When I was 35, I think, I decided to inaugurate a Five Year Plan ~ my own self-improvement kind, not the Russian economic kind. My goal was to do a better job of standing up for myself, making my wishes known, and getting what I wanted. Yeah, it took me 35 years to figure out that no one was reading my mind, and that my desires weren't at the top of anyone else's list. As it turned out, it was surprisingly easy to achieve my objective ~ so easy, in fact, that my next Five-Year Plan was to become more diplomatic.
That little goal was not so easy to achieve. In fact, I had to renew it when I turned 45. And again when I turned 50.
Now that I am in my 11th year of my Five Year Plan to Become More Diplomatic, I am throwing in the towel. Not gonna happen. I have a better idea anyway. My word for the year:
SERENE.
I looked it up in the online thesaurus: collected, composed, easy, easygoing, placid, poised, self-composed, self-possessed, tranquil. I'm not too inspired by "placid," but the other adjectives will do.
My daughter would die laughing if she read this. "Mother dear," she would say, "the one thing you are certainly not, and can never hope to be, is serene."
Ha. Little does she know. I am putting my illusions behind me. I get it: most of life is far, far beyond my control. I can't choose where she goes to college, or what she studies, or whether she makes use of her many gifts. I can't do it for her brothers either, and I can't keep any of the them safe. Serenity is what's left. What I can do is hike up a dune and look at what there is to see.
Up on Sleeping Bear Dunes, looking out over Lake Michigan...
...this is the view....
...and this is what patience will buy you.
15 comments:
What absolutely beautiful, serene pictures. I can so relate to your last paragraph. DH gave me a necklace for Christmas that says "Peace comes from within. - Buddha". I wear it hoping for more inner peacefulness but I'm finding I need it tattooed to my inner eyelids.
Serenity now! How nice if we could grab a piece of it this year. I loved your photographs. Bliss.
Loved this entry - good luck with the serenity!! Meanwhile the pictures are divine. I envy you your environs.
Wonderful pics. I particularly like the bench.
Serenity? Not one of those words you dug up in the thesaurus would ever apply to me. I achieve little bits of serenity between the tempests of my life by seeking out places a lot like that wooden bench, and being patient enough to wait for that last picture... Those are only little ports in the storms, though. Restorative and nurturing, but they could never comprise my whole life. Too much kinetic energy swirling through and around me... Lisa :-]
Great pictures!! And a great plan - Serenity.
I figured out the mystery today regarding why I thought you were the "boat lady." I had your journal mixed up with another one....Paul has it linked on his J. I think it was your screen name that threw me.
So, how old is someone when Alzheimer's begins to rear its ugly head because I think it's starting with me already. But, it could just be due to lack of sleep. Either way, I'll be back. Ha...if my mind remains intack. :-) ---Robbie
If only we could remember these wise words on a daily basis! Thanks for the reminder.
Ah, serenity. Sounds good to me.
By the way, I think diplomacy is FAR over-rated. Whatever needs to be said...just say it! ;)
Amazing pictures! I know what you mean about grown kids. They have minds of their own. I have two teenagers; one in college and one in middle school. Life with them is full of ups and downs. Thought I'd share this with you:
"Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move away. The moments that used to define them-a mother's approval, a father's nod-are covered by moments of their own accomplishments. It is not until much later that children understand; their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the water of their lives." Mitch Albom, five people you meet in heaven.
you know, serenity is one of my goals too - i'm really working hoping to achieve it to whatever extent before i die. working with the kids this past fall has been, oddly enough, a big help on the path. the calmer, the less ruffled, i am with them, the better we all work, the more peaceful they are. i might actually use the word peaceful, for myself, though i'm sure we mean the same thing. meditation is also helping, and reading Thich Nhat Hanh. the more i learn about Buddhism the more i think it is the place for me, to whatever extent i can understand and practice it.
and, p.s., these are beautiful pictures.
It took me getting diagnosed with MS at age 50 to finally realize...serenity is where it's at...it's just the journey that counts. Loved this entry.
ahh, serenity....peace of mind....something we all long for.....I think anyway...just love the photos....beautiful....~JerseyGirl
http://journals.aol.com/cneinhorn/WonderGirl
I don't think serene is going to work for me either but it is a noble objective. I can always think of 3-4x as many things as I want to do in a day as can possibly be accomplished. Do you really think it's possible?
ahhhh, Virginia told me about sleeping bear dunes....... someday I must see them with bear for my totem!!!
judi
Wonderful photographs. Serenity now. Insanity later.
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