Ten More Minutes

It was one of those mornings. I thought all I wanted was ten more minutes.

To be precise, I wanted ten more minutes to continue the dream I remembered having.

And then it was ten more minutes to feel better.

Ten minutes more to find the strength to get out of bed.

45 minutes later, it was one of those mornings. My cell phone, which doubles as the only alarm clock that can wake me up, glared evilly at me.

Today I want those ten more minutes.  I can think of countless things I would enjoy ten more minutes of! Ten more minutes of enjoying my coffee.  Ten more minutes on the sofa watching HGTV. Then the hot shower. And I'm not just talking ten more minutes of things today. I'd love ten more minutes of mediation daily. Another ten in a handsome someone's arms. Another ten on the phone with my best friend.

But we don't always get ten minutes. We are called to get up, keep going, and find the time later to reflect on those ten minutes we would have spent differently if we were allotted them. It is a sign we are growing, if we want those ten minutes. A sign we have things worth savoring.

While the insight didn't stop the siren's call of my pillow this morning, it did put things into perspective. There is so much to be grateful for. And so much more to do. So take ten to reflect and remember that. Just don't let your cell phone see you!

It Takes the Shirt Right Off Your Back

Life has some pretty high demands of me of late. But it's okay, I rise to the challenge.

http://www.newportaquarium.com/exhibitsshows/rainforest.aspx

One of the birds at my job forgot about the invention of glass, and how it isn't even slightly semi-permeable to birds.  She tried to fly through it with atomic force. In a stunned panic and unable to fly, she proceeded to scream and try to bite everyone around her. Knowing full well she could get hurt or stepped on, I raced over and tried to grab her. She wasn't able to fly to get away, but she was able to bite and yell. Knowing I couldn't leave her there, and seeing the crowd going, there was only one thing to do.  Off came my shirt (now everyone knows I like lacy purple undershirts and sharing secrets with Victoria), which I bundled the bird in and raced off to radio the biologists.

Sometimes life takes the shirt right off your back.  Sometimes there aren't any other options. Sometimes it is the only thing you have left to give. But I'd rather be without my shirt, in public, having done the right thing.  Perhaps there is someone watching, wearing two shirts, and ready to do the right thing as well.

You Were Meant to Do This

I sat there listening to you, helpless through the other end of the phone. I lit a candle for you. And I waited.



Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

 Staring desperately around my room, a Post-It note caught my eye. In a fit of my own despair, I remember writing that note. Positioned above my bed, it simply reads:

How do I let what I have work for me?

I could answer that for you. But how dare I take the journey away from you? The strife, the hardship, the success, the glory. They are all part of it. I could hand you a road map. But you'd refuse it. Thankfully, this is your journey.

I wish I could tell you how much you were meant to do this. I wish you would take a second to find the light inside you, find what fuels it, and hold on for dear life. It is a nearly tangible emotion, full of the passion and conviction I know you have. Because I have it in you.  I showed it to you.

Your inner dialogue is so loud you can't begin to find that light. And you call out, but can't hear me.

So here are some signs for you.

--To those who wait, time opens every door. Chinese proverb

--It's all right to hesitate if you then go ahead. Bertolt Brecht

--It was a high counsel that I once hear given to a young person, "Always do what you are afraid to do." Ralph Waldo Emerson

--Try not to become a man of success, but a man of value. Albert Einstein

--If your aim is to make the kite soar as high as possibly can, you need to master the art of holding firm as well as the art of letting go. Papemelroti

--Small town people from Ohio didn't believe that humans could ever fly. But two dreamers dared to move beyond. Two dreamers dared to believe they were meant to do this.

You too are meant to do this.
And so am I.