Experiencing What Is, Second Edition 7/31/22

And keep us close to what is real, I would add. 

     I wrote this a few years back.  Most of you have not read it.  I hope it helps you to enjoy life more fully. 

     Today's offering:

     Vital for our health involves grieving.

The Power and Value of Exercising Boundaries---We Discover the Truth About Others ................... 7/15/22

   O'Connor said she did not know what to say until she wrote. I'm  like  Flannery  O'Connor  again.   I sometimes take on her habit when writ-ing for this  positive   place in cyber-space.    

Being an Adult: Exercising the Right to Say No 5/31/22

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you
 used one to say 'thank you?' ” William Arthur Ward. Please
do so today by posting your gratitude. It will do you good. 

       Republishing this post.  Most of you were not guests back then, nearly eleven years ago.  

       I hope it encour-ages you to stand up for your values. 

       Here it is: 

Easter, Its Meaning

    Good afternoon,

     As with everything I write, please take what you like, leaving the rest.

     Easter we celebrate today.  I know the image usually is about bunnies, pastel 

The Latest News About the Innkeeper.......... 3/31/22

     Too much has happened. That pro-vides the reason for not hear-ing from me lately. 

     I moved from where I lived for eight years.  The transition challenged and depressed me for more than two weeks.  It endued me with fear, not a common feeling for me. 

      I prefer being honest in what I share here.  I have no interest in sugar-coating my circumstances  or presenting myself in a better light. 

     In recovery, I've learned I am good enough. I am not leashed to the need for approval, the main reason I have no connection with Face-book. I've been on it twice in the last five years. 

     Where I live provides improvements. More space. This younger, nicer home sits in a better community.  

     The house rests on top of one of the highest hills in town. Every day my home gives spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay.  

       My books cre-ated the biggest problem moving to another town.  More than a hundred box-es containing them trekked with me to my new home.  I sim-plified my life by giv-ing up most of my possessions.  

      No, not my books, but material things I thought I could never live without.

      For the first two weeks, I could not walk through my bedroom.  Reaching my closet as likely as landing on the moon.   Saying it was a living quarter loaded with boxes, an understatement. 

     The slogan, "Prog-ress, not perfection" helped me weather the first month.  Learning how to circumnavigate the new town and learn where all the stores were located was more challenging than a Sudoku problem. 

       One thing new. I am sleeping more than ever.   It helps me handle the new stress of living where I cannot tell you my address without resorting to the notepad on my phone. 

       My gratitude for today: 

1. For difficult times.  You did not misread the previous sentence.  I've learned to sit with new challenges, not run away from how they disturb me.      

      I've developed the habit of not letting stress rule over me.  Feelings are simply emo-tions, not a prophecy.  The loudest voice is not the truest.  

     During tough times I've learned a positive outcome is just as likely as a negative one.

     Embracing negative feelings reveals emotional resili-ency.  When I am aware of what is happening in the moment, I am no longer lost in it.

2. For fortitude, the result of time invested in recovery.  I have grown because I attend Al-Anon Family Groups, an organization helping those who relate to alcoholics.  Al-Anon is not a nickname for Alco-holics Anonymous. 

    For more about this inspiring organ-ization that empow-ers its members, check here,

"God guide me to make the right deci-sion and give me the fortitude to cling to it against all pressures and persuasions."         One Day At a Time in Al-Anon, p. 13

        I have more to say.  Right now, I need to get back to work. 

Bursting With Hope, Healing, Happiness............... 3/13/22

     Last Friday, my oldest son got married.  One enormous hallmark for any parent.  It also opened a floodgate of joyful tears. 

     He knows his bride well.  

     It was surreal hearing my son and his fiancé saying their vows. They've grown up together. No, not in the same family but as two who met many years ago.

      It is a life-changing jump from them being boyfriend and girlfriend. 

      Witnessing the exchange of vows was an out-of-body experience. I could not believe I was there; it was happening.  The reception afterward went on for six hours.  

      I knew many attending the happy occasion.  

Demon of Denial Revised .............. 3/9/22

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget
that the highest appreciation is not to utter words
but to live by them.”   John F. Kennedy 

        I wrote this post years ago, pre-senting it now, again. Many current guests of this inn were not here then.  I hope it helps. 

******

A Great Antidote for Depression: Expressing Our Voice, Third Edition 2/28/22

Image: "Scotland: Ben Nevis With His Hat On"

       Bumping up a revised edition of a nine-year-old post.  Most of you have not read it. I hope it encourages you. 

Sources of Joy for This Fading Month of February............ 2/27/22

    I have enjoyed won-derful 6+ hours of fun on four occa-sions with four differ-ent friends the past two weekends. In my roadster, we travers-ed gorgeous country roads.  The car lies five inches above the ground. 

    The experience is like driving a go-kart on steroids. 

Loving Life, The Answer to Excessive Mental Chatter................... 2/18/22

And improve your driving, I might add. 

    I'm following Flannery O'Connor's approach tonight.  A post past due.  I have not sub-mitted anything at this inn lately. 

    O'Connor didn't know what she had to say until she started writing. In the same boat, I find myself.  The following reveals what is floating within my mind.