Norman Vincent Peale wrote “There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.” While Paul and I walked in the Rocky River Reservation, I showed him the beach glass I’d found on the beach the previous week and said, it reminds me of the ebb and flow of the tide, how the waves calm me, and what’s important.” He took my hand and replied, “You find meaning in everything, don’t you?” Later, while eating warm bread with Italian olive oil, I examined the label on the bottle of Sangiovese and asked the waiter about the wine region. The waiter said few people ask that question, and Paul said, “This woman does that. She’s anything if not enthusiastic.” That’s the woman I want to be, the one who knows magic because she’s enthusiastic about life. I am a woman who refuses to let life become boring, run-of-the-mill, and ordinary, knowing the good life is in a small miraculous moment. Mediocrity doesn’t recognize the miraculous. Again, it’s the choices we make on how to spend our time that make a good day, a good life.
Tag Archives | abundance
30 Perfect Days Log 11 — Delisting Lists
Week 11, Friday, December 19, Delisting Lists—I’m figuring out a marketing campaign for 30 Perfect Days, the book. The blog was the first step. Reviews on Amazon have been overwhelmingly rewarding—the book’s worth is right there. But the marketing is one of those things that I talk about on Day 11, one of those tasks on my list that can bring an entire day down. On Day 11, Delisting Lists, I chose a quote from Carol Orsborn, who wrote in her book Enough is Enough “Busy, busy, busy we pass the days of our lives—gone all too soon. Gone before we get to our dreams of creative expression, self-fulfillment, nurturing.” I asked why our lists of things to do matter so much. To-do lists are based on fear, and what I really want, with my book at least, is for it to grow organically, for people to buy it because they come across it and it looks interesting. Most of the time, I should focus on what my soul needs; I just need to do one of the things I like best—writing. When I came up with my Absolutes, they did NOT include tasks from my to-do list.
30 Perfect Days Log 10 — Nesting at Home
Week 10, Friday, December 12—On Day 10, I nested at home, I got off the tiger for a day. Maybe that’s all we need is a day or a week of vacation, but I still felt the tug to give it all up and begin anew. I was lying in wait for answers by spending time on what I love. I began with writing, for balance, calmness, and preparation. I read Hemingway because his words are true and real and no-nonsense. Paul and I shopped for daffodil and tulip bulbs and bought a carving pumpkin and Halloween candy after our daily walk. The sky was that vibrant blue of fall that only happens when the leaves provide a red and orange contrast. We sat on the deck, watched and listened. I inventoried the house, picked up stray socks and magazines, sorted mail and newspapers, made my home mine again. We celebrated Sweetest Day with a bottle of Finger Lakes Hunt Club wine. As the day came to a close, I remembered that being “home” is not just about being in the space, it’s about taking care of the base camp before going out into the war zone again.
30 Perfect Days Log 1 — The Book
Friday, October 10 – One way to share what I learned in my 30-day journey to find perfection is this Perfect Days Log. Here, every Friday for 30-plus weeks, I’ll sum up chapters from my book 30 Perfect Days, Finding Abundance in Ordinary Life, available through Amazon and Kindle. For now, I’ll share the excerpt on the back of the book: “We Earth travelers are on a journey on the river of life, meandering, flowing over rocks if we’re lucky, working through the obstructive branches, widening and narrowing in our ability to respond to the world and to be our best selves. We find our true selves as we go along, bit by big, even as we change, the changes wrought in us being part of all the things going down that river with us. The bad stuff, if we go about it right, gets left behind.” Why is it so hard to let go of what we no longer need? What are we protecting? Why do we need to keep things like worry, guild, remorse, and abuse for future use?