Dear Reader:

Yesterday was a crazy day, weather-wise…it went from cloudy, to sunny to cloudy again as if teasing us…and finally the thunder boomers, that had been predicted most of the day… rolled in around mid-afternoon. They were loud and the rain was fierce at times but we were lucky here in town and missed the brunt of the storm. I hope all of you readers escaped it too and didn’t have any damage from the winds.

And speaking of hope…after I left my bank yesterday morning I walked over to Short Central to my favorite shop Simple to Sublime to see my friend Samantha Moore. I was in need of H O P E.

I told Samantha that my hope was fading and I needed something new. Samantha’s face paled and her face was etched in distress. It took me a minute to realize that my thoughts were a step ahead of the present moment and it was making my mouth utter jumbled bits and pieces instead of complete ideas.

When it hit me what I had uttered… I immediately started back-pedaling. “On no….it’s not me, myself where hope is fading ….it’s my block cloth letters on the deck that need replacing for the spring and summer. That kind of  H O P E!”

We were both laughing while we searched through the bright colorful cloth letters. Samantha said she needed to re-order and she was ‘hoping’ that she had all four letters needed. I knew she did…I just felt it…one of those meant-to-be moments. And she did with no extra letters to spare…she had no more “E’s ” so HOPE is still alive…and I won’t have to “HOP” instead! (Though it would work for the Easter Bunny!)

Even though it was a kooky incident…Don’t we usually mess up when we get ahead of ourselves or either lag behind a conversation when we start mulling over a past distraction and mentally wander off?

In Bob and Fran Young’s book ( 101 Ways to Be Young At Any Age) they cite that anger and worry can harm one’s health by aging us faster. They are the result of not being in the present moment. Anger is the result of hanging on to something that happened in the past. Worry arises when we are thinking ahead into the future.

We all know this by now…but it still doesn’t make it any easier for us to stay present all the time, does it? I do try and I am a lot better than I used to be…still I slide back more often than I wish.

The authors give three tips on reducing angry and worrisome thoughts that I, personally, am going to lock away in my memory box.

1. Intensify our awareness and try “catching ourselves” when anger and worry wander into our minds
2. Intentionally work on “changing our minds” to be in the present, here and now.
3. Don’t give up…practice will strengthen our conscious be-in-the-moment response

*If we remember that we can only think of one thing at a time…our episodes of anger and worry will decrease by the simple act of changing our thoughts to what is happening now.

Good advice Bob and Fran…It will be my daily homework assignment! 🙂

So until tomorrow…I realize now that when my personal hope has faded on occasion… it is faith that has emerged to carry me through until hope can be found again. (They are an awesome dynamic duo!)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Getting ready for Easter! Or so I thought and then I realized that sometimes Easter can appear in a Bi-Lo parking lot with no fanfare at all…just wonder and awe.

* I did have an experience yesterday that filled me with wonder. I was leaving the Bi-Lo grocery store and heading to the parking lot when a woman in a pick-up truck pulled into a parking space near mine. I did a double-take as I walked by because a large stuffed donkey (the Donkey in Shrek) was hanging out the back window of the pick-up.

I laughed and spoke to the woman getting out of the truck…and said “I like your donkey…he makes me smile.” She told me her grandchildren love the movie Shrek…especially ‘Donkey.’ So she figured if she kept a donkey in the cab of her truck looking out…her grandchildren would always remember her as their donkey-carting, pick-up-truck driving grandmother… and if they remembered it with a smile…that would be enough!

I asked her if I could take a picture and she nodded laughing….it wasn’t until I got home and looked at it…that I felt a shiver run down my back…apparently some kind of street sign was reflected in the window. Is it just me…or does it looks like donkey is in awe of the cross?