July 4: gettng real and personal int the pursuit of happiness: {589}

Third installment of zingers (for me) of Simple Abundance:
"Many of us mistakenly think that lowering our expectations means we must surrender our dreams. Absolutely not.  Dreams and expectations are two very different things. Dreams call for a leap of faith, trusting that Spirit is holding the net, so that you can continue in the re-creation of the world with your energy, soul gifts, and vision. Expectations are the emotional investment the ego makes in a particular outcome: what needs  to happen to make the dream come true . The ego's expectations are never vague: Oscars, magazine covers, the New York Times Bestseller list. Your dreams must manifest exactly as the ego imagines or someone isn't going to be very happy. And guess who that is? The ego! Since none of us can always predict the future... this kind of thinking is self-destructive. Because if we don't live up to the ego's expectations, we've failed again. And at some point we really do give up.
The passionate pursuit of your dreams sets your soul soaring; expectations that measure the dream's success tie stones around your soul. ...Living your life as a dreamer and not an "expector" is a personal declaration of independence...Dreaming, not expecting allows spirit to step in and surprise you with connection, completion, comsummation, celebration. You dream. Show up for work. Then let spirit deliver your dream to the world.

Simple Abundance

As some of you might remember, I am following Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. I will go for days, and then a ZINGER will really hit home. June was a very active month, and alot of stuff went directly into my soul.
June 28: Repotting: Giving Roots and Yourself Room to Grow:
"" I don't know when I myself am potbound," Gunilla Norris confesses in her numious devotional, BEING HOME, "lacking courage to be replanted, to take the shock of the new soil, to feel into the unknown and take root in it.
We too, need to consider repotting for growth. But when? When we wilt even before the day begins. When we can't remember the last time that we laughed. When we have absolutely nothing in the next 24 hours to look forward to. When this happens, week in, week out, we need to realize that we're pot-bound. We need to gently loosen the soil aroud our souls, find something that sparks out imagination, quickens our pulse, brings a smile or giddy lilt  to our converstaions.
But repotting does not mean that we have to leave the marriage or quit the job. It just means that we need something new. "
I'm not so sure about the last statement, but time will tell. More in my next post.

I want a creative temp!

I am going through Simple Abundance, a Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

The entry for Aug. 31 was very interesting (in reference to a creative dry spell):

"It is so difficult to come to a halt, especially when we want to get on with our careers, realationships, health, creativity. But when you're too parched to pray, beyond tears, or too drained to give a damn, it's time to cease and desist. Not all our hours are billable.
...Pretend that you're a creative temp, here to fill in until your authentic self arrives. In the meantime defer making any life altering creative decisions until you recieve your operating instructions.... In the natural world, droughts depart as suddenly and as mysteriously as they arrive. "

I love the idea a being a creative temp, once removed from our everyday world and even our art!