Open-mindedness

I’ve mentioned from time-to-time how I belong here in Arizona…I’ve felt this way from the time I flew over Phoenix when I arrived for my first visit over 50 years ago. My eyes swelled with tears as I stared below through the aircraft window.  I felt like I was coming home, and had no reasonable explanation for these feelings.

This phenomenon happened every time I flew into the city, and each time I left.  I visited several times for many years  and these feelings never changed.  Happy to be home, and always sorry to leave.   In the early 60’s,  I lived here for almost four years.  My two sons were born here.

When I eventually moved here in 1990, it was my final return!  I had spent  years  yearning and planning and dreaming of getting back here and never leaving again.  This time I came by car with the moving van following behind.  I had a home to move into, and couldn’t wait to get into it!  My oldest son (now deceased) drove with me for good reason.  I was  bringing a dog and a cat, and his company was wanted and needed in so many ways.  It turned out to be one of the nicest times he and I ever spent together and this experience is a fond memory  I revisit often.

I arrived in early Spring, and  spent that Summer walking the desert exclaiming “Thank you God, Thank you God!”, and very nearly went broke!.  I was self employed and kept putting off getting my business up and running.  Thankfully, I ‘came to my senses’ and redirected myself; after all, this was no vacation anymore! I was here permanently now, and began to wrap my mind around that fact!  I was finally  home for good!

I reference drums because from day one, I’ve always felt an affinity to the Native American culture.  In fact, when my first son was born, I had hired a young woman from the Hopi nation.  I can’t remember her face, but I have never forgotten her name.  Somehow she felt ‘familiar’ to me.  I’ve been to some ruins, and each time I visit, it’s like I ‘remember’….I have  music of Incan Pan Pipes, Native American Flute….. hauntingly beautiful sounds that stir thoughts in my mind of a time my soul has known.  Sometimes when I walk, I begin chanting in the tribal way, and I can tell when I am sounding to my happiness or my sorrow.

This is the first occasion I have shared any detail along these lines about me.  I think it’s time because I’ve been noticing that I’m stirring inside….I’m continuing on my spiritual path, my intuitive nature is surfacing more, and I’m feeling  a oneness to my surroundings, my place on this planet and in this Universe.  I’m feeling very comfortable with this path I am following.

This morning, from out of nowhere,   I said something to myself (out loud, which is  not unusual), that startled me.   Instantly, I retorted,  “This isn’t You!”…”Stop thinking and saying things like this when you know this isn’t the real you!”  …..and then I heard the drums in my mind….the steady beat…the comforting and familiar sound.  Something inside me has changed.  I know it is all good,  and I also know I must tread slowly, yet confidently.  Clearly, I am enjoying the newness of this.

Some of my friends who follow my blog might surely be surprised by this admission.  All I can say is yes, it’s me, the real me….little by little emerging from a new chrysalis.

My sense is, this stage of development occurs again and again in our lifetimes.   I believe I am gently unfolding and awakening to living my life with a new clarity of purpose by Divine Intention.

The Beauty of the Emergence of Living

The Beauty of the Emergence of Living

Black and White Thinker!  I can’t deny it has always been easy for me to make it an “either/or” situation.  Life seemed to be so much tidier when I  wrapped it up in a neat bow of ‘cut and dried!’

Today, life  is more than adding the ‘Gray” word.  The inclusion of “Could” and “If” can expand everything.  If I use more words of positivity, there could be more possibility thinking.

If I could  look at things ‘another way’; that is, if I allow my eyes to see that clearly,  I will need a huge dose of patience and insight because without it, there could be less room for open-mindedness and clarity of thought.

Thoughtfulness before verbal expression!  This requires me to slow down and  choose my words carefully.  When I am around others,  I want to extend my sincere interest and support, compassion, understanding, uplifting mindfulness and deliberate effort.   I want my presence to be celebrated not tolerated (to quote a dear friend).

If I want to make a positive difference in my world,  I choose to take  a more-give-and-less-take view,  and not  focus on how big a difference I make, but instead, consider if Could make any helpful and positive difference at all!

Living alone, making my own rules within my four walls, has unwittingly provided fertile ground  for close-mindedness and minimal consideration of other viewpoints and ideas.   I want to expand my thinking as I move toward continuous personal growth.

Life is anything but Black, Gray and White! It’s a kaleidoscopic blend of love, faith, hope, dreams, goals, joy, gratitude, wisdom, harmony, sadness, gladness, expectation and disappointment within all of us…… in this Whole Wide World.

 The Beauty of Life

The Beauty of Life