Up Up and Away

Challenge #108

What is it about us humans that have a desire to want to be in the air. There is a mystic and a sense of wonder of doing it that compels us to fly, float and drop from it, to defy gravity in it, test g-forces in it and just admire it.  We have always looked up to the sky since ancient times for sources of inspiration that has been expressed visually and literately. One thing that does remain a constant about being in the air, however, is that we always have to come down to Terra firma.

I challenge you to find that one reason that you enjoy about being in the air, and why. Think about it, visualize your experiences of it. Does the experience inspire you? In what ways? What do you experience, feel, sense, excitement, elation, joy, adrenaline rush, anticipation. Do you see a beauty in it? Does it make you feel a certain way, give you a different perspective on your life?  Write down the reason and other reasons. Then, make plans to do it, take a trip, a hot air balloon ride, skydiving event, whatever gets you airborne.  Very few people enjoy being in the air in one way or another....are you one of them?

Fantastic Voyage

Challenge # 107

Imagine being able to be on a crew in a vessel that is miniaturized to go into a human or animal body and heal or operate.  There would be no cutting into the skin tissues to create scars, no amputation of limbs or removal of parts. What a glorious ideal that would be~!  To face blood cells floating by you that would be more than half your size, to literally see and be in organs and feel and hear the beating of the heart. 

I challenge you to take a fantastic voyage of your own through your own body.  Find a quiet place, close your eyes and slowly begin to breathe in and out. Visualize yourself miniaturized and slipping into your body through your nostrils and slowly see yourself going back into the air passageway in the back of your mouth, going down into your throat, further down into your chest and then choose to go into an area of your body that starts to stand out to you as you do this.  Go into the area, and see what begins to appear before your closed eyes, begin to notice what you are feeling. How can you alter or change this area? What would you do to heal the area? These are questions that you can begin to form to start on a self healing expedition that you can take at any time that you need to.  Allow yourself to see light coming in and altering the area to be better or correct the wrongs.When you are finished, come back up and out through your mouth, or, possibly through a tear drop in your eye and return to your normal size. Begin to write your experiences down.

It's almost Halloweenie time~

Challenge #106

Halloween is one of the oldest and the second most popular only to Christmas in America. Millions celebrate the holiday each year without knowing its origins, which make the holiday that much more exciting. Some view Halloween as a time for fun, friends and family. Others still see its superstitious nature or ties to deceased. Some religions even view it as an unholy holiday.

Halloween also has some close ties to superstitions dealing with love. Some believe if you catch a snail on Halloween night and lock it in a flat dish you will see the first letter of your sweetheart’s name in the morning. Another one says that if a girl puts fresh rosemary and a silver coin under her pillow on Halloween, she will see her future husband in a dream. Girls who carry a lamp to a spring of water on this night are said to be able to see their future husband in the reflection. Additionally, carrying a broken egg in a glass to a spring of water during the day can not only see their future husband by mixing some of the spring water into the glass, but she can also see a glimpse of her future children. Another old tradition said girls should go into a field and there scatter the seed of hemp while chanting “Hempseed I sow thee Come after me and show me”. Upon turning round, it was said each girl would see a vision of the man who would be her husband. 

Visiting haunted houses is a more modern tradition that most likely started as a commercial venture and often works as a way to raise money for non-profit organizations. While dressing in costumes for this day dates back thousands of years, today we see an insurgence of costumes inspired by popular culture, such as movie stars or politicians. Americans tend to see more humorous costumes than scary ones in the current times. Additionally, the tradition of trick-or-treating, which infers that if someone is not satisfied with the treat you are likely to get a trick, has evolved into an activity for younger children accompanied by parents. Today older children and adults are more likely to attend a costume party instead, where best costume prizes are awarded. Most parties are held in homes but bars and nightclubs also hold similar events.

I challenge you to start your halloween costume hunt if you have not already... and, regardless of your age, you're not too old to join in the festivities!!

Glow

Challenge #105

One of the few joys of growing up in the Midwest as a child was that every summer, the dusk of the evenings would be filled with these tiny beetles, glowing in the air. Wanting them to last for many nights at a time, we would innocently chase them, and put them into jars, ultimately leading to a slow and dimming death.

According to Wikipedia....Light in adult beetles was originally thought to be used for warning purposes, but its primary purpose is now thought to be used in mate selection. Fireflies are a classic example of an organism that uses bioluminescence for sexual selection. They have evolved a variety of ways to communicate with mates in courtships: steady glows, flashing, and the use of chemical signals unrelated to photic systems.

^{There is within all of us, human or other species that signal that gets sent out to attract others. I challenge you to figure out what your inner glow or, bioluminescence, is all about and how it attracts others....} 

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!!

