Two months ago I stood free and high on a proverbial ocean vista.

Looking down from that place in my heart, I knew the glistening shoreline of {best} was meeting with the deep azure sea of my desires.
{More:☛ The best is yet to be!}

In between goals is a thing called life, that has to be lived and enjoyed. ~Sid Caesar

Now is the personal best of my life. Although that is a bold statement in the midst of planning {dreaming} the details Next …

I know it is. And I know it will only get better from here.

It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts. ~K.T. Jong

I am allowing myself a three-day retreat {beginning as soon as I press “publish”} …

There are whispers calling …

Thoughts to ponder.

Journal pages to create.

Words to write.

I love you, Braveheart. ♥

I will see you on Monday!

 P.S. Consider your own retreat: here are some prompts.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Theodore Roosevelt

I see you, Braveheart … wondering just what the heck happened to the month of January? I certainly am!

:: passes half-empty package of Oreos ::

Let’s get to it … It is Leap Year, so we sorta have an extra day for this month.

Notes to Self {about} Beginnings:

• Every day counts as one. Day One. A Beginning.
• Each moment = a new beginning; a place to start ♥
• Begin where you are. Trust your gut.
• Celebrate each marvelous baby step …
• Fling the should of time and …
• those danged, if-only’s. K?
• Begin with what you know … and
• Await the lines between the dots
• It. Will. Happen.

Things to begin …

Instead of the usual list of suggestions … I am going to offer you one suggestion:

And as always, baby steps count!

• Make a wish
• Be your own best friend
• Who are you today?
• Tomorrow’s Dream Today

Let’s live life to the full.

• What does that look like?
• How do we know which way to go from here?

First we accept what is — and what isn’t; adapting our days, as needed … and compiling lists of what we dream about:

• what we are drawn to
• elements and action points
• guestimates regarding when
• quotations that make us feel brave

And … {very important!}: Determine who our hell-or-high-water friend is. {This is the friend you can depend on for affirmation regarding the smallest of baby steps.}

• about my (commune)ity ♥♥
  

A good intention clothes itself with sudden power. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

• I like to collect visuals for my intentions and theme-projects/interest. Pinterest is one of my favorite places for that. And …
• Click here to share an image {and a brief description or link — optional, of course} of your To-Do / Wish / Want-To / Dream List(s) via the Right Brain Planner Flickr group!

We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies. ~Roderick Thorp

I am totally outa my groove … I am curious why daily routines are altered — mainly my sleep patterns/energy levels. But I will resist resistance, and allow this anomaly to unfold.

Instead of going on to bed earlier tonight, I went outside to gaze at the stars … I needed the stillness {the solitude} to find some grace and embrace the opportunity to break a few rules. To pace through some matters in my heart.

The night sky was awesome.
{in the truest sense of the word}

Listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd for a “soundtrack” … I came back inside and clicked around my browser tabs for some secret messages.

Collaged several in the image for this post; and here are few more:

… we are not the source of our giving. We do have the free will to decide regarding distribution … But the stuff {love, time and grace, etc.} comes from a Divine Source. If we don’t have it to give, then we abide {be; inquire; listen} and open up to receive. Particularly before we issue demands upon ourselves that will end in self-loathing and precious energy being spent on something we have no control over. ♥ {from Must Find Grace}

Interesting that my own words seemed to be precisely what I needed … ♥

Then this quotation …

I walk here and there, seeking open,
flat spaces against a sky up high.
I have discovered, too late, perhaps
that I always preferred the empty
more than the full
for breathing and forgiving.
~Teresa Paloma Acosta

And this post about chunking it down in order to get a book written. {Or in my case tonight: get The Big Picture into artist trading card size!

Miscellany IMing and Facebook convos, and music link exchanges included Mick Jagger comin’ to the Emotional Rescue ♫♫ and my all-time favorite, Freebird. ♫

All affirming, uplifting and clarifying with regarding the questions I have been sorting through.

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one. ~C.S. Lewis

And on that note {pun intended} … I say, Goodnight Moon and Goodnight to those of you on my side of the Earth. ox

We are never further from what we wish than when we believe that we have what we wished for. ~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

There are moments when we see a flicker of what we know we want — what we wish for, our heart’s desire — and the distance between “here” and “there” causes us to feel the daunt.

But those feelings, well …

Feelings amplify reality.

Life is never as bad as it feels {mentally, physically, spiritual} and how we feel is regulated by mapping out details and avoiding hitchhikers.

