DISQUS

I was refreshing like a madwoman--didn't even occur to me that the tix might be for an out-of-the-area theater! Dang it. So cheers to everyone who gets to go see the newest Bond via this freebie offer... have a shaken martini on my behalf!

That sounds so good. It's only 630AM here but that already sounds so good! I'm adding that to my list of dinner ideas...

Kraft Mac & Cheese is a comfort food from childhood and is still a favorite treat. Simple, fast, cheap, and so tasty. (Throw in some frozen veggies for mac-and-veggies-and-cheese, and then you've got some nutritional value too!)

I hide when I'm feeling overwhelmed. If I'm feeling overwhelm from lack of solitude, I hide out in my house and in the quiet (or in the music) I fill it with. If I'm feeling overwhelm from stress or a seemingly unsolveable problem, I sometimes "hide" in a nap or an extended night's sleep. It's often amazing to me what some extra shut-eye will do to clarify and restore.

Luciaf and Sky, your strength is humbling, and unfathomable. I wish you both continued healing and light.

Of course, if the salespeople happened to be the local football team doing fundraising, you'd mark your house the most popular house in town! LOL

It's that Monk Envy again... (*ponders whether her homeowners association would be amenable to the idea of transforming her house into a mini-convent... and determines their approval to be highly unlikely.* *Returns to drawing board.*)

Ah! Me too! I had a cedar closet built in to the wall of my bedroom as a child, and I rearranged the linens in there so that there was enough room for me to crawl inside and read. I also always had my bed arranged so that it created some kind of "hideout." I made it into a trundle bed so I could pull out the trundle and hang out underneath the top bed, behind the trundle. I'd push the bed so its headboard was in the corner of the room so there was a triangle of space behind the headboard. I loved going to my special hideouts (which I thought were secret, but Mums and Daddio totally knew about them). Now that I'm an adult, I have a whole house that's my get-away comfort zone. Offers considerably more room for stretching out than the cedar closet, but still gives me that same joy of being away from it all!

Mellie, I am right there with you. I spend a lot of time by myself (well, in the company of two spoiled dogs, but otherwise by myself), and until I pause to realize it, it never occurs to me that I'm "alone" for as much time as I am. My creativity dances to the surface when I'm alone. Possibilities get very bright, and issues rattling around in my life start to calm down and make some sense. I hunger for solitude and quiet the way some people hunger for a chance to go out and socialize. When I don't allow myself that solitude, my health even suffers--I too feel that overwhelm and exhaustion. Setting limits and acknowledging this part of who I am has made a positive difference for me. And it's always nice to run across someone else who's in the same--quietly alone--boat. :)

I'm looking forward to hearing about your journey, Carrie. Focusing on feeling good and moving toward healthfulness, instead of feeling "skinny" and moving toward weight loss as my primary targets, has made all the difference in the world for me. (Not that I have it down pat; I still have to sit myself down for a pondering sometimes to get my priorities back in line. But overall, I'm getting there.) I've got PCOS, and I'm overweight. But a huge battery of blood tests and physical condition tests have demonstrated, year after year, that (in my doctor's words), "On paper, you're an athlete. This is what doctors want to see in a patient's file." It's just that I don't look anything like I always believed a healthy and athletic woman would look like. I don't wear the size I believed a healthy and athletic woman would wear. It's been only in the past few years that I've come to realize that if I stop lamenting the lack of weight loss and focus instead on the beauty that is my ability to do a stellar triangle pose in yoga, and to perform perfectly executed push ups, and to move furniture all by myself because my legs are crazy strong... well, I feel light, strong, and supple, even if my appearance doesn't match what I expected "light, strong, and supple" to look like. So maybe it was my expectation that needed adjusting, not my weight. anyway, I'm really eager to hear about your own journey and discoveries and tips along the way. Journeys toward overall wellness are inherently individual and unique and fascinating! Good luck!

That's amazing--I'm very much a "close to the family, staying put" personality, but I love hearing about the experiences of those who have really ventured away from their comfort zone with their choice of living spaces. I imagine you must have many diaries (perhaps not all Hello Kitty nowadays) filled with adventures stemming from that 6-year-old's vision. Awesome.

I refer to your response in my answer, Colette, but as a more general comment, I really look forward to your perspectives on each Q&A. I enjoy hearing about the way you see things, and it often illuminates an aspect or idea for me.

Gah! Sorry for the error on your name, Trac*I*, not Tracy. (I haven't had my English Breakfast tea yet.)

