It's the first day of summer, my very favorite day of the year, and I'm with all those crazy people in Stonehenge this morning -- 24,000 druids, pagans, drummers and partygoers -- who welcomed and celebrated the sun on this longest day -- yeah! I also love that for thousands of years this was the big pre-Christian holiday and celebration: of life, of Spring, of renewal, of fertility, of love and lust and all things hedonistic and spiritual at the same time.
Actually I love the whole three months leading up to this red-letter occasion, when the sun rises a little bit earlier each dawn, allowing us early morning people to exercise and write and otherwise operate in daylight instead of darkness. To see the sky go from black to gray to pink to red to blue-gray and then blue by 6 a.m. is amazing! It makes you feel happy to be up and alive, but bittersweet to mark yet another change of season on this fast-moving merry-go-round we're all hanging onto.
Another bonus is I'm here writing a happy post today instead of a gloomy one. Despite the ongoing story of Sharon's illness, I do feel more hopeful and lighthearted for a change. One reason may be that I just picked up my business cards from the printer, and I love them. (Thank you, Evelyn!) They make it seem absolutely real that I've started my own company and now have three actual clients -- yikes.
Also, my youngest child graduated from 8th grade yesterday and moves on to high school in the fall, as both her sisters go off to college. Oh lord, only one child and a high schooler -- my life is changing faster than I can process these days.
Also, I've made a new deal with myself to write just two pages of my novel every day -- that's a chapter a week. I figure I can always squeeze out two pages, no matter how busy or tired I am, right? So there are no excuses not to. Although come to think of it, I didn't do it today. OK, right after I finish this...
And finally, I'm running 12 miles with my marathon partner Jane on Saturday. We're into the double digits now and it ain't gonna get any easier. Except that after this we get a break and only have to do six next weekend. Then 14,7,16,8,18,9,20,10,23,8,10,26!!, then 8,8,8 and then the big day. In this program you run the full thing before the day of the race. So if all goes well I'll actually run TWO marathons this fall, and then I will shut up about this, cross it off my list, and never do anything so utterly stupid and tiring again as long as I live.
Happy summer solstice -- go out and do something crazy.
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But how can you be SURE that you'll never do something as stupid as long as you live? I'm not even sure I want to say that I will never do another stupid thing. Heck...we're only 50. With any luck we'll have numerous chances to do more stupid stuff!
It is wonderful to be outside in the morning especially at this time of year. It's funny how morning light can lift your spirits. The older I get the more often I find myself thinking how happy I am to be alive. [and of course The sad ,sad news about Sharon reminds me even more so].
I find that if I can keep myself centered and practicing "The power of Now" I feel happy most of the time. On my happiest days I try to lock that feeling in my memory so I can come back to it when I inevitably feel sad about something [usually it's teen triggered].
I think we all need long and short term goals to keep us excited about life. Running a marathon works for many. It gives you a reason to take care of body and to be in touch with yourself. It's a wonderful goal and I'm sure you'll have many more.
I like to shake things up and set little goals. None of my goals are exercise related for obvious reasons. This week I decided to abstain from alcoholic beverages. I do love my glass of wine or bottle of beer in the evening. But doing without forces me to pay more attention to how I am feeling both mentally and physically.
Occasionally it's good to take a step back from things that we do almost automatically. It's those small achievments sometimes that make us feel better about ourselves.
I heard a book being reviewed on NPR today. The name of the book is HAPPIER. I was unable to hear the entire interview but am very curious to read the book. The author teaches a course called Positive Psychology [I think] at Harvard and says it is one of the most popular courses. It would be interesting to get closer to the answer of the age old question: What really makes us happy?. Of course the answer is different for all of us but I bet there is lots of common ground.
The last crazy thing I did was sail in a terrible storm off the coast of Nassau. It felt crazy at the time but somehow exhilerating too. Skiing the Hobacks at Jackson Hole was the other sort of crazy thing I did this year. Neither was dangerous really, just daring enough to make me smile and happy to be able to experience them!
What other crazy, stupid things lie ahead for us??
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