Category: honesty

friendship, grace, honesty, inspiration, life lessons, Loretta Rothschild, marriage, mindfulness, Uncategorized

Another Musing

mimijk

Hi my friend,

Yes it’s been too long and I have no excuse. I feel like the state of our country has become so markedly different than anything reminiscent of a democracy. I race from one thought to the next, without a brake. Thoughts converge into some unappealing casserole. I’ve been thinking of hanging up my blog – for no other reason than feeling I’ve got nothing to say. Emotional impotence doesn’t foster enthusiasm; it sure makes one feel unsteady. And that has little to do with what I wanted to say. I recently finished a book ‘Finding Grace’ by Loretta Rothschild, and yes there’s a happy ending, though there was a lot in there to cry about as well. At the end of the story a character defines love.

Not too much to love these days – yet within the context of Rothschild’s words, there is far more than I realized. I have to put a little more hope in my day-to-days and recognize the exquisite moments that just happen without fanfare. And there’s the soppy side note, that Andy and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary (though if we had gotten it right the first time, we’d be celebrating our 43rd). And so we celebrated love. The days, the months, the years that feel like they’ve moved faster than the speed of light. That’s where we find it – irresistible moments that deserve some attention.

Anyway, I offer up this beautiful excerpt – I took her words to heart – how can you not?

”But love wasn’t measured by endings. It was every cup of coffee, broken broiler, empty crisp packet and train ride. It was every hangover, stubbed toe, high temperature, nasty splinter and burned tongue. Every morning cuddle and blunt pencil. Every kiss good night, every lost key, sore throat, afternoon nap and sip of tea. Every birthday, hot shower, cold swim, paper cut, chesty cough, mosquito bite and bee sting. Every lost bookmark, orgasm, funeral, traffic jam and bite of cake. Every missed flight, snarky comment, haircut and unmade bed. Every first step, endless holidays, mediocre film, sunrise and poo-bag. Every missed connection, miscarriage and uneventful walk. Every wobbly table, broken heart, treasured photograph and lingering kiss. Every wedding, toothache and waiting room. Every school drop off. Every single day.”

The rhythm of life, the basis upon which love is built. I needed the reminder and perhaps you do too. Whether to blog or not too blog is a question for another day. Right now in this moment, there is love.

mimi

aging, friendship, honesty, life lessons, love, Uncategorized

Some Trips Are Longer Than Others

mimijk

Hi there,

I know – it’s been a while. I’m not sure if you’re still passing this way – and it’s certainly understandable if you’ve changed routes. After all, there hasn’t been anything here to see for more than a year.

But if you’ve stopped by – it’s good to see you. Clearly I’ve been gone – and I’m tentatively back. In the interest of abbreviating a very long year – I got sick. If you listen to my hematologist, rheumatologist and every other ologist I’ve seen – I didn’t know how sick I was. The year has been a blur of blood transfusions, biopsies, a bilateral hip replacement and a brain that went wonky because my blood was so compromised. I had to get multiple assurances that I was clear-headed enough to even try writing again. The thought of appearing more nutty than I usually do was a bit too much for me to handle.

I’m better now. I’m a version of me again – one I sort of recognize and occasionally don’t. I lost a year of mobility and engagement with the world. These days, my body is a cranky participant in my efforts to get a bit stronger – thinking it prefers being sedentary to the aches and strain of movement (honestly, I can’t even call it exercise – it’s more like wishful thinking with a beat). But, I can tell you that the return to normalcy is greeted each day with an emotional ‘thank you’, even if my body and I occasionally disagree. There are no more hospital beds, occupational therapy tools and elevated seats. I can put on my own socks thank you very much. I can engage in the most mundane activities – driving, food shopping, laundry – and I think each is pretty damn fantastic. Musing over the monotonous with a significant amount of delight.

And yes, there’s also some fear – fear of a recurrence (the autoimmune world is at best dystopian, at worst just plain freaky), an awareness of how much I am unaware of – I could explain the list, though I don’t think I need to.

So, I’m going to re-enter the community and see how we do. The musings won’t be this intense – they weren’t before and life doesn’t ask that of me now. I’m just going to keep my eyes open and my heart full – and we’ll see what happens next. Thank you for stopping by – see you soon.

duality, honesty, inspiration, Joe Klaas, politics, Uncategorized

The Truth About The Truth

mimijk

Hi,

Remember that great scene in “A Few Good Men” when Jack Nicholson vehemently states, “You can’t handle the truth!”  I love that.  Because we skirt so many truths out of fear, reluctance, discomfort, personal disgust – I could go on.

Does that mean we are dishonest, horrid liars?  Absolutely not – in fact, I really like us as a species.  For every awful, despicable action that we witness, there is a generous, loving gesture to be seen.  We are cool, talented, smart, and have great music.  Our hugs can nourish us; our humor evokes hiccups, stomach cramps and a warmth like nothing else.

But are we honest?  I mean, really, really honest?  When we insist that we are our own worst enemy – um, not sure about that.  I think we’re honest with ourselves to the point of disquiet.  If it causes us too much agita, we move on to the issues we can handle.  Joe Klaas writes, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off”.  We certainly can feel self-anger – I’m just not sure if it’s about the stuff that whispers to you in the dark.

Don’t misunderstand me, please – I’m not the icon for honesty.  As a kid, I thought I invented lying – rationalizing (and perhaps to a degree rightly so – or so I believed) that my parents would freak if I came clean.  Obviously to a kid, that means you don’t want to get in trouble, and I hated getting in trouble (of course, who does?).

As an adult, some truths are harder to face, and perhaps if the effect of keeping them hidden causes little harm to yourself or others, those defense mechanisms arguably should remain in working order.  After all, they’re there for a reason.

But the big ‘but’ to me, is the illusion of all truth all the time.  I think that in and of itself is a fallacy.  I think we hide from certain truths, deny others and refuse to even consider some.  And perhaps the admission of this is the most honest we can be.  Personally I think that’s ok.

I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t look deeper, harder and with a more fearless eye. We may learn something about ourselves that really can free us from certain emotional binds that inhibit blood flow.  In fact, I think it’s a courageous thing to do.  I also think that in reality it is the fear of what we might find that makes us our own worst enemy.  Surrounding ourselves with a sycophantic chorus that assures us that our flaws are minor and our assets too numerous too mention – I’m not sure that gives any of us the love, understanding and perspective we deserve.

Where the hell is this all coming from?  Certainly the disingenuousness of the news here in the States, the frustration I feel at all the crap that’s circulating and frankly soiling the air I breathe.  A little self-reflection, a little candor, a lot of humility and a recognition of the failures in our humanity would be welcome.  Whoever you’re for or against is not the issue – what is at issue is the absence of honest self-reflection, for starters.  And frankly, if you’re an enemy to yourself, how can you be for anyone?  Just sayin’.