Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Challenge!

Unfinished Sculpture by Deb Clay - click here to learn more about her charming artwork & poetry!

The word from my heart pocket is Challenge. 

A challenge isn't always welcomed. It is never convenient. That's part of the challenge. The word has taken on nuances of meaning: difficulty, obstacle, trial. Originally, the word came from Middle English, around the year 1125, and it was associated with invitations to duel. Or so it is recorded. 

If we think about our lives in this way, a challenge is an invitation to confront ourselves, to make a demand, to question and to dare. It doesn't have to be a negative experience! Even when it is a surprise, something we hadn't planned, we have a choice on how to see it. Instead of immediately reacting, we can stop and evaluate the qualities of the challenge in front of us. The bigger the challenge, the greater the possibility for reward. 

When we feel threatened or trapped by a challenge, we use a different name. We call it a burden, bad luck, suffering, distress. We spend energy worrying and imagining the worst that can happen when we are in this frame of mind. It works wonders to re-frame and rename what is before us. The word challenge helps us see we have choices. It is open-ended and for some, is motivating and activates movement toward a resolution and even a triumph! If the challenging situation feels overwhelming and beyond our imagination (and control), we can compartmentalize it, breaking it down into manageable bits so it doesn't seem so large. We see we can have an impact. We can feel inspired to "rise to the challenge".

Each of us has felt this! Each of us has overcome our miserable self to become our heroic self. We like this feeling, even if circumstances don't evolve the way we imagined. If we participate fully, using everything we know, we emerge with new information and the good feeling of having tried our best.

These are challenging times. If we focus on the outside - that is, the world around us - we miss the opportunity to personally succeed. The world around us warrants our compassion and observance, our participation when we are needed, and of course, it is there to enjoy. The challenge in changing the circumstances of the world begins with the personal challenges of us as individuals. How we respond to our daily challenges, the manner in which we approach personal hardship and suffering, the way we "see" and relate - calls for exploration. Whenever we do this, what follows is discovery and if taken far enough, success and real understanding. When we choose to give ourselves a challenge, we are taking charge of our lives and there is no greater way to experience living.

Give yourself an edge in 2011. Challenge yourself to get what you want this year. Do you want to go back to school? Have more free time? Create a new lifestyle? Do you want to make art or write or finally learn to play an instrument? Join a theater group? Change jobs? Lose weight? Get into a loving relationship? Make more money? Have more fun?

The idea of having to work for something - to rise to the challenge - gives us that edge. Big or small, when we accept a challenge, we become the hero of our story. 

Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Simple!

Internal Heart by Kathleen Tennant. Click to learn more!

The word from my heart pocket is Simple.

A simple fact. 

The simple truth.

A simple life.

The word almost works like onomatopoeia. Just saying simple makes me want to remove the clutter around me. I want to go through the spaces in my mind and sweep out the corners, freeing it from remnants no longer of service, making room for what is new. I want to see what is there without having to rearrange and re-stack the piles of ideas and plans and once-useful-no-longer-clear opportunities in order to have stretches of surface and time and fields of energy where all that wants to grow has ample light and a place to take root. 

Every year we have a great symbol that rolls by us, THE NEW YEAR, and if we let it, we can be inspired to let go of what isn't working, to simplify the view so we can envision what we want in our future. There is no right or wrong way to do this. We may want to be physical with this process by literally cleaning out drawers and cupboards and shelves. We may need to be free of relationships that bind us to harmful emotions and behavior. Maybe we have a habit(s) that is holding us back. Usually it takes a simple first step to get the ball rolling. The Nike adage "Just Do It", is brilliant in its simple message. In a single movement, we activate. The power is unified and uncomplicated. In simplicity, we begin.

If you are having trouble with your New Year's resolutions, if you want to make sense of the change that is happening, whether your dream is directly in front of you or on the horizon, now is the time. Simply begin, and begin simply. Be singular in your actions and savor the pleasure simplicity brings. The chaos will come soon enough. It is a vital part of creating your goal. And when you start in this uncomplicated and natural way, there is a fascinating and sometimes mysterious quality to it, as if you placed an order and what you need to begin appears. To get to the heart of the matter the fastest and finest way, make it simple.  

Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Festival!

The word from my heart pocket is Festival!

The holidays! A time of celebration that gives opportunity to feel and to express. Each of us chooses how we want to experience the holidays - commercially, religiously, wildly, reverently, tropically, knee-deep in snow. For some it is a time of sadness, a melancholy that comes out as symbolically and as ceremoniously as trimming the tree. Some people have birthdays during the season and feel a bit cheated by Christmas thunder. Traditions, expectations, heightened sensibilities - we are vulnerable this time of year. We are easily manipulated to joy or sadness, which is a clue to us that we also have the power to choose the experience. Because Christmas is a Festival of the Heart, we are open to all it has to offer. 

