Secret Doors

This post was one of the first that I shared on Quotidiandose.  It is difficult for anyone to bare their soul and expose their weak spots. I’ve been involved in teaching a course dealing with emotional healing and recovery from abuse for the past ten years. It is still difficult.  I can, however, get through sharing my story without inconsolable sobs.  What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?

I hold my head a little higher than I did a few years ago, carry myself with more confidence that I did a few months ago, and I look for the bright side of life on purpose.  Each of us has a touch of destiny in our lives, it’s up to us to find it. It takes work.

All rights reserved to the original artist. I do not own copyrights to this image.

 

Those parts of us that we hide away from everyone else, whether it’s for acceptance or for some other reason, they still remain.   Some have skeletons inside and others have treasures that were never opened.

Abuse in my childhood put skeletons behind one door.  I was ashamed, scared, and scarred.  I didn’t want everyone else to know my personal hell.  Their view of me would be colored with the stains of my shame.  I wanted desperately to fit in and be accepted.  In more recent years I faced those skeletons and kicked them out.  I’ve spoken publicly about it.  The scars, the shame, and how it colored other areas of my life.  I’ve shared my heart, the hurt, and the pain, and some people look at you like you’re damaged goods.  Others, most often the ones who have experienced the pain themselves listen and hear.  It has been cathartic for me and those I’ve shared with.  I’ve been an open book, shared things that kept me bound in shame, in anger, and rebellion for years.

A certain woman who experienced the same things as I did to a greater degree came up to me after a public speaking session and poured her heart out.  We cried together, comforting each other.  There is healing in revealing, and those skeletons don’t keep me bound in chains any longer.  I didn’t have the perfect suburban upbringing as my peers, I experienced dysfunction.

For years, I allowed it to color who I was and how I saw myself.  It has shaped me — both good and bad — to who I am today.  I am thankful for the opportunities to help others break out of their prisons.

I still have secret doors, though.  Secrets that were stuffed inside, hidden in a shoebox under the bed.  Secrets that were shelved and now covered with cobwebs.  Recently, I dared to open one of my secret doors.  I found hidden treasures and shed some tears at my forgotten dreams.  I’m coming to terms with myself, the parts I locked away and hid from the world.

Unrealized potential and unrealized dreams.

It’s amazing what a couple rays of sunlight can reveal in a previously dark and dreary cobweb-filled scary room.  Tattered mementos that were long forgotten, happy moments that I rarely allowed myself.

I gave up on myself for many years.  I went through the motions: giving to others, fulfilling my roles, but experiencing no personal joys.  It just wasn’t worth the pain of failure.

What failure?

Failing myself.  An ever-present sense of unworthiness that clouded every aspect of life.

I made decisions based on what other people wanted and expected of me.  I’ve taken responsibilities and commitments that are acceptable in the eyes of my family and friends.  I’m not exactly sure when it started, but I have reached the point where I am no longer satisfied with status quo.

I’ve always been a bit of a rebel and nonconformist, but most people would be surprised to realize just how much I have conceded and conformed.  I know precisely  and how much it has been killing me inside.  I haven’t been true to myself, nor pursued my own dreams.

I took those items out of that room and threw away the key.  I’m examining each one and evaluating whether they are valid or just childhood fancies.  I’m never going to take a wooden raft on the Mississippi River like Tom Sawyer.  I have a healthy respect for the Old Muddy and have no desire to do that anymore, plus I have a few more operative brain cells than I did at 11.  It was a nice visit to a childhood fancy.  Other things, I’ve decided I’m going to tackle.

Just as in spring cleaning there are three boxes: keep, file, and throw away. the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn was the first book I read voluntarily, one that sparked a lifetime love of reading.  The folded and yellowed piece of paper with a raft, colored in a childish manner will go into a scrapbook – a fond memory.  There are other things that were just silly and are no longer relevant.  I looked them over but decided to discard.

