Passion Party #254 - Vacation Time

I am on vacation for 2 weeks
no internet
no twitter
no blogs
no email
YAY

Passion Party #253 - The Purpose Of This Day

Looking through some old journals
I found a great exercise:
After a brief meditation, sit and think,
"What is the one main purpose of this day today?"
Each day has a purpose, and
if we can focus on it at the start of the day,
we are more likely to be able to have a purposeful day.

The purpose of this day
is to commune with Nature
to visit the big trees
to get in touch with that ancient part of myself
that recognizes myself in these 2000 year-old trees
that knows
a peace and stillness that transcends
the daily noise of life.

Passion Party #252 - SItting In A Field of Diamonds

I live in
one of the wealthiest areas
in the wealthiest country
in the world.

I do not need to search the world to find
a gold mine.
I am already sitting in a field of diamonds.
I just need to look around,
find them, and pick them up.

Passion Party #251 - Planting Seeds

Life is funny
you plant the seeds and watch them grow
some bear fruit
others do not
and you never know quite how it will turn out.
I took Evan to his first Dodger game when he was about 6 years old.
He got bored, and we left early.
Each summer, I made sure that we went to at least one game at Dodger Stadium.
Even though he was never a "sports kid", over the years he gradually learned the rules, strategy and pace of the game.
Who knew, when he was 16 years old
we would be at a Dodger game, and
we would sing
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame",
and he would give me a really big hug.

Passion Party #250 - Miracles

Each day I wake up
to another miracle:
a bouquet of roses picked from the garden by my wife
Five new green beans that
the caterpillar was so kind to leave for us
a tomato that has turned from green to yellow or red
and the cucumber vine that,
like something from an old-time nature documentary
throws out its tentacles and climbs towards the sun.

"If we could see the miracle
of a single flower clearly
our whole life would change"
-Buddha

Passion Party #249 - Growing

Love is not static.
It is either growing or shrinking
You are either growing closer to each other
or moving away
and growing closer requires care and nurturing
to keep the love alive.

It is like this in life as well as love:
we are always either
stepping forward into growth
or stepping backward into safety.

Today I choose to grow my life
and grow my love.

Passion Party #248 - The Big Unplug

I read the other day that Prince announced "The Internet Is Over".

What a lovely idea, in a way.
So I thought I would do my part.
For the next 5 days I am going hiking in Sequoia National Park.
There will be no internet
no cell phone service
no email
no snail mail
no TV
no newspapers
no advertising!
just me, and my two sons, Ben and Evan
and nature.

No, we are not really roughing it - we are staying in tent cabins, but we will be doing 9 -12 mile hikes each day.
See you in 5 days.

Passion Party #247 - Sleepers, Awake!

Some times it is hard to get up
the night time seduces me with it's quiet; I don't want to sleep yet,
and the morning in bed is so comforting.

The June Gloom does not help
casting a gray lull over the morning
making things damp and
feeling more like Autumn than
the full blaze of summer.

I woke up today, not looking for redemption, but for enlightenment.
Now is the time
the roses know it, as do the pole beans and tomatoes
the days are too long to waste.

"There is only one time
when it is essential to awaken.
That time is now"
-Buddha

Passion Party #246 - Time To RIsk

Summer is here
the days are long
It is time to risk
to do that one thing you have thought about doing
but were afraid to try.

"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in the bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
-Anais Nin

Passion Party #245 - Be Authentic

The word authentic comes from the Greek, meaning genuine. The root word is "Autos", or Self.

Today I will be authentic
not mean or angry,
but true to my beliefs, spirit and character.
I will live by my highest standards
and offer to help.
I will not be petty or vulgar,
because that is not my truest self.
I will look for the humanity in others
and build their confidence and capabilities
by being my most authentic self.

Passion Party #244 - Make More to Spend More (Money, Part 13)

There are only four choices when it comes to money:
1) make less, spend less
2) make less spend more*
3) make more, spend less
4) make more, spend more
(* #2 doesn't work - believe me, I've tried it...)

When I was young and poor
I thought the answer to happiness was
to have more money.
"If only I had (fill in the material object: a car, a house, a large savings account), then I would be happy".

Now I know that making more money
just creates a new set of problems,
a new higher view where you get to see
more things that are out of your financial grasp.
Sure, the view is nicer from this new plateau.
I do not, at this time, want to move back down the financial ladder.

The real key is to get past the sense of lack,
the feeling that something is missing in my life because I can't drive that Porsche.
But At the same time, I do not want to bust my butt working, and spend so little that I feel like a miser or a
person who is not abundant.

I need to learn that
happiness is an attitude in the moment,
not some future condition.