Dream Big ~ Dream Interesting!

Dream BIG ~ Dream INTERESTING!

A few weeks back, I planted an avocado seed in a pot. I’ve thrown a lot of avocado seeds away in my day, but I guess they deserve a chance for a new beginning too, eh?

I watered it dutifully and waited. Nothing happened for about ten days, maybe even two weeks.

Then the day came where something other than dirt greeted the watering can; a little tiny stick of a thing popping up out of nowhere! The following day, I swear that little nub doubled in size! A week later, I’m looking at a scraggly foot-tall stick with the beginnings of what looks like leaves on the top.

So, now what?  This is my first venture into avocado propagation – do I trust trial and error or do some research? A quick Google leads me several articles and I discover what to do when the shoot is six or seven inches tall.  I need to cut it down 50%. Oh no! I’m too late by three inches! But having nothing to lose, I’m going to follow the directions. The article says that it should sprout out again and then I’m directed to plant it outside where it could be as big as sixty-nine feet! Or, if it stays in the pot, it could be an interesting house plant.

This whole ordeal really parallels to life. I have choices- YOU have choices! – To be as big as we can be, or maybe not so big, but interesting.  Maybe both!

I’ve really made some dramatic changes in my life over the last five years, and even more this past year. What do I want to do in 2011? Dream big? Dream interesting?

What will I do with that dream? If I take no action, that dream will just stay an old avocado seed and that’s that.

I haven’t picked the date yet, but I’m going to call a bunch of my girlfriends to see if they want to get together to create vision boards for 2011. We’ll get all messy – glue sticks, magazines, cardboard, and let our seeds of a dream take root, sprout and become something.

 Maybe something big.

Maybe something interesting.

Maybe both.

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Spiritual tip of the day ~ Find the good in every challenge!

Mothers and Daughters uid 745832My Pollyanna was in high gear yesterday. It is sometimes challenging, but I try to find something good in everything. And it can often be a spiritual experience!

I had several appointments in Orlando. I have a really cute pair of white Capri’s but don’t I wear very often, because they are a perfect fit – so perfect that sometimes they are too tight!

Well, I had a notion to wear them yesterday and they stretched out! Now they’re comfortably loose. I came downstairs in them and my husband said, “Wow!” Nothing like a compliment from my hubby to make me feel like a million bucks.

I had several errands in Orlando, the first a lunch appointment. I had a mishap with the white pants on the way … my car was burglarized some weeks back and the police dusted it for fingerprints. That black powder gets into everything. I thought I had it all out … wrong! There I was, walking into the restaurant looking like I forgot to do the laundry. Drat!

So after lunch, I called Dave and explained my dilemma. He suggested that I go buy a new pair of pants, so I headed to a favorite store, where I know they regularly have 70% off racks. I not only found a beautiful pair of slacks (in safe black!), but also five really fantastic tops and spent … are you ready?

$67.29 … Now THAT is a spiritual experience for sure!

I am the QUEEN of bargains!  Lots of  good came out of that little challenge. Later, at home, it took some hand spotting and two runs through the washer, but I got the black spots out of the white pants too! I’m grateful, because I really like those britches!

In my morning rushing to get out of the house, I forgot my packed dinner in the fridge. I weigh and measure most of my meals. For those of you who are new to my blog, I’ve lost over one hundred pounds and have maintained it for nearly seventeen years. (http://www.trustGodandbuybroccoli.com)

Not to worry, I had time to slip into Whole Foods and order what I needed from the deli, and enjoyed some things I don’t normally fix for myself. But geeze, $17 to get what I needed. That was almost double my lunch in a Chinese restaurant! It sure tasted good though.

The next two appointments were fantastic. I met up with another author whom I haven’t seen in at least a dozen years. She looks fantastic and her life is a total success story. We both were struggling back in the nineties and now we both are success stories. It was a great reunion. A bonus; her mother was a good friend but I lost contact with her. I’ll also be reuniting with her soon.

Next, off to the book store where I met my new web designer who’s going to give my website a facelift. She and I agreed to some ideas and now I’m really excited. Over the weekend, my task will be to prepare the content for the new pages and we are off and running. So stay tuned for the grand unveiling in the near future!

It was a great day, even with the spots on my pants and the expensive dinner. We can always find either the worst or the best in everything. Call it Pollyanna, but the positive spin can turn even the worst nightmares  into a spiritual phenomena!

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Spiritual Tip of the Day – Friendship

Hunnee Bunnee and me!

Hunnee Bunnee and me!

You can always tell a real friend: when you’ve made a fool of yourself, he doesn’t feel you’ve done a permanent job. (Laurence J. Peter)

Having a good friend is truly a spiritual experience. There have been many people who have brightened my life with their friendship, but I also am truly blessed to enjoy a friendship with my sisters, which crosses the bond of blood ties to BFF (best friends forever,  for those of you without kids).

Our bond grew stronger during the last two weeks, as my father was hospitalized with blocked arteries. My closest-in-age sister was torn between tending to our mother (who cannot be left alone due to dementia) and seeing her youngest son graduate from Marine tech school. I had a plane ticket for ten days later, but changed it to come up and help with our folks so Joanne could see her son graduate. I’d do that again in a heartbeat; Joanne goes beyond sisterhood. She’d do the same for me.

Our youngest sister, Sandy came up and joined us for the weekend. In-between visits to my father, we visited and even had a pajama party with our mother. What fun! Both are phenomenal women and I am honored to call them sisters and friends.

I cannot leave out my two best friends, Hunnee Bunnee and Glori-Be.

Hunnee Bunnee taught me to love unconditionally. Every time I am with her, it is a celebration of friendship. I watch how she treats people and it makes me want to be just like her. I am a better person because of her.

My good friend Glori-be teaches me tenacity. She trudges forward in her life, despite work and health challenges, and is quick to ask what she can do for me. May I learn to put others before myself as this friend does.

That’s the spiritual part of friendship – recognizing the talents and character assets of our friends who love us unconditionally. Our bond transcends character flaws, and make it safe to just be ourselves.  Who could ask for more in life?

Do you have a friend who impacts your life in a special way?

Here are some interesting articles on Friendship

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/18/in-defense-of-best-friends/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl8|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politicsdaily.com%2F2010%2F06%2F18%2Fin-defense-of-best-friends%2F

http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200303/20030301_friends.html

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