May 1st feels like a great day for new beginnings.

From the lack of postings, it is safe to say that I haven’t been on top of my game. Every once in awhile, I pull away and struggle through ol’ ego attachments. I get lost in my own head and wrestle with dark, bitter apparitions. And, even though I see myself doing it, and recognize it’s futility, the temptation to remain in the battle wins out.

But, yesterday, while Being with a friend going through the dark, lonely struggle of mid-life, I spent the greater part of the afternoon loving. I wrapped my arms around her and held her body close and strong so that for a few moments, someone else could bear the load for her. I took her out to my favorite Pho restaurant, ordering a simple chicken stir-fry with rice so that her body would be sweetly nourished. I read her a book on her coffee table titled, Joy! to remind her of her true nature.

In Howard’s Course in Miracles lesson this morning, the picture of what is placed on the altar of our hearts and what we bring to the altar are two different things.  What is freely placed upon the altar of our heart is Love, Joy and Peace.  There it is.  Simple, spiritual, beautiful, light, and free.  What we bring to the altar is worry, control, lust,  resentment, fear, judgment, doom and gloom.

What we do, what we have, where we are going or are not going are  inconsequential compared to the Love, Peace and Joy that Flows in us and through us and makes us and everyone else Whole.

Today, I choose to live Joy.  I will infuse Joy in every activity of the day whether it be while running, cleaning bathrooms, pulling weeds, addressing unhappy people, or just Being.

Today, I Choose Joy!

PS – My favorite yoga teacher, Clara Oss-Roberts has a great line, Feel the opening in your heart that You just created.

The first thing that made me smile was how willing Caine was to do his art regardless of how the world responded (it didn’t). Caine didn’t care. The goal wasn’t to be accepted, the goal was to do it right.

The second extraordinary thing is easy to miss. Around 3:30, you learn Caine’s folk-arithmetic trick of using square roots to validate the PIN numbers on each fun pass. Extraordinary.

And the third? Starting around the nine-minute mark, any entrepreneur with a heart is going to shed a few tears. In the immortal words of Caine Monroy, “and I thought they were here for me, and they were.” Seth Godin

Michele – Michele’s ALS  is not doing well .  Her antibiotic regime for Lyme Disease isn’t over but her ALS symptoms are escalating.  She’s made the decision to head to India for the stem cell transplant.  The doctor there believes that she can help her.  She has three caregivers going with her at different times to aid her for the 8 week process.

Alex – Last month, Alex had his one year transplant review and he came up completely cancer free.  YES!  I took him to his first post transplant vaccination appointment yesterday.  Be thankful that you get those shots when you are a baby and you are hardly aware of them.  Alex was a brave soul and did beautifully.

Deisy – Skyped with one of our new Guatemalan daughters last Friday.  She is happy beyond words.  She said that being able to go back to school gave her  the only thing that was missing.  It is labor intensive but she is working hard and we know that she will do well.  Weston left Comalapa today but not before he set up email and Skype for her to stay in contact with us.  I best work hard on my Spanish because I am going to be communicating with this girl for a long time to come.

Jocelyn – Spoke with Jocelyn as well on Friday.  She is happy and thankful to be in school. Her favorite subject is Ketchikal.  This is her Mayan heritage.  The Mayan culture is fascinating.  The number system is intriguing.  0 actually has a value. Nothing like appreciating empty space.  Or is it empty?

Maria – Is happy that all of the school age children are in school.  She said that her family is now complete.  They have a home and the children are moving towards their destinies.   Weston said that the whole atmosphere at home is so much more peaceful.  I said to him, “It’s amazing how pursuing your goals can make people feel so much better about themselves.”

I am thankful for the people above.  I am thankful for the opportunity that I was able to play in their lives and thankful for the lessons that they have taught me.

Michele, I hope with every cell in my body that the doctor can turn this mess in your body completely around.  We love you!

Alex, you make me smile every day. Your courage, tenacity, and minimal complaining is  an amazing example to all.  Plus, you are in better physical shape than most folks that I know.  Which reminds me, you and I need to go for a run.

Deisy and Jocelyn, you make Howard and I, once again, proud parents. We’re excited to watch you achieve your highest dreams.

Maria, thank you for allowing us to be part of one of the most amazing builds ever.  You brought together one of the greatest groups of people from all over the world.  Gracias.

You will go through your life thinking there was a day in second grade you must have missed, when the grown-ups came and explained everything important to the other kids. They said: “Look, you’re human, you’re going to feel isolated and afraid a lot of the time, and have bad self-esteem, and feel uniquely ruined, but here is the magic phrase that will take this feeling away. It will be like a feather that will lift you out of that fear and self-consciousness every single time, all through your life.”… but there was no such a day in school. No one got the instructions. That is the secret of life… This lack of instruction manual is how most people develop compassion, and how they figure out to show up, care, help and serve, as the only way of filling up and being free. Otherwise, you grow up to be someone who needs to dominate and shame others, so no one will know that you weren’t there the day the instructions were passed out.

Anne Lamott

Thanks Melissa Teppo for letting me steal this from you!

Those who know only what they do tend to work harder. Those who know Why they do what they do tend to work smarter. Simon Sinek

It’s easy to join.

There are a million reasons to say no, but few reasons to stand up and say yes.

No requires just one objection, one defensible reason to avoid change. No has many allies–anyone who fears the future or stands to benefit from the status quo. And no is easy to say, because you actually don’t even need a reason.

No is an easy way to grab power, because with yes comes responsibility, but no is the easy way to block action, to exert the privilege of your position to slow things down.

No comes from fear and greed and, most of all, a shortage of openness and attention. You don’t have to pay attention or do the math or role play the outcomes in order to join the coalition that would rather things stay as they are (because they’ve chosen not to do the hard work of imagining how they might be).

And yet the coalition of No keeps losing. We live in a world of yes, where possibility and innovation and the willingness to care often triumph over the masses that would rather it all just quieted down and went back to normal.

Yes is the new normal. And just in time.

Seth Godin

Love for all of Life sets us free to move forward in our goals as if we cannot fail – which of course we can’t because we are no longer attached to outcome.  Our motivation is Love.  Love for ourselves.  Love for others.  Love for the space in between each breath.

Joy comes not from possession or ownership, but through a wise and loving heart.

One of the dysfunctional patterns of the mind is the assumption that the Now needs to be filled with something all the time. Of course you have to do things, but see if you can also experience the peace of this moment, the inherent goodness of this moment, regardless of what it contains.

You become what you think about all day long. -R.W. Emerson

If your thoughts are focused on Peace, then you become Peaceful.  If your thoughts are focused on Love, then you become Loving.  If your thoughts are focused on Gratitude, than you just might Burst!  But, what a  great way to go!