tamarjacobson

Quote of the day

The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you: they are unique manifestations of the human spirit. Wade Davis

Oh! And what an opening reception it was! 700 people from 76 different countries holding hands and swaying to the music:

Quote of the day (received on Friday from the World Forum folks):

"Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey."  (Pat Conroy) - Safe journey and traveling mercies.

Am heading out … on my way … summoning up my courage for a short trip, with a couple of stops (to undisclosed locations) on my way to Belfast and the World Forum on Early Care and Education.

Think I will meditate first …

Don't ever slam a door; you might want to go back. Don Herold (Received today from CCIE – timing is everything if one believes in signs)

Thunder and lightning rolling around the skies this morning, while the birds rush to our feeder, eating hastily in preparation for the storm. The intensity in the air is palpable. Summer has returned, just as spring sneaks away leaving our garden lush and bursting with growth, buds a-plenty on the Hydrangea, Coreopsis, and rose bushes. Walls vibrating with the growling thunder, and lightning flashing brightly lighting up the darkened rooms even as the day dawned many hours ago. The sound of pouring rain is soothing settling amongst the roars and crashes in the sky.

Quote of the day

Of course, I don't walk around joy-filled every day. I am still impatient, and easily rattled by stress. I have days when I am lost in a fog of self-pity or soul-draining misery. Many mornings I still wake up in a sour mood, and I can ruminate over a casual remark to the point of absurdity … I continue to hold my rank as the worst Buddhist in the world. But I am more capable of inviting joy into my life. [Mary Pipher, Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World – page 216]

The key to self-alteration - 

is in the holding still - 
experiencing the pain. 
The only way - 
is through.
Letting go of the ego.

Taking my Self less seriously.
At the other end –
is joy.

The journey toward a more examined life nearly always begins with pain (Page 193).

When we learn to face our pain and the pain of others, we start flourishing. The opposite of despair is not a surcease of despair (Sorrows are all around us). Rather, its opposite is an explosion of liveliness and joy. Love and light exist deep within us, waiting for us to welcome them into our consciousness and share them with all we meet (Page 207).

I believe that if readers see something of themselves in me, I may be useful. I may help readers feel less alone and damaged, just as I helped myself with these goals. We all share similar journeys. We live through childhoods filled with ups and downs. We share houses with people who both love us and make us miserable … We take turns being the afflicted and the comforter. We experience a crisis and realize our old ways are not working. We stumble around lost and unhappy, only to the see the light, find our new path and move forward. This is our universal human story (Page 232).

As I grow older, though, my life is filled with more moments of joy. Even when I am in deep pain, I can rescue myself by noticing a small, beautiful thing (Page 243).

At sixty, I am still ahead of the horses … But I am aware that I have only a finite number left of Thanksgivings, full moons or spring flowers. That realization makes me sad, but it also makes me notice. I don't often squander much time or let beauty pass me by (Page 244).

In sixty years of living, my knowledge has increased and my taste has become more sophisticated, but my values have not changed much at all. My greatest faith has always been in kindness (Page 246).

My questions about my life are all of our eternal questions: How can we best develop our gifts and use them to help others? How can we keep growing until we stop breathing? How can we stay present? How can we be happy? The answers are universal answers: Pay attention, tell the truth, be kind, and find things to appreciate and enjoy every day … All transformations are returns. After setting forth on a voyage of discovery, being chased by monsters, encountering great suffering and beauty, getting lost and being pummeled by storms, we find our way back to our original place and realize that the truth has always been there waiting for us. We connect with that which we knew before we were born. We can resume our ordinary lives with eyes unclouded by longing (Page 246).

Quotes of the day

There really is no such thing as a "uniform environment." Every child in the family has a different set of parents. Parents change as do their life circumstances. Often the older children grow up in a poor family while the youngest grow up in a more prosperous one. Or perhaps Dad drank when the first children were young, but stopped by the time the last one was born. An easy, loving child is likely to experience responsive, available parents. A colicky baby who fusses a great deal finds himself held by a less relaxed and more irritable mother. A boy who worships his dad is likely to elicit equal loyalty from him. Everything shapes everything else.

Some of us possess more advantages than others, but in the end, we all create our own inner space. With the right orientation, everything is workable. The great glory of life is in the wiggle room. [Mary Pipher, 2009. Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World. Pages 49 & 50]

Am back in the bosom of the family. A short week seems short to accomplish all the reconnecting that is necessary after a full year has passed. But, it also feels just about the right amount of time for any emotional or psychological research and resolutions. Much more to think and write about. And so, gentle readers, I will soon be back on the blog to tell my tales of inner explorations, as well as complete the post-quel of becoming a sixty-year-old woman!

In the meantime? I am most grateful to all who stopped by to wish me a Happy Birthday, here, and on Facebook, and for all your kind and supportive greetings and messages.

A year ago at Mining Nuggets: Moving on

Quote of the day:

60  is about feeling excited to be alive at a time when you're free to really live. 60 is about knowing yourself, being yourself – and truly liking who you've become. But most of all, 60 is about celebrating the beginning of the most beautiful years of your life. Enjoy. (Inscription on a birthday card I received from my friend, Gail recently)

Rolling forward into the sixties. One week left to go. Feeling very well and good about it. I must say that the celebrations have already begun. In my heart, mind and soul. For I am feeling lighter and more joyful with each passing day. Shedding the shame (and the pounds) has always been my greatest challenge. I cannot imagine how many hours of therapy I have invested in this no-small task. But, it is definitely paying off. For I feel as if I am embracing the oncoming of my senior years with humor and acceptance. Mind you, it is not hard to do when a person is surrounded by loving friends and life-partner. 

First, lunch with Gail. 

Secondly, Marion arrived on Thursday to spend the weekend with me before she makes life changes of her own right exactly at the moment she enters her own sixtieth decade. Marion brought me a necklace with matching earrings made of African garnets, which make me look simply stunningly divine!

And then, last night dear friends made a gorgeous dinner party and celebration – as Dan described it – a prequel to next week's birthday. The evening flowed with good food, friendship, joyful humor, interesting conversation, and gifts from Ilene and Jeff, which included New York Times inaugural mugs, and an inspirational plaque which says: "if you tell the TRUTH, you don't have to remember anything."

No more time for regrets, live right now in the moment, and fill our lives with joy as much as possible.

… and, part of the excitement is in the unknowing, don't you think?

Reflecting on turning sixty, as the count down continues,

I realize:

I have lost too much and too many, to dwell in fantasy. I prefer to keep it real.

It is all about grief.