A Few Choice Vines

One advantage of being forced to slow down and rest is that the monkeys in your mind quit swinging around for a while. However, every once in a while, one of them will take off on a vine that is worth hanging onto, something your mind and soul needed you to know ..... something so important, it was willing to wait on the chatter to settle down.....

So here are some of the ramblings from the last couple of weeks that I call "choice vines" -- the ones that the wiser simians waited on:

* Never allow another's definition of success to define you. Oh my gosh, I could write a book(let) on this one as a "what not to do," how I allowed others' visions of success to supplant my own for far too long, how I sometimes still look to false measuring sticks of what it means to be "successful" .... forgetting that success is not my mission in life. If it happens as a by-product, that's great, but it's not my life's mission or goal. I must never lose sight of that.

* Even in the dark, there is always light. Far too often in the last few weeks, even my sense of humor had gotten a little darker than I would like. But in the last few days, the kindness of others has really helped me to see that people can be kind and understanding. I have seen just how amazing people can be: team members at my regular work, my part-time work, my fellow choir members, all the medical professionals who have treated me over the last few weeks (and YES, I will follow your advice to rest!).

* It's okay to say "no." It's perfectly okay to say no -- to things which do not work at all for you, your schedule, your hopes, dreams, goals, desires. It's perfectly okay to say goodbye to things which no longer serve you, remembering that they were once important but realizing that the time has come and passed. It's learning what your limits are, knowing when you need to push yourself a little farther, and knowing when it's more than the price tag. "No" is a powerful word.

I hope the chatter stays a little more silent and the choicest vines continue to make themselves known.