The power went out in our little valley yesterday, an occurrence to be expected given where we live and the weather that blows through. Sometimes it’s due to a heavy snowfall causing branches to break off and fall on a power line, and at other times, as was the case yesterday, abundant rainfall coupled with heavy winds, and trees uproot and fall across a line somewhere. Regardless of the cause, the connection is broken and the line needs to be repaired in order for the flow of power to resume.
Once the power goes out, it is up to the county line crew to head out on snowmobiles or four wheel drive vehicles to find the location and cause of the problem, and do what it takes to get the electricity that powers all of our lives up and running again. It isn’t easy work, and there is risk involved. The work takes them out into the forest, they are often operating in the middle of the night, and I couldn’t be more grateful for their expertise and willingness to do the hard work to get things back on track.
We’ve lived here long enough to invest in a high quality generator as a stop-gap measure to keep the basics in our home running until power is restored. But it is just that. A temporary fix. Long term, the power needs to be restored through the repairing of the line.
As is true with electricity, so it is with human connection. The power that fuels our life with others is communication, and just as it is realistic to expect the occasional electrical power outage, it is wise to anticipate the same between human beings. We need to develop the expertise, and the willingess to do the hard work of getting things back on track. Which means, that when the power goes out, we must be prepared to hop on our metaphorical snow mobiles or four wheel drive vehicles and head out into the forest, find the source of the break, and do what it takes to get communication flowing again.
Investing in a generator isn’t a bad idea either. A short term strategy to keep the basics in a relationship running until full communication is restored. Even if we aren’t the ones to “cause” the power outage, (although there is almost always shared responsibility) the sooner someone heads out to locate the problem, the better.
Communication breakdowns hurt everyone, and the longer we wait to address the problem the greater the chance of more damage to the line.
Photo by Andre Maura on Pexels.com
February 5, 2020
Starting Today
What if we took these as our marching orders, starting today?
Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
February 4, 2020
A Buffer
A buffer serves as a shield or defense. It is a protective barrier that prevents contact between things. There are times when we are called to serve as a buffer for others. To protect them from the raging storm that threatens to overwhelm and overtake them.
And.
There are times when, as difficult as it is, we are called to move out of the way and let things collide in order for a reckoning with what is to occur. This is true everywhere. Whether talking about the workplace, financial realities, a family, a friendship, a marriage, an athletic team, or a corner office on the C-Suite, change and transformation can’t occur without rubbing directly up against the truth.
Serving as a buffer is an act of love.
So is stepping aside.
Photo from pexels.com
February 3, 2020
AFTERWORD
We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. One becomes in some area an athlete of God. ~ Martha Graham
For the past month I’ve been writing about the words that found their way on to my list at the beginning of the year. Each word represents some aspect of who I aspire to be, and of how I intend to show up in the world.
These words? I want to embody these words. I want my life to be a tangible expression of each and every one of them as consistently as is humanly possible. And, it is doubtful that I will ever master each word perfectly, which is but one reason I am grateful that grace was the first word to appear on my list.
Bringing these words to life in the life that is mine is a practice, for if I know anything, it is that what we practice, we become.
February 2, 2020
Final Word Of The Day: CULTIVATE
For the past few weeks I have focusedon a word of the day drawn from a list created at the beginning of January. Each word was chosen to serve as a guide to inspire and inform my steps through 2020. If you are just joining me now and want to look in on earlier posts on this topic, you will find links to each at the end.
CULTIVATEAs I write about this, the last word from my list, it seems fitting that today is the exact midway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Also known as the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring ushers in a season of new growth.
Driving home from church today we passed fields that last week were unplowed, but are now tilled and readied for new crops. As it is for farmers, ranchers, and community gardeners, now is the time to set our minds upon that which we want to grow within us.
Whatever it is that wants to take root in our lives, it is time to prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and provide them with what they need to grow and thrive.
Photo by PhotoMIX Ltd. from Pexels
Words To Hang Our 2020 Hats On
Word Of The Day: ENERGIZED 2.0
Word Of The Day: RESILIENT 2.0
February 1, 2020
Word Of The Day: AUTHENTIC
Over the next few weeks I will be focusing on a word of the day drawn from a list created at the beginning of January. Each word was chosen to serve as a guide to inspire and inform my steps through 2020. If you are just joining me now and want to look in on earlier posts on this topic, you will find links to each at the end.
