Tonight we're putting an ad in craigslist to sell Marie's second hand car. I'm giving her the keys to the Vista Cruiser and I'm going to ride my bike or take the train to work. Saturday afternoon we're going apartment hunting, in hopes of ending our separation and beginning again together.
Marie's car, 1998 Plymouth Neon with clean tags and decent brakes and an oil leak, should bring in about $1200, enough to finance our move and buy a Tri Met pass. If things go well we hope to find a modest two bedroom apartment in Beaverton, near her daughter Austin's school. We'll have to get a little lucky to have everything work out, but it's time we had a little good fortune.
It's a big step, but I think we're ready. It's time to end the separation and begin the real work of healing and building a life together. In the world we will all find trouble, and sometimes these days the trouble seems overwhelming. No matter what happens, it is much better to have someone close to you, something to believe in, and something to work for. And I wish the same for all of you.
Friday, September 26, 2008
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This is the Way the Transformation Begins
"Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say "Why not?"
George Bernard Shaw, Robert F. Kennedy
This is the way the transformation begins.
It begins in me.
It begins now.
It begins with small incremental changes and shifts in attitude
it begins with positive action
failing forward
and suddenly I start looking at the world and my place in it in a new way. I speak differently and dress differently and project a different energy, and the world opens up like a glorious pink azalea bush, eight feet tall and blooming like mad.
photo by Kajo123 from the website flickr.com
Good morning!
An engineer builds a bridge and every bolt and weld has to be exactly right; every measure has to be perfect, or the bridge collapses or fails to take its place. Fantastically detailed blueprints have to be laid out. Impact statements have to be filed, sediment has to be studied, years of effort, months of planning, and a man-made marvel rises in the sky. Park somewhere and take a good look at a bridge, and think of all the skill and knowledge and hard honest work it took to create it. Consider how a few thousand years ago we were living in caves.
It is not so with a dream. Some people are remarkable dreamers and dreams spring whole from them, or they can leap up from bed and pages of creative genius flow out of their pen, intricate and perfect. Most of us though are baby dreamers, new at it and tentative to the trust the power of what we wish for.
Start the dream! Whether you want to go to nursing school or college or learn to play the guitar, take a first step, now, even in the wrong direction. Don't wait for the blueprint to come to you, the environmental impact statement, the permits and the 200-page budget and legislative dream approval. Rough it out, sketch it on a napkin, tell a friend, and take action. Your dream begins the moment you step out in first moment of believing, and the result can touch a thousand souls. Listen to Jim Valvano: never give up, never surrender. Believe in the audacity of action and your fantastic potential for change and new opportunity.
It is not so with a dream. Some people are remarkable dreamers and dreams spring whole from them, or they can leap up from bed and pages of creative genius flow out of their pen, intricate and perfect. Most of us though are baby dreamers, new at it and tentative to the trust the power of what we wish for.
Start the dream! Whether you want to go to nursing school or college or learn to play the guitar, take a first step, now, even in the wrong direction. Don't wait for the blueprint to come to you, the environmental impact statement, the permits and the 200-page budget and legislative dream approval. Rough it out, sketch it on a napkin, tell a friend, and take action. Your dream begins the moment you step out in first moment of believing, and the result can touch a thousand souls. Listen to Jim Valvano: never give up, never surrender. Believe in the audacity of action and your fantastic potential for change and new opportunity.
The Hawthorne Bridge at sunrise, Portland Oregon. Photo by Joe Collver, from flickr.com
Genuine happiness and success start with an attitude of abundance
Make it a daily practice to begin your day with five minutes of thankfulness. You can even do it in your car on the way to work. Do it in your own way, whether it's thoughtful reflection or a prayer or singing out loud, but focus on your rich, amazing, abundant life.
Feeling grumpy or resentful or worried instead of thankful? Change direction! Consider the incredible gifts you have--mind, body, spirit, senses, your family, your friends, your clothes, your car, and the breakfast you enjoyed this morning. By the standards of 99% of the world, Americans are incredibly, amazingly rich. You truly have no idea how richly blessed you are until you start thinking about it. Even the heart that beats within you and the lungs that breathe your air are an intricate and amazing miracle.
Some of my favorite movies are ones that feature a once-defeated character waking up to an absolutely new day: "It's A Wonderful Life," the various versions of Dicken's "Christmas Carol" and "Groundhog Day." How exhilarating it is for George Bailey to wake up and realize his life isn't over, it's just beginning, and that today truly is a brand new day.
"It's a Wonderful Life"
George returns home to everything he ever wanted.
5 comments:
Dale, I am not sure if we find trouble. Perhaps, it finds us. I believe the true character of an individual is both on display, and developed by how they respond to the trouble that comes their way.
I hope you can find something, I wish you well and will keep praying!
Not even one word somewhere on your blog about the Beavers big win!
Gretchen,
Don't worry he is just in denial that our Beavs stomped USC something his Duckies can't do. He will eventually get over it and give them the post they deserve or we will all just badger him until he does it. Bring on the Civil War, you wouldn't want it to be 4 years in a row would you Dad.......
Me
Steph, I think you are right your Dad is in denial!
Dale, I was in Beaveton today for a few hours and I was thinking of you, I hope your apartment hunting went well!
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