It’s an amazing thing.  Today, on Day 9,  I tried all day to do a small thing.  I searched.  I combed.   I hunted tirelessly. 

And I did manage to do some small things already on my list.  I thought nicer things.  I drank water (and a bit of cocktail).  I prayed little prayers for those around.

But I COULD NOT find a new small thing.  I sat sadly with my on-theme Halloween bowl full of delightful things and no one rang the bell. 

So now I am packing it in.  Turning off my light and hoping I don’t ear the whole bowl myself (which would totally happen in the real life version of this metaphor…St. Vincent would help!)

Here’s to hoping I see a good pebble tomorrow!   How hard can it be?  Harder than I thought apparently.

I adore you!

So, today I’m getting back in the saddle. Over the weekend, I went on a delightful trip to the Shenandoah Valley. It was beautiful, it was refreshing, it was full of old friends and new memories. It rocked. But, I didn’t actually write anything down.

So that’s what I’m going to do today. That’s going to be my small thing. I’m going to get back up and start over. (Not on day one, but on day 8.)

It’s an interesting thing….starting over. Because when you first set out, you feel awesome. You ARE awesome. Your backpack is full of important items, your mind full of good ideas, and your body just full of energy.

And then you trip. And suddenly your backpack just seems full of junk. Why did you bring the cherry pitter? Your feet feel really heavy. Might it be time to get out your flip flops? And your ideas? They just seem really stupid. ( see cherry pitter and flip flops for reference.) Quitting seems the best idea you’ve had all day.

But that’s why you have to do it. Almost nothing was done in a single chapter. Almost nothing is accomplished in one round. It’s the getting up and doing over, the feeling of beginning again, in which the real beauty lies. That’s where the real victory hides.

Wanna join me? Is there something that you haven’t been able to finish but you want to? Maybe it’s something that seems so annoying, so tall, so scary, you dont want to begin again, but you suspect at the end it may be beautiful. Jump up with me. We’ll both look ridiculous together.

So I’m going to do that. Hopefully, the best is yet to come.

I adore you!

day 7! technically, 7 is the number of completion. in this game, though, it is not even a quarter of the way there. (insert tired sigh)

on day 7, i tried to stay outwardly focused. so i did a little thing. every time i thought of someone, or someone crossed my path, rather than just think a happy thought of them or curse them under my breathe (i am thinking of you of YOU annoying guy at the taco bus ordering 7 million unrelated items for two people), i prayed for them. just a little bit.

it was interesting. although clearly i have no idea how it affected THEM (report in of you think you crossed my mind yesterday), it definitely put me in a much better place. and, interestingly, while i was in this prayerful state of mind, big prayer opportunities also came up. the girl at the high school whose dad started chemo yesterday. my friend’s mom who was hit by a motorcycle and in the hospital. much easier to jump on those when the motor was already running.

and i certainly believe prayer works, so i trust that this little thing also affected them. but even if you are just a happy thought sender, it worked for me. put my heart in a different place.

so, hopefully, it moved a pebble for me AND for them. yay double dipping! (metaphorically, of course! not in real life!)

i adore you!