Drawings from yesterday’s class! 😁
often
God
Universe
The Great Beyond
teaches
lessons
sotto voce
repeated
until
you
slow
pause
listen
hear!
What follows is a mish-mash of events….
perhaps you’ll see a connection.
Last November on Thanksgiving Eve, I was simultaneously baking a pumpkin pie and cooking eggplant Parmesan for dinner. The pleasant, productive evening went awry when I fumbled the pie’s exit from the oven. Sticky, sugary pumpkin filling was everywhere—including the 425 degree sides and bottom of the oven. There was smoke—not only from the pumpkin, but also from the burning eggplant in the cast iron skillet.
I threw an honest to God tantrum…just short of laying on the ground kicking my feet.
Recently I noticed that every time I put away dishes from the drying rack, Henrietta leaves the room. It took me almost a year to notice she is afraid of cookie sheets! I’ve tried holding them out for her sniff—lick even. She’ll have no part of them.
My outburst left a mark I’m not sure I can erase.
I’m going to try.
Shifting gears….
Yesterday morning I felt……small.
Like I wasn’t enough.
Like I lacked the skills, know how, motivation, paperclips, and glue to accomplish my mission.
I was comparing myself to others…and we’ve all heard that comparison is the thief of joy?
How IRONIC!
Because my mission is to spread joy.
The definition of joy according to Gail is different than happy. Joy is a big hug of life—the good, the bad, the splattered pumpkin pies. Gail—what can you learn from this mess?
Anyhow…last night during drawing/writing class, I had a sense that my in person companion was feeling like I’d felt in the morning. Do we all suffer not-enoughness?
God was whispering……
Practice awareness.
Practice acceptance.
Take action when and where you can.
You are enough.
You are all enough.
Now stop throwing tantrums and wallowing!
Find the joy in living!
Deb and her family still tell the story of her pumpkin cheesecake (this was before my entry into the family). After Thanksgiving dessert was served, the remaining cheesecake (a lot! — not the only dessert) was moved to a side table, where it sat on a serving plate. At one point someone went to move the cheesecake. The serving platter moved, the cheesecake moved less quickly and plopped onto the table. Okay, no major harm done, put the cheesecake back together(ish). Next day, the leftovers dinner was held, at a different family house. In the process of transport, in a perfectly stable 🙄 cooler, the cheesecake again became, um, subject to randomization. And was served with a large spoon instead of a pie server. Deb’s brothers (ever supportive!) rebranded the dish “pumpkin plop.” And 25+ years later, Gail, the tale is still retold around the family holiday table. 😁
Beautiful, Gail.