Beneath My Feet

  Floor in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland. 2023 Be still and know that I am. Be still and know. Be still. Be. ~ attributed to St. Patrick I set aside this photo of my wee feet standing in St. Patrick's cathedral in Ireland, just for this day!  Happy St. Patty's Day! Luck is often a matter of perspective,  but we felt lucky that we had an unplanned stay in Dublin, Ireland last summer. We were soon to travel to Italy, but the airline messed up our flight connections and gave us an option of leaving "right now!" via and overnighting in Dublin. Our bags were packed, so why not? We rushed to the airport. T he next morning as the plane  approached our landing, we were greeted by every hue of GREEN in the fields, then by the friendliest of accents. We were extra lucky to have a sunny day to explore the fabulous city. St. Patty, I learned in school, is celebrated because he miraculously chased all snakes out of Ireland. Hardly likely, but ancient tales are fun, ...

At a lovely retreat in Punta Esmeralda, Mexico. Jan. 2023   My mom used to say she was being "lazy". She was in her 80s and I didn't think she was lazy at all. But, she felt there was more she could or wanted to be doing.  A recent podcast addressed why people have a tendency to call themselves lazy, or another person lazy. The author* made some excellent observations.  First, AVOIDANCE. I call it procrastination, when the person should definitely be doing something, work, fun, or making appointments. But instead, they spend hours scrolling social media, or watching videos.  This one surprised me -- ACCOUNTABILITY. Some simply need outer accountability to meet inner expectations. For example, they know they need to exercise but do best in a paid class, with a trainer, or by joining a league. Accountability can also be a deadline or doing something for someone else like a charity.  As soon as accountability is established, they will follow through.  Of cours...