Four Corners Blog
Serving Maryland suburbs including Bethesda, Chevy Chase,
Kensington, Rockville, Silver Spring, and Takoma Park.
You Gotta Ride Your Own Ride
Barbara was telling me about a recent tandem biking trip in Croatia. One ride, with her spouse and another couple, was up a very steep mountain grade toward a quaint village several miles away.
You are Awesome and Brave and Tenacious
It is time for a confession: I love to listen to Delilah, a syndicated radio host who for over 2 decades has played schmaltzy love songs along with inspirational pop tunes, sprinkled with her brand of tough love advice and wisdom. The other evening, she was reading a letter from a listener and then said to the woman, “You are awesome and brave and tenacious.”
Sometimes the feelings just take over
So, in early February I got stuck in the ice. Really stuck. It was dark. It was cold. I was tired. I did not handle it well. It would be appropriate to say that I became “unfit for human consumption.” Luckily, only one person on the planet witnessed it. Unluckily, it was my partner.
Open mind, closed mind
So recently I bought a car. I drove a rental car to pick it up. The woman behind the counter was irritated, stressed, and bound by what the computer told her was possible. This really impacted me in ways I was not aware of at the time, and it has made me think about the dangers of a closed mind.
What’s Good? What’s Bad?
Let me tell you about my day last Friday. My car had broken down over the previous weekend and could not be repaired, so I had to purchase a new one. I had found exactly what I wanted over the internet, and I was driving to pick it up when I received a phone call from the salesman saying that another sales person had sold it to someone else. I was very disappointed, of course, because it is hard to find a car with a manual transmission that isn’t a sports car (too small and just not me) or a pick-up (too large and just not me.) But Jay called me back and said that his manager had worked it out and to come on down. Phew.
Have a Good Morning, and Be Well.
I was at the local drug store early in the morning – pre-dawn. Not moving quickly or feeling particularly peppy, and no one else appeared to be, either. But as I checked out, the clerk said with a smile, “Have a good morning and be well.” It made me smile back. I replied, “I know you have to say that, but it’s really nice that you do.” The young woman said, “No, I like to. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
A Very Meaningful 2015
A friend titled a recent email this way, and I love it! How do we make that happen, a very meaningful 2015? A great way is to forget about resolutions (those grand goals sticky with guilt), and instead set intentions.
The Gift of Quiet Time
Do you meditate every day? Me neither. I used to feel like a “remedial meditator,” just not getting it right. Once I found mindfulness meditation, where you don’t have to empty your brain but instead simply allow yourself to notice what your brain pays attention to, moment-by-moment, I finally felt like I could “do” meditation.