Thursday, January 01, 2009

Like A Dog On A Leash

It's been several years since we stayed up until midnight on New Year's Eve.
My body is protesting this morning although I haven't been to bed before midnight for a week already so it most likely is trying to tell me enough is enough; get some sleep woman.

I used to make gigantic lists for New Year's.
Last year I caught myself making a list of 50 things
I wanted to accomplish this year.
I looked at it the other day.
I still don't have that pair of red shoes.
I'm glad I no longer need to consult a list to see how I am doing.

Obsessive list making for me usually means
insanity is lurking around the corner
or at least control freakism is rampant.
I am okay as is.
If I can't be okay with me today
no list in the world will change that.
I forget that sometimes.

I know what I need to do on a daily basis
to keep sane.
I know what works.
I know when I don't do those things
the journey gets bumpy.
Well, sometimes the journey gets bumpy
because that's life.
At the very least,
I know I will be okay despite circumstances,
when I do those things
that keep me sane.
There is always more to learn,
More fine tuning.

I don't have to strive to make that happen
like a dog on a leash
trying to drag its master farther along the path.
I just have to be open, honest and willing.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen sister. As always a great message. Thanks so much for continuing to share your journey, Hope. Happy New Year!

Christy said...

In my yoga teacher training we talked about the spirit and the body as being dog and master.

Which is which?

I think the consensus was (yoga people never make absolutes!) that if you are in the moment, your spirit is guiding your earthly self. As a Christian, I realized that being in the moment is like a state of grace, really.

When you aren't in the state of grace, you are being drug around by your ego, your wants......

Nice post!

I almost made a big list too this year......

Wait. What? said...

Have a wonderful new year!

owenswain said...

I so glad you are off the leash and that you survived yesterday and 21 years ago yesterday.

Lou said...

You are an interesting writer, always something fresh. Looking forward to your insights & prose in 2009!

annie said...

Very nice, Hope. I love that you know what to do each day to keep sane.

Mary P Jones (MPJ) said...

Happy New Year, Hope!