live life to the fullest

The Inner History of a Day

No one knew the name of this day;
Born quietly from deepest night,
It hid its face in light,
Demanded nothing for itself,
Opened out to offer each of us
A field of brightness that travelled ahead,
Providing in time ground to hold our footsteps
And the light of thought to show the way.

The mind of the day draws no attention;
It dwells within the silence with elegance
To create a space for all our words,
Drawing us to listen inwards and outwards

We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,
Transforming our broken fragments
Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.

Somewhere in us a dignity presides
That is more gracious than the smallness
That fuels us with fear and force,
A dignity that trusts the form a day takes.

So at the end of this day, we give thanks
For being betrothed to the unknown
And for the secret work
Through which the mind of the day
And wisdom of the soul become one.

taken from
Benedictus: A Book of Blessings, by John O’Donohue

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.

~Mother Teresa
Catholic Nun, Missionary
Nobel Peace Prize Recipient

This passage is taken from pages 42-43 in the section on Awareness.
I want to post it here, so I can come back and re-read it anytime I need a reminder of what it means to me to live, I love her expression. It really resonated with me today.

“I read last, choosing a poem with the cheery title “When Death Comes”. I read along unsuspecting till I got to a line in which Oliver writes about coming to the end and wanting to say that she has spent her life married to amazement.
Suddenly something unexpected happened to me. My throat tightened. My eyes filled. I don’t mean sad tears, but the kind that leak from something brimming.
I looked at the faces around the room. They seemed beautiful and shining to me. I glanced at a common white lily in a vase and honestly, the sight nearly wiped me out. It was that impertinently gorgeous. Out of nowhere, plain and simple objects were rising up to show off their flame. The divine, unnameable spark. I couldn’t think what to name the feeling, except amazement at life. It was if something fell from my eyes and I saw everything just as it is.
One second I was going along in a jaded marriage with life ( because let’s face it, the intimacy can fade after awhile if you don’t work on the relationship) when it rode in and swept me off my feet. I learned to be in love with life again. And I didn’t even know the romance had slipped.
“Life is a spell so exquisite that everything conspires to break it”, wrote Emily Dickinson. Somehow I”d begun moving through life on automatic pilot, half-seeing, half-here, abducted by the dreaded small stuff. But the evening of my party I realized all over again: We will have a true and blissful marriage to life only to the extent we are aware.
So. That’s how I resolved the question about what I wished to become notorious for at fifty. Let it be for nothing more than harboring a wild amazement at life. Let it be for choking up at poetry and the sight of human faces. For falling into easy rapture over lilies and all the other run-of-the-mill marvels that make up life. Let me become notorious for going around with my bridal veil tossed back and my mouth saying I do. Renewing my vows with life. Every day. A hundred times a day.”

Well, it has finally arrived. I’m going to Ireland with my favorite poet, David Whyte!!!! I’m still packing and I”m a terrible packer, but never the less, tomorrow I depart for such fun. I have enjoyed anticipating this trip. I booked the trip right before I moved out, giving myself something to look forward to during such a difficult time. It’s also a bit of a 35th birthday present to myself. So happy birthday to me!!!

this is arahova a town on the way to delphi! we rented a car in athens and drove all over, it was too much fun. and thankfully, no accidents…. people drive lawlessly in greece.

I was living life to the fullest and more! my vacation was pure adventure, spontaneity, fun, it was everything. It was my first time travelling to Europe and I can’t wait to go back. My friend who travelled with me is truly one of my best friends. If she can travel with me, sleep in the same room and basically hang with me 24/7 for two weeks continuously! I count her as an amazing friend. There are not alot of people who I could have that much fun with! We both had new cameras, and we took a ridiculous amount of pictures, that I will need to deal with in the coming month. It also felt great to unwind from LA and live according to the rhythms of ourselves and the country we were in. Just pure, wonderful living. I’m happy to say, that since I’ve been back to work, my vacation has afforded me a much more relaxed attitude and I can feel so much stress just rolling off my back. Plus, I have my sense of humor back! If going to europe is what it takes, I’ll do it. I feel like me again! Happy and able to see the humor in life! Yes.

And we had a beer at this cute restaurant in Mykonos, covered with brilliant pink bouganvillia. Great memories.

My travel mate and I just got our tickets last night!!!! Now we need an itinerary and to read up on greek culture and history. I’m so excited! And sort of fun to plan this trip out of the blue, it just happened to be the right timing for my friend and I to travel together.

a friend just gave me the audio cd of this book. and it’s very in alignment with my goal of living life to the fullest. he talks about not trying to find the perfect job that will provide life long fulfillment; but instead finding what interests a person, what is motivating, so that one can do it with some passion, and then finding the most efficent way to do it. Ie work the least amount of time for the most amount of profit.
He also talks about taking mini-retirement’s throughout life, rather than waiting until the end. I think I find that concept to make sense, for myself anyways. I feel I have an ebb and flow to my cycles of energy and work, and attention. anyways, just thoughts, but I’m journaling and spending time meditating on what I do get excited about, and when I feel happy, things I want to do, places I want to go. I even created a fantasy itinerary for my “someday” trip around the world!

I keep having a feeling that travelling in New Zealand will help me work towards this goal of living life to the fullest. Plus I have friends who live on the north island who own a ranch. It’s calling to me.

went to beach yoga tonight. met my friend deb and her bf, and a neighbor of hers…..it was the best. Sunny, dolphins playing, splashing, wind, waves, sunset, sweet smiles, hugs, and kirtan with Dave Stringer!!! Perfect. I totally forgot all annoyances of the day and felt alive and perfectly in love with myself and each breath of wonderful air. I’m going next week for sure! little moments like this help remind me of what i love and how blessed we are.