The ones to file, now that’s what prompted this post. They go along with my SMART goals.  Things I still feel are viable worthwhile goals and are worth attaining.  There’s going to be work but anything worth having is worth working for.  Ironically I found a shell of who I thought I’d be and it doesn’t even resemble the me I am today.  There are some aspects of the me today that are better, but the longing in my heart for those other dreams, well  it’s time for a change.

My personal pursuit for life, liberty and happiness were derailed.  After all, doesn’t the Constitution guarantee us these inalienable rights? It’s not the government’s fault that I’ve failed myself – epically.  That responsibility lies solely on my shoulders.  It’s back on track and I’ve got turbo fuel in the hold and the engine is revved up and ready.  I don’t think many of my friends or family will necessarily approve.  I’ve lived for their approval long enough.  I want my own approval because if you can’t have an inner peace with yourself, what does it really matter?

Some of my secret doors have been locked so long, I think I’ve lost the keys.  Maybe I’ll find them in this new chapter.  If nothing else, it will be an exciting adventure and, at least, I will know that I tried.  I don’t want the regrets of omission to cloud my consciousness.

It’s time for revision.  I’m about to rock the boat, hope you have a life jacket!

Write on my friends, write on!

A Mentalist

Quotidiandose does not own the copyrights to this image.

In part I, (The Creative Mind) on the creatives series, I mentioned that there are some commonalities in a creative’s makeup and personality. I’ve broken down these common traits into six categories.

1. Mentalists
2. Time Bandits
3. Expressions
4. Head Games
5. Entrepreneurial Spirit
6. Passions

Whether you consider this an insight to a creative’s mind or an observation, the following are common traits of creatives.

1. Daydreamers – most creatives are prone to daydreaming. Despite what mom and the primary school teachers may have said, daydreaming is anything but a waste of time. Letting your mind wander can assist the birthing of new ideas. Although our best ideas seemingly come out of the blue, allowing your mind to ponder the what ifs, the why, the hows, whens, whos, or just imagining an exciting new location can in fact plant seeds of ideas in that mental garden. Then ‘suddenly’ an idea will burst forth.
Neuroscientists have studied brain activity during daydreaming sessions of patients and have determined that it is a highly involved brain activity.
The observer sees someone staring off into space, on a focal point somewhere out there, somewhere they can’t see. The daydreamer knows that their mind is anything but idle during this time. I’ve had people ask me how do I shut my mind off like that. Excuse me? They really don’t get it. Part of the reason a daydreaming student is so distracted from the current lesson in a classroom is because of the video playing out inside their head of whatever topic sparked the daydream.
If you’ve never experienced this, this may be a scary process for you. I’ll attempt to verbalize a daydreaming session. I was sitting in a mortgage originator’s class where the instructor was talking about the most recent changes to the Frank-Dodd law. Dry material even for a mortgage originator.

Instructor: As you are probably well aware by now, the Dodd-Frank Act was enacted into law in response to the abuse that was present in the mortgage loan market that was largely responsible for the collapse of the financial system in 2008.

My Mind: “ Someone has to go to jail Ben.” ( line from the movie, National Treasure.) Yeah, that’s about right, someone has to take the fall. Someone has to be responsible for the economic collapse of the nation here – and the mortgage loan officer is, of course, responsible for all the people that defaulted on their loans or bought more house than they could afford never mind the fact that the real estate broker is always pushing their clients to buy up. (Hey, don’t judge me – I’m just telling you my train of thought here. You can argue with my logic some other time.)

Instructor: Our new rule will protect consumers from irresponsible mortgage lending by requiring lenders to ensure prospective buyers have the ability to repay their mortgage. The rules also protect borrowers from risky lending practices such as “no docs” and “interest only” features. . . .

My mind: But it doesn’t protect them against the media that tells them they need a bigger house, nor fix their credit issues. You can’t protect idiots from their own idiocy. We already have in place means to get QMs ( quality mortgages). Our compensation is only 3% while the realtor’s take is 6% – why are they using us as the scapegoat?
Think* think* think* Hmmmmm, well broker X was rather underhanded in some of his dealings.

