Neglect of self is unbecoming in its blatant abandonment of the soul

When we allow the world to pass us by at a record clip, our lives lose color and flavor. Clarity does not come from the absence of color, but more from an abundance of varied shades. The nuances allow us to rise and dip...flowing into a rhythm with context. In opposition, Colorless is a world that loses shape and contour from a life of busy.

Whether the lipstick index holds validity in today's economy or not...  sometimes the gift of color brought to you in a small package is all it takes to boost your spirits. Spending $2 or $20 on that little tube of tint somehow makes the world a bit better. Do we look better? Maybe. But, it's bigger than that. More than the artifice of adding on. It's the idea of prioritizing "me."

Inevitably, in our everyday lives, we get caught up in the mundane - our self-defeating safety net in avoiding risk at all costs becoming addictive. But, like any addiction over time, it begins to chafe and burn until its unbearable weight becomes the very thorn in the flesh that forces us out of our dozing complacency and back into the world.

Neglect of self is unbecoming in its blatant abandonment of the soul. Far more than a lipstick lift, caring for oneself as if you matter raises the spirit in ways often beyond description. When our souls are livened, the inner fires burn hot and we exude a seductive vibrancy.

Life is full of color. A varietal of subtle hues and dazzling, messy stains. It isn't a distant destination at the end of the rainbow. It is in the right here and the right now. So, slap on those sunglasses, ease the seat back and release the break. You're in the driver's seat...


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Complacency is a state of mind that exists only in retrospective: it has to be shattered before being ascertained. 

Vladimir Nabokov

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the blessing of a rainy day...

A couple of weeks ago, on a Saturday, it poured - the rain coming down in sheets. Baseball was canceled, and we had no afternoon events scheduled. BOY & GIRL played in their pajamas all day, building a fort in the living room out of couch cushions, blankets and pillows. Having recently acquired a stack of play money, they called it The Big Bucks Bank. Amazing how children figure out who has the money...

Later, I was coerced into dealing with The Big Bucks Bank and two very cute Tellers. The teller window was crafted out of an overturned laundry basket, with BOY within its plastic contours. My job was to approach the teller window and withdraw funds. As is the way with children, we did this over and over and over again... I slipped my flattened, paper airplane paycheck through the slot of the laundry basket teller window. BOY would then address the other teller, GIRL, who being the true banker, would count each amount out in 5's, 10's and 20's.

We played for a while, stopping for lunch, then each went to our own corners for an hour of quiet time. After E.K. was home and an early dinner, we all watched a movie together. It was the best day I've had in weeks.

I've thought about that day since - and find myself gabbing about it to anyone who will listen. As if I need witnesses to some kind of testimony of a very real, personal rapture..."I stopped moving and going and DOing." "I just stopped." I have the need to say it aloud.

We all need more of that-kind-of-day, when we aren't ruled by schedules and worn-out by obligations. It is those days that replenish us, that we remember and hold on to - that we reflect back on and breathe into. The trick is to declare "a day off" on our own - when it is not imposed upon us. To just STOP...because, we can. And, not be dependent on the blessing of a rainy day...

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Imagine there are 2 weight lifters in your body

In efforts to live more healthfully in their food choices, JCK and her family have begun to look at what they are eating and how they can improve their daily eating habits. Like any family, budgetary concerns play a role. Yet, every week, the Motherscribe household forks out large sums of money to purchase food that isn't processed or full of preservatives. Let JCK tell you...it ain't cheap.

Lately, they've begun to look at grams of sugar. BOY has taken this on as his personal mission. He can tell JCK how many grams of sugar are in yogurt, cereal, crackers, granola bars, etc. GIRL likes to explain it this way:

GIRL: BOY, imagine there are two weight lifters in your tummy. On one side is a weight lifter holding up good food. On the other side is a weight lifter holding junk food. The one with the healthy food needs to get stronger & stronger, because the one with the junk food is too strong.

Yes, BOY needs to eat more vegetables...

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