Molly Davis's Blog, page 32

Bookends

Our story unfolds day by day. The book that is our life is written in, added to, and edited a day at a time.

The way in which we begin and end each day can impact the story that we tell. The mindset that we choose as we open our eyes in the morning, and as we drift off to sleep at night, informs the words that will show up on our pages. Like bookends, our state of mind at each end of the day props up the story we hope to tell through the life we live.

These days the bookends I am choosing to use to hold my living narrative together and in place are made of two small daily rituals of gratitude. A simple practice of giving voice about that for which I am grateful. Even when, and perhaps especially when, the going gets rough, bookends of gratitude are helping me to write with my life the tale I hope to share with the world.

pexels.com

Given What We Have

Given the present situation, who do I want to be?

Given the present reality, how can I show up and bring the best of who I am to what is before me?

Given the present options, which one will best reflect the person I am meant to be?

When it comes to dealing well with what life brings our way, it seems to boil down to a few simple questions with answers that are often anything but easy to live out.

Given what we have, what will we choose to do?

Photo by Felipe Cespedes from Pexels

The Road Less Traveled

There is nothing quite as inspiring to me as watching someone choose to take the road less traveled.

The road less traveled is the one that when facing the difficult and painful challenges that life throws in every one of our paths at one time or another, leads them through the difficulty rather than skirting around it.

The road less traveled is the one that while every step may be painful, is the only one that leads to healing and transformation.

The road less traveled is the one that calls upon our courage to keep going in spite of our fear.

Tempting thought it may be to take the well-worn easier route, the road less traveled is always worth the trip.

Always.

Pixabay

Yes Or No?

Sometimes it takes more courage to say no than to say yes.

Photo by Matt Hardy from Pexels

Beginner’s Luck

Getting onto the boat, I might have looked like I knew what I was doing, decked out in my Field and Stream waders and King’s Camo fleece. But as we all know, looks can be deceiving. Floating down the river after a few basic instructions about fly fishing, it was obvious that I was a beginner. I looked like one and felt like one, because I was one. Our guide was a wonderful teacher, and when I told him that I didn’t know the first thing about casting or landing the ever-illusive Steelhead, he said Being a beginner is the best. That’s when you learn the most in the shortest amount of time.

The older I get the easier it is to forget how to be a beginner. I’ve learned a lot in my 66 years and hopefully put much of what I’ve gleaned to good use, but it is good to remember that it is never too late to be a beginner. To admit that we don’t know the first thing about something, but are ready to learn. To be willing to look silly, make mistakes, laugh at ourselves, and keep trying.

While I didn’t catch a fish, I was lucky enough to spend two days on the river remembering how good it feels to be a beginner.

Lucky to be a beginner on the Klickitat River with The Evening Hatch Fly Fishing Guide Service

New Doors

Yesterday was the perfect day to touch off our fall burn pile. The burn ban is over, temperatures are cooler, and rain is on the way. Over the course of the summer we’ve added to the pile. Trimmed branches, rabbit brush bushes pulled up to create more open space, and three old screen doors that were way past their prime. Truthfully, they never had much prime to begin with, and the only reason we purchased them in the first place was because they were cheap and available.

After three years of vowing to find new screen doors but never putting in the effort to do so, it was time to take decisive action. The doors came off, the hardware was removed, and up in flames they went.

Before we can walk through new doors, we have to get rid of the old.

Inspired

Today, this image gave me just the inspiration I needed.

Maybe it will do the same for you.

With gratitude for KickStand Coffee & Kitchen

Life Decisions

Some days I listen in to The Next Right Thing Podcast with Emily P. Freeman. She introduces it the same way every Tuesday by reminding her listeners that while it is a podcast about making decisions, it is also a podcast about making a life.

Those few words inspire me every time, and are a reminder that the decisions we make create the life we have.

The InterNOT

We’ve been without internet service at home for three days and counting. Not just for us, but for the entire valley. I’m writing this from a coffee shop after coming into town to handle some important emails, and while a bit annoying and somewhat of an inconvenience, it’s also been refreshing.

Kind of a forced internet sabbath, it is shining a light on not only our dependence on our devices, but also our addiction to them. Life without a constant source of information at our fingertips creates space for deeper thought and more meaningful conversations. While doing the dishes, my thoughts and wonderings keep me company rather than a host of characters from my latest binge worthy series. Instead of quickly finding ready answers, we are slowly ponder possible ones.

When service is eventually restored, I hope to remember these few days without it, and adjust my usage habits accordingly.

Deer In The Headlights

It happened so fast.

Driving home last night in the dark on a road where every turn is familiar, out of the corner of my eye a deer flashed into view on my side of the car. In that split second, with barely enough time to hit the brakes, what we have talked about so many times and that I have worked hard to internalize, came to my rescue.

Don’t swerve!

Gripping the wheel firmly I steered the car straight ahead, while simultaneously braking in hopes that the deer might make it across in time. Sadly it didn’t, and thankfully, the car hit with enough force that the deer didn’t linger in pain.

Because we live in a rural area where we share our little valley with a host of other creatures, it is wise to prepare for the entirely possible scenarios that might require our rapid and right response. A deer jumping out into the road is one such scenario, and so we educated ourselves on how to best handle what we hoped would never happen. Most serious accidents involving the sudden appearance of an animal in the road occur when drivers swerve in an attempt to avoid the animal, often resulting in the vehicle careening out of control, rolling over, and seriously injuring the passengers, or worse.

We never know when something is going to jump into our well worn path, requiring a rapid and right response.

We never know when we are going to need to call upon a course of action we’ve planned for but hope to never use.

We never know when we are going to have but a split second to grip the wheel tightly and choose to steer straight ahead, rather than swerve off course.

While we hope to never have to put into practice what we’ve prepared for, if we do, we will always be glad that we were prepared.