Promise and Commitment

Graphic from my Hemera collection,
TY to the folks who held my old computer for me
without you I wouldn't have this image!

‎"The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible"   Author Unknown

“glad to have the likes of you in my midst.” From a friend I just made an hour back.

I made myself a promise a short time ago — it seems like forever to me, however, it truly was only about 2 months ago (or less).

Actually it was a series of promises and commitments:

• That I would not fret over situations and circumstances for the month of November;
• That I would expend my energy on me;
• That I would communicate when and how it felt “right” to me;
• That I would not apologize for taking care of myself;
• That I would not apologize for “not being what others expect or anticipate me to be”;
• That I would meet and explore my expectations not anyone else's;
• That I would be myself around those I call my friends, regardless of what I feared my friends might think of me, or if they would drop me as a friend, (I rarely fit into others comfort zones); and,
• That I would express what I feel, see, perceive and am aware of.  Regardless of the fear—that still has some residual life in me, for it was strongly necessary in my survival when I was younger—of what others would “think of me” and most enervating “do to me”.

The month of November is nearly up.
 

Tomorrow I finish the NaNoWriMo gauntlet I set for myself.

As December progresses, I will be making choices as to how I want to use social media to express, perform, learn, and teach.  This may take longer than the month of December to come to fruition.  That’s okay.

I move much more slowly than most people.

Social Media communication is touted as a whirlwind medium.  It can, however, be used by those of us who do not necessarily move to the pace of others.

“If a being does not keep pace with their companions, perhaps it is because they hear a different drummer.  Let them keep step to the music they hear, however measured or far away.”

(One of my favorite paraphrases.  It was from Henry David Thoreau,
1817-1862, an Essayist, poet and philosopher)

He also said something, Mr. Thoreau did, that I find of incredible value to those who have chosen to advocate for ending homelessness …

“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”

You can actually paraphrase it to have meaning in whatever you advocate for.

Some of you know me.  I have many facets which include:

performance and expression artist, writer, advocate (awareness, MakeADifference, animal rights, ending homelessness, ending abuse, living green), seeker, shaman, change agent, and encourager.

Above all, I am a questioner.

It nearly cost me my life when I was a child and later on as I grew.  So I did my best and bravest to quell that particular trait.

It never vanished.

I welcome it back into my life with full expression and open arms.

It does not make me popular.
Oh well, I never was popular.

It does not make me sexy.
Oh well, I never was that either.

It does not make me politically correct.
Phlffbbsssttt!  As if! ::grin::

Questioning does not make me the invited quest in many places, because the things I question often seem to make others uncomfortable.

Asking questions is a part of me.  Do me the honor of reading these words from a hero of mine, Laura Archera Huxley, published in 1963-ish in You Are Not The Target:

“Scientific research is the art of asking the right question in the right way.

So it is in the exploration of ourselves.  It has been said that the right question implicitly contains within itself the right answer, the answer that lies at the center of the problem and will lead to its solution.  Each one of us must discover whether this is true.

…

Self-questioning is a first step on the path to self-awareness.  And this awareness is a pre-condition for making the most of our lives.  It is our protection against un-necessary mental suffering and physical illness, and our aid in coping with these when they cannot be avoided.  Being aware is the way toward finding fullfillment in our relationships with others, of bringing all our store of healthy energy to living and working.

…

No question is trivial.  All questions lead to other questions and so step by step to the answers.”

I made a series of promises to myself a short while ago.  The time alloted is reaching its moment on the clock.  Time to re-commit.  So ...

I commit to a tolerable planet.
I promise to be and express myself.

I see the invisible, I feel the intangible, and I have achieved what I thought at one time was impossible.

Join me?

As my newest friend wrote to me, “glad to have the likes of you in my midst.”