THE EASY BUTTON

"Our lives are not as limited as we think they are; the world is a wonderfully weird place; consensual reality is significantly flawed; no institution can be trusted, but love does work; all things are possible; and we all could be happy and fulfilled if we only had the guts to be truly free and the wisdom to shrink our egos and quit taking ourselves so damn seriously." — Tom Robbins

A good Tom Robbin's quote can always move me to the right or the left of my current mindset. Years ago I stood in line at a book signing for 3 hours. I was hoping I could convince him to have coffee with me. How delightful it would have been to watch his creative mind in action.

I am sitting here having a Starbuck's Via coffee thingys. The are less than yummy, but I NEEDED some caffeine. "I want it now!" I considered just ingesting the powder. The weather sucks! It's been raining and cold for days on end. The temperature is hovering at 43 degrees today. My iphone weather app is telling me we are in for more of the same. I moved here 10 years ago for the sunshine.

I started a new job on Monday and I am in one of those "chaos clouds." My mantra has been "Oh my god...I can't handle this...there is too much happening." That leads to me watching 5 hours of television on the couch. I admit it, that is what this chick did last night. I am also suffering from PVS (post vacation syndrome.) On the bike trip I didn't have to deal with daily reality. Then I come back and my world was/is going 100 miles an hour.

I am taking myself too seriously. How utterly exciting that I get to be in this world fully. I decided that instead of saying that I am over-whelmed with anxiety, I would tell myself that "I am tickled with anticipation."  I learned a long time ago that I can not exist in the "I will be happy when...." space. I opened a book today and what was the quote: "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am in, therewith to be content" -Saint Paul.

I am grateful that my "challenges" are those with great growth potential. I need to stop and be mindful of this. My friend has an "EASY" button from Staples. Have you seen those commercials? I can choose to press that button or make a big hairy deal out of everything.

I have today. I have a choice to live in the present moment and give thanks for what I have. I think today my thank you letter will be to the universe for the blessings it has been showering on me.

What is your mantra and does it need tweaking?

On the thank you note front, as a daily practice it's harder than I thought. I am 4 letters behind. However my motivation continues because I have had beautiful responses to the notes that I have sent.

I am going out to buy the damn button.