The playful nature of any festival allows us to let down our guard, to be lighthearted as well as honor what we hold dear. Anything goes! By throwing expectations out the window, we make room for possibility for more fun and a richer experience ... and even new traditions.  

I know about sadness at the holidays. I have also experienced great joy! I have felt completely alone and completely surrounded by love. Every year, something is added to my Christmas memories and my Festival of the Heart writes a new chapter. For me, it is a festival like no other because it draws me in and when I emerge, I am better for my participation. The thoughtfulness, the busyness, the food and drink and music and decorations. The whimsy, the reverence, the majesty, the glitz. Homespun, heartfelt, delicious smells and taste that satisfies every vision of sugarplums I ever had. Wonder, reflection, transporting me to a deeper life experience. What a powerful celebration, this Festival of the Heart!

This holiday season, let your heart lead the way. Celebrate your humanity! Feel the connection among us as humans, and as Souls. We have the power to change moods, moments, our life experience. Let us do it together and bring meaning to the Festival of the Heart!

Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Effusive!

 

The word from my heart pocket is Effusive.

It's sometimes the way it is. We just gush and let it out and say ... everything. 

It's not good or bad. It's ... effusive. So we are exuberant and feel strongly. So we are overflowing with emotion - positive or negative - and we let it overtake our reserve and out it pours, onto everyone and everything.

To be effusive can be good.

We effuse when our child gets the lead in the play (even when he's the 3rd angel on the left). We are verbose when we win the Academy Award. We lose ourselves to the win at the Superbowl and we write volumes of poetry when we are in love.

To be effusive is to overflow. When we cannot contain our feelings, our thoughts, our inner music - we let it go. We dance until dawn. We write until there are no more words. We cheer until we have no more voice. We ...

When we feel strongly, it is not our nature to be close-mouthed and reticent and unsociable. We can be that way but most often we choose that behavior because something is holding us back. No, we are naturally effusive and it is just fine to want to express ourselves.

To be unrestrained can be viewed as inappropriate. Some churches don't care for effusion. Some meetings require a more reserved approach. Classrooms prefer a quiet demeanor and effusion in a library is ...

So effusion might be saved for a place where it is valued. Effusion is an extravagant way of being. Effusion, as enthusiastic as it might be, is meant for ...

... for anywhere - churches, meetings, classrooms and yes, even librarians are effusive. Remember the word discernment? It comes into play here ...

Notice what makes you effusive. Politics? Religion? Education? Family? Creating? Exercise? Nature? Fashion? Now look behind it. What is it that draws you?  Righteousness? Justice? Compassion? Order? Chaos? Love? If you look, you will see the field that holds the earth, ready to burst with growth and bloom. You will recognize it immediately and it is a reason for your being. Effusion tells us what is important to us. What lies at the core of our effusiveness that tells the tale. 

Get out there and radiate, effuse. Find something to get excited about. Enjoy yourself. Let yourself go. Bubble up. Whatever it is you love, let it love you back and together, plant the seed.

Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Appreciate!

The word from my heart pocket is Appreciate.

I'm playing a new game. When I see a piece of artwork I'm attracted to, I spend time with it and name the reasons I love it. That's the easy part. The hard part comes when I see a piece of artwork I don't like and spend time with it (that's hard enough) and name the reasons I don't love it. I find that the more time I spend with either type, I seem to come to a sort of middle ground - learning to find appreciation in all of it. 

To appreciate something - or someone - is to get to know it, and as we do, something magical happens. It increases in worth which is another meaning of the word, appreciate. 

When we are frustrated and can't seem to find a solution, here is a thought: Stop everything and spend time with your problem, your challenge, the person, the situation. Really examine it. Look at it closely and be as openhearted and open-minded as possible. If you can, remove any judgment. Definitely look beyond the surface. 

Appreciation comes from an unusual source that is unique to each situation. To experience it, we have to allow it to happen. It is possible to appreciate every moment and that takes a really practiced person but it is possible and it 100% changes how a human being experiences life.

Judgment is a giant wall that stands in the way of appreciation, and ultimately, beauty. Appreciation forgoes judging, releases it to kindness which leads a person to compassion. I have experienced the biggest deepest hole of pain and literally been lifted up and out of that hole by words of genuine appreciation. The person had no idea it was happening. The person never will. 

We have that much power and all it takes is stopping to look and see what is actually before us. 