When we arrive at creative intersections in The Journey … we have choices. Our progress beyond those intersections requires that we decide; said choices involve risk and vulnerability … and choosing to be undaunted.

And sometimes … we even must decide if we will jump from high places in order to get from one place to another.

We can jump. If we wanna. Or we can tarry in thought …

Life is always at some turning point. ~Irwin Edman

Braveheart, I am opting to jump … Jumping across the abyss of what-if’s and it-didn’t-work-before’s … Wanna come, too?

Give it some thought.

That is what I will be doing this week: Some thought and planning with regard to my dream-weaving {and jumping!} … #secretmessage

If you think you have no choice but to do what you do now, you’ve already made a serious error. ~Seth Godin

Beware what you set your heart upon. For it shall surely be yours. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You are fatigued. It makes everything “louder” … You know?” she said.

Geez. What a week.

It is very right brain — this post. But here goes. I started writing it by listing keywords; then adding my explanation for clarity. My clarity. I cannot be sure this post will make any sense to you, Braveheart. ♥

But I am so glad you are here; I will try to be clear for you, too.

Because you allow me to feel less timid about sharing my vulnerable, outside-the-lines, freeform, visual way of thinking. ♥

Here goes:

• blurts — sudden utterances; a common thread of my journaling this week. I am finally {mostly} free of “smile and nod” conversations {situations and relationships}. But from time to time, related-to-past {but not pertinent} verbiage blurts out. I respond to people I adore and respect with quasi-Tourette statements; and I suddenly want to explain stuff. But I really don’t want/need to explain.
• overflow —  blurts and wanting to explain lead to overflow {and louder} and more frequently occur when I am in the midst of a series of Red-Level pain and physical restriction; overflow requires a plan and action.
• municipal wastewater — as in city services {a plan and action, remember?} I used to serve as a community development director for a city. During which time I was responsible for researching and securing right-of-way permissions from land owners; there was a lot of {important-to-the-process} citizen blurting during city commission meetings; and a lot of need-to-know info and on-site collaborations pertaining to the start-to-finish details of, um, wastewater. e-ew!
• manhole covers — which brings us to why I chose the image I did for this post! You know, from wastewater … I thought of a manhole cover, going underground to the source of the blurts and wanting to explain: Getting {back} down to the nitty-gritty. Or not.

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin

• bloom — to blossom; to press through from tightly-wrapped-bud into full bloom. It is time. To bloom. In vibrant, living color!
  
• fullness of now — Before has concluded {been redeemed, mourned, settled, learned-from} — Now and Next are my focus. I stall a bit {in the everything louder} … But Before is over. Definitely over. ♥
  

This moment is yours, this moment is mine, and we’re gonna be fine. ~Brendan James

A fellow Braveheart posted this quote. Although our dis-ease labels are different, she and I share similar physical challenges. Such timely words.

I’m gonna be fine. We’re gonna be fine.

Blurts are both secret messages for Now and Next — and healing removals of Before. Messages that reveal our vulnerability and ever-growing inner sparkle. Thus allowing {a deeper} removal when we are knocked down by a sudden blow of revelation pertaining to Before {sorrows, regrets, self-blame, prickly doubts}.

No one can get up from being hit, until they have been hit.
Resolve doesn’t come from an easy life.
Be Brave and Stand

Even when we were so certain that said situation was already dealt with. That we had overcome that proverbial “interruption” and uncomfortableness. But, Braveheart, as Mandy reminded me: We’re all nervous.

What do I want now?

This week has been a healing adventure. Overflow hit yesterday — giving me the words to finish outlining this post! I rested {and turned the volume down}; then I turned it back up and listened to two songs {from two ends of a music spectrum}: Will The Circle Be Unbroken and Here For The Party

I realized what I was feeling related to situations that no longer exist. Except when I turn to that page in the memory book of my mind.

Most of that proverbial section was been ripped out during tearful rages of healing, but pages remain.

Despite these periodic lapses, I released these situations on New Years Day during a memorial service of sorts. A burning bowl memorial service to acknowledge and to commemorate; a service concluding with only ashes to blow away in the wind.

No manhole to go down into; no burial site to visit or mourn {rehash, try-harder, explain one more time}. Simply a healing closure.

Dust in the wind …

• wind — winds of change; prayer flags in the wind; cool breezes on a hot summer’s day. Winds to carry away and winds to bring change {seasons, weather patterns}. Leaving nothing to dig into, resolve … or to explain.

