“Maggie fell and broke her leg, let’s start a meal chain.” – Sharon Westbrook

Book & Love Club

It was time to pay some attention to maintenance, at least that’s what the lighted alert was flashing in its specific, noticeable car-dashboard-spot. It had been there for three or four days and yesterday the designated day to take the car to be serviced at a local dealership. That’s when another sign appeared outside the car, just up ahead on the road, suggesting to all captured-eyes that cars aren’t exclusive in the need to receive a little help and assistance from time to time.

The sign, speaking at freeway speed, was on the back of a large horse trailer being towed behind a dual-wheeled, heavy duty, horse packing, pickup truck.

“Spur on to offer more caring and kindness,” it proclaimed.

The letters were large and scripted in an artistic manner to complement its accompanying stylized cowboy boots, adorned with the referenced spurs, drawing. The entire image came together to graphically inspire as well as to spur personal remembrance.

Two days earlier, sixteen members of a local book club greeted each other just before club president, Sharon Westbrook, started the once monthly meeting by saying, “Maggie fell and broke her leg, let’s start a meal chain.” This pronouncement was quickly followed with affirmative nods and whispered support.

“Welcome back to Laura!” Sharon continued. 

You see, Laura had missed the last two club meetings as a result of necessary recuperation from open heart surgery. She was back in attendance, looking healthy and happy to be back midst such dear friends. These same friends had compassionately delivered meals to Laura and her husband Rog for weeks prior to the group’s current meeting. Such personal and individualized affection is the foundational character of this book club.

Recognizing this, one of the members said, “We should change the name of our club! We should call it the Book and Love Club! Because it perfectly describes our shared purpose.”

There were more nods of approval, more whispers of support upon the just stated exclamation. And, it was a statement to be supported and illustrated just two days later in another way.

It was personified on the back of that uniquely-characterized-horse-trailer traveling north. That truck and trailer were not going to the same auto dealership for suggested maintenance. Nor were any of the speeding-forward travelers going to the local Book and Love Club to receive offered personal inspiration and friendship.

But the message is spurring thousands toward offering more care and kindness.

What are you doing to urge yourself and others toward greater caring and kindness, where ever you go?

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I’ve helped thousands of people, as a real estate & lifestyle expert, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve Realesation. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home By Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M8ru02iWVObDzGsbKB1xUYyRMxfiYlez/view?usp=sharing

“A mother, and community, caring for her disabled son.” – Friday Night at Red’s

Caring to the Music

The night was dancing to music. It couldn’t have been a more perfect night. The temperature was at about seventy degrees, there were some colorful clouds capturing the vestiges of the sun’s rays before they were obscured by trembling tree foliage and a local band was bringing favorites of the past to life. It was a welcoming social. Especially at one, particular table.

That specific table was surrounded by an eye-catching group of people. One man was dressed as a train engineer of a bygone era. He was wearing bib-overalls, a white shirt and a sporty, bright red bowtie. The rest of the people seated at the table were younger than he and wore a more common fashion to an evening of outdoor music, drink and food. And, one man, in their group, rolled up in his own chair and sat kitty-corner to a bright-eyed woman who was, likely his mother. Those seated there combined to offer a distinctive contrast to most of the other neighbors and friends who were talking, eating, drinking and listening to the band. But, the group’s most distinguishing character was yet to be presented.

It wasn’t long before the Red’s Attending Staff brought an arm-load of pizza and drinks to that specific table. And, everyone sitting there soon began to transfer slices of pie to their individual plates and they began to eat. Well, everyone but two people.

The mother took a slice and began to cut it into bite-sized pieces as the others in her party ate enthusiastically. When she finished carefully cutting, she picked up a fork and gently, lovingly fed her disabled son each piece. When one piece was finished she followed the same process until both she and he were satisfied. She didn’t eat one bite until she had fully cared for him. Her selfless act of love was silent and unnoticed by most everyone else at the outdoor gathering.

But the occupants sitting at this table were not completely disregarded. When their meal was completed many others took the initiative to come over to talk with them. They were fully embraced by the community in a continued offering of love and affection as the party persisted all around as if nothing unusual was occurring. It was loud and active enough to offer a belief and possibility that the distraction of music, drink and socializing would obscure individual acts of love. Yet that was not the case.

A party of deeper meaning was occurring. It was one party, person after person, who came to offer attention and love to each other in a natural and fitting manner. Everyone was of part of an individualized act of goodness.

It was caring to the music.

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I’ve helped thousands of people, as a real estate & lifestyle expert, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve Realesation. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and HomeByDesign Magazine to stir your heart and mind:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M8ru02iWVObDzGsbKB1xUYyRMxfiYlez/view?usp=sharing

“Did I spend the day chasing mice or hunting antelope?” – Newt Gingrich

Chasing Mice?

One morning this week I found myself sitting in front of my computer aimlessly reviewing email. I knew the vast majority of it was of little or no importance, yet there I sat when I had a life to write. It was then that some words of former Speaker of The US House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich came galloping through my thoughts.

