August has been a full month.  We as a family have done a lot of fun things, which I’m finding necessary as I wade through the grief of losing a close friend, of the passing of a dear mentor who continues to be missed one year later, of my hometown experiencing environmental and financial devastation with the Carlton Complex fire, and of the loss of several close friends’ marriages.  It’s been hard to process it all, hence the lack of writing.  However, as I move through this grief I realize that I need writing as an outlet.  I’m more grounded, present, and clear-minded when I write so I’m going to do a better job of writing in this blog.

Here are several things which have inspired me.

Tim Hawkins.  I went to his concert recently.  I laughed so hard I cried.  The. Whole. Time.  My face hurt.  Look him up on youtube.  You won’t be sorry.  I’m already planning to attend next year’s concert on May 2nd.  He also had a fabulous opener, Taylor Tomlinson.  Check her out, too.

Bears, Bears and More Bears at the Sequoia National Park.  Camping with Friends.  Priceless.  Even if they share their flu with your children and you sleep in your car to avoid getting sick.

Inspiring Quotes:

Reflect on this teaching about Transformation today: Whatever is occurring in the present moment is what we need to deal with right now. Staying with our real experience of ourselves and our situation will teach us exactly what we need to know for growth. (The Wisdom of the Enneagram, 345)

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Class is an aura of confidence that is being sure without being cocky.  Class has nothing to do with money.  Class never runs scared.  It is self-discipline and self-knowledge.  It’s the sure footedness that comes with having proved you can meet life. (Ann Landers)

…Who a person is will ultimately determine if their brains, talents, competencies, energy, effort, deal-making abilities, and opportunities will succeed.  It is one’s makeup as a person, in ways much more than ethics alone, that takes people to success or enables them to sustain it if they ever achieve it. (Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality, Henry Cloud)

Sailing on a gorgeous 75 foot sailboat:

Listening to LET FLO GO, my fabulously talented nieces and nephew’s band

A Helicopter Ride in Billings, Montana

More Bears…A black one (seen on our evening walk)

Yellowstone National Park Beauty:

Cool Geckos in Bozeman Montana’s Museum of the Rockies…

It’s shedding!  A very cool process of biting, rubbing, resting before eating the skin as it’s pulled off…(that part was a bit gross)

Songs that Inspired:

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) — acoustic version Sarah Reeves

Ladders and Parachutes by Lori McKenna

Love Runs Out by OneRepublic

All of Me by John Legend

Blessings and peace to you as August fades away!

It’s been a tough year, especially in April, when it was clear my dear friend, Amy’s cancer, was getting swiftly and progressively worse.  She passed away June 19th.  I miss her dearly.   Then there were the fires that devastated the hills above my parent’s home and much of the valley south of them.  The pictures of the devastation and loss leave me with no words.  I haven’t felt like writing much.  I have few words that have needed to get out.  I’m still not sure I have them now.   So while I have little to reflect on in this moment.  (I’m still wrapping my head around Robin Williams’ death.)  I wanted to share a few highlights that remind me of the goodness that is here for me right now.  Today.

Babies who feel the comfort of their Mommies’ arms and bodies — a Gibbon in this case.

Birds at Bolsa Chica

And Boat Rides with Friends of 20 years.

May you have peace in your heart and good friends by your side.