God’s plans for your life far exceed the circumstances of your day. ~Lou Giglio

We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving. And we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing. ~Louisa May Alcott

Earlier this week, I spotted this quote by Louisa May Alcott … And it has become my banner. Weaving is such an art-full repetition; this handcraft has such endless possibilities with varying materials and such simple techniques.

The visual of weaving, and making wishes come true — when we keep believing — is the sparkle in my days {in the midst of fasting, micromovements of activities and writing, and resting}.

This week’s fabulous strands of sparkle have included:

• hanging prayer flags in my gardens
• a spur-of-the-moment date with my Rocket Man
• text-convos of pure light with {my Mandys} ♥ Mandy and Mandy
• fun mail! {secret messages and surprises via USPS}
• sowing dream seeds into my writer-son’s business
• normal test results {no evidence of cancer! yay!!!}
• early birthday treats and celebration with my writer-son
• my beautiful friends {y’all, I have the best friends in the world!!}
• exchanging giggles and exhortations via Instagram & Twitter
• dream-weaving convos with a talented young artist {click here!}
• finding {light} in rainy days via photography and new music {music=my drug; my iPod is totally included on my pain management list}

What kind of dreams are you weaving, Braveheart?

Are you discouraged because progress seems to be so-o- s-l-o-w … days don’t go as you planned?

Ever go to bed at night with a proverbial knot in your belly … disheartened that you didn’t accomplish what you hoped to for that day?

You are not alone.

I see you, Braveheart.

Dream weaving does require time. But practice it.

Embrace the daily rituals and repetitions — and the endless possibilities your practice will create. K?

As you grow older, you’ll find the only things you regret are the things you didn’t do. ~Zachary Scott

Yes. I know it feels impossible some days.

But you can do what you can only see in your heart right now.

• make lists of what you want to do and to be
  
• doodle and name what you are feeling
• doodle and name what you are dreaming about
• doodle and name what you are afraid of
• collage words and images from magazines
• create a Pinterest board of your dreams

Every decision matters … baby steps count.

By assigning a name, or a definition of:

1. what you are facing
2. what you want to accomplish

… you are empowered — to adapt and define boundaries — and to weave your {it} into a reality.

♫♫ Kansas, Hold On | Soundtrack of My Life

Be Brave and Stand … and I will stand right next to you. ♥

Our lives are a collection of stories – truths about who we are, what we believe, what we come from, how we struggle, and how we are strong. When we can let go of what people think, and own our story, we gain access to our worthiness – the feeling that we are enough just as we are, and that we are worthy of love and belonging. ~Dr. Brené Brown

I love this image of a moment in my story captured visually. ♥

So many of the details in this image have changed. But the love and vitality of this moment remains … and became even more sacred.

I was pregnant with {hope and} my youngest son {and dealing with all-day “morning sickness”}, and wearing a red maternity dress that I still consider an all-time favorite item of clothing for me. It was a warm, bright and sunny May evening, and My Rocket Man and I were standing near my parent’s former home; we were preparing to leave for a date night {a rare event for us, but always “enough” to saturate us with sparkly, pure joy and romance}.

We had arranged for my parents to entertain our young children {then, ages 9 and 3} and I can still vividly remember the euphoria of time alone with my man during our early days as a couple! My husband was a widower, and father of two when we married — I had sorta thought I would never have children of my own, before I met him. But that night — that time in my life — I was completely assured and totally confident I had found my place in this world.

My mind is wandering this week.

I had sorta thought I would be more focused and be working on a project, a project I assigned a deadline to — of this coming Friday.

But I am flexible. Something wonderful is going on … in my current place in this world.

And I will remain free of Shoulds.

I will allow myself to remember the moments of my life — and work … as time and energy and concentration allows.

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
~J. R. R. Tolkien

Braveheart, what are some of your stories? What is a favorite memory in your collection? ♥

The time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The most critical time period in the pursuit of one’s goals? The morning after … but especially one week after you begin.

Of course, this time period varies. But it is that moment — after you have leapt into a wholehearted commitment to live a life you love, and to love the life you live — when you are consumed {and oozing out} with doubt.

And perhaps … a bit of self-loathing.

Remain committed anyway. Press on anyway.

It takes time to experience what you only see in your mind’s eye, and to live the realities of what is in your heart.

You can do this, Braveheart. I believe in you. ♥