Start where you are. Look around you. Appreciate what you see. Acknowledge it. Look for its beauty. From there, move into the world. As you go about today, do so in appreciation. Feel how good life is. Soon, you'll start seeing the beauty of it all, and it will cause you to want to take better care. 

Appreciation changes how you see. Appreciation increases the value of living.  

Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Inquisitive!

Yardbirds - click for more info

The word from my heart pocket is Inquisitive.

What is inquisitive not?

Indifferent. 

Unconcerned.

Uninterested.

Could care less.

Dear me. 

We've all felt that way but most of the time, we human beings are highly inquisitive. In fact, we spend a great deal of time trying to "figure it out". It doesn't matter what subject it is, we want to KNOW.

Our minds seem to always be thinking, wondering, asking, probing, investigating, searching - for answers, for solutions, for new and different, for better and faster. We are very VERY inquisitive!

A four year old gets stuck on the question, "Why?". It's annoying when we're busy but truthfully, of all the questions, it packs a real punch in just one word. And it's the one that has brought about a great many discoveries. It's so important, I can't imagine why we don't have a national Why? Week. Indeed, we need to honor our inquisitive nature, fostering it in education and in the home. It is a characteristic that is to be nurtured and since it is a part of our DNA anyway, why not let it rip?!

A curious nature is highly creative. As a society, we have sent mixed messages. We elevate our inventors and explorers and yet we have said our children should be seen and not heard; we have become angry when one too many whys crops up in the conversation; we've left no space/time in the classroom for curious natures and we've taken the learning out of teaching by teaching not to the student but to the test.

Einstein is credited with the quote, "Why should I memorize something I can look up in a book?" Or on the internet?

There is, of course, room for memorization. Some of those memories spark our most inquisitive thoughts. But there must be room - room in the mind, room in the classroom, room in our days to honor our questions and to allow the thinking and dreaming that brings solutions and inventions alive!

How many times have we sat at a conference and wanted to raise our hands to ask a question, but didn't? How often have we sat in a classroom and wanted to interrupt with a thought sparked by the teacher's words? How many times have we worked with our hands, making and trying and wondered how we might make a better thing? Where do the birds go in winter? How do they fly? Why does this person have cancer and that person does not? What are the questions I should ask to help myself live a more meaningful life? What do I want to do today? (often asked and often goes unanswered)

Be interested and you'll soon become interesting. Start a conversation. Get people talking. Explore ideas and challenge the status quo. Be inventive. Be curious. Be inquisitive.

Try this:  If you don't know, ask.

Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Beware!

 

Artist is unknown. Please comment if you recognize the piece.

(or can read the name of the artist's signature!)

The word from my heart pocket is Beware.

It's an old word. It came from two words: ben + war. Be wary. Caution. Be careful. Keep on your toes. Look out. Take care. 

Of course it grew from there, as words are wont to do. They take on meanings and evolve into something more dramatic and sometimes have no semblance of the original meaning. 

Initially meant as a warning, in the case of beware, it might have a gentler and deeper meaning if read as be aware. In fact, I like it all as one word: be'ware. To be aware is to live in the moment, to notice your surroundings and be in tune with your environment. When we see the word - beware - do you feel the foreboding turn it takes? The hair rises on the back of our necks. We look behind us. We are ready for the worst. 

The softer version of beware is its original meaning. It has a cautionary tone but it absolutely puts us in the present. Almost like a well-wish such as "God speed" or "Safe travels!", when we are aware of ourselves as we move through the day, that day becomes more meaningful. We get absorbed in our activities. Taking a moment to stop and beware, might keep us from a mishap, cause us to rethink or make sure before sending that email, or simply enjoy the moment before it is gone.

Beware this day. Notice things. Sharpen your listening skills. Stop and smell the roses. Look out for your well being. Attend your life. Be'ware.

Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Disguise!

The word from my heart pocket is Disguise.

It doesn't take much. A little make-up, a pair of glasses, a wig. yikes. Scary. 

In anticipation of Halloween, I thought it might be fun to talk about the word disguise. Halloween was one of the best holidays enjoyed when I was a child. The memories for me are about family and neighbors, working on my costume, weeks of anticipation, bags full of candy and tummy aches, mystery and intrigue, my brother's scary stories and the opportunity to "be" someone else. 

Dressing up in a disguise is a valuable experience. Actors do it. Writers do it when they create characters, putting on paper the personalities - costuming them, giving them dialogue, saying things the writer might want to express in his daily life. Artists do it in their paintings. We all do it a bit in our daily lives. We affect a style, a persona and we act the part. We may not do it consciously, but take a minute. Look at what you're wearing this moment. Why did you choose it? Comfort? Dressed for a special meeting today? Going to exercise? To the city? To work in the garden, to clean house, to impress someone at work?