OH! Hey, I could write a story about a fraud ring and a broker that’s in on it. Yeah, the realtor, the mortgage broker, the inspector all working together in a ring. Yeah, one of them could be the straw buyer, they could run a money laundering operation while they worked their house flipping, disguise the source, use offshore accounts. I think I need to write this down!

(Hence, why my license recertification manual has numerous notes in the margins with stars by them.)

Instructor: Ms. Mack, would you care to give an example of a breach of ethics in mortgage lending?

Really, he had no idea what he was getting into when he asked that question. I’m quite certain that he asked because he thought I was zoned out.

To him, it seemed that I wasn’t paying attention, but in fact, I was. It’s just that my mind was 10 steps ahead of him exploring nooks and crannies while he walked slowly down the corridor behind me. Holding my automatic assault rifle at the ready, checking every doorway- clear! Oh wait, that was the next daydream.

2. Creatives observe everything: the clothes the instructor is wearing, whether he has a t-shirt beneath his Van Heusen, the holes on the heel of his socks, the wear pattern on the sole of his shoes, a hint of Nautica classic as he paces in front of the room, the overpowering scent of Obsession from the lady sitting across the aisle from me, the nervous flicking of the pen back and forth from the guy at the back of the room, the guy on the other side of the room that keeps checking his phone for messages, (later found out his wife was admitted and going into labor with their third child). I could go on but I think you probably get the point.
All of the individuals attending this class were business professionals. I’d be willing to bet that the most detail any of them could give you was that the instructor wore a purple tie with his white shirt and suit. They were there to learn a subject, pass the class and get the credit towards renewing their license.

Creatives take in every aspect of their surroundings and taking notice of those things often lead to daydreaming. Daydreaming engages your brain, it’s not a zoned out state. The world is a creative person’s oyster — they see possibilities everywhere and are constantly taking in information that becomes fodder for creative expression. As Henry James is widely quoted, “a writer is someone on whom nothing is lost”.
For anyone that decides to peak at my notebooks, it’s a confusing jumble of thoughts, observations, comments, quotes, bits of information. It has meaning for me, it wasn’t intended for any other audience. My notebooks are a collection of raw materials just as a sculptor has a bin of clay, or a hunk of marble, or whatever medium he is using.

3. People watchers
OK, for the noncreative this can be a bit freaky. Relax, we aren’t stalking you. In fact, if a creative has taken notice of you, it means they find you interesting. Again, nothing escapes a creative.
Nervous fidgeting, sniffles, subtle gestures, an awkward gate, the telltale signs of insecurity in someone trying to project confidence, clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, complexion.
Yeah, I see where it could freak people out if they realize they are being observed. Most of the time it’s just a passing glance or the brief time in an elevator, but it’s enough time for the creative to give a full report to a police officer in infinite detail. Not that anything is going to happen to the observee, just saying.

We notice manners and the lack of them. We notice speech patterns, voice inflections, colloquial dialects, slang expressions, enunciation and even volume.

4. They observe the world as a child.
They observe the world with the eyes of a child, still seeing wonder and awe in their surroundings. They see the majesty in the mountains, the magnificence of the ocean, the diversity that surrounds us each and every day. There’s a part of them that never grows up, with a sometimes naive take on things. It makes sense, of course, you have to see the beauty that surrounds you in order to convey that beauty in their own creations. Who but a creative can convey a mood on canvas? Can paint a picture with their words? Who else can transform a lump of clay into a masterpiece? They feel, deeply. They see beyond what the common observer sees. They process a tragedy, their minds working to make sense of the senseless and in so doing produce a work that brings their constituents to tears.
I believe this is one of the key secrets to being creative. Allowing their inner child free reign and time to play.

Would you call yourself a mentalist creative?
Stay tuned for the next part, Time Bandits.
Write on my friends, write on!

The Creative Mind

Quotidiandose does not own copyrights to this image, all rights reserved to dreamlifecreation.com

Creativity is a fascinating mental playground that eludes the analytical thinker. Logic and reason are first and foremost in the minds of most adults. The traditional job force embraces and encourages the analytical, mechanical, scientific, and non-thinking modes. My coach recently argued her point that there have always been creatives, although it has recently changed from being called creative thinkers to being a creative.

