Since we were up in Portland, we had to hit Ikea, then we enjoyed a wonderful Vietnamese lunch where we laughed, cried (that would have been just me!) and shared parts of our lives with each other. After taking care of myself by making a difficult phone call while I had the support of my close friends, we spent a few hours painting pottery.
Alicia, Dominique and me surrounded by creativity
It was already 5:30 when we finished painting and our plan was to treat ourselves to fabulous dessert - so off we headed to Papa Haydn's. Mmmm! What a treat - and yes, they taste as good as they look!Looking back over the day, I realize that the day was full of a lot of self care, which is something I've been needing. One of the activities we do in our GUTS work is to make a list of 100 ways to love myself. While my list is only 28 items long right now, I did a great job of loving myself on Saturday by listening to my heart, accepting myself, letting others love me, loving others, helping someone, listening to music (Amy Steinberg speaks to my soul), dressing up, taking a shower, brushing my teeth (sometimes it's the simple things!), giving someone a hug (lots of hugs), meeting friends for a meal, inviting a friend for lunch, following through on something hard (the difficult phone call I mentioned earlier), sending an uplifting email, being an advocate, remembering who I am, sharing my talents with others, and painting - that's 18 of my 28 - pretty darn good for one day!
One of my highlights came in a simple manila envelope. My friend Alicia made me the most incredible gift.
It reads:
You alight with such softness
The flower’s head does not bow.
You partake of the nectar
And leave life giving pollen in return
You must be treated gently lest your wings become ragged with life
Your wings fold to conceal the
brightness of your colors
When warmed by the sun they unfurl to reveal your brilliant colors
You soar with the slightest breeze
And you flash in the sunlight
You walk with such softness
on the Earth you leave no footprint
You partake of the Earth’s delicacies, friend’s time, and family’s love,
And leave life giving compost, energy,
wisdom and love in return
You treat yourself gently with soft beds and organic fibers, lest your body become ragged with life
You are a rare gem,
concealed by a quiet spirit...
In the presence of friends you reveal
your beautiful and brilliant colors
You soar with grand ideas and
shine in the light of many successes.
And I am proud to call you friend!
It is an 8.5x11 page and it is beautiful in more ways than one and I cry every time I read it.
My life is full and good and beautiful.
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