Take advantage of the moment

It has been another startling month and a half for me.

First, if you wish to celebrate my upcoming 57th birthday (November 15) with me, go here and make a donation before November 4, 2:42pm EDT.  There are only 14 days left to do this, and it is my most fervent wish for my birthday to see this project blossom:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1550578903/home-a-kindling-group-documentary


Now onto the grist of this post:

This will make the most sense to those who follow me to keep track of what's going on in my life.

I heartily invite you to persue the thoughts, even if you are not one of those ... by all means, eavesdrop!

Those of you who know me, know well that my creedo is: "Choice is always yours. Everything is an opportunity. The meaning of life is in this very moment."


As one of the first to admit that it may not seem easy in the moment, it is worth the effort.

Another door has slammed in my face in the last two months.  It's a health issue.  It's not going to kill me today, nor tomorrow.  It has however stopped me from doing what I set out to do the moment I found a mentor I trust in homeless advocacy -- use my talents in the field for my homeless peers.

Short and brief?

::snort:: I'm rarely short and brief.  Verbose and rambling, yes.  And it suits me.

However, short and brief:  Life has handed me another opportunity to perceive the glass as half full or half empty.  The chance to see the moment as "shooting-me-down" or as an opportunity.

And lemme tell ya -- this particular moment for me, pleasant, easy ... NOT.

However, lemme also tell ya ... the opportunities from this series of moments are going to be some of the biggest in my life yet.

So take that, naysayers.  Take that, doom-spreaders.  Take that, moments of tragedy, for you are transformed!

As I say, so mote it be! :)  Just had to toss in that phrase from my past.

I'm going to be very specific, because one of the reasons I write this blog is for the one person who chances upon it, recognizes a bit of themself ... and says,

"Self, we can use this."

My friends, we learn by the examples of those around us.  By their honesty (or lack of it).  By their belief in themself (or lack of it).  By their actions (or lack of them).  By all these things their words have impact on our lives.

I am not the healthiest git in town.
I am not the wealthiest git in town.
I am not the snazziest git in town.

But I have experience in turning the tragedies, annoyances and pitfalls that have come my way into terrific opportunities.

So here's what's going on:

I'm having mega-episodes of chronic fatigue.  Not unusual for me.

However with the goal I worked to achieve, Homeless Advocate, which requires me to travel long-distances carrying equipment that is provided to me by grants and donors I have been blocked for the last month and a half ... seriously.

Actually, someone without my health issues would have been blocked as well.

It's no small thing to traverse on a bus for 3 hours one way to a meeting, event, or field episode.  The same trip in a car takes about 1 third the time ... but the carting of equipment in a car is much less tiresome than lugging it up and down bus steps, around people who are snarling and growling at you for "inconveniencing their journey", and long distances.

For the moment I have been stopped in actually carting the equipment around.

This was a serious blow to me, mentally and emotionally.

Does it mean I've failed?

No.  It does mean I've found a way that doesn't accomplish my goals.  Just call me "Thomas Edison".  I could be in worse company.

It does mean, I've had to curtail much physical activity unless someone is around to put me and the equipment in their car and cart me around.

The door of opportunity that opened?  Boy-howdy, there wasn't just one.

Last year, I tried to participate in NaNoWriMo ... it was an utter failure for me, I couldn't pull it off while being on the streets.  However, because I cannot physically cart equipment around unless someone is giving me a ride, I have some free time.

And I can write from my current housed location, so in 15 days, I'll be putting the words to paper to the novel I tried to write last November.

That's one heck of an opportunity.

Right now, I have to choose my physical activities with great care .. that means if I do something it's totally important to me.

So when I tell you, that my therapist asked me to work with a person I consider highly motivational at a shelter -- each one of us presenting for an hour to my comrade shelterees during my therapist's absence ... you'll know that I'm presenting something I think is fantastic.

My presentation during the first two weeks of November at a shelter will be t'ai chi ch'uan.

Can I tell you I'm stoked?

I'm looking for a vehicle.  yes, I doubt that I can afford the upkeep and the insurance.  But, if I get a novel written, or even go into blog authoring on the subjects I feel I have something to share about ... perhaps I can change that situation.

This has not been a comfortable time.

But I have also come upon the opportunity to participate (as well as be the technical facilitator for homeless advocacy) in a writer's club/workshop that is being presented by a brilliant author at a shelter.

All I can say is WOW.

Yes.  I don't have the energy to pick up the phone and call the 15 people that want me to call them to let them know I'm okay.

Yes. I don't have the physical energy to be on social media daily, or even bi-monthly as I work out the logistics I need to pull together to make my life work with the newest set of exigencies of my life.

Yes. I do see even this health offset as an opportunity.  Because, in the end, I am exercising my choice, I am making my health, happiness and welfare work for me -- because that's the opportunity I can make happen no matter what.

You can do the same.

No matter what is facing you.

You have choice.

You have power.

You have my cheering and encouragement.

Trust me .. that's no small thing.

Sally forth my friends ... take advantage of the moment.  You always have that choice.