Kudos, Tracy. Allowing the heart to win out over the cool, practical logic of the head can be really frightening sometimes--it so often leads to a much more unknown place than following the head, doesn't it? But I agree--when it's screaming, it's because there's a major life change ahead. Kudos for acknowledging it and following it.

Count me in as a life changed, and gratitude emanating on a daily basis.

What follows is a bit of a stream-of-consciousness answer. Summary? Seconding what Colette said, and learning to cherish myself. :)
For those curious about more...
I connect with Colette's answer, and I LOVE the idea of placing a ring on your oath hand to commemorate your promise, remind you of it, and give you something tangible--a wearable touchstone--to keep that promise present. I too have promised to seek out, learn about, and honor my real self--my style statement session with Danielle in January was one of my first steps in that direction. It's been a rocky road, and forced me to confront some questions that, frankly, were kind of uncomfortable--admitting what I did and did not want out of my career, owning up to what I did and did not believe in (as far as what's required in a day-to-day get-ahead-on-the-corporate-ladder world), and acting according to my beliefs and values, even if it meant jeopardizing my job (I turned in a supervisor for verbal abuse harassment). It's been scary, difficult, and immensely vital to letting ME shine through. My 80% word is Cherished--and I'm realizing that above all else I must cherish myself and my values and my real-ness (very Velveteen Rabbit, no?) in order to be the light I want to be in the world.

This resonates so deeply with me, it actually made my chest ache while reading it. This is a print-and-keeper.

The way you phrased that was quite poetic. I could very much see that in a book of poetry. Sad, raw, but somehow lovely too.

I need to let go of my Hyperactive Inner Editor. I edit myself so heavily when it comes to presenting my real self to others: "I can't say that, what would they think?!" "I shouldn't let them know I think that; what if they don't like it?" The H.I.E. especially works like mad on situations where I'm standing up for myself... yet I can act as an advocate for someone else without feeling awkward or self-conscious--and without the H.I.E. flailing about. I will confidently and gracefully advocate for someone else, and then go into super-hyper-edit mode when I need to do so for myself. And *that* needs to go! (I'm workin' on it...)

As a human embodiment, I always go back to Kevin Smith's movie Dogma, where Alanis Morissette played God with a childlike wonder at her own creation, an impish revelry in being a goofball (cartwheels through the church lawn, "buzzing" another character's nose in response to her question of "What's the meaning of life?"), and a complete openness that would, no doubt, be perceived as "naive" in an everyday mortal.

I like the saying that "The platypus proves God has a sense of humor." I think that's true. I think God's really funny, and I think (s)he gets a kick out of it when we laugh along with her.

I envision God being able to do a perfect arabesque at will, and yet happily wobbling through a power yoga session next to me.

As an entity without embodiment, God is The Universe is Light is Color is Vibrance is Vibration is That Feeling I Get Right Before a Roller Coaster Drops Over The First Hill of Utter Elation and Total Release is Music is Meditation is Random Acts of Silliness is The First Time My Baby Brothers Giggled.

God is also the immense joy I get in reading about how everyone else views God--or the inherent and infinite beauty of the Garden, as Brad pointed out.

Without adding my own judgment on these things as to time relative to "now," here is what I'm anticipating:
- My vision is a success, and I am serving my clients as an attorney, a web-tech, and an admin, as their needs require;
- I get my hair cut similar to Kate Gosselin (Jon & Kate Plus 8), and I love it, and I no longer pull my hair up in a Pebbles Flintstone-esque ponytail to get it out of my eyes everyday
- I travel to Tibet, and I see some of the sites, and feel some of the experiences, that I studied about for years as a religious studies major
- I am financially comfortable--not Robin-Leech-is-at-my-door wealthy, but comfortable, and able to assist my family if they need it
- I dance a little every day, even if it's not in a physical sense
- I am happy, and I am now.

My voice can be resonant, clear, confident and confidence-inspiring. It can also be bold and certain. It may also be humorous and filled with laughter. It is nearly always genuine, and when it waivers from being genuine, that's when it loses its resonance, clarity and confidence. So simple, but such an important lesson to learn (and remember!).

"I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it." --Groucho Marx (a favorite quote of mine)

Thought of another ('cuz I just did it)--dance. Throw on something like YMCA by the Village People, or Can't Get Next to You by the Temptations, or Mountain of Love by Johnny Rivers... and just bust it funky. Like I *am* Solid Gold. I may be sweaty when I finish, but I'm darn happy!

I second that; I would love to read about your adventures with your family! That's a relatively untapped market in the book world... RTW with kids!