(not necessarily in that order)
I really appreciated the many words of support in response to my post about making the wrong choice.
It’s so helpful to be reminded that I’m not alone in my little delusive tendencies, and so encouraging to know my friends are rooting for me to turn things around and head in the right direction again.
It was also validating to realize that today’s Sunday service message could have been dedicated especially to me, it was sooooo spot on — from start to finish!
For our Friday date night this week, we rather randomly watched a light romcom movie that was set in Rome.
The movie itself was nothing exceptional, but…! Not only was it in Italy, much of the dialogue was spoken in Italian (real Italian) with subtitles.
It’s amazing how homesick I feel for Europe in general and Lugano in particular, especially not having been there in almost four years.
Adding to my growing the anticipation is the fact that we’ll be visiting Cinque Terre, for my first time!
Today I proved to myself — yet again! — just how important it is to stay focused on the positive: affirming my goals; noticing what’s working; thinking good thoughts; and doing things that raise my energy.
How did I prove it? By doing the exact opposite and watching myself get bogged down in negativity: stewing over my problems; noticing what wasn’t working; thinking worry thoughts; and doing things that lowered my energy.
I let the actions and/or omissions of a couple of people get under my skin; complained about it to several friends; and proceeded to fret over it throughout the day.
The end result was that I felt agitated and restless; got hardly anything accomplished; and ended the day in a mood!
I know this already, yet I still forget sometimes just how crucial it is to keep my thoughts and energies high and uplifted.
Nothing to say and too tired to write.
Good night.
We’re at that stage of the process where it’s feeling like maybe we did, indeed, bite off more than we can chew.
I mean, we’re helping to launch the new Ananda music app; planning for seven weeks away; preparing our place for a guest to stay while we’re gone; recording the live performance of the Oratorio on Good Friday; then leaving for Europe three days after that.
And somewhere in the midst of all this I’m supposedly practicing flute; working on my voice; brushing up on my Italian; resting; meditating; exercising; and being balanced and mindful.
Yeah, right!
But, sure enough, the only solution is to just keep going (or chewing, that is!), in the belief that I will be able to swallow it all down….eventually!
We had a rather dramatic first day of Spring here at Ananda Village, with an afternoon thunder and lightning storm that hit unbelievably close!
It arrived with a sudden BOOM that made us jump, then immediately shut down all our electronics. The one big clap of thunder was followed by a brief but intense hailstorm.
We learned later that some of our close neighbors ended up with fried light bulbs, as well as losing phone and/or internet service.
I arrived at the office a little later to be greeted by these cheery daffodils surrounded by hail. The perfect juxtiposition.
And the photo below (by Satyaki) shows the three pine trees that took the brunt of the lightning strike. Mamma mia.
It’s getting late and I have an early doctor’s appointment in town tomorrow. So, I’m anticipating the vernal equinox with this photo of a blossoming plum tree.
Yes, spring really is almost here!
Words aren’t coming tonight, but this photo beautifully captures the essence of how I’m feeling.
Reflective and a little ambiguous.
Oratorio performance and recording.
American launch of the new Ananda Music App.
10th anniversary of Swami Kriyananda moksha (liberation) day.
Preparing for our first trip to Europe since before the pandemic.
And on top of everything else, it’s now been six months since my bone marrow transplant, which means I’m due to restore the immunizations that were wiped out along with the rest of my immune system (hopefully before the trip to Europe!).
Perhaps it’s being in major “crunch time” that has me craving the extremely satisfying “crunchiness” of popcorn! I haven’t given in yet, but maybe tomorrow…
I don’t know who combined this Jyotish painting with the image of the spiritual eye, but I love it and thought it would be a beautiful vision on which to end the week.
Have a blessed weekend, everyone!