Challenge #104

It wasn't the beginning of a journey to meet the Wizard of Oz, but rather, the end to a man's life.

The owner of a private wild animal preserve was found dead last night and over 30 of the 48 wild exotic animals of the compound are running loose within the small town of Zanesville Ohio.  Schools have shut down for the day and the town is on lockdown trying to reign in the animals. Humans are encouraged to stay indoors and away from the animals. There are wild cheetahs, bears, tigers, wolves and more running loose amongst the city with officials on the watch to either gun them down or drive them back towards the preserve safely.

I challenge you to look at your fears of wild animals.  Ask yourself what you would do in this instance, and how would you protect yourself if you were faced with a bear or tiger coming towards you as you are walking into a bank during the middle of the day.  How would you defend yourself? Would you just scream? Would you want a handgun to be able to shoot them? Would you want the right to have a tranquilizer gun with you at all times to shoot it down without killing it? Think about how your would defend yourself in this kind of situation, which until today, seemed just a fantasy as walking down the yellow brick road to find the wizard of oz....

Are you a man or a Woman....then where are your manners????

Challenge # 103

Not until I arrived in California, Los Angeles to be exact, that I would encounter the phenomenon of women speaking over women.  I heard of this phenomenon spoken by frustrated men, exhausted of the voices, the tone, the caliber and the cadence. The underlying yet so obnoxiously overt desire to be heard regardless of anyone else around them, anyone.

Then I began to notice myself, and witness myself the unnerving, unending, incessant, rude and intolerable behavior of the women who want to be men, think they have to be the man, and "act" as men, by speaking over others, women in particular.  Do these women speak over the men close to them or the ones that they encounter objectively at work? I don't know but I suspect they try to overachieve to show their capability of being a man, and do so by default.

I challenge you if you are a woman, to ask yourself if you are trying to be a man, a rude, overbearing man. What is it in you that feels so undeserved that you have to be so rude to your fellow sister?  Where are your manners? Can you please allow a woman to speak before you rush to speak over them as if they are not there? It's not just a kindness, it's a respect for others, insecurity is written all over your face and body. Is that what you really want?

Inspiration

Challenge #102

Yes, it's that simple.  We often make it more difficult than it has to be.  We have it within us, we just need a little nudge sometimes to go down inside and carve it out if need be.

Where do we get our inspiration from?  Many sources are available to you for inspiration, such as in spirituality, acceptance, others, animals, art, music, words. Are things placed here on earth within our lifetimes to give us inspiration? It helps if we first figure out who we are, and then, figure out exactly what moves us, what guides us to move forward.  Some never do this.
I challenge you to
1. Ask yourself who you are.
2. Make a list of what propels you to take action. And then pick one. That is your inspiration, it's up to you to keep it or choose another one, and another one, and yet another one....

Easy Rider

Challenge #101

Fresh off of taking a few days away from our challenges, (the celebration being one fabulous experience, by the way!!!)  we come back and face Occupy Wall Street demonstrations that have reached global proportions.  Possibly glaringly unaware and possibly deliberately looking the other way to ignore that the former presidential administrations have been planting the seeds for this for decades, the public is now outraged that corporate America has left the a nation in such division between the haves and the have-nots.  Freedom from financial woes is tough for everyone to negate and everyone has to bear down and get through the next few years of economic crises.

Thoughts of running away from the establishment as in the film "Easy Rider" for a an easy retirement off the sale of illegal substances is not the best answer, however, taking your vehicles, be it a motorcycle, van, motor home or car and just taking a brief "freedom" road trip can be a pleasant distraction.    I challenge you to allow yourself a mini "Freedom" road trip and get away for a day or two or three, whatever fits into your budget right now, and see the world from a different perspective. Try to see and experiences things outside your normal daily routine of just getting through life. Having a fresh perspective when you return can be the start of finding personal solutions and possibly significant contributions with others to do your part in helping possibly to turn the situation around, be it involvement with protest organizations, getting involved with local politics, elections, or any movement or incentive to actually make a bigger difference.

Challenge #100


YAY!!!! We have made it to the 100th Challenge of 365, just 265 more to go!! Whooooo!!!

This calls for a celebration!  Pop a bottle of very dry chilled bubbly, grill the scrumptious filet, top it off with a red velvet cupcake and sit back and jump into the jacuzzi and watch the stars in the sky.  Won't you join me??? I challenge you to....

The Old Man and The Sea

Challenge #99

The ocean is a big expanse of mystery and intrigue that some of us get to experience and some choose not to.

For the adventurers in us, heading into uncharted waters can be the most rewarding, self-glorifying and yet difficult and terrifying times of our lives.  Whether it be a marlin to hunt as the Hemingway novel goes, battling a shark tank in business, or just riding with dolphins, I challenge you to use the ocean, or, lake or river, or any metaphoric expanse of water,  as your hunting grounds to start with, go for something big and see what you come up with.

