Life Is Good, When We Don't Live It By Our Power Alone 7/15/13

    Hey, how are you?

My eyes droop, my brain aches and my body is worn out, but, in a good mood, I remain.  Today was interesting.  Mondays have gone from a day off to my busiest day. Often, I decompress on Tuesdays, being exhausted from what transpires on Monday.

    Life is terrific.  I met with someone today who was depressed.  But he was down in a way I haven't seen in a long time.  It was fascinating noticing how effortlessly I felt like it was my job to make him feel better.  Detaching was important, if I wanted to maintain serenity and joy.

    Applying what I tell others---I was responsive to, but not responsible for this individual's feelings.  Easily, I could have been drawn to this negative emotional vortex encountered in the afternoon.  He was reminded that his desire to get healthier had to be stronger than my desire to help.  To have it any other way, would be codependency on my part.

My Gratitudes for this Fine Evening,
1.  I found my cyclometer!   My life is complete.  As far as I'm concerned, if my cycling isn't measured, it didn't happen. (Don't try to understand.)  I love measuring progress.  I'm ecstatic I have it.   Ya ay!

     I was distraught yesterday, thinking this device was long gone.

Downtown Niles. It's four blocks long.
 Don't blink or you'll miss it.

2.  I rode with Theresa yesterday. We encircled the small town where I grew up. Between a channel on the right and a lake on the left, we rolled around where I used to haunt as a youth.  It had been more than thirty years since I rode a bike in this town.  Sharing this moment with a friend was marvelous.

As a kid I climbed this hill and would eat lunch from
 a paper bag while sitting on this cement sign.  I'd climb
over this bump and venture into the countryside of Sunol. 

    I showed her the homes I lived in, the old jail from the cowboy days and parts of town where Charlie Chaplin lived and filmed his silent films, the ones that made him renowned.  In my boyhood town, downtown is only four block long.  To this day, there still isn't a signal light.  But this place made me, me, creating the small-town, midwestern personality and concern for people that I have.  I love the place.

3.  Memories flooded back. Remembrances of childhood chums danced within my head as I rolled through Niles.  When I'm not so tired, I may rework this post with more details.

4.  Afterwards, we rode six miles to the Century 25 Theater in Union City, catching a comedy.  If felt good laughing and sharing this communal event with all those sharing the same darkened room with flickering lights, including my cycling companion who hails from the Island City, too.

5   I love life.  It's treating me well.  I'm thankful for having my voice, knowing a loving God and the emotional strength derived from support I get from my Balcony People and the principles that allow me to see life clearly, making the most out of it.

6.  I'm speaking at two events soon.  I love doing so.  It's my first love, in terms of service.  At one event I was asked to talk on overcoming anger with compassion and spirituality.  A great topic that is in keeping with my interests and experience.  I can't wait.

7.  I look forward to my future with eagerness.  I am strong because I'm not lving my life by my strength alone.  I rely upon a Power Greater Than Myself who does for me what I can't do for myself. And, I'm very grateful He does.

8.  Tomorrow, a son and I head off to Piedmont.  We're meeting someone who is a provost at the university I attended.  She may help him get into U.C. Berkeley's graduate business school.  Boy, do I love this son, as well as my other two. 

     We'll drop by Fentons, too, afterwards.  Am I glad.   It's a terrific ice cream parlor that has lines even at midnight. What is concocted within this place is heavenly.  The portions are ginormous; the place has been around for 119 years and if you eat there, you'll know why it will last another 119 years.

How About You?
What are your three gratitudes for today?  Please share them.  Adding to the positivity of this inn  happens, when you do.

Good night. I'm tired.  I need to hit the hay.