October: I Intend to Encourage Others

We can all use a kick in the butt to get us moving in right direction. For whatever reason, at times we get lost and make the wrong choices. Maybe, we just need the proper motivation. This month, my full attention will be on the intention to encourage others⎯be it family, friend or foe, or perhaps the occasional stranger thrown in for good measure.

A few years ago, as I was parking at a grocery store, I happened to notice the person pulling into a space in front of me. As I hopped out of my car, I flashed this elderly gentleman a smile⎯as if to say hello, I notice you are there. He immediately ran around his truck in my direction and said, “Thank you, I needed that smile today.” He proceeded to tell me about his wife being ill and that he had to keep an eye on the young man traveling with him. It all seemed to be such a chore for this elderly gentleman. When he stopped telling me his story I said, “How fortunate for this young man that he has you, and enjoy the rest of your day sir.” I went about doing my grocery shopping. As I was heading down an aisle, I see the elderly gentleman poke his head around the corner at the other end. He ran down the aisle toward me with his young man in tow and said, “Thank you, I hadn’t thought of it that way!”

It just goes to show how just a few simple words of encouragement may gently or not so gently:

• Transform a thought
• Make a difference
• Change an attitude
• Alter a course
• Modify a behavior
• Build confidence
• Adjust a mindset
• Save a life…

This month I plan on highlighting the intention of encouraging others as I wake each morning. Perhaps the moment will present itself at some point in the day, or maybe I’ll pick the person I want to encourage as the intention crosses my mind in the morning. However it happens, a few encouraging words in the right direction just may inspire someone to move in the right direction. Let an encouraging word highlight your day as you help me kick some butt this month.

Kick Butt photo courtesy of teeejayy

One Turkey of a Summer

I say one turkey of a summer, but there are actually five⎯and I’m not talking about relatives or friends. Yes, this was the summer of honest to goodness turkeys⎯as in the bird. My neighbors have had domestic turkeys for the past few years. This year, seven newly hatched poults figured out they could fit through their fence. Mamma turk decided she needed to be with her poults, so over the fence she flew. The seven turks didn’t make it two weeks before predators reduced the number of the brood to three, and months later there are still three. After the two-week brood reduction, one of the other hens decided she should join this new free-ranging family⎯and who could blame her.

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this odd family of five turkeys gradually pace back and forth through our property. It’s really quite meditative as I watch them. Ah, the “zen” of turkeys! They slowly roam and peck their way along, as if on a grid, “with a cluck-cluck here and a cluck-cluck there,” that even old MacDonald of farm fame would be proud of. I understand chickens aren’t the only cluckers and it’s the male tom turkey who gobbles⎯hmm, who knew.

As I watch the mamma hen, I see how patient and protective she is. My neighbor tells me her first brood did not survive. By free-ranging, she seems to have learned a thing or two⎯become one with her surroundings. Her response to fear, with a dog or coyote literally on her tail, is instinctive and sharp. She reacts when necessary, and then goes back to what it was she was doing, shedding her fears. She truly has captured the meaning of "it is what it is" by dealing with whatever it is and moving on.

This clucking family of five has brought many smiles and hours of zen-filled entertainment. As I move into fall and celebrate one turkey of a summer, I will consider the free-ranging patience I have been reminded of. I will also reflect on the importance of letting go of fear⎯before, during and after whatever "it is" that has caused the disturbance of patience, and thereby peace, in my life. By keeping patience and a sense of peace in front of me, I will be able to become one with my surroundings, wherever I may be.

Summer is over and I am back to my weekly postings. I’ve missed sharing my meanderings with you. Join me as I begin my third year of blogging.

Female Wild Turkey courtesy of Andrea Westmoreland

September: Intend to Set Boundaries

With summer winding down this month, I too need to wind down. This time of the year I have a tendency to try and squeeze in too many things with what time there is left. Last month, by creating an island of calm, I may have let a few things slide. Oops and oh well! The best thing for me this month is to remind myself to set boundaries and focus on that which is most important before summer’s end, and I’m not just talking about work-oriented things but the fun stuff too!

In order for me to be at my best, it is best for me to intentionally create my own boundaries. I will do this by consciously choosing what it is I need and want to do. As I go about each day, I will strive to be an active participant in what it is I do. As with all my intentions, it helps to start the day by planting the seed of intention in my brain. Throughout the rest of the day, I am able to feel my best self take-hold each time I consciously choose my intention.

Setting boundaries, limits, restrictions, or whatever you want to call it, helps me focus and gives me permission to make the best choices for me. How about you? Will you give yourself permission to be an active participant in your life?

Girl in Stripes photo courtesy of D. Sharon Pruitt

August: I Intend to Create an Island of Calm

“It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine, it’s summertime, sweet summertime!”

Kenny Chesney

When the warmer days of August finally roll around, I start feeling anxious. I get the feeling summer is almost over before it really has gotten a chance to even begin. I plan on changing that anxious feeling this year by changing my attitude. This is my choice and I intend to create a summer island of calm. On my summer island of calm there is no end until I say so, or perhaps I give into the musty smells of fall days as they gently pull and coax me into the next season.

My summer island of calm includes some of the very best of summertime:

• A nap or two in a hammock swinging in the breeze
• Reading a book I cannot put down
• The flavors of mint and basil in my morning smoothie
• Many helpings of fresh seafood
• An obscenely large ice-cream cone
• The smell of a barbeque hissing and spitting away
• Flashes of garden color and scents so sweet they fill me with sunshine
• Gliding along on a paddle board or kayak
• The crack of a watermelon as I begin to cut into it
• Lounging in the warmth of the day
• Gentle breezes billowing the curtains within my home
• A chorus of bird songs playing in the background
• The taste of a juicy tree ripened peach
• An ice cold drink of whatever stirs my fancy
• Time lost in the company of friends/family

What will your island of calm include? Choose for yourself and create an island of calm today. You must start your day with the intention: I intend to create an island of calm. Let the invocation surround you with calmness each day this month. Bask in the endless days of summer.

 Water Nymph photo courtesy of Steve Jurvetson

July: I Intend to Try Something New

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

There are times in all our lives when we long to try something new and break the strains of routine. Perhaps it is as simple as a new hairstyle⎯especially when you have been wearing the same one since high school! Whether you are in a rut or just want to see what it’s like, whatever that something might be, this is the month to dream, explore and discover.

When vacationing in Hawaii, I would occasionally see a person standing on what looked like a surfboard, paddling their way along smooth water bays. It looked effortless and somehow seemed as if they were walking on water. Lately, I have noticed these stand-up “surfers” on lakes around my home. Watching them glide through the water looked like it might be akin to aquatic meditation.

This month, I intend to try something new by taking a stand up paddling (SUP) lesson. Perhaps I will really enjoy it and add it to my repertoire of “things I do.” On the other hand, I might find it really isn’t my cup of tea, but I will have thrown off the bowlines and given it a try. No longer will I want to know what it is like. No longer will I wonder if I could do it. This is the month!

When I wake each morning, I will remind myself of my intention. I will dream, explore and who knows what I’ll discover. Sail with me away from your safe harbor of procrastination. Don’t just dream it. Figure out how you can do it and go for it!

Photo courtesy of Nick Hewson