Yes, there has always been creatives in the workforce but we weren’t appreciated. I was encouraged to stay inside the guidelines, do the job, don’t think outside the box, stick to the status quo and produce widgets. My creative side was stifled by 200 pages or more manuals of standard operating procedures. I was sent to sensitivity training. I was sent to a procedures and protocol class. In other words, they tried their best to get me to conform. (You should be getting a visual of that 1927 Fritz Lang classic movie – Metropolis.)

There have always been the creative among us, but they are often ridiculed, called dreamers and told to get a real job. Many artists never profited from their work. It was only after their deaths that some of the greatest creatives were even recognized. Galileo was an Italian physicist, mathematician, engineer, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the scientific revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the “father of modern observational astronomy”. Do you think his theory of a heliocentric universe was received by the church? NOT A CHANCE!

The traditional workforce is diminishing. The traditional manual labor jobs are going overseas as well as the technology jobs. There is no better time to embrace your creative tendencies than now! Creatives can think outside the box. As Gunnery Sergent Highway stated in Heartbreak Ridge, “You’re Marines now. You adapt. You overcome. You improvise. Let’s move!” Only in our world we will substitute creative for marine unless you are both in which case – I want to be on your team.

Creativity works in sometimes what is considered mysterious and often paradoxical ways. Their thinking is a stable, defining characteristic in some personalities, but it may also change based on situation and context. Inspiration and ideas often arise seemingly out of nowhere and then fail to show up when we need them most. Creative thinking requires complex cognitive skills yet is completely distinct from the thinking process.

Neuroscience paints a complicated picture of creativity. Scientists now understand that creativity is far more complex than the right/left brain distinction would have us think. This being the theory that left brain thinkers are rational and analytical, and right brain thinkers are creative and emotional. Creativity is thought to involve a number of cognitive processes, neural pathways, and emotions, and we still don’t have the full picture of how the imaginative mind works.

And psychologically speaking, creative personality types are difficult to pin down, largely because they’re complex, paradoxical and tend to avoid habit or routine. And it’s not just a stereotype of the “tortured artist” — artists really may be more complicated people. Research has suggested that creativity involves the coming together of a multitude of traits, behaviors and social influences in a single person.

“It’s actually hard for creative people to know themselves because the creative self is more complex than the non-creative self,” states Scott Barry Kaufman, a psychologist at New York University who has spent years researching creativity, “The things that stand out the most are the paradoxes of the creative self … Imaginative people have messier minds.”

So when a creative person tells you it’s about to get a little messy you best believe them.
While a creative is difficult to pin down, there are some tell-tale characteristics and behaviors that are common.

Do not confuse these traits with any excuse for laziness or slothfulness. Most creative types do end up in the traditional workforce at some point because, well we get tired of eating peanut butter and living in bad neighborhoods. In fact, many creatives that I know work a traditional job while pursuing their artistic dreams on the side, or in their spare time often forgoing meals or sleep.

What are these traits? You’ll have to tune in next week to find out. I intend to make a whole series on this topic, because I myself am tired of the stereotype, of being called lazy, tired of being told to get a real job. Hello? I have a “real job” plus a side job, plus the parenting – which is a 24/7 job.

If you see something that grabs your attention leave a comment. If you want to contribute to some of my upcoming posts, contact me.

Write on my friends, never underestimate the creative “force” within you!

Digital Mercury

Most of the population are thermometers.  They are the followers, the lemmings.  A thermometer tells you what the temperature is.  A thermometer reflects the environment that it is in.  The status quo followers who are content with the ambient temperature, and happy to be a lemming.  If you’ve been here before, you know I”m not a status quo lemming.  The popular crowd says go right, I go left.

Then there are the thermostats.  A thermostat determines the temperature of an environment.  A thermostat will tell you the temperature, as well as allow you to change the temperature.  The thermostat is the person who blazes their own path, dares to go against the grain, or strikes out on something new or different.  A thermostat determines that although nobody in my family has ever succeeded in accomplishing a specific goal, goes after it anyway.

