The other day while browsing Facebook I happened on a link to a song a dear friend posted. Appreciating many of this friend's prior posts, I clicked on it and was delighted to listen to "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.
That song changed my entire mood, although I was not in a bad one to start. It had me moving in my chair, then I started clapping my hands and, finally, I was up out of my chair dancing. What I felt was joy. Pure, unfiltered, unbridled and unrestrained joy.
When was the last time I had felt that way?
The last 24 months have been full of challenges: good ones, terrible ones, not great ones, and ones easily overcome. You won't read about those on Facebook, you probably won't hear me speak of them in conversation. The worst part is, in facing those challenges, even those over which I triumphed, I had lost my joy. I'm not saying I wasn't happy, either. Those who know me know I'm generally a very happy person and certainly I have been happy, but joy was elusive.
Caveat: The exceptions have been moments with my now 5 year old niece. A toddler (and now a youngster) knows pure joy and can give it if you are open to accepting it. I am wide open to accepting her joy and it feeds my soul.
I never stopped working on the challenges to take a break, to maybe even celebrate the victory over them. I don't remember the last time I completely let joy overtake me, that I was able to live in that moment, in only that moment.
Eckert Tolle's book "The Power of Now" is about living in the moment, so is the concept of "Be here now". However, it's almost impossible to be in the moment with all of our phones, tablets, computers, media and distracted driving pulling at our attention. With the multitasking (or what we think is multitasking, but is really scattered productivity), it's impossible to fully experience one thing and only one thing.
How much richer could an experience be if it had our full attention? A conversation where we didn't check our phone? A drive where we didn't listen to news? Watching "Homeland" without playing Candy Crush Saga? Enjoying a meal without taking a photo of it to post to a social media site?
What if we just stopped.
What if we just stopped and lived in that moment? Would that let joy back in? Would stopping to let the sadness, the gladness, the emotion of the moment wash over us make it better?
I believe it would. I am actively working to focus on the now. To feel the water over my hands as I wash them. To look up at the sky and see the clouds, feel the breeze. I'm working to not be electronically connected ALL the time, but to be truly connected to the moment.
I want to again know that joy that "Happy" gave me for that instant. I want to know and experience joy over things more than a song. That means that I want to fully experience grief when it comes, to feel and acknowledge pain when I'm hurt emotionally as only through that do I believe I can heal from these things and move forward into joy.
Today I will take 10 minutes for me and be only in that moment, not thinking about what is going to happen after that 10 minutes or what happened before it. Only what happens during it.
And then I'll listen to "Happy" and I believe I'll dance. You can, too. Here's the link, below.
Pharrell Williams, "Happy"
Monday, December 9, 2013
Friday, August 2, 2013
Who Wants a House?
Here is the letter I sent out to my "sphere of influence" to announce my career change:
Dear Friends and Family,
Hello from the Larson Lodge in Long Beach! I hope this letter finds you and your loved
ones well and enjoying the summer of 2013.
Cameron and I are doing great and have some news to share with you about
a big change in our lives.
As you might be aware, I retired from United Airlines
earlier this year. It was an opportunity
for an early buyout with retirement benefits of flight privileges and healthcare
for life. Sweet! Cameron was fully supportive and encouraging
of the move so we made the leap in February.
It was also perfect timing for me, as I was already preparing to return
to an interest I started almost 10 years ago in Illinois: Real Estate.
Yes, I am now a Realtor!
I initially received my license in Illinois in 2004 and had been meaning
to do the same in California when we moved home in 2005, but my full-time work
took my attention and I put it on the backburner of priorities. It is now the center of my focus and has my
full attention. I’m so excited about
this venture and the opportunities to help people with some of their biggest
decisions in life. The job and field
are tailor made for my skills, my interests and my passions.
