Reminders

I had a wonderful dinner last night with a friend that I've known since ... oh my ... 1978. And oh my, the roads we've traveled together... and even though our ways have since parted (she spends a lot of time on the other side of the planet), we're still just as connected as we've always been. And, I'm thinking, always will be.

We've both had our own, oh let's call them "issues," with the bodies we're driving our consciousnesses around in; I've had  (am still having) the whole M.S. adventure, she's had vision issues, diabetes, even a heart attack... but both of us are still laughing and plowing forward as best we can.

She had wonderful words of encouragement for me. Especially over my departure from the teaching, and working, world. In short, she said to me:

1. You needed to get out of there (my last place of employment). It wasn't just "time to go," I needed to go.
2. You have a lot to offer. Always have, always will. And now, given what you've gone through, you have even more to offer.
3. Honor what your body asks of you. Don't worry about what it "means," it doesn't "mean" anything. Just honor it.

Number 3 has been especially hard... there have been things I've wanted to do, and plain old fatigue has been stopping me. How I become so fatigued, I have no idea, but I am, and have been, and continue to be. But don't worry about it. It doesn't "mean" anything, it just is. Honor it.

And, something I was reminded of hanging with her last night, and I think it's a good call for all of us to  remind ourselves, "I gotta get this crap outta my way, and then I can go live my dream" is something we all share. It's not a very comfortable place to live, but it's a very human one. And if you feel that... you've got a lot of company, my friend.

So, I pass along to you the reminders she shared with me:

1. Honor what your body asks of you. (After all, you need its help, here in this life, you better be nice to it.) Its needs are its needs. They don't "mean" anything. They just are. Honor them.
2. You have a lot to offer, and today even more so, because of what you've lived through.
3. And laugh. Nothing pops an over-inflated ego as wonderfully as laughing at yourself; nothing pops that lead balloon that is weighing down your soul like a good laugh. 

It's important enough to say it again: honor your body's needs, know that you're an even better resource for yourself and the world right now because of what you've lived through... and laugh. 

Always... laugh. You'll always be surprised at where that will take you.