What Matters Most The Book

“The road will rise up to meet you.” Said the wise yogi.

“Life will never leave you behind.  You are not alone.” She said.

“The road will rise up to meet you.  The road has no goals, or plans.  It will rise up to meet you, right-where-you-are.”

I looked down and the road was there, right there under my feet.  It’s been there the whole time, rising up to meet me. To take me on my path.  Because it is my path.

“Now, look back and recognize all the lessons you have learned, all the people, all the experiences, all the teachers in your life and know they are with you now.”

And I looked back, and saw and felt and breathed in and out, all those lessons.  I let them wash over me again.

“Those lessons are not your lessons, they are all of our lessons.  They belong to all of us, the collective we.  Breathe them in, and release them back into the world.”

And I did. I breathed in, and released them once.  They stayed next to me.

I breathed deeper, and released them, and they went further, across the room I was in.

I breathed even deeper, and released them.  This time I felt them flow out of me, into the world.

“Now, grab one of those lessons, and let it be your intention.”

Earlier in the day, I was asking myself why sometimes I get angry at people I love.

And my lesson showed up.  Compassion.  My intention found me.

The road will rise up to meet you.

“Now, breathe in and let that intention out into the world.  For the world.”

And when I did, my shoulders came out of my ears.  My heart felt lighter, and my thoughts were clearer.  I had tears in my eyes.  Compassion.

Today, I have done my best to replace anger with compassion.  Sometimes, that’s been easier than others.  It’s was easier to have compassion for the driver who was tailgating me.  It takes a lot more presence to find compassion with the violence in the world and the people who cause it.  But today, I found strength, from an angel named Jack.   I didn’t know Jack.  But when I heard the names spoken this morning on the radio of the 20 kids that were killed last week, Jack’s name landed on my heart.  I’ve thought of him all day today, and he has somehow given me strength to choose compassion.

Jack made a difference in my life today, and I didn’t even know him.  Maybe, we really are all connected.  Thank you Jack.

May you remember your lesson today….and remember the road will rise up to meet you. It’s your path.

Yesterday I had a conversation with a recruiter.  It was a really good conversation, she was engaging, asked great questions….but there was one question that made me cock my head to the side like a dog that’s just heard a loud whistle that no one else can hear…

“So this company is looking for someone with drive…..how do I explain to them this 3 year gap in your employment?”

Now, like a good HR person, I know why she asked the question.  Because you’re suppose to.

So I gave her an explanation of what I had done in the last 3 years, from a work perspective.  I ended with something like…”If you would have hired me 3 years ago, I would have been burned out.  Because of the time, I am more clear about what matters, and what’s important.”

She seemed ok with that.  We ended the conversation and she said she’d be in touch.

But, I’ve been thinking more about that question and all of the assumptions that live under that question.  Like:

• Oh, you must have been asked to leave.
• Must have been a ‘C’ player wanting to be an ‘A’ player.
• Who leaves a job and doesn’t get another really quick?
• Must not be driven

Guess what.  That’s a bad assumption.  It also implies that the only way or place to be driven is in a ‘real job’ with a ‘real company’ and a ‘real paycheck’.

You know what they say about assumptions…they make a mule of you and me. (That’s the PG version in case my kids read this)

So for the record, here’s what I have done in the last 3 years:

1. Got my health back
2. Wrote 50 letters in 50 days to people that made a difference in my life
3. Started a blog ‘Stitched’
4. Decided to write a book
5. Started a writers group
6. Wrote about 50, 000 words.  Got it edited and started again…with about 4,000.
7. Emptied the dishwasher 197 times
8. Made sure the family sat down for a dinner every night, together
9. Did 246 loads of laundry
10. Got to work with Julie Gilbert & Wolf Means Business
11. Learned a new way to do spelling words. (I’m still not sure why we just can’t memorize the words!!)
12. Attended every single school thing my kids had, from Harvest Party to music concerts
13. Managed to balance our budget, with a surplus
14. Drove 30,000+ miles for soccer, circus, birthday parties, play dates, baseball, school, ice-skating, hiking, camping, performances….
15. Worked with John Walden and the cool folks at Activeion.  I still believe that was a great idea~
16. Read the Harry Potter series out loud, as a family.
17. Kept writing. Got another edit.
18. Started a second blog What Matters the Book
19. Published a Book, sold about 1000 so far (not bad since the avg book sells 200)
20. Had lunch with friends
21. Dad had a heart attack.  My sister, brother and I helped move he and my Mom back to Florida.
22. Started & finished P90X before I turned 50
23. Made sure homework was done
24. Added a dog to the family
25. Ran a few hundred miles, 2000+ downward facing dogs, and just as many planks
26. Did some work with the lovely Leigh Carter at Quality Bike Products
27. Calendared, organized the lives of 2 kids and a spouse
28. Joined the folks at consulting folks at Oberon, LLC & worked with pretty cool folks at Regis Corporation
29. Tried really hard to be present in my life…I have been driven to do that.

I’m leaving a lot out.  But I think you get the point.  And if you know me, you know, I’m driven.

I love when lessons like this pop up in my life…because it makes me stop and look at my own assumptions.  And I remembered….

Assumptions are traps.

They are a master of disguise for the unsuspecting, unconscious and uncurious.  Assumptions are easy, because they let you fill in the blanks the way you think they should be filled.   Oh man is that dangerous!  Because we are humans…not mules.

I think I’ll ask a few more questions today…and focus on #29.