That’s the kind I want to be, the thermostat.  I am not one to follow the masses in much of anything.  I have my own sense of style or lack of it.  I have my own tastes, which are usually determined by how it fits, comfort, and color.  I do have a lot of black, you can never go wrong with black.  However, my closet looks like a rainbow.  Maybe it’s a subconscious effort to be like rainbow girl Mac!

A thermostat doesn’t let family heritage determine what they can and can’t do. “My daddy was a farmer, and his daddy was a farmer and his daddy before him.  All of us are farmers.  It’s what we do.”

A thermostat doesn’t let their place of origin determine the level of their success.  “Ain’t nothin’ good ever come out of Tulsa.” (man spits chaw onto ground from corner of his mouth.) “And if you’s from Tulsa, then you ain’t no good either.”

The thing is, that inside we’re all hardwired to do something that’s uniquely us.  It may the same general thing as your buddy but you put your own special bent on it.  If you’re a mechanic, Joe may specialize in GM products while Tom specialized in  BMW’s.  The same general thing, but different.

My Great Grandfather was a preacher, and he founded the church in our local area.  He authored several books which  consisted mostly of his sermon notes, but they were published.  He was my mother’s grandfather, yet she seemed to forget about his accomplishment when any discussion of me pursuing writing came up. I needed to pursue a legitimate career, one that would provide an income.

I shelved the dreams for years, and pursued a career as a cartographer.  There was some very interesting times working for federal government as a cartographer, and it had a great salary.  It was very unfulfilling.

Ironically though, in the last month of my mother’s life she encouraged me to pursue my dreams.  Three days before she died, she signed me up for an internet writing course.  I didnt’ find out about it until two weeks later when I started getting all the course material in the mail.

So you’re probably thinking, ‘why am I off on this rabbit trail about my mom when I”m  suppose to be talking about thermometers and thermostats?’  There’s a very good reason!

Before my mom passed away, I was very much a thermometer.  I tried to be the person she wanted me to be and live my life to please her.  Guess what? It never really worked.  We never had an ideal mother daughter relationship, and there were many subjects we just didn’t discuss.  I had to reconcile our relationship with this gesture she made for me.  I was angry because she didn’t ask me, angry because I couldn’t talk with her about it – she died!  And I was angry  about the conditions in which she died.

It’s taken me a couple of years to work things out for myself and I’ve spent most of my life as a people pleaser, and accepting the status quo.  I was very unhappy and dissatisfied with my life.  In the past year I”ve turned my boat around and instead of floating downstream with the current, I’m paddling hard upstream against the status quo to regain my life.  I’m going to go for my dreams, and be the thermostat.  I”m setting the temperature, the climate,  and setting the rules.   I don’t want to be a lemming, I’m marching to a different drummer even if I”m the only one that hears the cadence.

I’ve been the thermometer and it sucked!  I’m having a blast as the thermostat!  I’ll give you fair warning though, things may get a little hot for your comfort, I know it does for me.  But here’s the thing;  nothing really happens when you’re comfortable.  Muscles don’t grow when you sit on a comfy couch.

Out there, in the uncharted regions where the dragons are?  That’s where the magic happens.  That’s where success is achieved.

Sure, I may fall down a few times, skin my knees or have myself a little cryfest.  I’m not quitting and I’m not going back to being a thermometer.

Mercury, in Roman mythology was the messenger to the Gods.  He carried the messages back and forth between the deities.  He gave the reports, he didn’t write them.  That’s not my dream.  If it’s yours great, go for it!  He was also considered the god of travel – now that’s part of my dream.  I plan to travel to many places throughout the world beginning with Scotland, Great Britain and the Caribbean.

By achieving the first dream, it will allow me to do the second. Hey, we all have our motives right?

What aspect of your life are you being the thermometer and what parts do you want to be the thermostat?

In our home, a battle is waged over control of the thermostat.  I’m here the majority of the time and I win.  I take my victories wherever I can get them.

