Pondering... 30 in 30 - Day 1

"Best to be like water... it pools where humans disdain to dwell." -- Tao Te Ching

Today I will begin with openness. I will play with these crazy thoughts and nonsensical experiences that flow through my mind as I awaken this day. I will be adventuresome and see where the ideas invite me to go. I will be like a child on summer vacation allowing myself to move through my list of desires and needs with playful abandon and an open heart. When things cease to become play I will stop and breathe.

I will remember the wholeness of delight and joy that comes when I declare myself "Enough." To stand in my own power and desire brings richness to my life. The words shift and form until they announce "I am fully alive." I am created to play and my life is not about work.

Today I will begin with the nonsensical and allow myself to not make sense of it all for this would be an exercise in futility. I will begin this day with openness, pleasure and curiosity. I will invite play into my moments. I will allow my words to flow like water and dare to travel to the place that others resist. Today I will begin with me.

Prizes for you... Inspiration for me... Check it out!!!

Diamonds in the Soul - helping high-functioning, under-living people uncover & maintain personal delight & joy in life.

Prizes for YOU... Inspiration for ME...

Today I return refreshed, renewed and inspired after unplugging and luxuriating in a solid week of pure heaven. No cell phones, internet, or Facebook. No meals to cook or beds to make. Dancing in the morning. Writing in the afternoon. Laughing and strolling through the warm summer evenings. A gentle schedule provided with the encouragement to ask the question moment by moment: What do I want? This beauty was enhanced by the surrounding wisdom and spirit of 30 vast, varied and like-minded souls as we found ourselves tucked into the high desert of Taos, New Mexico residing in a retreat center that has nurtured such greats as Georgia O’Keefe, Ansel Adams, Natalie Goldberg and Jennifer Louden.

Lest the afterglow drift away like stars disappearing on a cloudy night, I am delighted to share one of my fabulous brainstorms from the week away. Even though it was hatched at 4:30 a.m. while snuggled in the bathtub with pillows, pen and pad, I believe it still holds water. Everyone loves a contest, right? So, here it is: A pondering contest. Prizes for you. Continued Inspiration for me.

MY CHALLENGE: 30 posts in 30 days. For the next 30 days I will post a new "pondering" on Diamonds in the Sky with Lucy. This is to inspire and encourage the completion of my extraordinary writing project: Pondering - 365 days of reflection through metaphor, life experience and the practice of presence.

YOUR CHALLENGE: It's simple. Send me a topic to ponder and you become eligible for one of three fantastic prizes. Your entry can be in the form of a question, word, idea, thought or anything you'd like to see explored through my unique lens. Topics will be accepted via blog comments, email, Facebook comments and, in some cases, telepathic methods. (wink wink)

PRIZES: Everyone who sends in a topic for consideration will be entered in a drawing for these fabulous prizes:

• First prize: One hour of coaching with yours truly.
• Second prize: Six original notecards or one 12" x 18" print by fabulous photographer, Bill Hughlett.
• Third prize: Autographed first edition copy of Grace Unbound - a collection of musings and photos by Kayce & Bill Hughlett

DETAILS: Entries will be accepted throughout the month of August, however, only entries received between now and August 14, will be eligible for prizes.

Topics selected for use will be entered into the drawing twice. If you'd like to be acknowledged as the "ponder prompter" when your selection is used, please let me know. I'm happy to link to websites and other blogs. Please note: there are no guarantees you will recognize your prompt once it travels through my mind sieve. (e.g. a prompt on potatoes could end up being about wrecked rental cars.)

ACT NOW! It's a win-win situation. Prizes for you and inspiration for me!! Woohoo!!!

Diamonds in the Soul - helping high-functioning, under-living people uncover & maintain personal delight & joy in life.

Multi-generational Mojo

Hey, Friends. This week I am hanging out with the amazing Jennifer Louden and a whole bunch of really fantastic writers. Before I took off for Taos, one of my rockin' new friends, Kanesha Baynard, invited me to share the tale of my recent multi-generational jog at her delightful blog, it's a full nest. Pop on over and check it out!