We disguise ourselves in other ways. We pretend to agree when we don't. We disguise our opinions in double talk. We cloak our thoughts in silence. We dress our egos in grand style in an attempt to appear better than we feel we are. We affect mannerisms and language and attitudes to fit in, to impress, to be accepted, to compensate for areas we feel are lacking. We laugh too loud, we always have the last word, we sympathize when we don't really care. We say we will when we have no intention of doing so. We disguise our lives with unnecessary travel and business meetings and self-importance. Sometimes our disguise is such a good one and we wear it so often, we actually thing it's who we are.

Wearing masks, misrepresenting ourselves to the world always ends in exposure. Disguising our feelings only delays an outburst or unwanted display and never gets the desired effect. Calculating some sort of deceit, disguising any inadequacies we experience only manages to complicate any situation or relationship. We are never as heavily veiled as we think. People often see through the disguise to the personality beneath. 

Every Halloween my goal was to not be recognized as myself. Every Halloween, I would go door to door and my neighbors would always say, "Ooooooo, Kittie, what a wonderful costume!" I finally asked, 'How did you know it was me?" "You can't hide that giggle!", they would say. 

Some things, you can't disguise.

Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Celebrate!

Artwork by Ken Johnston - For more, click here ...

The word from my heart pocket is Celebrate!

Whoopee!!! 

We associate a celebration with some sort of achievement or holiday. We do it up right with balloons and big amounts of our favorite foods. We invite the closest of friends to share the good news. We lift a glass to the bride and groom. We honor the graduate with pomp and circumstance. We shoot fireworks celebrating our freedom. We give thanks, we give gifts, we commemorate the lives of those who make their transition to what is next ...

We can celebrate each day with cream in our coffee and a spring in our step. We can take a minute to celebrate the joy of working and that we have work to do. We can revel in our surroundings - our home, our workplace, our time with family and friends. We can beat the drum when our team wins. We can glow in the warmth of romance. We can applaud and rave, salute and honor with a moment of silence.

To celebrate is to make something special. By adding balloons to your ordinary day, somehow it gets better. The time to celebrate is now, this minute. Don't wait for your birthday or the weekend or for Hallmark to designate the day. Honor THIS day because inside of it is everything you need. Celebrate its challenges and the chance to find solutions. Celebrate the smiles you give and get, the food you eat and the sunshine or the rain. Toss out any complaining and adopt the gratitude your celebration deserves. 

There's no doubt about it. Life is an Art Party. Whoop it up and have a great day!

  (Click here to get the celebration started!!!)

Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Example!

Wassily Kandinsky - Arch and Point - for more, click here ...

The word from my heart pocket is Example.

I'm one. You're one. There's no way around it.

Arch and point. Ready, aim, fire. We wake up in the morning, and BOOM! we're examples. It's not necessary to fret about this. It's not a test and there's no official grading system. 

It might be good to be mindful of our visibility. You might not feel you are an example to anyone, but at any given moment, it's possible. Even when we look back on our lives, we find we are an example to ourselves. We are 'case in point', history; an illustration of how we have lived.

Take a moment to reflect on who your heroes are. Go ahead, list them. Here are some of mine:

Meryl Streep, Elmer Nesius, Mary Angela Butler, Wassily Kandinsky, Robert Henri, Grandma Moses, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Margaret J. Wheatley, Eleanor Roosevelt, Charles Dickens, Madeleine L'Engle, Joseph Campbell, Dag Hammersjold, Sir Ken Robinson, Isak Denisen, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, David Foster, Richard Feynman, Teddy Roosevelt.

Expressives, humanitarians, adventurers, philosophers, leaders, storytellers, humorists, healers.

Make a list of your heroes and you will find your examples. You will discover what you love most about yourself. When you do this, you have a clear list of qualities that exist inside you that point to examples of your passions, what you admire, what you value, what you aspire most to be ... indeed, who you truly are. 

To be an example is to live. To be a good example is to live mindfully. We don't have to be perfect to be a good example. In fact, it is best if we trade perfection for exploration. If we do this, we will learn more, we will live more fully and our example will shine.

We are our own paradigm. We get to write our story, even though the settings and cast of characters might sometimes be chosen by another writer. Being an example can be an important position in life. When we are conscious of it, we seem to somehow alter the face of our example so it is best to think of it, take stock of where we are in the moment, make any repairs to our example, and move on. When we linger too long on the notion of what a great example we are, we become a new sort of example.

Time to make your list. You'll start and find you're smiling at the end. I'm guessing you'll also be inspired to be your best example. If you can, simply be your most happy self. Example promises to follow ...