JAN 4th Parable of Progress: The Princess & the Sharpie

There was once a Princess who liked to draw and paint. 

As such, she tended to doodle on whatever didn't move. This Princess had a room in her castle: a tiny bathroom, with plain white walls. And she waited and waited for her Prince to paint said walls. 

He was too busy out slaying dragons to do the painting, so one day the Princess decided "That's it!" She took up her Royal Sharpie, and started drawing a Doodle Universe right onto the walls! 

Oh, she had a plan. First, the doodle in black Sharpie. Next, some subtle shading. Then, some sponged on soft color in the background. And finally, a few spots of bold accent color here and there.

The Princess started her daring project in the summertime, in August. But by winter, with Christmas already come and gone, she was only just finishing up the last wall... of the doodled sharpie drawing!! She hadn't even started the shading or color yet. Even taking into account that she couldn't stand very long each time she worked on the drawing, it had still taken so much longer and had been so much harder than she thought it would be. 

At times she got discouraged and wondered why she had even started (whose briliant idea WAS this?!). She even toyed with the idea of compromise... just letting it stay in black and white, and forgetting all the work it would take to add the color.

And naturally, she thought about her journey to health. How it, too, had taken so much longer than she had hoped, and been so much harder than she could have imagined. And how she had gotten discouraged, and toyed with ideas of compromise.

But as she finished up the last doodle element on the last wall... she knew she would finish it, and add the color. The right way. All the way. No matter how long it took, no matter how hard it was.

And she also knew the same would be true for her journey to the best possible health. She would continue, all the way, no matter how long it took, no matter how hard it was.

For photos of all the walls, the process, and the symbolism behind the designs, I invite anyone interested to visit my art blog (Art By Retta)  where I go into that kind of detail. :-)

Enjoy the Journey (no matter how long it takes and no matter how hard it is at times),

Loretta

Day 2031

DEC 31st Peace & My New Theme Badge

Well, time for a new Theme poster for my side bar! I can't believe 2012 is over... whoosh, and it's gone!

I wasn't going to do another. I was feelish sheepish about mine from this last year. 

But a friend asked about it, and encouraged me to do one (thanks, Margaret!). To Believe, to go forward. So...

After thinking about it, I realized I wanted my theme for 2013 to be: PEACE

Even while I work on my health goals, I can do it with peace. Not striving and full of angst. Not whining or regretting. Not looking backward, but rather forward.

Remember that saying?  Let go and let God

My peace comes from the Prince of Peace, not dependent upon external events or circumstances. In fact, sometimes those circumstances can be kinda crummy! But regardless of how it feels at times, I know God is in ultimate control; willing to heal, encourage, guide and give us His peace. Sometimes I have to remind myself of all this, in order to experience that peace. I want to work on stuff, to fix it, to "make it better". And this year offered some tragic events, that hurt so many. And brought up many questions, to which I have no adequate answers.

Hence... I must let go, and trust God. And that brings peace.

People may not always be good, but God is. That's the foundation for my peace. That's just what I believe with all my heart. 

I took the design for my Theme from some doodling I've been doing on my walls at home! (I'll post more about that another day). Edited to add link to that post HERE.

Here's the wall shot (can click on any pics to enlarge):

Cropped it and cleaned it up:

Inverted it:

Added text:

And finally, added some subtle color... 

can't do without that color, dontcha know!

I hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful 2013!

Enjoy the journey peacefully,

Loretta

DEC 26th Improving Focus & The Hanging Neck

I loved this POST by Jules, in which she recalled her accomplishments from 2012. It made me realize I had started to focus too much on that fact that I was ending this year heavier than when I started.  

Yes, I needed to learn from it and make course corrections. But after I read her post, I started thinking about making my own "accomplishment list". In fact, I was toying with calling it "What I Learned In 2012". Just remembering some of it was encouraging! And that brought it home to me how much focus I had been putting on my disappointment in the weight loss... or lack thereof. 

My focus was aimed in the wrong direction! I want to focus, instead, on where I am going, and what I WANT, not on what I don't want... on my goals and dreams, and not get stuck in my mistakes. Also, on NOW... to LIVE in the present.

I had to remind myself that what I focus on GROWS! So I'd better take careful aim. I must admit, I'm feeling hugely  encouraged since I've been working on that consciously.

One of the comments on that post from Jules was from June, at The Path to Health.   I visited June's blog, and was set to giggling over the ending of THIS POST  of hers. It tickled my funny bone, because I knew just what she meant! 