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”Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ~ Oscar Wilde
AUTHENTICI’ve always loved Levi’s®. As it states on their website, these iconic jeans are …the purest wearable form of authentic self-expression. They bear the markings of life, the shapes of our bodies, the memories of our adventures. To this day I am forever on the search for the perfectly worn pair of vintage 501®s. The ones with the button fly.
I want to live a Levi’s®kind of life. One that looks like me, sounds like me, and acts like me.
Words To Hang Our 2020 Hats On
Word Of The Day: ENERGIZED 2.0
Word Of The Day: RESILIENT 2.0
Bonus Word Of The Day: PATIENT
Word Of The Day: INTUITION
Word Of The Day: EXPANSIVE
January 31, 2020
The Indicator Light
Recently I was given an incredible gift. It’s an Ember, the world’s first temperature control mug, and it keeps my coffee at exactly the right temperature for me. It comes with its own charging coaster and can be paired with my smartphone. The Ember recognizes when it is in need of being recharged, and the normally white light at the base of the mug turns red, letting me know that it is running out of juice. A bit of time on the charging coaster and it is ready to go again, but go too long without recharging and the temperature of my coffee drops fast.
We are a lot like the Ember mug.
We are meant to stay charged up in order to bring what we have to offer to the world within our reach, but if we go too long without recharging we run out of juice fast.
We too have an indicator light, unique to each one of us, that lets us know when we are in need of a recharge.
We too can learn recognize our signals that let us know we are running out of juice, when our normally white light turns to red. And sooner is better than later, or everyone is gonna pay.
There isn’t always time for a full recharge, but a walk around the block, a quick call to a good listener, a couple of minutes behind a closed door, or even three slow breaths, can keep our batteries going until we can find our way to some time on our own “charging coaster” of choice.
White light: Good to go.
Red light: Time to recharge.
With gratitude to L & D
January 30, 2020
Word Of The Day: JOYFUL
Over the next few weeks I will be focusing on a word of the day drawn from a list created at the beginning of January. Each word was chosen to serve as a guide to inspire and inform my steps through 2020. If you are just joining me now and want to look in on earlier posts on this topic, you will find links to each at the end.
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JOYFULFor the last three days days I’ve driven past a giant billboard advertising a local radio station. It reads Find Joy, and as much as I agree that joy matters, I don’t think it is something we go out and find elsewhere.
That’s not how joy works.
Choosing to live a joyful life can only happen in the midst of where we are, and if we can’t find it in the here and now, we won’t find it in the there and then.
If we have to search for anything, it is to find cause for joy in the midst of our circumstances, and there are times when that is a damn tall order. It can feel almost impossible to uncover the joy buried beneath the layers of loss, heartache, grief, and fear, not to mention the drudgery of an ordinary day. But if we are to live joyful lives, our task is to mine for it wherever we find ourselves.
Joy is not out there.
It’s right here.
Words To Hang Our 2020 Hats On
Word Of The Day: ENERGIZED 2.0
Word Of The Day: RESILIENT 2.0
Bonus Word Of The Day: PATIENT
Word Of The Day: INTUITION
Word Of The Day: EXPANSIVE
January 29, 2020
Bonus Word Of The Day: QUIET
Over the next few weeks I will be focusing on a word of the day drawn from a list created at the beginning of January. Each word was chosen to serve as a guide to inspire and inform my steps through 2020. If you are just joining me now and want to look in on earlier posts on this topic, you will find links to each at the end.
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QUIET There is a way between voice and presence, where information flows. In disciplined silence it opens; with wandering talk it closes. ~ RumiThe longer I live, the less I have to say.
Photo: Pexels
Words To Hang Our 2020 Hats On
Word Of The Day: ENERGIZED 2.0
Word Of The Day: RESILIENT 2.0
Bonus Word Of The Day: PATIENT
Word Of The Day: INTUITION
Word Of The Day: EXPANSIVE