 

 

 

 

Creating Success

Success rarely just happens.  I remember as a child singing along with Doris Day as she sang “Que sera, sera”.  I bought into that philosophy of life and  it dumped me in an ocean full of sharks.

When I let life just happen, it took a downhill turn, to the path of least resistance.  Status quo was an intolerable existence for me.  The majority of people live their lives in this fashion – passively allowing things to just carry them downstream.  I think this is why so many people are unhappy as well.  Just my personal philosophy, based on observations.

In this year of change, I have reevaluated where I am and where I want to be.  I”m not exactly sure what “success” will look like in the final outcome, but I can tell you that it isn’t where I am now.  Where I am now is a little further along the road to success than I was at the beginning of the year.  Progress is important to keeping your motivation!

Progress helps increase your confidence.  For example progress in an exercise program builds your motivation to keep going.  A good measure is to take an assessment test before beginning, then after about a month, and the next month, and so on.  When I first started my workout, I could only last 15 minutes on an elliptical.  Each week, I’d bump it up just a few minutes and before you knew it, I was doing 45 minutes.  That is progress!  Each little milestone you pass, creates a feeling that you will achieve success.  In this area I have a pretty clear vision of what my success will look like, and I’m not there yet.  I”m working on it though, and although I’m currently sidelined due to a knee injury; I haven’t quit.  I can do this, it isn’t too difficult.  I”m in no shape to run a marathon, but I’m no longer going to eliminate the possibility in my future.  Three years ago, my attitude was there’s no way I could ever do that.  Now, I’m seeing how it could be possible.  That’s progress.

Ultimately, it comes down to choices.  You can choose to coast along and let life happen, or you can take control and steer your own destiny.

Creating success starts first in the mind.  The first choice is if you are going to let life happen or create success for yourself.  I’ve tried the first one and didn’t like it. Now, I”m working on the second choice.  I’m liking this one much better already!

The hardest part is changing mind sets.  We grow up with a certain mind-set, and learned behavior that we accept.  Go to any local factory and observe the workers.  The vast majority have settled into the “life happens” philosophy and they are working for their paycheck to enjoy the next weekend, the next family vacation, to pay off their bills, or  a variety of other things.   Getting our mindsets turned around is a miracle within itself.  Creating a vision, allowing yourself to hope once again, and setting your sights higher is a major step in achieving success.

There’s so much more to life than that!  I like this new aspect of letting myself dream.  The excitement  that is inherent in any new project stimulates the motivation, and the motivation keeps  me going in a forward direction.  The forward direction is moving me to crossing the finish line step by step.  One step followed by another and  before I know it, I’ve passed the halfway mark.  It starts getting exciting!

Whether you are a mom, an attorney, a football coach, a nurse, or a writer you can achieve success.  It’s a really simple two-part plan that is easy to tailor to your own needs, and follow.

STEP 1:  Make a PLan

Whatever your plan is, write it down.  By writing it down it gives a sense of accountability.  Hold yourself accountable to achieve your own dreams, and if you’re bold enough post them publicly to have others hold you accountable.  Figure out what you have to do to achieve your plan by making it a SMART goal.  Break it down into achievable steps that you can implement.  Remember, the journey of a 1000 miles begins with the first step.

STEP 2: Work the PLan

Yep, it’s just that simple.  Start doing the things you need to achieve your goals.  Whatever you do, do it well.  Give it your best effort!  If your goal is to be the best mom to your children then give it everything you’ve got.  If your goal is to be the best football coach then give it your best effort.  Do the things you need to do to achieve your goals, and by giving your best effort it will give you the sense of accomplishment of a job well done.  that gives you momentum for the next time.

My father used to always say  “Anything worth having is worth working for” and “If you’re going to do it, do it right!”   Whether you are building your marriage, your abs, your business, or a career these two expressions apply.  It’s going to take work to get to the top and achieve success.

Without applied effort, the six-pack abs end up looking like a keg.

Here’s a little secret: the majority of the world is content with status quo.  If you are one of the 15% that dream of a better life you’re already ahead of 85% of the population.  If you write down your goals, you’re in the top 3%, and if you take it to the next level of applying concerted effort in achieving those dreams, you are in the top 1.5% of the world’s population!

