Do You Dare?

This past weekend I was determined to slow down and take myself out of being in a state of constant hurry.

There is a time when quiet is needed.

A time to dare to dream.  A time to dare to just veg out.

Instead of picking up the newspaper first thing in the morning and digesting the day's hard hitting news with a cup of freshly made hot tea, I sat for about an hour and read a book of fiction.  It was great!  I went back to the newspaper much later in the day.  Loosing myself in my book was just what I needed; to mentally go someplace with someone I imagine I know.

 

When I was finished reading, I went through a pile of magazines and newsletters I received in the mail during the week that I hadn't had a chance to really explore.  Within one of the newsletters was this timely short essay on savoring life and all it has to offer us.

 

After you read it, maybe you will decide to do something different today!

Do You Dare?
By Nadine Stair

If I had my life to live over, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.  I'd relax.  I'd limber up.

I would be sillier than I had been this trip.

I would take fewer things seriously. 

I would take more chances.

I would take more trips. 

I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.

I would eat more ice cream and less beans. 

I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

 

You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day.  Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had it to do again, I'd have more of them.  In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. 

 

Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.  I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a water bottle, a raincoat, or a parachute.  If I had it to do over again, I'd travel lighter than I have.

 

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. 

I would go to more dances.

I would ride more merry-go-rounds. 

 I would pick more daisies.

Stop All The Clocks. . .

Someone you love has died. 

 

Everything around you, people, conversations, situations, the Earth, even life itself, feels like it has suddenly stopped. 

 

To me, this moment is very similiar to being in a car accident.  After the screeching brakes, the moment of impact, the shattering glass and the crush of metal hitting metal, there is an eery silence; a tingling in your ears. 

Your eyes see but what you see doesn't look real; your ears hear but what is being said doesn't make sense and you can't seem to get your breath and breathe.  Nothing is computing and your brain is shutting down because you can't seem to process what is happening.  You might even feel that you have separated from yourself and are outside of your body watching yourself from afar.

You immediately want to go backwards.  Take me back to an hour ago, take me back a half hour ago, take me back 5 minutes, take me back 1 minute.  I don't care how far you take me back, I don't want to be in the present time.  I remember looking out the window of my house the day after my husband died and I was really surprised to see people walking around and cars traveling up and down the street as if nothing had changed.  Everything outside appeared normal even though it wasn't for me.

That is why the W.H. Auden poem resonates with so many people..."Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone..."  It might be tempting to follow your gut feeling while you are in the midst of new grief but I found myself most comforted when I reached out to people I trusted with my vulnerability.

Paris In Pennsylvania -- 2011 Philadelphia Flower Show

Everyone is tired of the ice, the snow, the cold and winter in general. 

 

For those who are grieving,  winter can be particularly harsh.  As an antidote to this dreary time of year, Sibley Hospital is organizing a day trip on Wednesday, March 9 to the 2011 Philadelphia International Flower Show.  This year's theme is "Springtime in Paris" and visitors can expect to enjoy spectacular flower sculptures and carousel topiaries as well as lush flowering trees, lilacs, roses and borders of lavender.

Travel Itinerary -- Wednesday, March 9, 2011

8:00 am        Depart Westwood Shopping Center in Bethesda, Md.
11:00 am      Arrive at Philadelphia Flower Show
                      Free time to enjoy the flower show &; lunch on your own
4:00 pm        Depart for Washington, DC
7:30 pm        Arrive Westwood Shopping Center in Bethesda, Md.

Cost per person: $79.00 (includes transportation, entry into the flower show, tolls, taxes & all gratuities

Contact: Kim Grizzle at Eyre Tour & Travel for reservations at 1-800-321-3973