My "First 100 Days" (Days 3 & 4)

     Inspired by the media, whose tradition it is to monitor the first 100 days of a newly sworn in president, and now watching our newly elected Commander in Chief DO just that (or undo, as the case may be), I pledged four days ago to embrace my own first 100 days and challenged my Facebook friends to do the same.

     Brief background:  For 20 years I worked alongside a man whose goal in life was to master the art of the question. Second to this obsession was an absolute and critical discipline of maintaining respect and civility when given the honor to host opposing forces.

     In 2005 Teddy Bart's Round Table came to an abrupt and sudden halt and while a shock to Teddy, to me, our newly unemployed employees and a handful of devoted fans, I inwardly felt I was to blame as I had grown weary of the anger and had no fight left in me when they pulled the plug.

     For the next 12 years I did everything opposite my life of 20 years prior. I went on a silence sabbatical. I holed up in monasteries. Writing became my passion and profession, and in a series of events that can only be described as Beyond Reason, I find myself today on a farm, back in my hometown, living amongst a sea of fluffy white dogs in an ocean of funny-faced goats.

     Thinking myself free from the seductress of my former life, I woke up several weeks ago-- to find myself breathing that same toxic air. I had, like that frog in the boiling pot, placed myself back among the very vexations I thought I had escaped. My morning writing ritual got replaced with morning news; my ramp-down to rest, escorted by national followed by cable news shows. Before I knew it I was fully engaged, mentally deteriorating, and in need of an intervention fast. Only problem was, there was no one to intervene: my friends had become news junkies as well. (And my old running buddies were oh to happy to welcome me home like some dyslexic version of the Prodigal daughter.)
      But this world was no longer my home. I had moved from this home to a simpler place. My home today does not drain like the last one did. It inspires and uplifts. Why was I knowingly letting old patterns back in....?
   
     I had to escape. I retraced the steps of how I'd done it before. And I prayed. A lot. And then this challenge thing hit me.

     Ours is not a political battle. It's an internal battle. I'm never gonna meet Donald Trump. So why was I letting him take up so much of MY inner real estate? Sure, I want to be active when the situation calls for it, but I don't need to consume endless hours of news to know when that is. (I've got friends who cull most of this stuff out for me. Plus, like a bad soap opera, you can miss a few episodes and still get there before the cliffhanger.)

     Don't get me wrong. There's a bunch of flat out FEAR going on right now and I'm not immune. But I DO have an antidote. And I know MY antidote is stronger than the virus. Not to sound like a peacenic here (cause I know that turns some folks off) but everything from my faith to my grit to my past life experience has proven to me that love CAN and WILL prevail if you don't let fear hold the spot.
     Because I was exhausted I decided to start small. How hard is it to pick up a remote and turn off a TV? (Hey-- here's one even better. Don't pick it up to start with: Energy saved.) I won't say I'm not watching anything...(Not big on 'cold turkey') but I HAVE made a concerted effort NOT to turn it on first thing. Turns out the world gets by just fine while I hug my goats and enjoy my morning silence.
     And with that one gesture, the momentum began... With the time I've saved (not to mention the energy) guess what? There's time to do something different. Something OPPOSITE even. (That'll get 'em :) Something LOVING and with the intended notion of NOT letting the fear grab hold. (I need my energy elsewhere, thank you very much.)
 
     Day One: We put up a swing! Seems a simple thing, but it was a beautiful Sunday (my 100 days started a couple behind his)...I'd forgotten the simple pleasure of swinging on a rope swing... (Now I can do it anytime I want a rush.)
     Day Two: I hugged, and I mean really hugged each and every critter. Rather than rush through the morning feedings (done with news going on in the background up till yesterday) I MINDFULLY poured love into the lifeforms that live around me...To think there are things right outside my door, that can instantly turn my mood from sad to happy, from fearful to loving...Hello? Why wouldn't I take advantage of that...OFTEN? (What am I, crazy?)
     Day Three found me SO into the momentum, I got in several things:
--I began "The Purpose Driven Life" ~ I knew of the book, but had never DONE the book. A precious homeless man actually GAVE me this book yesterday. (How's that for coincidence?) Seemed a sign to toss it in the mix.
--Took an extra long walk with Roz in the woods (this alone, worth the price of the ticket)
--Began mapping a plan to create nature trails in said woods: a dream I've had for others someday to enjoy the same. Creating is my favorite thing to do...Why would I let TV rob me of this bliss?
--Helped my mom~ organized her storage closet, packed away her Christmas things...helped her make her bed...little tiny gestures to me, HUGE helps to her...(Good feelings all the way around.)

     And then I did something I haven't done in ages: I sat down with her over a dinner she prepared with her own feeble hands and I listened. She shared stories of her past...stories that made us laugh. With no TV, no mention of politics, we spoke only of things in her life that were precious to her and a few things going on in mine...

     And just before bed, I talked with not one, but two very close and soulful girlfriends...and not just gossipy, chit-chat talk, but deep and soulful, life-refleacting conversations. Like me they are in very tender places in their lives and I support that. I encourage that search. This has not been the most lucrative of years for me (putting it more than mildly), but I am RICH in meaningful friendships.  As each of us struggles with our own life's questions we came to remind ourselves that the whole world is as well...I was reminded of the healing comfort of a caring friend...

   ...which leads me to Day Four: (I'm writing this early so it hasn't happened yet, but in my mind it's going to be FABULOUS!!!)

     I'm going to be on the radio today...first time in over a decade (save for that one appearance on Josh's gardening show :)  I'd say I'm nervous, but only to the extent that radio once represented toxicity for me, in this case I am in utter awe of the talent and in love with the notion of sitting in front of a mic once again with a friend I've long wanted to share a mic with ~

     Thank you Devon O'Day for the invite to guest host with you this afternoon. For those who care to tune in/call in/listen in, I'll be with Devon from 3 - 6 pm on 650 WSM-AM. What's more, I will be taking a part of my world with me. Devon is an animal nut like me, so it seemed only fitting she meet Little Baby Hershey and soon she will! (Look out WSM, here we come!)

     All to say if we've learned nothing else from this past year in particular, there is a momentum building and its palpable. Be it campaign rallies or women's marches, there is power in setting your mind to something bigger and power in joining forces with others.  It has always, ALWAYS been my experience that once a decision is made, the doing becomes effortless as we learn to get out of our own way. (The reinforcements come out of the darndest places.)

     I made a decision not to let it get to me. I won't say I don't have my days, but I DO have a choice as to what to do about it. Here's to the next 100 and beyond. I choose peace. I choose love. I choose to take the one thing "I" have a say in and that is where I let my thoughts take root. It all begins with a single change to whatever it was that wasn't taking me in that direction.

     (NOTE: I was serious when I said I am keeping a notebook, and recommend you do as well. The power of positive, creative choices is palpable. Our answers aren't in Washington folks. Our answers are in our own back yards. ((goats or no goats)) ~ Blessings to you this day. Tune us in if you're near a radio!)