The Joy of Dreaming Dreams

Since the first season of the television show, Amazing Race, I have been dreaming about being a contestant. It's not that I care about winning a million dollars, although I would gratefully accept the prize if I won. I'm not even very competitive..... it's just that I thought it would be a challenge I could meet, without losing myself in the process.

For several years, I interviewed friends and relatives as prospective partners for this adventure. I have been seeking a partner that had a good sense of direction (since that is not one of my gifts) and someone that would not yell at me when I made a mistake. My contribution to the partnership would be doing any of the dare devil stunts since I'm not afraid of heights and love a thrill. I narrowed down my search to three people that fit the bill as a partner.

After enjoying my dreaming process for five years, it suddenly fizzled up in smoke a few weeks ago. I was in the midst of a 12 day business trip which held various challenges. I was holding up well and maintaining a positive attitude until I went without my usual eight hours of sleep three days in a row. I flew from the West coast to the East and back again in a three day period.

The demise of this dream became apparent as I was trudging through the Charleston airport at 4:30 a.m. I felt like a rag doll that went through the spin cycle and lived to tell about it. There was no joy within and I found no humor in my business partner's jibes. Obviously, if I couldn't handle cross country travel, jetting from continent to continent days apart would not be my thing. I couldn't believe it that a dream that gave me so much joy was gone and gone for good.

As I now look back on my dreaming process, I don't regret it at all. The reason for this is that I had great fun in the dreaming, planning, and imagining how I would show up in the challenging situations the contestants face.

Although it is clear to me now that I require regular meals, healthy snacks, rest and luxury accommodations when I travel in order to maintain a joyful attitude, the dreaming process of racing around the world was clearly and thoroughly enjoyable.

As in so much we live in life, it is enjoying the process that matters.....even when it comes to dreaming.

Heaven's Greeter

Last week-end, while on retreat amidst the Redwoods of Northern California with my leadership tribe, the Thunderbeings, those of us present had a conversation about the last standing member creating a tribute of some sort for all those that have passed previously.

Several years ago while on another retreat we created a strand of beads that acknowledges all 24 Thunderbeings. Since that time we have mailed the beads from member to member so that we each have part-time stewardship of this representative strand. Part of what we envisioned last week would be that the last member standing would have some sort of memorial for us all using this strand of beads.

Although that sounds like a beautiful ceremony to create if I should be the last member standing, my mind drifted in the other direction. I began to think what fun it would be to welcome my Thunderbeing friends to the other side. You know, kind of like a Wal-Mart greeter with wings.

If I can be a heavenly greeter, I would be keeping my eye peeled for all those that I love that still remained on earth. I wouldn't want to rush their transition, yet I would be very happy to greet them and show them the ropes in Heaven. This would be an important job, especially if the inductee has not experienced bliss on earth. I expect it would be a welcomed site to see someone they know standing at the gate with a big smile, a hug and some kind words of welcome. I suppose those new inductees won't need a cart, since there is nothing to buy, but I expect a map of how to find your way around the clouds would be in order.

I personally always appreciate someone that has already walked a path to guide me when I travel to a new place, both physically and spiritually. It would be an honor to show some new angels the ropes......get then oriented to a new way of being.

For some of my friends, I am sure they would be surprised to find themselves stepping through the pearly gates (there's no need to mention names here....you know who you are). They may need some special attention in helping them to acclimate to a realm of complete and utter love . Others will not be surprised to walk on clouds, since they do it daily in their earthly lives.

The great news about what I expect about being Heaven's Greeter is that all that enter will forget all that was, forgive all that has been and will be open to experiencing complete and unconditional love. Yep, I think I am a good fit for the position since that is what I'm shootin' for on earth. One of my thunder sisters, CJ, is already on duty, I am sure.

So, if you are a friend of mine and even if you are not, I (when my time comes) will take my post at the gate with JOY. If I happen to be your greeter, expect that you will feel loved and filled with peace as we realize without question or doubt that we really are ONE and have always been.

Reach for Love

On a flight last week from Detroit to Minneapolis, I was aware of a young Japanese family occupying the seats in front of me. I periodically heard the mother and father speaking to their children, a little boy appearing to be around 5 years old and an 18 month old wearing a bib that said "Teething Sucks". Although I couldn't understand what they were saying, I felt the loving energy being exchanged.

A short time before we were to land, I noticed the baby was peeking between the seats at me. He had a grin on his face, that is if you can call three teeth a grin. Once he caught my eye, he reached his hand between the seats. I laughed as I saw this pudgy little forearm and wriggling fingers come into my space. I accepted his invitation and returned the gesture by reaching out to him and grasping his hand. We played this game for several minutes, interspersed with a game of peek-a-boo.

When the plane landed and the passengers stood to disembark, the baby's mother bowed to me and smiled. I returned the gesture.

As I walked through the airport, I thought about how this baby was so overflowing with love, he couldn't help but reach out for more and to pass it on to someone else, which fortunately happened to be me. I'm quite sure, this child's loving joy was unconditional and wouldn't have been affected negatively if I did not receive his love and extend mine to him.

