maintain a peaceful spirit

when you wake up to a winter wonderland of new fallen snow on New Years Day. We are supposed to get 4 inches and an inch has already fallen…added to the 6 inches we got yesterday and that added to what was already here means winter has arrived.

A friend laughed this morning and said well we do live in a ski resort. What can you say after that? People save their money all year so they can come from the city to enjoy for a few days what we can enjoy everyday.

It is beautiful.

from my God/Universe I am peacefully deciding to stay another year here in the wilderness and make a real connection by actually doing the things on my 43T Life List in the year 2010.

Even though the local economy has been hard hit it will be a much calmer place to weather the storm than trying to move back to the city. That part of my life has passed and now is the time for a quieter more creative season.

This decision alone will make a huge difference in my life.

of peace and love. I have been living in the past far too long not letting go of all the hurts and disappointments that have piled up over the years. If we look at those exclusively they grow much larger than their original form. Not that we forget because we learn from the negatives in our lives but we can forgive and move on.

They say time heals all wounds. Some wounds fester and ruin our lives forever if we let them. I believe my life will be more peaceful and productive if I forgive and let go of the past as quickly as possible.

Recently I decided to give living here 100% and become a viable professional person in the community. My attitude got better immediately and my spirits lifted until today.

Now mind you I have been licensed in real estate and mortgage lending my entire adult life. That would be since the last century. Today I was told that before I can work I have to join the local board of realtors (not a problem) and go through their orientation.

Real estate is slow so people are fleeing the business in droves and they have no plans for an orientation any time soon.

So in essence their are hindering my making a living here in the wilderness. It was hard enough already.

My first thought was WTF? Then came the thought of a lawsuit but in the spirit of peace and the holidays I’ve decided to give this much more thought before I become a member of an organization that doesn’t really want me.

for the family gathering later today. I had gone to the store this morning to get the ingredients and instead of being excited I had a wave of sadness wash over me.

Truth is I would rather be making the Texas Chili in Texas spending time with my sons and their families instead of my siblings and their grandchildren.

That does seem selfish. I am grateful to have people who love me and want to share time with me. Finally being grateful has lifted the sadness.

Thanks for listening! :)

have now become major tests to my ability to maintain a peaceful spirit.

I woke up this morning to find my refrigerator went out which I didn’t notice because I don’t spend much time at home
so all of my food is ruined(it must have been going out for days) my house smells bad like a gas leak and I have a major head ache.
I need to call the landlord who I owe rent to take care of this…lovely day in store.

I am snowed in so it is another free workout shoveling my car out of a snowbank created by the lovely city of Whitefish street department….

and we wonder why I am so cheerful these days?

Happy holidays…yea right….

The company my brother-in-law worked for 28 years is closing right before his retirement. A friend who has provided job placement for 13 years for people here in the wilderness is on the brink of bankruptcy. Another friend is losing her client base because their
businesses are closing. I have lived in poverty from Oct of 2008 and all of 2009. Life here in the wilderness is harsh.

Add in 3 feet of snow, gray skies and sub zero temperatures…. that makes my upcoming 3rd anniversary of trying to make it here a statement of determination at best….total insanity at worst.

and let it begin with me and you and you…

Life changes during the holidays. People seem to change with the Holiday spirit. We put aside our differences for a very brief time. We put more effort into our relationships and making our homes a welcoming place to be. There is the hustle and bustle of shopping, cooking,entertaining and giving to those less fortunate. There is a connection with each other that is absent most of the year.

My wish would be that the peaceful holiday spirit that comes to visit us every year would become our normal nature.

when I was begging for peace and quiet. Be very careful what you ask for in this life because the Universe/God will deliver it not always in the ways you would imagine.

As I am writing this I am sitting at the real estate office where the phones are not ringing and it is snowing outside. In my past life as a Realtor inclement weather almost always guaranteed a buyer or two who just had to see that property right then. Not so today.

It could be the wilderness marketplace. It could be the time of year. It could be the economic times. There could be many reasons for this peace and quiet but I am not enjoying the tranquility as much as I thought I would.

reminded me of how fast the years fly by! We talked of the folly of our younger days, our parents, our siblings, children and grandchildren. Then we started laughing about how old we thought our Mothers were at our age.

It was good to see her and yet a teeny bit sad at the pace our lives are passing before us.