Tommy Can ya Feel Me....

Challenge # 98

Are you ever feeling as though you are living in a world of apathy?  That no matter what you say, see or hear bears no difference in the world?  So much so that you simply shut down, as though you are deaf, dumb and blind? To the point of where you really would rather just go off planet and start a new life?

I challenge you to find something in your life that you can feel a passion about.
As you decide on something, don't look at it as other people looking at you and having an opinion about it. Forget about other people. Take a look at yourself and feel what gives you an inner sense of love, glory, excitement in your belly. What is it that gives you a fire in your belly? Is it a thing, a viewpoint, desire?  Take out a piece of paper today and with a timer, in just 5 minutes write down a list of some things that bring a fire in the belly sensation for you. Try it....

What's in a Holiday...

Challenge #97

Today is celebrated as Columbus Day in the US and in the US territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Many of us are off from work or still on holiday or traveling back to our home cities from a long weekend.

The man Christopher Columbus, was credited for discovering the Americas when in fact there were already an indigenous population here well before he docked his ship and claimed land.  Does the date qualify for a true national holiday or do we seek an excuse to have a long 3 day weekend and take off from work and our regular schedules?

A question to ask yourself. If you could declare a holiday to take a day out of the normal routine, for what would it be for?  I challenge you  to create your own holiday, one majestic day out of the entire year that you personally take off to celebrate. And, if the reason is to celebrate just you for your own being, and it's not on your birthday, so be it.  Start now and really take the time to create your own holiday. Mark the date down and write out all the reasons for your newly created holiday. Give it a bold name. Declare the reasons behind it and how it will be recorded in the annals of your history and how it relates to you. Create celebration around it, decor, food and merriment. Decide where you will celebrate it, what will you wear, who will be with you?  Cheers~!

In the Night Kitchen

Challenge  #96

We all have our childhood dreams that at one time or another carried us into the night kitchen, or the dark abyss that reminded us of warmth, comforty smells, mommy and daddy and projected us into some exaggerated heart beating predicament that we could only wake up from to get out of.   Just short of finding "Where the Wild Things Are", heading into the night kitchen is an early adventure we as babes typically and easily dare to embark upon.

I used to read this little known and controversial children's book by Maurice Sendak to my little one every night for almost a year before she was 3. She loved the journey that Mickey went into once sleepyland came about and the other side of consciousness awoke when he heard a noise from his bed and said.....

I challenge you to find the children's bedtime story that hits a positive target in your childhood of long long ago. Whether it be based on a distant memory, a fondness of something, or a very direct emotion. Appreciate the artistry, the presentation, the words, the mind of the pen from who they came.  Read it to your little ones, and if you don't have them, give it to someone who does have little ones, or read it to them yourself.

Jack-O-Lantern

Challenge # 95

The time is drawing near, specialty farms around the nation have begun to open up and stores are now selling the favorite gourd for the season, Oh hail to the Great.... Pumpkin!  According to the cartoon character Charlie Brown's pal Linus, the Great Pumpkin appears once a year sweeping down from the sky. That time of the year when hayrides and bonfires abound with the smells of smores, hot apple cider and spicy pies. One night in particular that we relish through this time...is the night of.... Halloween.

Within the tradition of Halloween is that of carving out pumpkins and placing a candle in them to stay illuminated for the entire night, called a Jack-O-Lantern.  Each Friday through this month we will focus on the various elements of Halloween.

I challenge you to engage in this tradition and begin searching for the perfect pumpkin to carve the perfect Jack-o-lantern this year.  You can't take time back and you can't live in the past, it is time to move forward only and this is one way....

The legend of the Jack-O-Lantern is below....enjoy~!

The Legend of "Stingy Jack"  from History.com

People have been making jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.
Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack-o'-lanterns.

Visionary

Challenge # 94

What do you see when you look out beyond your horizon?
What lies ahead out there for you?
Do you only see yourself or others with you, alongside you, going along the same path?
Are you in your own body or have you morphed into another time?
What are you doing along the way?

I challenge you to begin to ask yourself... what do you want?  Take a walk outside, or take a look in the mirror, be in solitude, take a deep breath, or several, and see beyond where you are, who you are and begin to get the visions of where you want to be, what you want to be doing.  Allow the visions to come to you....keep trying....

Rain

Challenge #93

The drippy stuff affects us all. It is refreshing to most, especially as kids, but in everyday lives as we get older it's effects are at times felt on an emotional basis whenever we have to be out in it.  Sometimes we weep when it rains, sometimes we react happily and stay indoors, maybe take the day off from work and duties as an excuse to not go out. Sometimes a warm outdoor shower after a blistering day in the desert is welcomed and elates us, and sometimes in tropical weather when rain showers come and go throughout the day, we just like to go out naked and feel the drops pelting down on our bare skin, then let them dry off us from the heat of the sun before sliding into the bath of the ocean water to wash off.  We plan our activities by it and we use it as a metaphor to wash away or clear our worries, sins, or otherwise dirty or negative aspects to our lives.

