Flow

 

Be like water - flow around obstacles.

We can butt our heads against obstacles, or we can find a way around them. It takes a little more ingenuity, and a bit more hard work, but it can usually be done. The thing is, if you manage to get around the obstacle, you don't have whining rights any more. For some people, that is a big downside. They like to whine and whinge, so actually doing something about the problem is not their aim. You know people like that - they complain about something, and you offer several possible solutions, but they just make more excuses. They don't really want to do anything to change.

So are you a whiner or a flow-er? 

Hot!

 

When the heat is on, stay cool!

We're having a little heatwave before Christmas here in Adelaide, so staying cool is on everyone's mind. But the words also apply to metaphorical heated situations. Staying cool is so important when harsh words are flying. Often we take things personally that are not meant that way. If you have the opportunity, sit with your emotion before responding. If you don't have the luxury of time, take a breath and don't make a knee-jerk response.

And I'd like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas. I've been accidentally absent for over a month, but things have been happening towards our Christmas church services behind the scenes, so I haven't been idle :)

Speak up!

 

If you want to be heard, you have to speak.

There is no point whining about things when you had the opportunity to say something, but stayed silent. Yes, it can be scary, especially if everyone else in the room is saying something else, but if you stay silent in the room, then you need to stay silent outside it, too. It's hard.

Steps

Not all steps are equal. Catch your breath on the plateaus. 

Most of us are familiar with the concept of getting in our 10,000 steps a day, or whatever the recommended number is this week. But not all steps are equal. I live in the Adelaide Hills, and unless I walk along the ridge line down the main road, I have to cope with a very steep incline/decline. My phone, which is my chosen step-counter, doesn't take into account whether I am walking on the flat or climbing up a 60 degree incline. My body can definitely tell the difference, though!

In life's rollercoaster often we think that when we are on a plateau that we aren't going anywhere. Unless we are climbing, or heading downhill, it can feel that we are just passing time. However, my walks this week have shown me how the occasional plateau has allowed for the catching of breath before the next climb or descent. The plateau allows us to take time, to ponder, to build up our energy for whatever is coming next. 

So remember, not all steps are equal, and catch your breath when the path evens out.

Making a mark

How will you make your mark in the final days of the year?

There aren't that many days left until the end of 2025. What would you like to achieve before year's end? They say it takes about 28 days to start a new habit, so there's still time. Who says you have to wait until the new year to start new things?

Threads

The threads come together.

Often we don't see how things are linked until afterwards. This is why it is good to pursue many threads and see where they join up. I have tried many different arts and crafts over the years. They come in useful when my husband says, "Can you..." for Christmas or Easter projects. I can look at all the things I know how to do and work out a way to produce what is required. Things that seem not to be connected can be pulled together to make something completely new. 

Ebbs and flows

 

Ebb and flow - the sea smoothes the sand and gives a clean surface to mark again. 

With most things, we have the chance to start again. It may take a few waves to remove all the marks from the sand, but eventually there is a clean canvas to start again. With art, it is possible to just turn the page/white or black out the canvas/unravel the knitting and make a new start. 

Do better!

Inform yourself.  

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." Maya Angelou.

I'm reading Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Saad at the moment. It's challenging, in your face, and a completely necessary read. As a white cis woman I have a lot of privilege that is not always easy to see when you were born with it and live surrounded by it. I do my best to be informed, reading widely and learning how to do better. I fail a lot, but I try to learn from it. 

The more you know, the more you can see. The better informed you are, the better equipped you are to speak out and do the work of antiracism. It's hard, uncomfortable work, and it will take a lifetime, but it is worth it to give dignity, a listening ear, and love to our brothers and sisters. 

Are you prepared to inform yourself?

Halfway

 

When the job is half done, look at how far you've come, not just how far you have to go.

It is so easy, when we are in the middle of something, to only see how much more there is to do. This is how I feel about our garden at the moment. We have had the perfect weather to make the weeds proliferate like I've never seen before. Anyone seeing our garden would think it is a complete mess (which it is!). What they can't see is that I filled two green bins this week clearing the 'lawn' of weeds. It is better than it was. There is only so much time (and so much space in the bin) to get on with the job. But I have made significant progress. And once the bins have been emptied, I'll be able to make some more. 

Take the time to see how far you have come, and celebrate it. You've done the work. Yes, there's more work to be done, but you're in it, doing it, making progress.

Fly!

 

Don't rest so long that you forget how to fly.

There are times when we need to step back from something and rest. Rest is good and necessary. But it can be easy then to never step back up again. The longer we stay away from something the more our 'muscles' for it weaken. We can be aware of that weakening and that can make us more nervous of stepping up again. We get used to walking around instead of flying the way we were born to.

So enjoy your rest, but don't forget to stretch those wings and take to the sky again.