She had posted a photo of herself... taken lying down! And made reference to a certain episode of The Golden Girls, and how that was the only position (laying down looking up into the camera) from which she wanted to take the photo, feeling old at the moment. 

Why could I relate?? Because just a few days ago I had to renew my drivers license. Yes... a new photo was required... aargh. It was... not what I had hoped!  (I was going to write ghastly, but that doesn't sound too positive, does it?!) :-D

The guy taking the photo kept saying "just relax". I thought I was relaxed. Later, as I was moaning about how awful it looked, MyGuy said: "He TOLD you to relax, and was trying to help, because you had your lips pursed!"

Well, THIS IS ME! Pursed lips, hanging neck and all! The alternative is to be under a tombstone, so I might as well "be thankful in all circumstances".

Instead of writing out my "accomplishment list for 2012" here today, I'd really rather include something I stumbled upon Christmas eve. I'd read it before, but maybe the timing is just right this time, and it struck a chord in me. 

The verses below were found written on the wall of a children's home in Calcutta, India, that Mother Teresa ran. Some say they seem to be adapted from something originally written by Kent M Keith in 1968. But Mother Teresa changed a few words and made it her own, especially her reference to God at the end.

I love Mother Teresa's version... so here it is in full. I want to keep this in mind going into this bright new year of 2013:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. 

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. 

Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.

Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.

Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

Enjoy the journey anyway,

Loretta

Post 2022

Have A Blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all,

Loretta

End o' the World, So Let It All Hang Out!!

Well, since the Mayans seemed to predict the end of the world tomorrow, or at the very least the beginning of some cataclysmic events... I thought I'd take this opportunity to let my opinion fly!!

About what??  I was thinking about sarcasm lately. It can be witty, clever and/or funny when aimed in a general direction. But...ever been in the receving end of it, aimed at you personally?? It can bite... it can sting, depending upon the source. 

It's called DISRESPECT. 

This is what the good ol' dictionary says... 

SARCASM:

the use of irony to mock or convey contempt...

derision

mockery

ridicule

scorn

sneering

scoffing

cynicism

Wow... talk about disrespect... Yowch!

And I've been thinking about it, asking myself what was it in me that responds to sarcasm so negatively. Someone with a different background might just say "eh", and shrug it off, not giving it much thought.

I, on the otherhand, was surprised, disappointed and hurt by my run-in with it. That was MY response. The other person didn't "do" that to me. They are responsible for offering the stick of dynamite, but I'm responsible for adding the match to the fuse. 

So I'm trying to learn from it. And as I thought about it, I remembered hearing sarcasm growing up. It seems to me that the "best" sarcasm, the snarkiest and wittiest, usually came from "smart" people. They had a knack with words, and unless held back by kindness, they knew how to let it fly. 

That's what I remember as a kid... some "smart" adults with the ability to make biting, witty, sarcastic remarks, aimed at individuals. Hey, I like a good joke as much as the next guy. Just not used to hurt individuals, ya know what I mean?? 

Wanna guarantee that the people in your life withdraw from you? That they avoid you? That they shut you out? Just be sure to treat them with sarcasm. Oh, and be sure to do it in anger; that's a winning combo, for sure. <yes, read: sarcasm>

Funny thing... I searched for the word "sarcasm" in the Bible. Not there! At least not in the many, many different translations I checked. The only one I found it in was a modern version that was written in everyday, casual language. Here's what I found:

"Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless--that's your job, to bless..." (I Peter 3:8, emphasis mine)

Boy, that gets the point across. :-O

So all this thinkin' led to even more thinkin'... when I goof up on this whole weight loss/health journey thing, how often do I aim that same kind of sarcastic barb AT MYSELF??!! That jerked me up short, since the answer was too often. Ack! :-O

The antidote? 

Kindness. 

Let's all extend it not only to others, but to ourselves, as well!

I can require more from myself...

I can be willing to get comfortable with being uncomfortable...

I can remember their are no shortcuts to success...

I can start doing what I say I believe is necessary to succeed...

I can remember I'm fooling myself to think it will get better without DOING the right choices...

I can stop pampering myself, or feeling sorry for myself...

But through it all, up or down, succeeding or stumbling... I can do it with kindness. 

SO CUT OUT ANY SARCASTIC self-talk, Loretta!!

Yes, ma'am.

