Friday, December 12, 2008
A Shock to the System
I don't want to jump to conclusions or judge too harshly, but I've called three times this evening (I just tried again) and she hasn't answered me or called me back, and that is strange. Earlier this afternoon she told me her daughter Ashley was sick and had gone to the emergency room. She didn't have any details, and her disappearance could be related to that, certainly. But I feel I ought to know. A married couple ought to be communicating with each other. There's an understanding and a basic trust that's sacred, and this doesn't feel right. Maybe she's in a panic. Maybe there's something she hasn't told me. This isn't the right way to begin something this important. I'm disappointed and a little sad.
Unless there's a good explanation for this, we should probably call off our reunion. I'm stunned at this turn of events. I never thought I'd be writing a post like this, after all we had overcome.
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!
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
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.
2 comments:
Seriously Dad if I freaked out everytime Tom didn't answer or return my calls I'd go crazy. Relax, why do you always assume the worst? There are many reasons that a person doesn't or can't take a phone call at a particular time, it does not always mean the world is ending. Quit jumping to conclusions or I sware it will be the death of you and I might have to change your headstone from something about Duck loving to something about conclusion jumping.....
Me
Okay AI agree with Stephanie, Dale you have to relax to make your marriage work.
Post a Comment