Dear Reader:

This line in the title, many of you recognize, from one of my favorite poets…Emily Dickinson.

Even though I am certainly not a recluse, like Dickinson, her time spent writing, imagining, and gardening do hit a similar chord with me. She created a world within a world where she could live in perfect harmony with her imagination and creativity.

The Dickinsons were a well respected family in Amherst, MA…the father and son squires, her mother….a well-known cook of fine foods… and her little sister Vinnie…a beautiful child who outshone shy Emily in beauty and personality. Emily appeared the be the “nobody” in the family.

Emily, however, had a secret…she knew down deep that she was somebody. She wrote about it  in the following lines…

“I’m nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody too? Then there’s a pair of us…don’t tell! They’d banish us, you know.”

Ironically….we don’t remember Emily’s parents or siblings today…only the recluse who lived in an imaginary world upstairs in her bedroom… writing poetry through her unique lenses on life.

Emily was by all definitions, an early “possibilitarian” before the movement became popular here in the nineties.

In this excerpt from Poetry for Young People…Emily Dickinson…(edited by Frances Schoonmaker Bolin) the question is posed….why did Emily write?

… We may never know for certain. But we do know this: Emily Dickinson chose to spend day after day in the same hourse, doing the same things-ordinary, seemingly unimportant things-for she seemed to know that there are wonderful “possibilities” in the most ordinary life if we just take notice.

Emily only saw six of her poems published in her lifetime…but her sister Vinnie found 879 poems in a bottom drawer of Emily’s bureau…little books, each sewn together by hand. More would be discovered…in her lifetime Emily had written more than seventeen hundred poems. She died at 55.

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I wish I could say I thought up the word “Possibilitarian” (after reading Emily’s poem on dwelling in possibilities.)..but it wasn’t until I became enamored of the artist Kelly Rae Robert’s whimsical mantras in a gift store in Summerville…that I first heard the word in her artworks.

The example (title picture) of one such angelic creature… encouraging us all to “Tell Your Story” hangs next to my computer…right in front of my dolphin.

One day I googled the artist to see about ordering some more artworks as gifts for friends (after the gift shop closed) and that is when I discovered (to my amazement) that a whole new “Possibilitarian” Movement had started. After reading the description…I happily realized that possibilitarians were my kind of people.

Here is an excerpt from Robert’s website (she also has a blog) on what makes a possibilitarian…read and see if you are one too!

You Are A Possibilitarian If....

If you …

: Believe in practicing courage, every single day.

: Believe that kindness changes everything & love always wins.

: Believe that we are all part of something beautiful, something bigger than ourselves, something deeply, profoundly, surprisingly … good.

: Believe that success has everything to do with who you are, not what you do.

And you also …

: Want to live from the center of your life outward — a place where from which you can radiate and live a whole life, not a half-life.

: Understand that our dreams don’t necessarily belong to us, but serve as important tools, belonging to the world.

: Have overcome the odds — big odds, small odds, private odds or public odds — and still have a full heart. And hope.

Then you are most certainly A Possibilitarian. (Side effects may include honesty, creativity, tenderness & inspired action.)

– See more at: http://kellyraeroberts.blogspot.com

You might also recognize yourself in these five situations…if you are a Possibilitarian.

1. When you open your eyes each morning are you filled with excitement about the possibilities that fill your day?
   1. Are you excited about your life and the things you are doing?
   2. Do you know that sometime during your day the impossible will effortlessly be made possible?
   3. THEN YOU MAY BE A POSSIBILITARIAN!

1. Do you find yourself changing channels when the news comes on because it is too negative?
   1. Do you understand that you create your own reality and life?
   2. Do you decide what your truth is for yourself without some anchorman telling you, “That’s the way it is?”
   3. THEN YOU MAY BE A POSSIBILITARIAN!

1. Do you always look for solutions to enhance an outcome?
   1. Do you have faith in the process of your day knowing all answers you seek will arrive?
   2. Do you believe that there are no problems-only solutions to enhance outcomes?
   3. THEN YOU MAY BE A POSSIBILITARIAN!

 1. Do you enjoy hanging out and bring around uplifting people?

1. Do you find that you like to listen to inspiring conversation or listen to inspiring CD’s from your favorite mentors?
2. Do you find yourself overjoyed and excited when someone else succeeds?
3. Do you love working together to create abundance for everyone?
4. Do you love to read inspiring books?
5. THEN YOU MAY BE A POSSIBILITARIAN!

. Do you practice kindness in others knowing that if you share kindness it will bring about more kindness in the world?

1. Do you practice becoming the best you can be?
2. Do you mind modeling this lifestyle for others no matter where you are?
3. Then you are more than just a Possibilitarian…
4. YOU ARE A LIGHT IN THE WORLD

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So until tomorrow…Father help us all see the possibilities in every day of life we are given to be kind to our fellowman.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Tommy called me to update me on Rudy…he does have a tumor which requires surgery this Thursday…then a wait to get results back…probably next week sometime.

Please keep our Rudy in your thoughts and prayers….

 Brooke’s eye continues to improve and this surgery, to date, has been much easier than the earlier one. Brooke wants to thank everyone for their concerns, messages of hope, and prayers.

Honey sent this picture of all four of the dogs….Tarshie has two and Honey and Mike two…all asleep at the same time…looks like bunk beds on the sofa.

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