Changes I've Made That I Am Proud Of

Sunday afternoon – June 7^th 2020 – Changes I’m Proud Of

It’s been a week of attending to medical and physical issues and resting - lots.

On Monday I finally phoned the chiropractor. 

During our settling in when we moved back I developed a sore back.

First it was “So much to do…”

Then I phoned the chiropractor – “He’s closed already for the year…”

I found another close to home.

And in two visits he couldn’t attend to the trouble spot.

And - he was too rough for me to go back.

Then it was lock-down…

So I’ve needed to lie down and rest… a lot on some days… to manage my discomfort.

And this week of level 3 lock-down starting “It’s time…!”

I phoned the chiropractor I’ve been going to for years.

Yes, he’s working again.

“Bring your own gown.  We’re not allowed to give out gowns here at the moment.”

So I visited on Monday.  He got the spot.

I still needed lots of rest though.

And again on Thursday I made the 12km trip to Blackheath again.

I’m enjoying daily-increasing ease.

What a relief!

And…  a sty has formed again…  I had a host of them in 2019 in KZN.  nuisance…

And Glenn’s been visiting doctors too – three visits this week.

He phoned the diabetic doctor – she couldn’t see him until the middle of the week.

So he phoned the GP.  He could see him on Monday.

He saw his GP again later in the week for a follow-up appointment.

And in the middle of the week he visited the diabetic doctor.

We hope all visits prove to be helpful…

Hopefully he’ll also find his way to more comfortable physical functioning.

We’re fearfully and wonderfully “made” aren’t we!

I’m grateful for Doctors when we need them!

I’m grateful for every day of more comfortable getting around

and doing what I want to do and need to do.

What changes have I made that I’m proud of? 

How/in what way was it hard/easy to change?

I feel like I’ve always wanted to be better and wiser.

Less wasting my time, more relishing and cherishing each day.

I’ve felt like an adventurer, an explorer in a way.

I feel I’m on a hero’s journey with all its vicissitudes.

But, on the other hand I want to enjoy the journey too…

I want to go at a pace I want to go, and have some fun too.

Well, what I call fun…  I like to read and learn every day.

And pause to wonder and wander along the way.

Appreciate the light and gorgeous colours of the day,

and the wonderful textures and dancing shadows…

When I wake up in the morning and open the curtains I say “Hello Day!”

I’m grateful for my life. 

I love living now. 

I’m glad to be able to find out many things I want to know.

I’m amazed to be so fortunate in my life. 

I want to use my personal gifts and talents to help others along as I’m able.

I’m thankful for those brave, wise and generous souls who’ve walked alongside me when I needed them, and known how to lift and enlighten me momentarily, and sensed when to withdraw and let me carry on learning in my own way, and living my life.

If I have to choose the one change I’ve made that I’m proud of…  It’s the progress in myself I am aware of by daily dipping into the Addiction Recovery Program material.  I’m aware of the inner journey I’ve been able to be a part of.  I’m grateful for the honesty and vulnerability of those who compiled the material.  I’ve valued the few opportunities I’ve had to attend recovery meetings. 

Has it been hard… or easy? Neither really.  It just felt like it “fit” me in so many ways I couldn’t put into words.  I’ve just chosen to continuously reflect on the outlined principles, and worked at it a paragraph or two at a time almost every day since 2006.  Better later in my life than never!

As I reflect on my one individual life I get to live, and love to live, I’m reminded of the poem “One Solitary Life.”  I’m glad for His Solitary Life lived to His end with integrity.  I choose to be His disciple.  I hope I’ll be able to live my one precious life with increasing integrity.  I feel like I’m making progress…

And thank you Mother Teresa for reminding me how I want to live my one precious life for as long as I am able…  And I don’t really want to be in the lime-light.  And perhaps if I wasn't I might want to be…  How individual, interesting and complex we each are!  

What changes have you made that your're proud of?

I love you!

Mom / Judy / Gran Judy

Hermann Karl Hesse (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include his explorations of an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Vicissitudes: unpredictable changes or variations that keep occurring in life, fortune, etc; shifting circumstances; ups and downs.

https://addictionrecovery.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/arp/content/manuals/ARPGuide_English_36764.pdf

James Allan Francis was an early-twentieth century American pastor who authored a handful of books.

