August 16, 2014 In appreciation, art, creativity, inspiration, optimism, philosophy By Patricia Saxton

Outrageous Happiness #7: If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out

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Raise your hand if you have enough time.   …. Anyone? Well, I can probably think of a few people with way too much time on their hands, but I’m certainly not one of them and I don’t personally know anyone who would honestly raise their hand.

So if we’re all pressed for time, squeezed, squished and otherwise finding ourselves on the short end of the time stick by the end of the day, how the heck do we make more time? How do we fit in those things we want to do around all the things we have to do or feel compelled or honor-bound to do?

Until we have (or make) that honest-to-goodness good-sized chunk of time, the answer lies in moments. And a bit of compromise. And a willingness to surrender.

Like tonight. Busy moving from one thing onto the next, I passed by my piano. My poor, beautiful, neglected piano. This time, instead of more longing and neglect, I decided to sit down and play. Just a few melodies, even just a few notes if that’s what it took ~ but I would run my fingers across the keys and fall in, devoted only to the music for that moment in time. Pure presence.

I might have played longer, but ~ there wasn’t time ~ so I made the proverbial “most of it”. In those 5 minutes I found new songs and songs found me and by the end there was a smile on my face and calm in my bones. Maybe only temporary, just a quick spiritual snack; but hours later I still feel the lift.

It was all in the surrender. A nice shot of happy with lingering ramifications.

And that’s what makes stealing moments worthwhile. Sometimes we just need to grab ’em. Because if we don’t do things that feed our spirit, we’ll be quite the opposite of outrageously happy. So take 5, surrender and sing out!

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Take 5 to:

Play an instrument

Sing

Meditate / Yoga

Listen to the birds

Have some ice cream :  )

Dance

Ride a bike

Take a walk

Laugh out loud

Write something sloppy in your journal

Have an appreciation rampage

Drop off cookies to a friend

I’m sure you can think of something!

 

How’s your Outrageous Happiness going?

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August 10, 2014 In appreciation, art, creativity, inspiration, optimism, philosophy By Patricia Saxton

Outrageous Happiness #6: Get Soaked

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Get wet. And I don’t mean dip your toe in a puddle, I mean jump in the puddle.

Dance, yes, dance in the rain. Float down a river. Wallow in a stream. Sail on a lake and slide yourself overboard. Get yourself to the sea ~ smell the sea, watch the sea, dip into the sea and drench yourself in its salty passion. Sponge in those marvelously charged ions! Be a mermaid (or merman). Swim. Swim. Swim. (If you don’t know how, learn. This is not up for discussion.) Do handstands in the pool; do cannonballs off the side.

When was the last time you ran through a water sprinkler? Go on ~ do it ~ get soaked!

Water is essential to life. It sustains us. It also softens hard edges and dislodges stuck bits. It cleanses. It reminds us to flow and move and refresh and renew. It allows us to wash away troubles we really don’t need and bathe in rejuvenation.

So don’t just sit there, plunge in and splash around. Let it baptize you, stir you, bless you! Submerge, immerse, get yourself a good sopping wet, head to toe.

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How’s your Outrageous Happiness going?

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July 30, 2014 In appreciation, art, creativity, inspiration, optimism, philosophy By Patricia Saxton

Outrageous Happiness #5: Not Getting it Done

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For argument’s sake, let’s just agree that multi-tasking is overrated. Oh sure, it’s one thing to fold laundry while talking on the phone, but it’s another to reply to emails while talking on the phone. (And, by the way, I’ll know if you’re doing the latter, so don’t even try it!) It’s one thing to sing while driving; another to text. It’s great to “kill two birds with one stone”, but you won’t get any birds if you’re over there juggling nineteen plates. You get my point. It’s about focus.

And sometimes that means something doesn’t get done. (GASP!) Or it doesn’t get done at the prescribed time. Or it gets done, but falls short of the mark (commonly referred to in some circles as doing a half – a_ _ed job).

