My Blog .... My Journal

September is almost upon us. The weather is getting delightfully cooler. 2010 will be gone before we know it.

My 'one word' for 2010 is WELL-BEING. How am I doing?

One facet of me has changed ... and hense I now flourish ! "I worry less"

If the weeds are overtaking my flowerbeds, it is evidence of my abstinence of the use of chemicals. Our health and our planet are suffering, so I let all of God's creation flourish my my yard. That includes weeds and bugs.

I have taken up causes that are slow to catch on, like Fair Trade and organic farming and buying local to limit the carbon imprint. This has taught me patience. I am but one person and my impact on change is quite small. But if I can save one mother and child the pain of forced labor/child labor in an impoverished country, then my efforts are not for naught. It is by the grace of God that I am not that mother and that is not my child ... but were our fates reversed, I would hope that "someone" would care. And I do. The causes for which I now have a voice make me realize my problems are few .. so I worry less.

My friends. A very dear person in my life, Alice, in her genuine and distinctive way, taught me to be accepting, despite knowing not all will "accept me." This is life and it is OK. The friends in my present are just that ... accepting. There is no competition or thought given to 'who is skinniest', the clothes we wear or where we get our hair done, our homes are open & welcoming despite the dust bunnies multiplying in the corners or the stack of mail on the coffee table. We care when someone's cat is missing and we share out deepest secrets during Book Club when a character or plot make us cry. We applaud each other's talents, not envy them. Because of this, I am quite comfortable with my "present" friends and as a result ... I worry less. (Thank you Alice for your wisdom. I shall carry it with me always.)

My blog IS my journal. Even if I am the only soul who reads it ... it is for me to to use as a "growth chart". Unlike the kind our parents used, pencil marks on a door jam to commemorate our growing stature through the years, my growth is internal and less obvious to the viewing eye ... but it is growth all the same. And as a result of this evolution, I am happy, I worry less, AND I am living up to my 2010 "one word" ~ Well-Being."