July 2014

A reader sent me this graphic:

I love it.

I have a new friend like that. When we hike, sometimes we speak and sometimes we are silent. But we are always communicating. 

These friends are a blessing.

People who require explanations are a blessing, too. They force us to get clear. They force us to be specific. There are times when I think my copy editor might understand me too well, because she knows what I mean without a lot of explanation. I can jump from A to D and she’s right there with me. At times, that keeps us from recognizing that some of my readers need me to take them from A to B to C to D. It can be frustrating when I think my point is crystal clear and my reader doesn’t get it – but it is clarifying, too. 

My husband is a linear thinker and asks to be walked through many of my Quantum Leaps. That’s changing, though. He’s making leaps of his own. I’m loving that, but will need to keep plenty of linear thinkers in my orbit for… not a reality check… but a linear reality check. 

The last Chapter in my PowerPhrases book says, “The purpose of words is to create silence.”

The easy silence of everything that needed to be said having been said. The easy silence of communication without words. 

I just glanced at my answering machine and saw my new friend left a message. She just called to say, “Thank you for sharing your big heart.” No other purpose. She was specific about what I had done that touched her. Her specifics augment her appreciation. Her few words augment our sweet silence. She and the reader who sent the graphic altered the trajectory of my day. 

Hubby is travelling this weekend and I am alone.

The word alone actually means All One.

I am savoring my Aloneness, my Wholeness, my Oneness.

Hubby is with colleagues. His people. A community that catalyzes wholeness in each other. A community that he is at-one with.

At-one: AtOnement brings into unity, harmony and concord.

He is savoring his community, his comradeship, his connectedness.

I wish you the perfect weekend for renewing your body, mind, soul and spirit.

“Plot twist. Waldo finds himself.”

Few people do.

Have you ever tried to “find” someone who hasn’t found themselves? It’s like playing “Where’s Waldo.”

My childhood best friend found herself. Five strokes and years in assisted-living did that for her. Her life required her to be still. The experience made her wise. Probably one of the wisest and most contented people I know.

My life required me to become still in a different way. Keeping my focus mainly on excellence in concrete, daily, normal living has been, and is, transformational. 

I’m told I’m pretty easy to “find” these days. Not a lot of searching, guessing, interpreting, wondering required to find me. Little need to track me through distractions, diversions, excessive complexity and incomprehensible tangents. I don’t hint when I need to be direct anymore. It’s all right there. I’m right there. Or it’s getting there, anyway. I’m still in the process.

That’s my plot twist. What’s yours?

My reader passed this on with the following message:

Hi Meryl!

When I started reading this, I thought of you, but then things went south… Well, I’ll share it w/ you anyway, cuz it’s kind of funny! 😉

My reply was: 

Two paths to Inner Peace:

1. Finish what you start.

 2. Use humor.

I don’t care for the booze, but I’m often up for getting “drunk” on humor.

Thanks to my reader/friend for this.

After a parade of problematic renters, Beth finally found excellent renters for her furnished home. The neighbors are delighted. The yard is beautiful with lots of new landscaping. There are no (expletives deleted) coming from the windows. The new renters participate in the community.

Many neighbors found Beth difficult to relate to when she was living in her house, and kept their mouths shut when the new renters spoke of how much they like her.

But all that changed. The new renters got permission to get kittens. Their new kittens ended up needing a good bit of medical care, and that taxed their finances. So they asked Beth, “Can we pay $250 of the pet deposit now and the other $250 in two weeks?”

Beth’s tone turned to ice. Her wording became impersonal and legalistic. She replied, “I expect you to remit the entire deposit payment immediately in accordance with our agreement.”

Her words got the job done; the renters sent payment. The cost of Beth’s victory was goodwill. Suddenly Beth’s new renters began to question the generous way they tend a home that isn’t theirs.

There is so much more to Speaking Strong than getting others to do what you want. Beth might have gotten the same result in a more personal way. But what would she have lost by waiting two weeks for a deposit from people who had already rented from her for a year?

Beth won a victory at a very high price – and she doesn’t even know it.