When I transfer this little love lesson to other places in my life, I realize that as we grow up many of us do not express ourselves as freely. Perhaps we're afraid our love will not be received which keeps us from taking the risk to reach out. Maybe our hesitancy to take that risk is due to us not loving ourselves.

Without question, my little flight mate had no question about whether or not he was worthy of love or in any way unlovable. He was right. My intention is to believe this is true about me too, so I will continue to extend my love and reach out to others, knowing I am lovable whether anyone grasps my hand or not.

An Old Cat Learning New Tricks

I am currently visiting my friends, the Larsons', in Albert Lea, Minnesota and have had the opportunity to observe an old cat learning new tricks from a new and very active kitten that has recently joined the family.

Cuppy, a nearly sixteen year old feline has been enjoying what would be similar to human retirement for many years. His sedentary life has now changed, however, since a new, extremely energetic and playful kitten, Buddy has been welcomed into the household.

What my friends have noticed is that Cuppy has recently shown some signs of returned youthfulness. For instance, he has rediscovered his courage to investigate surfaces higher than three feet from the ground, rather than staying within the safety of the floor, sofa and chairs.

In addition, a long gone experience of dashing about the house at fast speeds, has now become routine. At first, it only occurred when chased by his much younger step kitten, but now seems to be occurring at random, purely for the joy of it.

The lesson that is becoming very clear to me in watching this old cat learn new tricks is that we are never too old to renew our vitality for life. If we remain open to being inspired by those around us that seem to have no limits or inhibitions, we can expand our capacity for joyful living. When we forget our age and its associated perceived limitations, and remain open to learning new tricks, the joy of life will never end.

Keeping your Spark Plugs Clean

My husband is a part-time motor head. He often speaks in car language and over the past 36+ years of our marriage, I have picked up a few lessons on the art of automobile maintenance. One of those lessons is that you need to run the engine of an otherwise grounded car periodically so you can clean the carbon off the spark plugs. This is important since the spark of the plugs ignites the fuel in the cylinder. From what I understand, that is an important part of the process of an engine running.

On Sunday afternoon, my husband recommended I take my Boxster out for a ride to do some spark plug cleaning. It was a cold, but clear day and there was no salt on the roads to threaten Grace's body (Grace is my car's name), so we took her for a spin to clean some carbon.

As I drove the back roads of our county and the spark plugs let go of their carbon build up, I was seeing the connection between spark plugs and the human spirit. What struck me was just as when a car is not used at its full potential and performance, carbon builds as compared to a human's spirit becoming laden with worry and fears if it does not experience a cleaning through some sort of joyful activity.

Unlike automobiles, our spirits have more choices in ways to keep our spark burning. We can do it by actively engaging in some activity like a sport or game. We can also accomplish the task by being quietly present in the moment. We can meditate, journal, laugh, blog or talk with a friend. We can read, cook, sew, knit or play music. We can take a bath, play with a child, or love the work we happen to be doing. There's an endless list of spark plug cleaning activities.....in short, it would be whatever makes you feel good. As long as you feel good, I believe you are keeping your spark plugs in tip top shape so they can ignite the fuel of your spirit that keeps you running through life like a top.

Seems easy enough to do, right? That is as long as we are aware of how our lives are running. If we accept sluggishness or struggle as normal, perhaps we wouldn't realize our spark plugs need cleaning.

If we want to be living at a high performance level, then regular maintenance checks for the spirit would be in order. I plan on having my spark plugs cleaned daily....how about you?

Playing the Game of Life

I love to play games of all sorts. I tend not to be especially competitive in my game playing since for me, typically, it is more fun to enjoy the process than to be the ultimate winner. Of course, when I do win a game, or even just seem to be doing well at any given time, I enjoy that too, it just isn't mandatory that I always win. I recently was comparing my gaming style with my style of living life and discovered there are many similarities.

When I play a board game I enjoy the element of chance.....the roll of the dice, or the card I pick from the top of the deck. In my Game of Life, there is that same element of chance and unpredictability. Not knowing for some, I suppose, is unnerving. I have grown to enjoy not knowing and delight in the surprises.

Some games call for strategizing. I love calling on my wits and past experience as I make my choices on the moves I could make. Just as in life, there are typically multiple options. In these cases, if I simply am unsure, I rely on my intuition to guide me. Once again, also true in the Game of Life. Whatever my choice, I always get another chance.

My game playing experience has also taught me there can be an advantage to paying attention to those that are playing the game with me and making some moves relevant to what I predict they may be planning. This is my least favorite way to play since having my personal outcome affected by what someone else is doing (or not doing) seems less empowering somehow.

I can also learn a lot by paying attention to those that frequently seem to win the game. In watching my husband play Scrabble for instance, I have learned to take my time and to always be present to what is happening. He never loses focus. He doesn't brag or boast about his climbing score, but just plays his best game. I know this tactic certainly pays off in the Game of Life too and it feels good in a grounding sort of way when I stay present and simply enjoy the triple score blessings that fall into my lap .

Whether playing Cranium, Boggle, Catch Phrase or the Game of Life, I know I can't lose when I am enjoying the process of the game and not taking any of it too seriously.