Finally Friday – do you feel that way?  “We’ve gotten this far not by luck, but by not turning back.”  Mary Chapin Carpenter’s prescient words are relevant for many reasons. Bards have a way of taking feelings and converting them into meaning around which we can coalesce; varying from happy to sad and many points between.  I get it.  Heart rending is sometimes the best way to wring out the pain of less than celebratory life events.  Rending should not be the norm.  If it is, seek help.  Balance in life is critical, especially emotional balance.

Holding on can be taxing – the climb sheer [fill in the blank].  We’ve addressed these topics in previous missives.  They seem to regurgitate as if we yearned to taste and feel them. My goal is to enable you to think beyond the conventional.  We are unconventional – I believe we’ve reached agreement on that point.  If we’re unconventional then we have no obligation to conform, to accept the tried and tired. Interesting how those two words contain the same letters arranged slightly different.

“Why didn’t you reference the tried and true?” Because truth is sometimes relative or conditional.  Truth derives from circumstances and facts.  When circumstances or facts change, then the “true” part of “tried” fails.

“What’s the take away from this lesson dear writer?”

Facts are particular to your situation; right?  What works for one may not work for others.  One size fits most is operative.  Gather information and process.  Information gathering should be life long. Don’t hold decisions hostage to the need for information perfection but don’t be hasty.  Hone the skill of determining the inflection point for distilling information into decision.  I know, some decisions lead to permanent change, others are adjustable.  Decision-making can be scary, unnerving.  “What happens if I’m wrong?”  Unnerving fear of failure can freeze even the heartiest of souls. This part of life isn’t easy – particularly when we are staring down the barrel of physical change; if that’s your objective. Waiting is good sometimes and not healthy other times – especially when waiting generates consternation and other unhealthy results.  There’s no “easy button” for this.  I’ve been on this road for almost three years and finally a few things are coming into focus. I can’t see very far ahead but I can see more today than I could only three months ago.  I label that progress even if I’m a slow learner or lucky.  Precisely why the support network needs to be strong, healthy and understanding.  My support network has saved me more than once.

There’s that concept again – the flip side of ‘healthy’.  The see-saw, yin and yang, overexpression or subjugation are all potentially debilitating.  It’s our goal to make all of this habilitating or rehabilitating.  Be open to the positivity of the universe otherwise it will bounce off you like a rubber ball against a concrete wall.

I know – this one is difficult to understand.  I’ve written it and I’m not sanguine over the content.  Let me know if you find a kernel of usefulness in this offering.

Have a wonderful weekend – may your burden be light and your life rewarding.

Love and hugs, Nikki DeCaro