Dear Reader:

It was 2006 when I first heard the word “Possibilitarian.” It changed my life. A young, whimsical artist, by the name of Kelly Rae Roberts, was starting the movement based on a quote from Dr. Norman Vincent Peale that she just read.

A lot of her whimsical artworks were found in one gift store I adored going in…I was at a crossroads…ready to retire and for the first time in my life…I was looking for more meaning in it. Where do I fit in now…after raising three children, ending an educational career that spanned over three decades….what now does life have in store for me? I was searching…

I didn’t know (then) but I was praying for a sign…a way to re-invent myself at this stage in my life. I was scared but I was also excited…I was freer now than I had ever been to pursue new personal interests. (It would take awhile but the creation of the blog and garden…were simply lying in wait for me to recognize them as my new passions in my life.)

*In 2006…little did I know that in just two years…my life and freedoms would be challenged by a breast cancer that I decided to call “little c.” Suddenly I was fighting, not just for a new life, but for life itself.

And then one day I came across an article by Kelly Rae Roberts asking me to take a ‘test’ to see if I could possibly be…a possibilitarian.

Kelly wrote: “I first saw the word ‘possibilitarian’ in a quote by Dr. Norman Peale: “Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities—always see them, for they’re always there.”

Becoming a “Possibilitarian” changed my life…and suddenly I wanted to surround myself with others, who too, were ready to fight the odds… keeping hope alive until our hearts could be filled with the beauty of life again.

The movement coincided with a moment in my life when I desperately needed something bigger than me to show me the way…the “Possibilitiarian” movement accomplished just this!

I recently just read some alarming statistics concerning depression and loss of hope, among many disillusioned young people, for a better tomorrow in our country…a country where once optimism reigned supreme over negativity and feels of hopelessness.

One psychologist says the rise of depression in our young people has been caused by the ‘perfect storm’- a pandemic that brought normal lives to a screeching halt, while children and young people saw their important benchmarks disappear….graduations, end of the year dances and parties, loss of athletic sports and scholarships due to Covid19….virtual learning at home over experiencing new college life.

Add in loss of jobs and opportunities to new graduates that had been there, just waiting for them, mere months before…family stress over financial loss, … dreams dashed.

Political negativity, a divided country, and disillusionment run rampart….

To so many people…it does feel like the world has been turned upside down. Yet…haven’t we seen entrepreneurs creating new jobs needed for this  new climate? With acceptance of life as it is now… no longer pining for the past….new possibilities are still alive.

When we compare our discomforts with our earlier relatives who lived through starvation, world wars, total destruction of their towns and homes…we realize we need to ‘get with the program.‘ Quit worrying about when it will end…and make the best of the moment so we, too, have an opportunity to build rich memories… even under a new type of duress.

So until tomorrow…”When nothing is sure, everything is possible.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Jeff was able to cut the grass yesterday morning…we were afraid it would be too soggy…but apparently my yard really needed all the rain we have had lately…drank it right up. Love seeing the driveways swept and clean.

*I have been waiting for days for my first moon flower bud to open…it is something so thrilling seeing the first moon flower bud bloom…one bud looks like it is about the pop…surely it will bloom in time to take a photo for today’s blog. But then we will just have to wait and see…

Around mid-afternoon yesterday I could see the stem with the bud quivering…a sure sign something is about to happen…it did expand a little but then nothing.

*The second stage arrived…when a part of the bud started unfurling…I waited until early evening around 6…but the top structure of the bud still flopped over…the full bloom was just not there…even with a beautiful sunset starting to sink in the west.

Darkness descended ….around 8:30 I went out….surely the real moon was calling to the moon flower…encouraging it to complete unfurling to display itself in all its beauty. Still the bloom had not completely opened wide in all its glory. It looked exactly as it had at six.

This morning…twelve hours after first opening…just before six this morning…I scurried out to take its photo…and this is what I found…it had closed back up.

“He who hesitates”….this bloom just never got on track….but there is hope right behind it…another bud growing…another chance at life.

Today, August 26, is National Dog Day! Give your dog a hug!

“If you are lucky a dog will come into your life, steal your heart and change everything!”