Rain is important in our eco-cycle to replenish the moisture evaporated by the earth's atmosphere during the movements of the days and nights to refill the oceans and nourish the earth and crop growth.  It bestows itself upon us by breaking out of great clouds in the sky and falling down in surprise movements. We are constantly trying to monitor it's existence by sophisticated storm system tracking equipment and radar devices on earth and in satellites in space.


I challenge you wherever you are if it is raining, and when it rains, to call upon it in gratitude and enjoy it. Take time for it and make allowances in your day for it if it affects you while you are driving, walking about or doing whatever it is that you do. Allow patience and be helpful of others. Dress appropriately, carry the umbrella, the rain coat, galoshes, layer for warmth if necessary.  And, relish the rain, knowing that it is always temporary.

The Yellow Brick Road

Challenge #92

Tapping your ruby slippers 3 times can bring you home and back to reality realizing that you had it all within you from the beginning, or.... not.

Following a path on a journey to find the one person that will bring you what you want most is what sets us off course to begin with. We, especially women, tend to look for wizards in a magical place such as in relationships.  We often times put that partner on the pedestal of mastery when they may not deserve our exultation of their being to begin with.  When really, unbeknownst to us at the time, self-love and self-mastery is the key to our own personal success before we are able to truly share with another.

If we can believe in ourselves enough to create what we want in our lives without thinking someone else will do it for us, or has to do it for us, self-trust is what will set us on our own path of destiny.  It can be a delight, it doesn't mean that you have to go it alone either, if that person or people are on the same paths as you are.  

I challenge you to find your own yellow brick road and begin the journey to what it is, not who it is, that you want in your life.

Serendipity

Challenge #91

Unexpected fortune and happiness is not always in a $25000 desert shrouded in gold over triple fudge with ice cream and a biscuit fresh from a posh upper East Side desertery in Manhattan that bears the name, or carried over into a sister venue of the same served up in a scrumptious dish from Ceaser's casino on the Vegas strip....

Rather, we can find serendipity or the discovery of something beneficial or positive in unexpected ways in our our everyday lives. We can uncover treasures in the path of daily routine.  I challenge you to find something in some way serendipitous to you today.  Sometimes it is simply following the path of least resistance that will uncover at least glimpses of ease, when we lessen the expectation of stress or negativity, we can only find positiveness in it's place...

Mourning

challenge #90

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Rock Hudson from Aids in 1985.  AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is still in existence in the world having affected over 60 million people and responsible for over 25 million deaths since its onslaught in the US during the early 80's. The disease is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV. It is transmitted between people through sexual bodily fluids or blood. People's immune systems are worsened resulting in death once they have the virus. There are over 30 million among us that are living with AIDS now.

I challenge you  to take a moment and mourn the people affected by this still present disease. Most likely you have known of or are personally aware of someone who has died of or been affected by AIDS. In your remembrance of them, appreciate them for who they were, what they were able to contribute to society and how they were able to touch your life. Remember that they each came from somewhere unique unto themselves, they were each borne from a mother's womb and each held an organic cellular base of love.  Remember that they leave behind family members, close friends and pets. Try to not turn away but rather to face this disease as reality and try to do your part somehow in the research and help find a way to discover the cure to save lives.  

You owe it to yourself to get checked periodically if you are sexually active and/or pregnant,  as you can carry the virus through the gestational period as well and infect your newborn . Although treatments have been created to slow the process and make it a bit more tolerable for the infected, there is still no known cure or vaccine yet for HIV.

The Sands of Time

Challenge #89

The passing of time has been lamented in songs, literature and imagery.  There is something romantic in the passing of time, evocative of ancient days, Middle Eastern at that. How was time measured in the beginnings of our world? One method was through a sand dial that sat outside dependent upon the rotation of the sun around the earth and the measurements of daylight . A more portable and visually attractive way was the development of sand timers. Sand timers today are usually measured at 3 minutes to 1 hour. The center being extremely narrow allowing gravity to pull one grain down at a time into the wider chamber below. Watching time pass this way can be mesmerizing and calming. It's way to give yourself a well deserved time-out and be one with the passing of time to realize where you are now. To just simply sit and be silent while you quiet your mind and focus.

I challenge you to get a sandtimer, an inexpensive 3 minute one will do if you don't already have one and take a few moments to just be quiet and watch each grain pass through hitting the lower chamber. Be in a state of and give gratitude for everything you have in your life including your breath.