The week that was.

We have had a somewhat out of sorts week here in Muttville.  I've heard that Mercury is in retrograde until Nov. 1 and that is generally not a good sign for me, though how much damage can one little planet do, right? The week began with youngest daughter (23) having all 4 wisdom teeth pulled and moving back home for convalescence.  Though she did very well despite some nasty nausea, I worried and lost sleep and fussed a bit.  Add to that some oddly warm days, some medical issues, some Mother (mine) conflict, and general vacation re-entry and my state of blah continued and worsened.  I think I need a few "alone" days to get back on track.  Maybe next week.

But enough of my whining.  On vacation I read a lovely book that I'd like to recommend to you. "Eat, Pray, Love" is the story of one women's journey to find balance in her life.  It's extremely well written and a fast read, but don't skim. Each word is important and you really don't want to miss anything. The writer is honest and funny and someone that I think I would like very much.  She goes about analyzing the life experience much as I do, which I suppose added to the reading appeal for me. 

A favorite passage:

"I keep remembering one of my Guru's teachings about happiness.  She says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough.  But that's not how happiness works.  Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.  You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it.  You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings.  And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a might effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment.  It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments."

I just love the concept of participating in your own happiness.  Brilliant! The author was on Oprah while I vacationed and I regret that I missed it.  There is always the re-run to look forward to. :-)

Today the weather is behaving much more like mid-October and though there will be more Mother conflict and Mercury is still in reverse I will make every attempt to walk away from the blahs and toward my many, many blessings.  Good advice only works if you take it. 

Comments

[wenders]

I adore that book. Adore it.

And the Mercury in retrograde may explain a lot of what I'm dealing with this week, too. :)

[PainterWoman]

Others besides Wenders have told me how much Eat Pray Live has meant to them. I hope I can borrow a copy while I'm at the Knitters Review retreat.
Sorry that your DD's convalescence worried you and that "mom" issues have arisen again. Mom's are a BIG DEAL whether they are easy or hard to deal with.
Your photograph is awesome. May I do a painting fron it?

[Lori]

Pick up a copy of "Lovingkindness" by Sharon Salzberg, you won't be disappointed. It is about developing a loving, compassionate outlook.
The only "bad" thing about that quote is that it alludes to the fact that you can "only" be happy if you strive for it, and that you're supposed to try to keep bad things from happening, which is not possible. Life is about learning from the bad things that happen to us and then not wallowing in them, but moving on; also we need to learn to enjoy the happiness in our (and others) lives and not feel guilty about good fortune coming to us.
Sorry to ramble! I just finished reading "Lovingkindness" for the second time and it will continue to inspire me each time I read it. Don't you just love finding a book that does that?!