We find our way slowly sometimes, despite intellectual, emotional and intuitive leaps. This paradox is in my view related to social isolation, not easily finding peers except sometimes accidentally. Thanks Paula, Gail, and friends for validating such related responses.
So many years from American Univ to now! So much experience, and the learning continues! My rainforest has been noted as audhd. Rainforest, the term, is so much richer and certainly more welcoming. Thanks, Paula, and I'm delighted to see you here.
Thank you Paula, as always insightful and encouraging. I agree with Gail, we need to develop self-compassion, along with our compassion for others.
Given these days of chaos and suffering, I often find myself deep in my “overs”. On the one hand, I am learning a lot as I try to sort through the fire house of news. Learning, as always is delightful and exciting. I can find and follow those who seem most capable of analyzing, sorting through and making some sense of it all. I relish the opportunity to read articles from people I would never have read otherwise about subjects I would never have explored otherwise and to learn from them.
One the other hand the suffering out there is immense and likely to get worse. I grieve for us all. The best I can do is to let the grief pour through me and find what sources of hope and inspiration I can. Leonard Cohen was a good one last night, Anthem, Halleluja and The Partisan.
I have an old friend from college, newly rediscovered, who sends out songs apropos to this moment. One of those is
“Going Home”, which harkens back to Dvorak’s Fanfare for the Common Man and wends its way into lyrics about dying, with peace and joy. It’s as simple as walking through an open door, laying down the burdens we carry here in this life and imagining who waits for us there. Both of us wonder if it might be time, time for us to be “going home”. Since the end of January, what I thought would be my purpose for the years left to me has been upended. As I seek a new one,
I remembered two quotes that will help.
The first, I saw as a tattoo across a girlfriend’s back when I lived in NYC:
“Do what you can. Have no illusions”.
The other is from Kurt Vonnegut:
“Practice any art, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow".
Whatever comes, I believe there will be ways to grow my soul, by painting, writing, doing what I can, and living my way into the future, whatever it brings.
This is so beautifully written and very thought provoking. Thank you for sharing and inspiring. I feel I am not alone after reading this. My recent conversation with some friends helps me to reflect who I am. Like your saying accepting who we are. Great minds think alike.
Learning to accept ourselves is such a challenge for the "overs!" Thanks for this reminder to develop self-compassion.
We find our way slowly sometimes, despite intellectual, emotional and intuitive leaps. This paradox is in my view related to social isolation, not easily finding peers except sometimes accidentally. Thanks Paula, Gail, and friends for validating such related responses.
Best wishes, Steve
Thanks, Steve!
So many years from American Univ to now! So much experience, and the learning continues! My rainforest has been noted as audhd. Rainforest, the term, is so much richer and certainly more welcoming. Thanks, Paula, and I'm delighted to see you here.
Oh my goodness! Marsha Morgan! So happy to see you and have you find me. 💚
Thank you Paula, as always insightful and encouraging. I agree with Gail, we need to develop self-compassion, along with our compassion for others.
Given these days of chaos and suffering, I often find myself deep in my “overs”. On the one hand, I am learning a lot as I try to sort through the fire house of news. Learning, as always is delightful and exciting. I can find and follow those who seem most capable of analyzing, sorting through and making some sense of it all. I relish the opportunity to read articles from people I would never have read otherwise about subjects I would never have explored otherwise and to learn from them.
One the other hand the suffering out there is immense and likely to get worse. I grieve for us all. The best I can do is to let the grief pour through me and find what sources of hope and inspiration I can. Leonard Cohen was a good one last night, Anthem, Halleluja and The Partisan.
I have an old friend from college, newly rediscovered, who sends out songs apropos to this moment. One of those is
“Going Home”, which harkens back to Dvorak’s Fanfare for the Common Man and wends its way into lyrics about dying, with peace and joy. It’s as simple as walking through an open door, laying down the burdens we carry here in this life and imagining who waits for us there. Both of us wonder if it might be time, time for us to be “going home”. Since the end of January, what I thought would be my purpose for the years left to me has been upended. As I seek a new one,
I remembered two quotes that will help.
The first, I saw as a tattoo across a girlfriend’s back when I lived in NYC:
“Do what you can. Have no illusions”.
The other is from Kurt Vonnegut:
“Practice any art, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow".
Whatever comes, I believe there will be ways to grow my soul, by painting, writing, doing what I can, and living my way into the future, whatever it brings.
Oh, I love that Vonnegut quote! Hm...I may use it in a new blog post. Good to see you here, Patricia.
Thanks.
I thought of you dancing the Argentine Tango as I wrote that. That’s practicing an art form too.
This is so beautifully written and very thought provoking. Thank you for sharing and inspiring. I feel I am not alone after reading this. My recent conversation with some friends helps me to reflect who I am. Like your saying accepting who we are. Great minds think alike.