He is also the “anonymous” author who stands behind the famous poem, “One Solitary Life.” 

Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), honoured in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She was born in Skopje (now the capital of North Macedonia), then part of the Ottoman Empire. After living in Skopje for eighteen years, she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life.

Focus in 2015

A Focus for Each Week of the New Year. 

Do Join Me, if you want to, on this Scenic Route to Renewing  Our Minds in 2015...
 

1/1       Think big - and also relish small pleasures.

8/1       Walk tall – you’re a Child of God.

15/1     Don’t use your time or words carelessly - neither can be retrieved.

22/1     It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do and be yourself.

29/1     Practice random acts of kindness.

5/2       Be open to new ideas.

12/2     Everything you do and say with anyone makes a difference.

19/2     Every end is a new beginning – as one door closes, another opens.

26/2     It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end.

5/3       Leave everything a little better than you found it.

12/3     Pray not for things but for wisdom and courage.

19/3     The ultimate goal should be to do your best, be your best, and enjoy it.

26/3     Be kinder than is necessary.

2/4       Most people live and die with their music still un-played, they never dare to try.  Dare.

9/4       Increasingly trust yourself as a Servant of God as you gain wisdom and experience.

16/4      Every great mistake has a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied.

23/4      Focus on making things around you better, not bigger.

30/4      Compliment three people every day.

7/5        Big problems disguise big opportunities.  See through your problems to the opportunity.

14/5      Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness.

21/5      The secret of patience is doing something else (useful and constructive) in the meantime.

28/5      Commit yourself to a life-time of constant self-improvement.

4/6        Beware which bridges you burn – some you may have to cross again on your journey.

11/6      It’s never too late to have a happy childhood – grow childlike, let your childishness go.

18/6      Become the most quietly positive, faithful and enthusiastic person you know.

25/6      Don’t stay wrong long.

2/7        Never deprive another or yourself of hope - it might be all they/you have.

9/7        Don’t major in minor things.

16/7      Don’t waste time grieving over past mistakes.  Learn from them and move on.

23/7      Expect the most wonderful things to happen - not in the future but today, this week.

30/7      Be forgiving of yourself and others.

6/8        Give thanks before every meal.

13/8      The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

20/8      Live and love the paradoxes of life.  Balance the terror and the wonder of being human.

27/8      The road to success is always under construction.

3/9        To be upset over what you don’t have is to overlook what you do have.

10/9      You must love yourself sufficiently before you can really love another.

17/9      You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.

24/9      Your mind holds one thought at a time - make your thoughts positive, constructive ones.

1/10      Prove all things, hold fast to that which is good.

8/10      Take charge of your attitude - don’t let someone choose it for you.

15/10    Learn to listen.  Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly.

22/10    Don’t miss the magic of the moment by focusing on what’s to come later.

29/10    Don’t compromise yourself.  You’re all you’ve got!

5/11      Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.

12/11    Turn your face and your life to the Son-shine.

19/11    Be a little pencil in the hand of God who is sending a love-letter to your part of this world.

26/11    Man cannot discover new oceans until he has courage to lose sight of the shore.

3/12      Remember that no-one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

10/12    It is important from time to time to slow down, to simply be.

17/12    Don’t worry that you can’t give another the best of everything - give them your very best.

24/12    Never underestimate the power of a kind word or deed.

"Hope Inspiring" Television

I love to watch hopeful television.  There is lots and lots of it on SABC 1,2,3, etv and BYU Television which are the channels I have at my disposal to watch.  I don't have time to watch all that I find helps me feel hopeful as I watch and sustained in the hours and days between watching.

In Africa (maybe other parts of the world too) we have people who carry water for long distances.  Someone (a group of people?) developed the hippo roller www.hipporoller.org   Saturday morning I watched how the hippo roller is made in "How do they do That?" a programme for children that I like to watch.

I thought... "This is so helpful to so many - thank you those who made this happen."  I feel emotional when I have these sorts of thoughts.  Which is often.

I love that there are people all over the world who are using their energy to bless the lives of someone or other or lots of people.  I love that generous people share what they know.  I love it when people work together to make progress that benefits especially 'the least' of our brothers and sisters.