Diamonds in the Soul - helping high-functioning, under-living people uncover & maintain personal delight & joy in life.

Love Letter to a Season

Dear Summer:

I love you with your unique pace and rhythm. I feel blessed and fortunate to be able to make choices that allow me to feel the spaciousness of your season. I like cutting back on regular routines and creating new adventures. It's like designing my own version of camp. I truly do feel like a kid on holiday exploring all sorts of new adventures. Studying French and ballet. Completing a 1/2 marathon with my some of my favorite peeps. Having friends and family come to visit. Lazier morning schedules. Summer, you offer incredible long days where I hold off putting on my pj's until almost 9:30 p.m. or you leisurely invite me to stay in them all day. The hours are filled with kitty-snuggling and beach strolling. Reading to my heart's content.

You know you've always been my favorite season and I'm really a kid at heart who loves the simple pleasures. Dreaming isn't about doing the next "big" thing - although it definitely could be. Last week my heart's desire popped out that I want to live in France. Now how would I even know that? I've spent eight days in Paris. Period. And I'm not sure Paris is where I'd even choose to live, but it's fun to have a fabulous dream. It doesn't mean I won't be happy unless or until I get there. It's actually plenty fun to live right now, because truly I have all I need.

So what do I do with ma fantasie de la Francaise? Well... I pull out my drive time French CD's. I buy baguette and cheese for dinner. I practice ordering cafe au lait en francais and I listen to lots of French pop music. Why? Because it makes me happy and brings me pleasure and delight. It speaks the language of summer. Does that mean I'm living in a fantasy world? Mais non! After all, that's what kids do in the summer time - especially if their parents don't overload them with activities designed to "get ahead" in the world. We've lost the art of doing nothing. I firmly believe it should be a part of everyone's day in every season! Summer, thank you for reminding me this is the natural order of life. When I do the little things that bring me joy (like taking French & ballet, "just because") it makes me feel so incredibly happy that those around me can't help but feel good too! It's like warm sun spreading across the sky after a long gray winter. Joy is contagious!

If teacher asked me to write what I did on my summer vacation, here are a few of the top adventures I'd share. French Kissing Life with Tonya Leigh; Martha's magical training tour; reading teen novels; climbing rock walls; having minor surgery and getting a "bad ass" scar (my daughter's interpretation). Cutting back on weekly hours, developing a rockin' new curriculum; planning a fabulous retreat; hanging out with friends; visiting the Olympic peninsula and my grownup son; eating lots of frozen yogurt with my employed daughter; sitting in the sunshine reading Tao te Ching while my beloved takes amazing photographs; ferry and convertible rides; deep contemplative practice and extensive examination of the back of my eye lids; siestas after lunches of fresh-grilled veggies; making delicious food just because; planning fantasy dinner parties that one day will happen; signing up for Fall adventures that make me quake with excitement and just a tinge of fear; discovering green smoothies; going Vegan for a few days; dreaming and dancing; living and loving life. Rest and respite.

Summer, what can I say? Merci, beaucoups. Je t'aime!

Diamonds in the Soul - helping high-functioning, under-living people uncover & maintain personal delight & joy in life.

A Simple Sunday Post

Freedom, pleasure and ritual. What are mine? Stretching before I arise. Steaming hot coffee, fresh in the moment. A burning candle to awaken my senses. Music for ears and soul. Gentle pleasures. A desire to live in France or at least embrace the joie de vivre. To not fear dying. To not fear living. Awakening to everything. Pleasure. Desire. Wellness. Fear.

Freedom to speak my mind and share my magic. To spread my arms and soar like an eagle or the graceful pelican along the Sonoran sea. Pleasure to walk on the beach and feel the sand between my toes. To climb a rock wall and feel the strength of my body. To witness the lean and toned muscles in my arms that share the same body with crepe paper thighs. To knowingly love the signs and tokens of where I’ve been and who I am.

What brings you freedom and pleasure? What is the ritual that awakens your senses?

lucy's climb © 6.2011