Your Story Matters

Mom & Dad on their Wedding Day

My mom passed away in January, 2001. I still miss her and want to honor her today. She was an incredibly generous woman and always gave great gifts for birthdays and Christmas. The best gifts she gave, though, aren’t the kind you wrap up.

5 gifts my mom gave me:

1. She liked to have fun. My mom played. She really enjoyed laughing and was a bit of a jokester.
2. She saw past our faults. Though I’m sure my mistakes and those of my siblings grieved her, she forgave and looked beyond. She believed in us.
3. She tried new things. Mom was adventurous in learning new skills, going to school, building a career later in life and in traveling. She did all of this without the emotional support of my dad – that’s amazing to me. She was a strong, courageous woman.
4. She was proud of her kids & grandkids. She bragged about us and was proud to introduce us to others.
5. She liked her kids and really enjoyed spending time with us. I love that she wasn’t afraid of getting dirty or ruining her clothes. The fact that my dad wasn’t around didn’t stop her from taking us places. Some of my favorite memories with her are of going to Disneyland, South Lake Tahoe, camping or just playing games.

Today, I feel extra grateful for my mom. Writing this list has caused that. I wish I’d done this when she was alive. It would have really blessed her. Thank you, Mom!

Now your turn…what gifts has your mom given you? Have you told her?

Today I’ve been working on a new blog design. When I uploaded my new background, I remembered this clip:

Isn’t it great how Heimlich’s friends help him to realize his dream of flying?

This brief post is the about the power of relationships.

At 3:40 this morning – not able to fall back asleep – I went online and watched this video. It challenged me. Watch it and then I’ll tell you why.

(a note to women: the video says it’s about men but it’s about women, too. Stay open.)

(if you can’t see the video, watch it here)

One of my struggles in life is with letting myself draw close to others – even with my family. I tend to fill my life with busyness. These days I’m seeing that often I do that as a way to stay distant.  To be fair (to me), part of that is personality. I’m part introvert and gain strength from distance and solitude.  The other part, though, is self-protection. I think self  protection at times (but not always) is a sin. It’s selfishly motivated to keep my heart feeling safe from others and even God. It doesn’t work and it’s a lie.

We were designed for relationship…intimate relationship. It’s in my DNA (it’s in your DNA) to have genuine, close relationships with God, other people (a trusted few), and with our own person. I don’t think it’s possible to grow, to become who we were made to be or to reach our potential apart from close healthy relationships with God, others and self. The more I distance myself, the more my heart stays hard in places…the more I stay stuck. I need these relationships to help me live a better story.

This video reminded me of that.

Who might you gather around you to inspire a life of significance?

Nic Askew, from the The Possibility of Men

>>find out more about this video…visit www.soulbiographies.com/2011/01/the-possibility-of-men

Your turn….what do you think of the video? What does it make you think about?

My “three words” goals this week to help me live a better story…

Art: Read about Vincent van Gogh from at least one source. I’ve been intrigued by this artist ever since I was a kid. That’s his “Starry Night Over the Rhone“ in the banner image above.  I saw it and many others by him when we traveled to France two summers ago. We also visited many of the locations where he actually painted. I want to learn more about him…to get “in his head” a bit.

Health: Drink at least 32 oz of water each day. I’m so busy during the day at work that I usually don’t drink enough water. This week I’ll fill up my 32 oz bottle and keep it on my desk. My sister jump started her weight loss by drinking more water – maybe I’ll do the same.

Stillness: Write my “morning pages” at least 4 days this week. In the Artist’ s Way and on her website, Julia Cameron says,

In order to retrieve your creativity, you need to find it. I ask you to do this by an apparently pointless process I call the morning pages…Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages– they are not high art. They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only.

I’m trying to keep it simple. I think the path to living a better story is taken by baby steps.

Be Art-Full.  Be Healthy.  Be Still.

Do you have any goals or hopes for this week?