Make it Count! . . . .

Another wonderful experience. . . .

It feels so good to be home! I've been traveling for the past 12 days and it was heaven to crawl into my own bed last night. Vacations are great, but there's nothing like the comfort of your own space!

Today I would like to share with you a wonderful experience that I had while I was gone. After an incredible 8 days in New York City, I traveled to a friends home in Virginia, just outside Washington D.C.  To my surprise, he asked me to follow him into his garage, opened the door, handed me the key to one of his motorcycles and told me to get on. We weren't just going for a ride, he was going to TEACH ME HOW TO RIDE!! I jumped up and down like a little girl! I have a Vespa 250 scooter, so I've ridden, but c'mon......it's a scooter! There are no gears.... just the accelerator and the brake. This was the real thing, and this was something that I've wanted to do for a long time. When I was 18, I read the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and I have never forgotten the descriptions in that book of what it is like to ride, and more importantly, what it teaches you about life. It was time I experienced a small portion of that! So there I was on the back roads of Virginia,  experiencing the wonderful feelings that Robert M. Pirsig described in that book. He said, "You see things vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it, you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame. On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming. That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing, the same stuff you walk on, it's right there, so blurred you can't focus on it, yet you can put your foot down and touch it anytime, and the whole thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate consciousness." He was right. I was in the scene. I thoroughly enjoyed my first ride, and even though I most likely won't be running out to buy a motorcycle, I was grateful to have experienced that sense of presence, not to mention another level of self-confidence that I couldn't have gotten without trying it myself. By the way, I now have a real sense of appreciation for motorcyclists. Be aware! Watch for them, and safe travels.

"Unless you're fond of hollering, you don't make great conversations on a running cycle. Instead, you spend your time being aware of things and meditating on them. On sights and sounds, on the mood of the weather and things remembered, on the machine and the countryside you're in, thinking about things at great leisure and length without being hurried and without feeling you're losing time."

-Robert M. Pirsig

A fond farewell . . . .

One week ago today, television producer Sherwood Schwartz died in Los Angeles. He was 94 and best known for creating Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch. He wrote the theme songs to both programs.  Following his death, a farewell letter titled "A Conversation at the Gates" was given to The Hollywood Reporter from the late writer's family. Mr. Schwartz had asked that they  publish this letter upon his death.

A Conversation at the Gates

One day in the not too distant future, I will find myself standing in front of the Pearly Gates.

I knock.

A pleasant voice calls out, "Who's there?"

"Sherwood Schwartz," I answer.

"One moment," says the Voice. "I have lots of Schwartzes on my list."

"Did you say Sherwood?"

"Yes, Sherwood Schwartz. I was born November 14, 1916. My parents were Rose and Herman Schwartz."

"Yes, yes, I have it right here. Your parents loved you very much."

"I loved them very much as well. I lived with them until I got married."

"To Mildred, according to my records," says the Voice.

"Yes. I never believed in love at first sight until I met Mildred. I always thought 'love at first sight' was just poetic babble."

"That's what they all say until it happens to them."

"I loved Mildred with all my heart for over sixty-nine years. I'm sure she loved me as much as I loved her."

"She did," says the Voice. "And you had four children, Donald, Lloyd, Ross and Hope."

"Four wonderful children," I couldn't help adding.

"All of them quite different, but all of them talented, and hard-working. I'm pleased I was able to watch each of them reach certain goals."

"You sound very proud of them," says the Voice.

"Mildred and I were always very proud. We took good care of them when they were young, and they took good care of us when we got old."

"I see they each have two children; Donald, two girls, Lloyd two boys, Ross two girls, and Hope two girls."

"All of them talented and industrious, like their parents," I say.

"All well-educated in different professions: Medicine, Law, and Entertainment."

"I see you also have four great grandchildren. Two great granddaughters, and two great grandsons."

I say, "You keep very good records."

"I have to," says the Voice. "People keep coming and going all the time. You've been pretty busy yourself. After college you started writing and you never stopped."

"That's because writing isn't a profession; it's a disease. And it's accompanied by a disease that's even worse.....re-writing."

"I know all about that," says the Voice. "You're not the first writer to knock on my gate. But at least you were successful. Many writers are not."

"That's true. I've been well-rewarded with plenty of money for me, for my family, and for my many charities."

"A good life I would say," says the Voice, "with plenty of awards and honors."

"And plenty of hard knocks from critics," I reply.

"That comes with the territory," says the Voice, "but you've had lots of compensation. Not just money; thousands of fan letters you've received from people all over the world, thanking you for entertaining them with words that brought them a smile or a laugh, sometimes when they needed it the most."

Then the Voice continues apologetically, "I didn't mean to keep you waiting outside the gate. Go ahead: Ask. Ask what they all want to know when they knock at my gate: Am I going to Heaven or not?"

"That's what I was going to ask when I got here," I say, "then I suddenly realized something when we talked, Heaven is where I've been since the day I was born."

A fond farewell,

Photo via The Hollywood Reporter

Happy Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Photo by The Sartorialist

Photo via Patterson Maker

Happy Friday, my friends!

Have an awesome weekend!

