August 2008 Archives

Today I finally filled in the marble spiral in my garden with white sand. I don't know how it looks yet -- the sun has set and it's too dark outside!

Here's a sad card I got last week that I hope becomes a happy card.

Although anger is a normal emotion, it can often lead us to do things that don't bring us closer to what we really want in life. And too much anger just makes you and everyone around you unhappy, regardless of how justified it is.

I'm starting a new project today and finding that my feelings were wrong and it's not as hard as I'd thought. Dating is like that too. The key I think is to avoid a "high stakes" mentality... it's just meeting someone, and it might be fun, that's all. Dating a lot helps avoid that "this is my only chance" feeling, and is good practice, too. Here's a card about that.

I'm going to Six Flags tomorrow. That's a great reason for living. So are fresh apples in the grocery store I can make into a pie. Keep thinking like that and soon you'll have a long list of reasons life is good.

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I have a friend with parents having a hard time handling the fact that children grow up. This card spoke to me today.

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Somebody’s been spending too much time practicing hand-eye coordination and not enough time practicing social skills…

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I notice the confusion in this card with "I" and "we"... hopefully both people will be involved in the decision here. :)

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Yesterday, Ginger and I started my Cape Cod trip by visiting the first park we saw, which turned out to be a campground. We couldn't find any walking paths and the first turn we made was the camp's dump. Finally we found a walking path but it didn't go anywhere. Just when I was hating serendipity, we came across some wild blueberries, an icon of my childhood. We picked and ate some. What a delight!

It's symbolic I suppose that the best can come out of the worst, and to be open to surprises. Here's a card about that.

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Today I met someone with bad luck in love. She had so many theories about the cause: the city she was in, sexuality, the fact that she was living with her partner when it turned bed, the fact that they met in a shopping mall.

Clearly the right path to love is to avoid meeting people in shopping malls! :)

This kind of magical thinking gets you nowhere except more pain. Just pick people who are good to you. It doesn't matter about the mall, or whether there's sex, or what city you live in. Just choose people who are good to you, and don't be afraid. A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.

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I'm investing today helping a friend find a job. That's the kind of showing love you should be getting and giving in any healthy relationship: friend, romance, family, even work.

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This card reminds me of myself a long time ago. Yes, it is possible to overcome social anxiety. :)

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It's a mistake to think that you have to figure life all out right away. Sometimes, you just try stuff and see what works. That requires a good inner sense of what's making you happy. Here's a question about that.

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Today an article came out in the Boston Globe on the Abyss, here. There are commonly people in the garden all day, every day now, and in the evening as well since we have night lighting. It's nice having so many friendly faces around.

What's my next step?

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I'm taking my best friend to an amusement park today for his birthday. Not everything is perfect in his life right now, but embracing life is going to give him strength. And me too.

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We have a new potential roommate, whom I took to a museum and a park today. It was nice to spend some time getting comfortable with someone who may soon share our home.

This card made me wonder if there's really anything about a successful marriage that's different than any sucessful relationship. Basically, be good to each other, and don't tolerate someone who's not good to you.

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Today, my first email question for the Abyss. If you want to submit your own question online, just click "Write a Card".

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Last night I went to watch the Perseids meteor shower. I chose a bad place -- too much light pollution -- but the sky was nice and we saw a deer! A good example of bad luck turning good. There's always this kind of potential in a downturn. It shakes up your life and opens you to possibilities.

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I went to my hometown, Rehoboth, Massachusetts, on Sunday to an agricultural fair. I took Ginger and showed her the house I grew up in. I'm such a city person now I can't really imagine choosing to live in such a small town. So I commonly complain about how boring it was.

Will I ever find true love?

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My friend Joan is back from vacation! She has encouraged me to write a book. But about what? It's nice to have someone who believes in me. If only I could figure out what next. I think this Abyss project is helping. Here's a card on that topic.

What is my life's work, my soul purpose?

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What if I fail

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I managed to lay down the rest of the marble scraps in the spiral today, in my garden. They're not flat yet and need to be leveled. When it's done I'm going to be able to really relax, but right now I am still investing energy.

Here's a card about when to tell that you've invested too much energy and should cut your losses. Never, ever let someone take advantage of your willingness to give and not receive back.

I love him. But I just don't feel any peace or happiness flow back and forth. I feel like if I give it my all + sacrifice... he could be happy. I could make him happy.

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Yesterday, while working in the garden, I was approached simultaneously by a parking officer and a homeless man, people I have come to think of as "the enemy" and always ignore in public. The homeless man was strangely frank about alcoholism and choosing to live on the street because he doesn't like people in the local shelter. He wanted money. The parking officer wanted tape for her broken glasses.

I showed some homeless man some respect in conversation but didn't give him any money. The parking officer gave him a dollar and sort of told him to get lost. I think we were both right.

Does God talk through our thoughts.

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Today I managed to finish all of the outer spiral, the marble patio in the center of the Abyss in the garden. It is hard to lay down perfectly level marble slabs! I have a lot of respect for bricklayers now. And love for the world, as I hope this person below may find.

How can I find God when our world is so horrible?

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Lynda and I worked in the garden today. It's nice to actually be out there when people stop by. Some people really want to stay on the street and ask questions. I encourage them to come in and experience it for themselves.

He keeps going back and forth about wanting to be with me. He says this time he's sure and ready & do anything to be with me.

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A partner and I went to a public beach at night and today went to a water park. It was so nice just to get away from it all for a day, something I should do more often, something I have recently learned.

Here's a card about how to learn life lessons.

How do you recognize a "life lesson"?

Keep a diary and every day write down your happiness now, not expected or past, on a scale of 1 to 10. If it goes up, you are learning life lessons! Keep at it! :)