Blog-a-thon Day #10

Life seems so complicated and busy these days. I'm feeling a little off today, AGAIN!   I could be coming down with something, AGAIN. This happened two weeks ago, just a few days before we were supposed to do our rim to rim Grand Canyon hike. We ended up cancelling so as not to lose our hotel deposits. I never got really really sick, but had a touch of something that would have prevented me from feeling 100% strong at the canyon.

We were fortunate enough to get reservations for this weekend. It's the last weekend the North Rim Lodge is open. It's the only one at the North Rim of the Canyon. If we have to cancel this time, we can't do a rim to rim until the spring when it reopens. Such is life. But I am so psyched for this hike, I am willing it not to be so. It's possible I will feel ok by then if this is just a "little" something.

That said, I am going to take today as a quiet day to be home and get my packing done, proceeding "as if". I'm going to attempt to take my level of busyness down a few notches. Kyle is at his program all day so this could be possible.

After he left this morning, I decided to try to rest. I was just going to lay down and do nothing for a little while. That only lasted about half an hour. But during that time, I was thinking back to my childhood days of not feeling good. Being sick, especially if I was real sick, was yucky. However, there were a few fun things about just being a little sick like missing school and those  Luden's wild cherry cough drops in the cardboard boxes. Yum, those were so good. Maybe a new comic book or coloring book was part of the package too.  I certainly didn't lay in bed thinking I should be doing anything else or be anywhere else but where I was.   There was no email to check or long list of things to do that I wasn't doing. There were only five TV channels to choose from but almost always something to watch.

Of course, some of this was a function of being a child. And being a child in the 60's.  But it also reminds me that life has become about busyness, some of which is a function of our technology and overall lifestyle.  There's just so much that needs to be done. Or that we THINK needs to be done. There are  so many choices and so much information. Sometimes too much.

What am I getting at here? I'm not really sure other than sometimes I ache for simplicity. In our busyness, we can easily lose sight of what  is really important. 

 3 simple things to say...

"1. Thank you. Being thankful goes a long way, but it's one thing to feel grateful, and another to express gratitude. Saying thank you out loud brings attention to what and who you are thankful for. Saying thank you first, will make you happier with what you have.

1. I'm sorry. We are all human. We are not perfect. We make mistakes, some more hurtful than others. From the tiniest slip to the biggest offense, an apology will start the healing process. An apology does not deserve forgiveness, but opens the door for the opportunity. There will be a time when someone doesn't know they deserve your apology. You'll know. Give it to them anyway.

1. I love you. Say I love you when you are feeling romantic. Say it when you are happy. Say it when you are sad and even when you are mad. Three words can fix. Three words can soothe. Three words can connect. Say I love you often. Say it before it's too late, and sometimes, even before you are ready.

Speak from the heart and let people know that you care.

Those three phrases make the world go round. They make relationships work, dry up tears, invite smiles and make hearts swell. Say it, sign it, send it, sing it and put it out there."

I didn't write these words but they popped out at me today.  They came from Courtney Carver's "Be More with Less" blog.

Yum. Simplicity.

Quotacious:

"Being with someone, listening without a clock and without anticipation of results, teaches us about love. The success of love is in the loving -- it is not in the result of loving. "

~~Mother Teresa, A Simple Path: Mother Teresa