In May I affiliated with a phenomenal brokerage here in Long
Beach: Keller Williams Pacific Estates. Keller Williams is the #1 real estate company
in the country by agent count. The
Pacific Estates location is just under 2 years old, but one of the fastest
growing offices in the country, attracting top talent from other real estate
offices in the area and me! The team is
welcoming, willing to share experiences and the support system is very
strong. I have already established
valuable relationships with lenders, title reps, inspectors, appraisers and
other team members that are vital to successful transactions. I am so ready to GO and start making a
difference here!
While I will be primarily focusing on the East Long
Beach/Seal Beach/Los Alamitos areas to start, I am ready to help you with
whatever real estate needs you might have.
If you’re not here in Southern California, I can refer you to agents who
specialize in your area, as I already have an excellent network of trusted
Realtors in many parts of the country. I
can answer questions for you and I can help point you in the right direction
for things real estate related. If you
or someone you know has a real estate license, I’m also happy to take your
referrals. You know I’ll take excellent
care of them for you.
Enclosed with this letter are two of my business cards. Please keep one and pass the other one on to
someone you know who might be able to use my help. You might already be in your forever home or
have a really good friend or family member already serving your real estate
needs. That is great! If you’re not, or know someone who is looking
to buy or sell, please tell them about me and send them my way. I bring the same enthusiasm, integrity, quick
response time, confidence, organization and collaborative approach to this
endeavor that was the foundation of my successes at United Airlines and in my
personal relationships.
To continue my work in the community, I will also be
donating a portion of any earned commissions to local organizations, such as
Pathways to Independence and the Long Beach Basket Brigade. I can also work with the buyer or seller to benefit
one of their preferred charities.
Thank you for your support these many years and I look
forward to a great future with that continued support. Wishing you the best – make it a great day.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
If you want to be interesting, be interested!
Some simple things can be forgotten in the rush of life and all that goes on in a typical day. Having just returned from a great trip to Costa Rica with 7 others and recently chatting with a member of the Millennial generation, one of these simple things was brought home:
If you want to be interesting to others, you need to be interested in others.
I am guilty of the info dump, focusing on me, me, me and what happened to me, forgetting that the person on whom I am dumping (usually my patient husband) might also have something to share. He routinely calls me during the work day and before he can say much more than hello, I immediately bring him up to date on my day, my conversations, our niece's latest antics, our nephew's water polo schedule, my Facebook news before even letting him tell me WHY he called or asking him how he is. Uh, yeah. I do that.
On the other hand, if I call someone, I try to start the conversation by asking them if this is a good time to chat and asking them about their day/trip/work/etc. So, I'm not all clueless all the time.
In the last week we had some fabulous adventures in Costa Rica: ziplining, sport fishing, diving, surfing, spice farm visits, horseback rides, relaxing, nature hikes, animal spotting and more. Not everybody did everything together, so there were times when we wanted to share with each other what WE did. On a few occasions someone would share how their adventure went, regale us with the tales (which each of us loved to hear) and then leave the room, completely forgetting to ask anyone else how their day was and what adventures they had had. Certainly everyone is responsible for speaking up for themselves, but it's nice to be asked, too. It's nice to know someone might be interested in you and what you did.
In my conversation with a Millennial (those 18-20 somethings), I was hearing really great stuff from them but was never asked about what I was doing or how that week we just spent in Costa Rica went. I volunteered how our week went, then thanked them for inspiring me to write this post. It was a sincere thanks and a good reminder for me.
Facebook posts an interesting (if you're interested!) dilemma: the primary function is to tell people what YOU are doing, how You are feeling, where You are. It is a product of the Millennials, who tend to be somewhat self-absorbed anyway, but we Boomers just might be the biggest users of the program. If you want someone to care that your cat did something funny, that you had an awesome meal or were at an airport, make sure you check out, comment on or like the posts by your friends and family, too. They posted something for a reason (and not the "I have a headache" or "I'm hungry" type posts - those don't necessarily merit comments), thinking someone - YOU - might be interested. Show them you are and they are more likely to be interested in what you're doing, eating, seeing, hearing.