If the world doesn't end on the 21st, then a New Year is coming soon (can you believe that?!). Let's all listen closely not only how we talk to others, but how we talk to OURSELVES!

Even as we uplift, encourage and wildly wave our pom poms in the air for others, let's include ourselves in that support. 

As his children drifted off to sleep, every night Tommy Newberry, author of The 4:8 Principle,   whispered in their ears:

 "You are a beautiful, 

wonderful child of God."

I like that. :-)

Enjoy the Journey... said without sarcasm! :-D)))

Loretta

Day 2016

12/12/12 Bluebirds & The End of the World

Well, it would appear we are still here. It's not the end of the world today, as some interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar predicted. Whew... that's a relief. ;-)

(Edited to add: it was pointed out to me that most people thinks "it" could happen on Dec 21st... so we still have plenty of time to enjoy the holidays! ha ha ha)

I recently bought myself a little Christmas present (since I assumed Christmas would, indeed, arrive). They are a vintage set of little glass Bluebirds of Happiness.

They are symbolic to me... they remind me of several things. Life is fragile (glass), handle with care.

My favorite color has long been blue. My wedding cake was decorated with blue roses, and my wedding dress had little blue forget-me-nots embroidered on the bodice. I have a small collection of blue glass bottles.

Part of the lyrics to the song "Over the Rainbow" are:

Somewhere over the rainbow

Bluebirds fly.

Birds fly over the rainbow.

Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly

Beyond the rainbow

Why, oh why can't I?

To me, it's about hope. About believing in your dream. About never giving up. These little guys make me smile when I look at them. They remind me that with God, all things are possible. To keep believing, to trust, to never give up.

This has been a tough year for me. Physically, medically, emotionally. I ended up the year heavier than when I started it. I experimented with several different things, and most were... ahem... mistakes. Or maybe I just didn't do them right. And part of the time, I just got plain discouraged and didn't try hard enough. That's just the truth.  

All I know is... to keep going. To keep on keepin' on. 

To learn from my mistakes, and to make changes where necessary. Some of those changes might be hard, but one of the things I've learned is: respect yourself, respect others. And even when you goof up on this journey, learn from it and go on; don't treat yourself with disrespect. And don't let anyone else do it, either. 

Like I said, life is fragile, and so are people. We are all going through "stuff". We might not know what the other guy is going through, but life being what it is... you can bet that sooner or later, we all need that soft place to land, that benefit of the doubt, that bit of kindness.

If anyone is reading this, I wish you the most wonderful Christmas! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, then I bless you with a wonderful winter!

My book quote for today: "The basis for this book is the advice of the apostle Paul as recorded in Philipians 4:8, where he challenges us to seek out and dwell on the positives in our lives. When we look for places where God's character is revealed, we are reminded of his presence in our lives, and we are blessed." --Tommy Newberry, The 4:8 Principle

My verse for today: "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way."

My quote for today: "Speak only when your words are more beautiful than the silence." Arabic proverb

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=

DAY 1208

NOV 16th A Pig, A Story & A Disclaimer

Was over reading Sean's blog this morning (Daily Diary of a Winning Loser) and one of the comments made me stop and think. 

See, Sean has recently returned to writing on his blog, after a few months of struggling with being somewhat off course. And the commentor said she has been a little put off by his recent "motivational" posts on Facebook, and how they made her feel a little "inferior". She graciously apologized for misjudging him, not realizing at the time that he was talking more to himself than anyone else (side note: no one "makes" us feel any way; we choose how we respond).

Anyway... the reason this caught my attention was because I, too, am struggling, and was all set to write a post today telling about the little "motivational" project I just finished, which I had talked about yesterday over at my art blog, Art By Retta.

I've said it here many times, but now realize it wouldn't hurt to say it again: I write what *I* need to hear, most of all. Just like Sean, and many others bloggers. 

I guess I forget to mention that most of the time, and come off as a happy/chirpy/got-it-all-together know it all!  Eeek! That sure isn't how I feel. And I would hate to think anyone felt "inferior" by mistakenly thinking that just because most of the time I choose to focus on the positives and possibilities, that means I have it all together... Not!

I feel like Michelangelo, who said:

So... with all the disclaimers out of the way ;-)

here is the link to my post "A Pig With A Story".

My book quote for today: "I can't overemphasize the importance of developing mental discipline." --Tommy Newberry, The 4:8 Principle

My verse for today: "I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints--but let them not return to folly."

My quote for today: "In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity." --Albert Einstein

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=

DAY 1181