At the Instigator’s Experience in Los Angeles,  that I was privileged to be selected to attend,a very special person spoke. His name is Greg Hartle. In fact, he was one of the main people, besides Srini Rao and others in his ‘tribe” who was a MAJOR “seed chucker” You now the rare person that cuts to the very core of your BEing.
Greg affirms you, encouraged you, inspired you all while giving you a “keister kick” as Greg REFUSES at every turn, to let his current circumstance define his reality Greg, by sharing examples from his adventures and opportunities, even though living  with HUGE obstacles and adversity, LIVING and BEing, despite the  knowledge he may have a year or less to live, due to a rare kidney disease.
Greg reminded us to be great story tellers. NO. BRILLIANT story tellers – like how he sold everything but his laptop, some clothes and $10! You can hear that story on the Glen Beck Show TODAY (part one was yesterday – go to http://www.theblazetv.com or check your cable networks. Even if you don’t agree/like Glenn,  he brings people like Greg to prove we  CAN make it. People who are raw, People who are REAL. People who will tell you like it is and you take it from there.
Be resourceful. Be Creative. Diversify your skills. Focus on RELATIONSHIP.
Maybe that’s why Greg resonated with me
What we knew, what we grew up with, isn’t anymore. But the possibilities for success are ENDLESS!
I may get hit by a moose today.But at least I KNOW I HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD.
And if I DON’T GET HIT I still KNOW I’ve MADE A DIFFERNCE.
Book 2 is under way:It is titled: Abd Yet Another Day – for turning obstacles and adversity into opportunities and adventure. It’s the fun stories, no BRILLIANT! stories behind Book 1: Loose screws and Skinned Knees (WHICH BY THE WAY WILL BE OFFERED FREE ON kINDLE FOR MOTHER’S DAY – hint hint!!)
YEP,I’ve BEEN GREG HARTLE’D.
i’LL NEVER BE THE SAME. tHANKS GREG!

Ever since my brain bleed in 2001 and the neurological (especially visual/perceptual) challenges, round-a-bouts in roads and I have had a love-hate kind of friendship.
It’s like extra loud music, fast moving parts in a super-hero movie, like Spiderman, or large crowds for an extended period of time.  I get woozy! REEALLY WOOZY! (No comments from the peanut gallery that I was ALREADY that way!)
But each time I go through a round-a-bout, it gets me thinking:
We all have up hill climbs that push our muscles to burn at times.
We all have had to walk through places of waste or want.
But eventually we get to the mountain heights, or valleys cool with moss laden paths.
And more than likely, we have not walked alone.
Friends, family, circles, tribes, whatever we choose to call them, when we face our “woozy times” the One or ones are there to help guide us, as we bounce back and forth, to and fro, trying to find our way, until we find that place of rest, of relinquishing, of peace.
YOU don’t always have to know the way…..you just need to be willing to walk, one foot in front of the other.
So take the next step forward.
The world is waiting for your special gift, filled with passion – woozy or in a round-a-bout way.

Rest. 

Love.

Joy and Laughter.

Peace.

Work. 

And the most powerful of these? Love and Joy and Laughter!

​Today.

Recently, I have had my world turned upside down.    

Change.

I am going to be a grandmother for the first time.

Change.

I won’t see my son as he is out of town for work for three months (ok, it’s not THAT bad – I’m just used to seeing him and accepting his sage advice – especially with the computer!)

Change.

A paradigm shift in some of the ways I think because of attending the Instigator’s Experience Conference in L.A. recently.

Change. 

No back pain for the first time in I can’t tell you how long because a procedure that we have been writhing through the Medicare maze was done last week and successful.

Change.

The snow is melting. It is almost 55 degrees all week this week, and I can sit outside again!! (Yes, my SPF is on!)

Change.

Breathing in fresh spring air.  Exhaling  the winter blahs.

Change.

It  happens.   It’s like breathing – an inevitable  part of each day –  an unconscious habit, of in and out, the fresh, the new, the exhale of old.  It  will place us each at a peace we just might have forgotten and need to remember. 

Breathe in. Peace. Breathe out.  Rest.

​Breathe in, calm. Breathe out. Harmony – with yourself and others.

Change.

It happens.

For two weeks I have been asked repeatedly “how was L.A.?” For two weeks I have been trying to wrap my head around it. Words will never do it justice.  But here goes what justice I CAN give to it!
* BE.  You don’t have to “do” – that will naturally happen when you BE.  YOU.
* Be REAL.  Faking it is obvious and only leads to being unhappy and ultimately failing at what you are doing.
* Don’t sacrifice what your gut and heart tell you – they are usually right.
* Persevere – no matter HOW long it takes. You WILL make it.
* Being the oldest person there (geezer) has its advantages. (Ok, only by a couple months in a couple cases, but most were Gen X,  Gen Y, and Millennial’s) Experience counts for something, even if you don’t understand half the language the Millennial’s speak……or what an “uber” is…or a “fluffer”! (Thanks for sharing an uber, Meg!)
* WHAT I know, I know; and I am the one who know it the best; AND it is RIGHT for ME – I am and have been on the right track = AKA: affirmation from people from all around the world – thank you Intstigator’s!!
* The reason Bill and I felt I was supposed to go was ­MORE than confirmed. Not in just what I know, or what path I am taking is right, but in the making new friends , new networks and  new possibilities for the future.  (AND that people want me to hurry up and finish Book 2!!)
But maybe it is best summed up by something one of the Instigators’ sent (with a few word changes!)
– Stop and breathe a little bit more today.
– LISTEN today instead of SPEAKING.
– Notice your body, your senses. Smell more. Touch more. See. Look into people’s eyes –what do you REALLY see?
– And most of all, remember how connected we all are, and that everything that happens is just as it needs to. Everything is unfolding perfectly, and with Divine timing.
It was an amazing time, worth every second, even if I didn’t know what a ‘fluffer” or “uber” was!

​I made what I thought was a wise decision to sleep vs. join some of the groups to go out to eat at 9pm.
 
I wanted to be fresh and ready for the start of the Big Bold Experience at 8 a.m. at the Instigator’s Experience in downtown Los Angles.
 
Thanks to my bedtime medications, I slept for about 5 hours while trying to block out the unfamiliar city sounds of sirens, cars, multiple (LOUD) people, (albeit very HAPPY people!).
 
As 2 a.m. rolled around the din got louder and louder, (and the people happier and happier!)
 
Suddenly a hush has fallen over the city. I can’t sleep. Oh sure, I’m excited, and I’ve already met some amazing people,but some sleep would be nice!!
 
Maybe it’s this HUGE room with triple King bed and no hubby or Bubba dog snoring.
 
Maybe I’m realizing I’m a real sourdough who lives in a haven of river running and trees swaying.
 
Whatever it be, I’m at peace – and that gift is the greatest for me.
 
Maybe I should call the “fluffer” button on my room phone – what do you think?
(I tried to download a photo of the pone – maybe when I get home?)