Choosing Direction
|
Hello friends, On a walk the other day, I encountered a big metal sign covered in layers of peeling stickers. One read “Don’t look back! You are not going that way!” I snapped a photo and headed forward. But, as intended, the old sticker got me thinking. First, it reminded me of an old card I kept in my office for years. A Mary Engelbreit print, it wasn’t my usual style, but the message was clear. It was a person at a crossroads and the street sign read “Your life,” in one direction and “No longer an option,” facing the other. It was a message I needed at the time, to remind myself to keep moving, and to do so with as few regrets as possible. I almost wrote no regrets there, but that is harder, isn’t it? But still, regrets or no, we must choose our direction. We choose our direction each day, whether we’re conscious of it or not. Here’s the thing about not looking back… we cannot dwell on the past, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it. And, now that I am older, I also understand that nostalgia is a dangerous trap. Nostalgia is the ultimate looking back. It imagines that an earlier time was better. Mostly? Nostalgia, or regret, or resentment, or any other form of too-much-looking-back means we are not living in the present. We are choosing stagnation. To live in the present is to be bracketed by past and future, but living neither in dreams nor shadows. To live in the present is to practice being, right now. To practice building, right now. To choose our lives, right now. We can honor the past and plan for the future, but we can live in neither. To do so is a rejection of the gifts and challenges of the moment. So, how are you living today? What do you choose? Best wishes — Thorn
|
T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, Well, it was another stressful week here in the US and some other parts of the globe. When things feel overwhelming, what is important to me is to connect with what is in my physical environment. I make my bed in the morning. I wipe the kitchen counters. I set things in order. What else do I do? I make sure I go for a walk, even when I have a pile of work to do that feels endless. It is on these walks that, not only do I notice my environment, but I also catch sight of how...
Hello friends, On an old garage somewhere in Southeast Portland, someone hand lettered a large message. The bulk of it reads “Matter would not have become us if it doubted our ability to change…” Now, on one hand it reads as the start of a philosophical discussion I would’ve engaged in during my teens or early twenties. On the other hand, though? Well, it made me pause and snap a photo, didn’t it? Photo: Garage wall message: “Matter would not have become us if it doubted our ability to...
Hello friends, While walking out of an ice cream shop yesterday, I saw a faded scrap of fabric stapled to a utility pole. People had stuck their old wood ice cream spoons into holes in the pole around the fabric, creating a mini art and sculpture installation. I recognized the fabric, of course, as being an old piece from local artist Shanalee Hampton. I have several of her embroidery pieces hanging in our home, having been introduced to her work by outdoor installations just like this one....