While my friends and family are relaxing on their tubes floating down the lazy river of life, I’m paddling my canoe fast and furious upstream against the current. It’s hard work, but worth it in the end.  I hope some of you will join me!

 

 

Here There Be Dragons

In my former career I was a mapmaker.  No seriously!  My degree is in Cartography which is map making.  I worked for the US Department of Defense in mapping and charting division, then targets division, and just before I retired/resigned I worked in digital productions.  Some of the work was very interesting, and some rather mundane.  Sounds like any job doesn’t it?

Ever look at ancient mariner’s maps?  I love old world maps.  The skill and artistry they used to create their maps and charts were truly masterful,  especially when you consider the tools they used.  In modern times we use sophisticated sources that we can neither confirm nor deny the existence of, and in some cases would blow your mind.  Those high-tech things that you think are fictional in movies?  Mere child’s play. I better quit now, I signed many forms to not divulge secrets.

Moving on . . . those ancient charts had markings in common places that read “Here There be Dragons”.  One common spot was off the coast of China.  Another is in the upper Atlantic area between Great Britain, Greenland, Iceland, Nova Scotia, and New England area of the U.S.  It was unknown.  Maybe they saw whales, or giant squids, or Nessie’s relatives.  Who knows what they actually thought they saw.  The point is it was unknown and uncharted.  Danger, danger Will Robinson!

Isn’t this how most of us approach our unknowns?  Our first reaction is a sharp intake of breath followed by rising pulse and a big red DANGER flashing in our minds?  Why?  Because it’s unknown.  Better the devil we know than the one we don’t.

This big sign hangs over that section of our lives we call unknown:  Here there Be Dragons!  We are afraid to go beyond that border of the familiar and venture into the land of dragons.  We makes lines of demarcation on the borders to warn us not to venture beyond this point.

Enter the Dragonslayer!  (Insert dramatic music here and picture of imperious heroine standing arms akimbo on the deck of my sailing vessel!)   No, I’m not going to slay your dragons for you.  No, I don’t work for hire; unless you pay in Caribbean vacations and chocolate.  No, I’m not slaughtering innocent dragons.  NO dragon was harmed in the writing of this post.  I’m exploring the boundaries of my own limitations, and re-evaluating those areas labeled as new and different.  I’m updating my maps to explore the dangerous land of dragons.

We laugh at Medieval superstitions, but we do the very same thing in our own lives with much smaller matters.  2012 is the year my borders are expanded, and my myths are busted!  Just because I haven’t done it before doesn’t mean I can’t.  Just because I haven’t obtained success in a certain area doesn’t mean I won’t.  Just because my past is boring doesn’t mean my future will be.  Get the picture?

For those of you that prefer your nice, neat, tidy little boxes beware.  I’m in a box smashing mood, and on a rut destroying mission.  It may spill over on you if you get too close! For those brave souls who like adventure, I invite you to come along on the explorations and adventure.  Strangely when the explorations begin, that dragon that cast the ominous shadow turns out to be a tiny lizard with a blue tail.

I know, about now you’re wondering where do I come up with this stuff? To give you a little insight into that dark hallway you can take a look at a friend’s blog that inspired my dragon slaying adventure.  http://wideawakebutdreaming.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/leap-day-grinding/

Sort of a yang to his yin!  Many members of my extended family are rutmakers.  I hate ruts!  I think I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I like to change things frequently.  If you check my post for THAT’S SPICY!, I mention it there.

February was less productive than I would have liked it to be.  I really didn’t make much progress towards my main goals, and this sickness has derailed me even more.  I’ve been plotting my charts for March, and setting milestones to achieve.  While working on that I visited Raymond’s blog, and I was off and running!

Hope there are a few brave souls to join my crew of adventurers as we sail into the unknown, charting new territory.

My course? Second star the right, straight on till morning!

The second star to the right

Shines in the night for you

To tell you that the dreams you plan

Really can come true!

Avast ye mateys, all aboard Starship Mack as we sail the uncharted waters!