Hey there!
I don’t have a proper post for you today. I’ve been working on one about why we always find ourselves in the same (bad) situations over and over. It’s got some good stuff and I think you will like it, but right now it feels too bossy, so I’m going to hold onto it. I don’t need to be that bossy girl on the playground.
I’m choosing not to work further on the post right now because we have another graduation this weekend. Our fourth child is graduating from High School. We have many family members driving and flying toward our home as I type this. We are looking forward to a weekend of milestones and memory making.
So—I must cook!!
To follow up from last week, the cleanse has gone from dreaded to praised. I did a full five days and sincerely enjoyed it. I never felt deprived and the delicious healthy foods left me with tons of energy and a renewed interest in staying clean.
My clothes fit again and I have stuck to whole, real foods for the entire week since the official cleanse was over. I am remaining gluten, dairy and sugar free to make sure that the effects of the cleanse are not erased. I am eating lots of eggs, veggies, quinoa, lentils, beans, avocado, olives, nuts, organic chicken and grass fed beef. My scale has continued to creep down even after the cleanse finished.
That is the good news. But while we are in update mode, I must admit to you that my technology usage has had a huge backslide. I often catch myself aimlessly surfing, close down the computer and then end up back on again shortly thereafter. I still have lots of work to do in this area as my mindless habits are more ingrained than I realized.
One thing that will definitely keep me away from the computer is our upcoming move. After the weekend festivities is when I start packing up the house. It feels like there are a hundred moving pieces, but when I start feeling stressed about it I tell myself that I can (and will) handle it. I have plenty of time and it will all get done. Breathe.
Something else that calls to me when I am feeling stressed is the following poem. It is a beautiful reminder of what is really important in life. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain Climber
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for and
if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or
have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own;
if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty every day.
And if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, ‘Yes.’
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and
do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
What do you think of the poem? Did it speak to you? Please leave a comment below.
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