Photo via Lovely Liv Tyler

Once upon a time . . . .

Happy Monday!

Make it a great day!

100 years . . . .

"The future has a way of arriving unannounced."
-George Will


Happy Friday!
Make the most of your weekend!
xo

Life is for YOU! . . . .

Happy Monday! 

Make it a great week!

You might want to take this call . . . .

What do people live for? . . . .

I came across this video over at The Lettered Cottage, and it made me cry.... happy tears.  You will love this video about ordinary people living extraordinary dreams.  Enjoy.

"I hope your dreams take you....to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known."

-Unknown

Love what you do . . . .

Loving what you do isn't about having the perfect job, the best home, or the smartest kids. And it's not about having a life without problems. In fact, it's not about having it all. It's about doing. When you focus on what you do and not on what you have, you do it better, you have more fun, make a difference, touch more lives, and feel a sense of fulfillment that only doing can give you. The greatest irony, however, is that life becomes easier when you're having fun. This doesn't mean you have to learn to enjoy what you're doing. Things change, and so might what you decide to do from time to time. But it does mean that wherever you are today, you can start focusing on the doing and have fun making a difference in the lives that you touch.

-From the book Choose Them Wisely

"When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts, the circle of Creation is completed inside us, the doors of our souls fly open and love steps forth to heal everything in sight."

-Michael Bridge


Happy Friday!
Have a lovely weekend!
Photo via .la douleur exquise.

A sweet animated video . . . .

....that reminds us of 

the important things in life.

A special Thank You to my friend Sharon, 

for sharing with me!

Permission Granted . . . .

You have permission to be who you are. You have permission to love what you love. You have permission to be with the people you wish to be with and to do the things you want to do. You have permission to ask questions, to experience all the pains and pleasures of your life.

You have permission to listen to your body's needs and to meet those needs. You have permission to explore your inner heart. You do not have to separate yourself into airtight compartments labeled body, mind, soul, spirit. You have permission to be a whole person, not a fragmented collection of miscellaneous parts.

You do not have to twist yourself into a pretzel to become someone you are not. You don't have to squeeze yourself into a tight little box to fit someone else's expectations. The universe has given you permission to be yourself.

Breathe a sigh of relief. 

Allow growth and change to happen. 

You have spent too much time beating yourself up for the wrong reasons. 

It will be all right.
Permission is granted.

From the book 

The Art of Encouragement

by

Candy Paull

Photo by Joel Rhodin via Agent Bauer

Excitement bubbles . . . .

Tomorrow's the big day! I've been in rehearsals for 12 weeks for my local Dancing With The Stars fund raiser event, and it's been amazing. . . . tons of fun, huge smiles, lots of laughter, learning how to dance hip-hop, and especially how to add the attitude that goes with it! I've learned that you cannot be shy and dance hip-hop! When I first blogged about this event, I used a quote by Bernice Johnson Reagon that says, "Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you. They're supposed to help you discover who you are."  Oh so true. No paralysis here! I have embraced this new experience with all my being, and reminded myself that this, too, is just one more journey that has helped me continue to live a no-regret life. When it's all said and done, I will have one more check mark on my bucket list, a lot of money will have been raised for a good cause, and I'll have memories that will bring a smile to my face for years to come.  

I wanted to share  post #527 from Neil over at 1000 Awesome Things, and what he has to say about the night before a big day.  I am relating at this moment. 

Happy Friday!

Life is waiting for you

to give it direction,

to give it meaning,

and to provide a spark.

Invite good things into

your life this weekend!

Photo by Steve Vorderman 

Accepting the challenge . . . .

My schedule is ramping up with a few new commitments that I'm very excited about. One of which is that I have begun dance rehearsals for my local Dancing with the Stars fund raiser event that will take place in November. I was nominated to dance, accepted the challenge, and hope to raise lots of money for this great charity. As I have said before, I have chosen to live a 'no regret' life and dancing in front of 1,200 people at this event is something I might have walked away from just a few years ago. Walking into the unknown is scary (I'm dancing hip-hop!), but I am psyched about doing something new and looking forward to the challenge. Bernice Johnson Reagon once said, "Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you. They're supposed to help you discover who you are." Begin to look for your challenge and choose to make that discovery about yourself.

Photo via Google Images

We get to be here! . . . .

I love what Neil of 1,000 Awesome Things has to say about living life! He says....

"We get to live! We get to be here! We're in the 80% of the world who can read, the 20% of the world with Internet access, and the some-other-percent of the world who as time to stop and think about things like happiness and small pleasures and awesome moments.

I guess I like to stop and remember sometimes that we'll never be as young as we are right now. We only get a hundred years to enjoy everything in this world. Every single person we know will be gone in a hundred years - from grocery store cashiers, to telemarketers who call us at dinner, to the people behind us at movies. We've only got a hundred years to enjoy interior design, horoscope signs, books, buffets, and radio waves, clean sheets and good movie seats, bakery air, rain hair, bubble wrap, and illegal naps.

So I think my personal highlight has been that - remembering and reminding myself how much joy and happiness there really is in the simple things in life. And how important they are to so many of us every day."

Thank you Neil.

Photo by Antti Viitala via One League Artists