Aug01
Posted on Aug 1 by Ruth Davis
I am driving today. headed west and north until I reach the Pacific Ocean and the central California coastal town of Morro Bay. Here’s a reprint of an article that is as true today as when I first wrote it. We all have bad days. You know, when everybody bugs you, when nothing anyone does is good enough, when you wish you could run away for a while, even from yourself. In an ideal world we could retreat from the world and wait for the moodiness to pass. But in this real world, how do you find your way back to your own center? I was dangerously grouchy with the world this morning. I was annoyed at the school boy riding his bike on the sidewalk instead of in the bike lane. I was short with the woman at the grocery store for talking with the previous customer when it was clearly my turn. I grumbled at the way my neighbor crookedly parked, making it difficult for me to back out. I felt like I should have had...
Jul25
Posted on Jul 25 by Ruth Davis
A week from today I will be pulling out in my 24 foot Class C motor home, headed west to explore and create the next chapter of my life. You’d think that this would be easy. I have no children, no spouse, no mortgage, no employer, no ill and elderly parent that I need to care for. There is nothing to hold me back, tie me down, nothing to keep me from living my dream. Except my own self. The only thing that can stop me are my fears, my doubts, but mostly my rules. Many people think I am spontaneous, flexible and adventurous. They think I live like a free-spirit, easily exploring new places and embracing new experiences. They are surprised to learn how structured and regimented my life really is. I wake up at the same time every day and immediately jump into the shower. It wakes me up, refreshes me, readies me for the day. I get dressed and take the dogs for a walk, pressing the on button for the coffee maker when we...
Jul18
Posted on Jul 18 by Ruth Davis
There is a space between letting go and saying yes to the next thing, between one rung on the monkey bar and the next. Often that space feels unsure, emotional, maybe even terrifying. If we breathe through it, really lean into it, yes awaits us on the other side. I feel like I’ve been treading water. In the big ocean of relocating, I’ve been in a holding pattern, getting my bearings, regulating my breathing, building muscles, stamina, waiting for the right moment to begin swimming again. I suppose I’ve needed this time to move from the uncomfortable and disappointments and frustrations of the past three months. I’ve needed space and time to unwind, regroup, to NOT make any decisions. I’ve been sleeping well, dinnering with friends at favorite restaurants and swimming every day. I’ve been catching up on a lot of behind the scenes upgrading on the Mac to School website and I’ve recorded and edited twelve new training videos that are scheduled for release in the Virtual Classroom over the next three months. And I’ve been scanning Craigslist...
Jul11
Posted on Jul 11 by Ruth Davis
According to Wikipedia, “meditation is a practice in which an individual trains his or her mind or induces a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit. Meditation is generally an inwardly oriented, personal practice, which individuals do by themselves. Meditation may involve invoking or cultivating a feeling or internal state, such as compassion, or attending to a specific focal point. The term can refer to the state itself, as well as to practices or techniques employed to cultivate the state.” I am a Pisces, born on the last day before water becomes fire. So it is no surprise that one of my favorite ways to meditate is to float. Several weeks ago when I began a daily pool practice, I was so emotional, feeling like I had failed because it was officially summer in Phoenix, and I was still here. I was so stressed that, I hesitated before inching my way into the water and, when I tried to float, I couldn’t relax enough to even rest my head on the water. Now, four weeks later I...
Jul04
Posted on Jul 4 by Ruth Davis
It’s the first week in July and last Friday, three friends and two strong teen boys moved my big furniture and the rest of my packed boxes to my dad’s house to store. But my bed and my desks are still here. And so am I. After finding and then losing the original “dream house” and then the backup house, I was all set to move at the end of June into the furnished studio by the bay. Communicating with the landlady was challenging and I had started looking for other options. But I kept coming back to the furnished studio because it seemed so perfect as a transition space. But when the landlady informed me that she was trying to refinance the house so we’d have a house, I realized it was all much more drama than I needed. As scared as I was to not take this only known option, I also knew that I had to let go in order to move forward. It’s like going across the monkey bars. You can swing with one...
Jun27
Posted on Jun 27 by Ruth Davis
I wrote this in 2010, shortly after my mom passed away. Today, on the two year anniversary of her death, the message is just as important. It’s been an emotional couple of weeks since my mom passed on June 27. My family flew to Philadelphia for the funeral and my father asked me to handle all of the arrangements. While it was a daunting job to make the travel plans, the funeral arrangements and all the other decisions that accompany a death, my mother left me with such specific instructions that it was relatively painless. Which is why I encourage everyone to start talking about wishes and plans while you still can. We are encouraged to talk about sex with our kids, to educate them, to take the mystery out of it, to prepare them so that when they are faced with a choice, they can make sound and educated decisions. Years ago it was taboo to talk about sex. But we see how important it is. So why is talking about death and funerals, which is just...
