Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Another Gritty Grace Challenge....

Another Gritty Grace Challenge!
It's all in one's attitude? Right? It's about the 'frame' I choose to live through.

November 26th…. Ah, a full day of no obligations. A day to clean off my desk, tend to some household organization. Then, maybe time in the studio? Sounds promising. Makes my heart expand and spirits soar.

Then! I see that Comcast has yet another billing error… the forth in one week! They can’t seem to get our ‘order’ straight! (This is for my disabled son’s TV.) Last week, I spent an hour on the phone with them, cleaning up their weirded out ordering system. So, I’m thinking, it will be an hour of stress time.

Then… I also remember that Will had a melt down last night because he walked to the store but forgot his debit card. Somehow, in his thinking, this was my fault. So, there was a very angry, blaming, call from him. Then ten minutes later, a second call with all of his fury, directed at me.

Okay. I can rationalize that it’s his head injury yelling at me. I offer prayers for him to calm down and find peace in his heart. Then I move on, and actually had a good night’s sleep.
Until I get another email from Comcast, with all kinds of weird charges… and I remember that my life is not mine alone. I am Will’s caregiver. I must give care. Paying his bills, patience when he directs his anger at me, is all part of the GIFT of SERVICE. Just like answering the Suicide Prevention hot line…. It’s God’s gift of service, here for me to perform, TODAY!

Then, Gritty Grace kicks in! With peaceful acceptance, and knowing that’s it’s just a mere hour or so, I’ll find myself in the sanctuary of my studio, to create, be Peace, be Joy.
And, so it is. Thank you God, Goddess. Namaste.

November 11, Old is a Good Thing!

Ah, finally, I start! It’s been a year since I suspended all writing, except, of course, my morning and evening journal to God. It was such a tumultuous fall last year! As I began the month of November this year, I find a deep yearning to give homage to the suffering and sacrifices of Fall 2012.
That was the stretch of time that gave birth to my awareness of ‘Gritty Grace’. It was through the Grace of God, my Angels, and Guides, that I navigated myself to make the best possible decisions for my son Will.
Gritty Grace is about courageousness, braveness, intrepidness and deep down guts! Grace is the blessing bestowed from a conscious energy to attune to my Higher Power, the Source, Infinite Intelligence, God, Angels, and Guides. With their grace I am able to move through what ever the Universe sets before me to do. What is mine to do.
This morning? Gritty Grace was about getting up early enough to keep my commitment to my aqua aerobic class at 7am! Last night was a late one, with the SPS training getting out at 9:30, the drive home, and then being too stimulated for immediate sleep. I had already given myself permission to not push myself this morning. But! With the bestowal of Gritty Grace, I found it easy to slip out of bed, dawn my speedo, drive the 15 miles, and emerce myself in the glory of the warm, wet pool, with six beautiful bathing buddies.
On the other side of this morning’s early rising, the pool, then a brief time at the beach, here I am…. With God’s Gritty Grace, starting this blog! A new journey for an old woman. Yes. An OLD woman. Sixty six is not young or youthful…. Sixty six is a rich time of awareness of many years of life’s awarenesses, lessons, and journeys. Old is a good thing. I’m a ‘young’ old person! Can’t imagine how terrific life will be at 76, 86, 96!! Let’s get going!

Gritty Grace

Gritty Grace
gritty
adjective
1 a gritty floor: sandy, gravelly, pebbly, stony; powdery, dusty.
2 a gritty performance: courageous, brave, plucky, mettlesome, stouthearted, valiant, bold, spirited, intrepid, tough, determined, resolute, purposeful, dogged, tenacious; informal gutsy, spunky, feisty.
3 a gritty look at urban life: realistic, uncompromising, tough, true-to-life, unidealized, graphic, sordid.
grace
noun
1 the grace of a ballerina: elegance, poise, gracefulness, finesse; suppleness, agility, nimbleness, light-footedness. ANTONYMS inelegance, stiffness.
2 he at least had the grace to look sheepish: courtesy, decency, (good) manners, politeness, decorum, respect, tact. ANTONYMS effrontery.
3 she fell from grace: favor, approval, approbation, acceptance, esteem, regard, respect; goodwill. ANTONYMS disfavor.
4 he lived there by grace of the king: favor, goodwill, generosity, kindness, indulgence; formal benefaction.
5 they have five days' grace to decide: deferment, deferral, postponement, suspension, adjournment, delay, pause; respite, stay, moratorium, reprieve.
6 who would like to say this evening's grace? blessing, prayer of thanks, thanksgiving, benediction.