“Did I spend the day chasing mice or hunting antelope?”

People love to tear and tell stories. 

Does the story of chasing mice sound familiar to you? Do you find yourself engrossed in insignificant activities that may seem productive but ultimately drain your energy without providing substantial progress toward what you often, weakly profess as important and significant? What’s keeping you from writing the life story you want to tell?

Is your personal story negotiable? See if you can begin telling the story of how you achieved the “impossible.” When you do, you’ll suddenly begin to discover ways to make it come true.

Should you expect to encounter resistance to such a fantastical story? Yes! But, here’s the thing. Such resistance is usually a “test me challenge” (TMC). It appears to be a formidable barrier, but when begin to take steps to make your story real, such obstacles quickly crumble. They are not as hard to overcome as expected and are simply potential subplots.

Is it hard to write past subplots? This question came to me toward the end of one day after chasing distracting subplots almost all day. When noticing the unyielding time in the upper right-hand corner of my computer, panic gripped my consciousness. I had very little time in which to write the story of hour I had conquered one day. 

Writing the story of achieving your impossible is a tale of how you overcame obstacles that most others fall prey to. It means illustrating how you heroically engaged in meaningful living and found hoped-for promise and substantial rewards in the end. Write a happy ending from the beginning, how you accomplished more in the span of two hours than another person could accomplish in a whole day, in a whole lifetime. 

Why not begin writing your story of achieving the impossible at the commencement each day?  Show how you evaded capture by the cunning forces surrounding you. Show that you’ve been hearing the internal call of your deepest yearning.

Is there a yearning crying from your subconscious, speaking to you about something being denied?

Have you been telling yourself a story of a lesser life? 

Yes. People love to hear and tell stories. Work on your story every day. Embrace the ethos of a writer.  It may require a little editing in mindset and priorities. You may need to cultivate a writer’s discipline and focus on endeavors that align with your developing values and aspirations. It may require the setting of a new or clearer plot, a prioritization of tasks, and allocating resources judiciously. Start today.

Write your story on purpose.

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I’ve helped thousands of people, as a real estate & lifestyle expert, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve Realesation. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and HomeByDesign Magazine to stir your heart and mind:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O6csyUhByBzo_Z50rJcY9w0uAonVelgE/view?usp=sharing

Measuring Success - Monday's Warm Cocoa, 6 May 2024

“Just be a little patient with them and they’ll come back.” – Tony Garcia

Measuring Success

“Just be a little patient with them and they’ll come back,” Tony Garcia said as we stood looking at the decimated, obviously-hurt holly plants in front of us.

I called Tony for advice because he is one of my go to friends when it comes to gardening and landscape maintenance. He always seems to be able to look past a plant’s current condition to foresee what it will look like if offered healing care and patience. In this case, he knew that the extra harsh winter had only damaged the outer branches and leaves of the plants. And, since he helps care for and maintain these same plants, he is aware of the strength residing in their roots. He sees the whole plant, not just what it reveals of itself above the soil, so I trusted Tony’s recommendation of offering patience and observed.

And, as spring advanced with its life-giving caress of temperature moderation and enriching rain, the strength hidden in the roots, foreknown by Tony, began to expose itself in the form of successful, fresh growth.

Booker T. Washington once said, “Success is to be measured not so much by the position one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”

These holly plants, once distressed by a seasonable obstacle, were soon in the process of becoming whole and beautiful again.

If you’ve run into some seasonable obstacles in your life, you can hold Tony’s recommendations with confidence. After all, everyone runs into seasonable obstacles on their journey.

Be patient with yourself. Some challenges will feel as if they’ve trimmed you right down to your roots. And remember, it may take more time than desired for your roots to fully heal you, especially if you feel as if you’ve been trimmed right down to the ground. Some damage may take years to be overcome so keep looking to your roots for strength. 

Nourish your roots daily. Be sure to place yourself in a position to receive selfcare. My friend Dawn Spencer used a simple, daily practice of reciting her blessings to start down her own healing path.

Dawn said, “I didn’t know if reciting my blessings every day would make a difference or not, but I did it anyway. My healing didn’t happen immediately while doing so, but I soon began to notice incremental improvements.” 

In her case, she was working with a bank to make progress toward catching up on late payments. Her bank’s customer service representative kindly worked with her face-to-face on a regular basis.

“She began to point out my progress as we met,” Dawn explained. “As I made progress toward catching up, I saw excitement showing on my customer service representative’s face. She repeatedly told me I was doing well and how impressed she was. As we continued working together my belief grew into rock-hard confidence, right up to the time I recognized myself as successful and fully healed, better and stronger than before.”

Like Dawn, you can look past your current condition and foreknow your immanent beauty by being patient with yourself, strengthening your roots and measuring your success by the obstacles you overcome, no matter what season of life you’re in.

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I’ve helped thousands of people, as a real estate & lifestyle expert, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve Realesation. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and HomeByDesign Magazine to stir your heart and mind:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O6csyUhByBzo_Z50rJcY9w0uAonVelgE/view?usp=sharing