Yes, there are times when we MUST get our information out and want to share it right NOW, but if you want someone to be interested in what you have to say, best you ask them how their day/trip/work was, too.
I promise to try to be better about that with the patient and quiet man I married, too.
If you want to be interesting to others, you need to be interested in others.
I am guilty of the info dump, focusing on me, me, me and what happened to me, forgetting that the person on whom I am dumping (usually my patient husband) might also have something to share. He routinely calls me during the work day and before he can say much more than hello, I immediately bring him up to date on my day, my conversations, our niece's latest antics, our nephew's water polo schedule, my Facebook news before even letting him tell me WHY he called or asking him how he is. Uh, yeah. I do that.
On the other hand, if I call someone, I try to start the conversation by asking them if this is a good time to chat and asking them about their day/trip/work/etc. So, I'm not all clueless all the time.
In the last week we had some fabulous adventures in Costa Rica: ziplining, sport fishing, diving, surfing, spice farm visits, horseback rides, relaxing, nature hikes, animal spotting and more. Not everybody did everything together, so there were times when we wanted to share with each other what WE did. On a few occasions someone would share how their adventure went, regale us with the tales (which each of us loved to hear) and then leave the room, completely forgetting to ask anyone else how their day was and what adventures they had had. Certainly everyone is responsible for speaking up for themselves, but it's nice to be asked, too. It's nice to know someone might be interested in you and what you did.
In my conversation with a Millennial (those 18-20 somethings), I was hearing really great stuff from them but was never asked about what I was doing or how that week we just spent in Costa Rica went. I volunteered how our week went, then thanked them for inspiring me to write this post. It was a sincere thanks and a good reminder for me.
Facebook posts an interesting (if you're interested!) dilemma: the primary function is to tell people what YOU are doing, how You are feeling, where You are. It is a product of the Millennials, who tend to be somewhat self-absorbed anyway, but we Boomers just might be the biggest users of the program. If you want someone to care that your cat did something funny, that you had an awesome meal or were at an airport, make sure you check out, comment on or like the posts by your friends and family, too. They posted something for a reason (and not the "I have a headache" or "I'm hungry" type posts - those don't necessarily merit comments), thinking someone - YOU - might be interested. Show them you are and they are more likely to be interested in what you're doing, eating, seeing, hearing.
Yes, there are times when we MUST get our information out and want to share it right NOW, but if you want someone to be interested in what you have to say, best you ask them how their day/trip/work was, too.
I promise to try to be better about that with the patient and quiet man I married, too.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
As long as we're talking travel...
New Year's Eve/Day on Sydney Harbour
Jimmy Buffett in Honolulu
2010: Chicago, Palm Springs, Tucson, Austin, Madrid, Sacramento, Oakland, Seattle, Kauai, Virginia, Austin: 32,869 miles
Austin, TX 
2011: Sydney, Sacramento, San Francisco, Atlanta, New York, Sacramento, Kona, Chicago, Houston, Jackson Hole, Houston, New York, Israel, Jordan, Austin: 65,613 miles
Jimmy Buffett concert in Sydney
Kayaking in Kona
Israel
Petra, Jordan2012: San Francisco, Chicaago, Atlanta, (double knee replacements kept me off planes for 3 months), Maui, Houston, Melbourne, Sydney, Jackson Hole, San Francisco, New York, Cedar Rapids, Denmark, Prague, Austin: 60,317 miles
Maui
Victoria, Australia
Denmark with the cousins
Cesky Krumlov, Czech RepublicI could probably rebuild years further back but those are the ones I have in my BlackBerry right now, with all the connections and miles by segment. I didn't count the drives to Paso Robles, Santa Ynez, Big Bear and San Diego. What will 2013 bring? We already have Chicago, Atlanta, San Diego and Costa Rica planned. What else?
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