I am getting ready to go to England with my mother and brother, Derek. We will stay on Lord March and Lady Janet’s Goodwood property and attend a gala, teas and the antique car races. My mother and late stepfather were frequently invited to this and other amazing events, but raising two daughters, I rarely had opportunity to join them. I’m sure the event will make for a fun blog post, considering the theme of the ball is Space Barbarella. All four days we are asked to dress in 40’s or 50’s attire. Personally I would like to dress in costume daily for the rest of my life!
Recently, I watched two movies featuring Johnny Depp: “Benny and Joon” and “Don Juan DeMarco.” Both inspire the audience to live less mundane lives – to wake up to magic and the present moment. The latter questions perception and reality. What are the stories we choose to believe and how to they create not only us, but everything around us? Do our stories serve to help us feel more alive or to kill us? What if
every time we thought something we asked: “Does this make me feel alive or dead?” When does the inner critic slip in (when we least expect) and take the pen from us. Observe. Question. Consider.
Some stories are just plain funny and worth retelling, but some serve to drag us down. In retelling them we relive them. The greatest threat to our egos is to be creative and open to the unknown – to be guided by Love and the Great Mystery or God – whatever your version of that is - and to see what unfolds. How will we be used (by God, by Love, by our higher selves) in each moment? If we are stuck in past stories, we block an opportunity for a deeper exchange with the person or people across from us. An open heart will save the planet.
I look forward to this trip to England, because I don’t know what to expect; however, I am concerned about my mother. I told my friends she had experienced a “TMI.” My nurse/dancer friend, Susan, asked if perhaps she experienced an overload of too much information, or perhaps I experienced an overload of acronyms. Since going back to school for a counseling degree I have definitely been bombarded with acronyms and terms of diagnosis. People have strings of letters after their names that are a language unto themselves. And, yes, my mother could very well be suffering from too much information – she seems to have two speeds: hospital: zero mph and regular life: 120 mph. Rather, she was diagnosed in the hospital with having experienced a TIA (transient ischemic attack), which mimics a stroke and could warn of an impending stroke.
But my mother is not one to dwell in the past – not even yesterday – which has been her savior on the most part. Instead of going into the story that her high-speed life could be her demise, I am going to hold out for the idea that she knows exactly what she’s doing, and has lived a most incredible life as a result. (I can see why she admires Johnny Depp so much.) As to the question if she listens to what her body is telling her – only she can answer that.
