Life is Serious - now BREATHE!

All too often I take life very seriously like it is mine to hold on to, to count and quarter, measure and maintain like some kind of special model ship or shiny crystal butterfly.  It is a fact that many of us feel that we can protect the essence by hiding it behind carefully constructed walls but in the end we smother the joy of really living. Breathing freely - exhaling as well as inhaling - is truly living.  Have you ever held your breath in nervous anticipation of something - good or bad - then exhaled in relief or acceptance?  I see this holding of my breath as an unconscious way to control something that is inevitable. You can, for a moment, control something but, in the end, life takes over and so you too must exhale.

They Say It's Your Birthday....

The numbers keep creeping up and I am so grateful for each and every one of them!  Today I am celebrating sixty three years of living; four super awesome daughters (and that is ALL for that number!); ten amazingly wonderful grandchildren; twenty three years employed in a field I love; twenty three Likes on my new Boomer Pot of Gold Facebook page; 75 views on one of my Blog posts and ONE wonderful Love of my Life (that number I will keep at 1!!).

Good health - mentally, physically and spiritually - makes my world go round....and round!  I am so excited to feel so good - I just can't help but share that with anyone who will listen. Weight loss has made a huge difference in how I feel in all of those areas but the benefits of digging deep into the whole health picture is what pushes me over the top.  Sorting out allergies and the whole gluten intolerance thing was a big score.  Adding walking into my routine replaced a lot of mindless TV watching plus increased my serotonin, built up muscle and got me outdoors to just enjoy life.  This summer I added a bicycle to our vehicle collection and Wow - do I love the wind on my face (better in August and September but don't give up on me October - I will spin through you at least once too!).

Since starting my journey, I have walked the streets of Havana; climbed a mountain to sit mesmerized by the tea terraces in China; walked through miles of night markets in SE Asia; and, swam off the coast of Bali.  I would never have attempted any of this without the amazing "numbers" in my life.

To all out there reading and sharing my blogs - thank you!  I write selfishly from my own passion to express myself with words and the occasional photo but to be able to share my wanderings through the valleys and over the mountain tops (literally and figuratively) and maybe make one little difference in someone else's very human journey sends me all the way to the moon and back! I would love to take you there with me! Just keep in mind that these feet are truly made of iron so I always land back on earth with a thud and a big dose of humility!

And from my generation to yours - a little Paul McCartney - LET'S DANCE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pov2sK_C3sY

You say it's your birthday

It's my birthday too, yeah

They say it's your birthday

We're gonna have a good time

I'm glad it's your birthday

Happy birthday to you.

Vitality and Vanity - Good and/or Evil?

Three weeks in on a new way of eating and I am feeling like a new woman - well, almost.  There is still a lot of the old one left! Going gluten free was not a BIG stretch in my home with three other family members following similar diets.  Sleuthing for hidden gluten has been an education, however, and has instigated many interesting conversations in our kitchen.  As we emptied drawers and shelves to accommodate gluten free tools and appliances, we discovered hidden corners harbouring crumbs and molecules of gluten. Out went our favorite wooden spoons and spatulas as we embraced more washable plastic. A new toaster and cutting board found space in an already crowded pantry and the bread knife is now washed with each and every use before being popped back into a drawer.  The vigilance could be likened to Sherlock Holmes and Watson.  Sherlock had many Ah Ha! shouts of victory while Watson shook his head in amazement and then followed instructions - you can use your imagination on who played what role!

Honestly?

Fall is always a time of renewal for me.  Maybe it goes back to the old excitement of returning to school or maybe it is because my birthday happens to land right smack dab in a pile of beautiful fall leaves!  Whatever the root, October is a bonus month for reflection. Since embracing authenticity over a year ago, it now has to be a month of honesty also - how can you reflect without mixing in some honesty?

To be authentic, I have discovered I need to be honest with myself as well as with others. Hiding behind a mask of passivity when I crave action or saying yes when I really mean no are acts of dishonesty with others - acts that stem from fears of not being loved to feelings of not being enough. These actions are barbed on both ends - some even with poisonous hooks! I suffer but I drag others into the black pit with me!