Well, it is spring after all! Am I shedding old skin, undergoing an inner housecleaning, blossoming — starting anew?
Is there a brand new person growing inside me?
Sure feels like it.
In any case, it’s been a long time since we’ve spoken…
Perhaps I should I say it’s been months since my last confession.
Probably not, considering my fairly forthcoming nature — I’m sure I confessed yesterday, or maybe even this morning when I woke up. I don’t mean apologize, I mean something else entirely, although there are quite a few finger-pointing, finger-wagging definitions for this idea of confession.
One typical definition describes acknowledging or avowing a fault, crime, misdeed, weakness, etc. by way of revelation. Pretty dramatic if you think about it.
And besides, we can’t really “get it wrong.” On any given day, we are doing our best in that moment, and that is anything but wrong. Nevertheless, most references to this word “confess” convey the idea of not wanting to hold some sort of wrongdoing secret within oneself.
There is, however, a more life-giving, life-affirming definition a little further down the line, which is “to own or admit as true.” Now there’s something to write home about!
For me, here’s what’s true these days.
Being a truly Happy Cappy (Capricorn) in Spring is getting out the spade, the shovel, the hoe, and the hand trowel. Right now I have about a bushel of marigold seeds from last years garden — need any? Send me your address and I’ll send you a handful.
Cucumbers are up. Yellow pear cherry tomatoes, and big ol’ Cherokee Purples. Basil and spring salad greens, and sweet red Italian peppers are coming to life. It’s all brand new growth.
I can relate.
So what’s going on inside me? I don’t really know. I can’t tell yet what I’m becoming. I’m waiting to see what I grow into.
What, you, too?
Shall we keep each other posted? It’s a deal.
Christie Lenee can play a guitar. She’s the 2017 International Finger Style Guitar Champion of the Year. In September of last year in London, she also won Acoustic Guitarist of the Year.
But lucky for us, she’s not just a champion guitar player. Christie Lenee is also quite the composer.
A friend of hers, Michael Pukac, requested that she write a song, one he described as “the story of love.” She scribbled notes and went to work.
Through Christie’s ability to imagine, his desire became music. Now she plays this song for the world with her love fingers. Lucky you, lucky me, lucky us.
Take very good care of yourself this week. Why not sing a little…
You’re broken down and tired Of living life on a merry go round And you can’t find the fighter But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out And move mountains We gonna walk it out And move mountains
And I’ll rise up I’ll rise like the day I’ll rise up I’ll rise unafraid I’ll rise up And I’ll do it a thousand times again And I’ll rise up High like the waves I’ll rise up In spite of the ache I’ll rise up And I’ll do it a thousand times again
For you For you For you For you
When the silence isn’t quiet And it feels like it’s getting hard to breathe And I know you feel like dying But I promise we’ll take the world to its feet And move mountains Bring it to its feet And move mountains
And I’ll rise up I’ll rise like the day I’ll rise up I’ll rise unafraid I’ll rise up And I’ll do it a thousand times again
For you For you For you For you
All we need, all we need is hope And for that we have each other And for that we have each other And we will rise We will rise We’ll rise, oh, oh We’ll rise
I’ll rise up Rise like the day I’ll rise up In spite of the ache I will rise a thousand times again And we’ll rise up High like the waves We’ll rise up In spite of the ache We’ll rise up And we’ll do it a thousand times again
During this strange time in history, I noticed y’all were tackling all sorts of interesting projects. I decided I needed one, too—something positive to remember the pandemic of 2020 by.
I decided to pay attention to something I had abandoned…
Nope, I’m not cleaning my garage. I am not organizing one single thing. I’m not planting a garden or cleaning up my yard.
Instead, I decided to take care of myself better. This, folks, has made all the difference for me.
With relatively little time and effort on my part, I feel so much better than I did a month ago.
On March 30, I got on the exercise bike and the yoga mat for the first time in a long time, and did 30 minutes each. I liked it so much that I decided to do it every day. But I fell short of that, and changed my commitment to every other day, which felt more manageable, reasonable, and doable.
I also get off the bike after every song, take a couple of sips of water, shake out my legs and arms for a few seconds, and get back on. This makes the bike project a reasonable proposition, too.
Daily walks of any length—by myself, or with my little guy, Jackson—are a fresh air bonus.
My recumbent exercise bike has pulleys to work my upper body while I pedal, which gets my heart rate up fast, and also helps my whole-body strength. It feels good to get up from writing, or doing a consulting session with a client, to do something physically challenging while listening to good music.
After only a month, I feel a sheet of muscles on the front of me I haven’t felt for a very, very long time. Goodness gracious. Who knew they were there. I’ll be posting rippling ab photos soon, I’m sure.
I have no idea what the scales have to say about my bike/yoga project—I don’t care. Paying attention to scales tends to send me sideways, and therefore, I’m ignoring them completely.
But—I LOVE the way I feel! Hang in there, everyone.