Like right now. I’m up to my eyeballs in stuff that needs to get done. Being a “doer” my tendency is to do whatever it takes to keep my commitment to x, y and z. Often to my own detriment – lack of sleep, feelings of frustration, anger, “what was I thinking?” syndrome. Definitely not the peace of mind one might expect from accomplishment.

But what if…. what if, I only got to x and y. What if I only got to x? I’ll tell you what won’t happen – the world won’t fall apart at the seams as a result of my failing to meet all three.

So, being the rather smart girl that I am, I’m getting ahead of the game and deciding that it’s okay. What gets done will get done, what doesn’t, won’t, and so be it. As long as I’m not hurting anyone or causing hardship, I think it’s safe to say that my own welfare counts in all this. Sanity is good.

Really showing off my smarts, (hold on to your hats), I know that to make this work I need to prioritize. This way, if y and z fall by the wayside this week, I won’t beat myself up. Which I rather like.

So here’s to not getting it done. What an outrageously liberating thought.

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How’s your Outrageous Happiness going?

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May 8, 2013 In life and the universe By Patricia Saxton

Things We Hold On To

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I have this bag. Old as the hills, ripped and torn. Well-worn and well-loved, liked an old toy. Every other day or so I stuff my swim stuff inside and head off for my laps, and don’t give it a second thought other than “wow, I’ve had this bag for ever.”  Jansport would be proud of the longevity of their product, if not disappointed that I haven’t purchased a replacement yet.

So why do I hold on to it? Is it sentimental value? Prudence? Is it the Scot in me , the “waste not, want not” philosophy I was raised with? Is it just not that important to me to have a shiny new bag for my workout stuff?

It’s all those things, really. When the final seam rips clean I’ll let it go, but for now it serves a purpose and I like it. I like that it’s red and I like its traveled past. But it got me thinking, why do any of us hold on to any variety of things?

My Dad stored things like old scraps of wood and old nails. I remember a whole wall of them in his workshop, separated by straight ones and bent ones and rusty ones and shiny ones. We always figured this was a reaction to having been raised during the Great Depression. He held on to old nails the way some people hold on to old clothes or fancy dreams. The way some hold on to hurtful relationships, or to beliefs they never questioned. Some cling to illness, some to grief, some to judgment. Some to hope.

Something else got me thinking about this, too. I’ve been getting to know a marvelous group of people who recently shared personal stories – their life stories. Every one has a story, right? But not all stories are created equal, and I can’t tell you how deeply moved I felt reading their unrehearsed words, the baring of their souls with eloquent, often heart-wrenching honesty, intertwined with humor and wisdom gleaned from some pretty intense experiences all their own, yet experiences that could also be seen as windows to parts of the universal human condition.

And what does that have to do with holding on to things? A lot. Because we all keep a hold on certain things ~ and then, in order to be healthy, move on or make room ~ we let them go. These friends gripped (and grappled with) things as long as it took to learn the next step, to make it out, to be okay, to find grace, to feel safe, to understand forgiveness, to be grateful. They either learned, or are in the process of learning, how to let go of that which doesn’t serve their highest good. And they’ve discovered, or are in the process of forging, new pathways that DO serve. They are remarkable, beautiful souls.

We’re the only ones to make that call for ourselves. Someone may nudge, “Hey Mom, you know your bag is basically a tattered rag? You could replace it you know. Just a suggestion…” But when it comes to bigger things, like Big Emotional Trappings, a nudge is pretty weak. It might even backfire. Later, when someone comes to their own peace with something, has had their own awakenings, made their own decisions, fluttered their own wings, they may look back and wonder why they held on to something for so long, or why didn’t they listen to anyone (including their own inner voice),  ~ but that’s when they take their life back. That’s when the magic kicks in. It’s a freedom song. And really, we all want to feel we have a little say along our journey.

No one can move the hands of the clock for someone else. We all wear different shoes, walk to our own rhythm, see with our own eyes, feel with our own hearts and find ways to nurture our own souls. We grasp on and linger with things – and people and conditions and situations – until we recognize their worth has gone, until we’re able to walk away, knowing they no longer define us and knowing, then, that releasing stuff is the right thing to do.

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