The English language is fascinating to me. We have so many meanings to one word. What is even more fun is that the different meanings have different vibrations. Often we feel we are looking for one thing when really our soul, or true sense of self, is looking for another.

Take the word network for instance, in our times this can mean computer network, social network, or if you are a high flying aerial artist, a whole different type of net work. The prefix of the word has just as many connotations, most of them action oriented, fishing net, basketball net, butterfly net, or trapeze net. All of them intending to catch something.

It occurred to me while talking with someone, that we often look to others to be that net. Catch me so I don't fall kind of thinking. It may not even be conscious that we are doing this but since the last blog was about doing the same thing over and over and ignoring what really needs to be done, I thought this would fit right in.

Expecting others to be that net or make things ok or save you from yourself is very self-centered, as well as a bit lazy. These aren't even the parts that occurred to me as being out of alignment. It was the idea that each person doesn't have the ability to be their own net. We do. We do it all the time, we just don't always acknowledge it. That is where the subconscious comes into play as well. It's so cute that subconscious, isn't it? Perhaps we watched others expect others to be saved, thank you very much Lois Lane, or perhaps we were told being strong will drive people away. Whatever the message, it is up to the individual to shift that and realize, you are your best net and maybe you don't need saving anyway. Maybe you just need to believe in you so that you say "what net? I don't need no stinking net!"   :)

Sure, having someone else play that part of the supposed net (because they can't save you anyway) may lend a certain sense of security, but it is false security as we all have free will.  They may wake up and realize net being is not the way they want to be in this lifetime, to which we need to high five them! Unless your job is a lifeguard, do not be the rescuer! It's exhausting and doesn't allow the other person to know they are capable of swimming this life channel.

What if, you weren't looking for a net anyway? What if you were looking for a network? Perhaps you are looking for a support system that is equally based and one that you contribute to as well. Does that resonate? Community of sorts that allows you to attempt new crazy acrobatics while we hold our breath and then clap like crazy when you stick the landing. Doesn't that feel better than the whole damsel, or dam, in distress. (Is dam the correct term there for the guy? hmmm another fun with words for a different day.)

The next time you are doing the personal pity party, give yourself five minutes of it, then look within and see what you are really asking for. What could serve you best in this moment? How could you find your own power to fly above the net to capture that sense of self and offer it out to create a network of like minded energies that want to play and learn and grow in this amazing world we have?

Can you feel the difference there in energy? The net that will "save" me and the network that will support me and I it. Which one feels higher to you? If net does, be willing to look and see if staying where you are is a way to protect you from flying. The soul is here to learn, grow and participate. I promise, staying where it doesn't work will not feel good for long and eventually, there will be an awareness that the network exists, perhaps you just weren't tapping into it.

This network is not limited to people. You have a whole non-physical network that is willing and able to help you be your strong self. Call a meeting. Get to to know that network of fun beings.

Give yourself the gift of trusting in you to take this journey and rock it! If everyone had caught your little tushie every time you took a step, you wouldn't be able to walk today. That innate trusting part of you is still in there. Let it out and let it fly!

Be yourself in your network and you will find that the idea of any other net does not apply...except for ordering really cool gadgets. I love that net!

Vicki

Remember the lyrics, "There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, there's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole?"  I was talking with someone the other day and kept hearing these lyrics but the word was boat not bucket. I chose to ignore them as I really didn't see the relevance, until I am sure the other side wacked me with a bucket!

 

We were talking about doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Which, by now, we all know is Einstein's definition of insanity. Only this time the action was doing the same thing, KNOWING, it wasn't the best way to go but choosing to ignore the knocking of insanity and doing it anyway. The picture I got in my minds eye, along with the song, was someone continuing to row a boat aware there is a leak but ignoring it, hoping something would change.

We all do this to some degree. We ignore the behavior of a loved one hoping they will change or the niggling message in our head that says take the stairs rather than the elevator (Unless of course you are in my building, then take the elevator because the stairs are locked at all times. Don't get me started.) We also ignore our own potential because it may seem too difficult to show up or someone else won't like it. But you know what I have come to realize this year? We all only have our one boat, our body and vessel in this lifetime, so if we keep ignoring it, that hole is going to get mighty big my friend and then pretty soon, there is glub, glub, glub, sinking to the fishies.

The beauty of being individuals is we all have different boats. We all have different holes. (Well, that doesn't sound good but you get my point.) So, what is the hole you are ignoring hoping it will miraculously fill itself in? What voice are you not listening to that could follow up the next line with, well fix it, my dear, fix the hole in the bucket?

Take some time, if you wish, it's your boat, to ask yourself if you have a hole in your relationships, your career,  your spirituality, your health or your emotions. These are typically the areas that pop up when we talk about leaks. If you recognize one, don't panic! Look around and see if there is any tool to help repair the hole. Is there a person who could help? Is there a manual? Boat leaks for Dummies maybe?  (Hey, don't laugh, those books have great information!) Is there a way to connect with that, knowing part of you which already has the solution?

Bottom line, being willing to acknowledge there is a leak is the first step, the next is being willing to figure out how you can both repair it AND continue to fish, or float or sail to your next horizon. This isn't about blaming the hole, it is simply about awareness and being willing to apply a patch.

Be brave and know that even though you have a bucket, it doesn't mean you have to keep bailing out the boat. 

If you need help, contact me, I'm pretty good at helping people shore up their floatation devices. :)

Row, row, row your boat,

Vicki

People are often surprised when I say we choose to come here and do the work we are doing. They are even more surprised to hear we continue to do work on the other side. There is usually a groan involved here but on the soul level work, is not a four letter word. It is something that is exciting and celebrated. Wouldn't it be nice if we did that on this side? Celebrated growth and wanting to learn.

When I meet someone, in a reading format, the sound of their voice connects me to what their soul came here to learn this time around. It acts as a theme in their life. This started happening a few years ago and at first I couldn't determine what the heck purpose it served and then I realized when I pointed it out to people, they started relaxing as they had been living it without putting the dots together. The understanding that this life thing isn't accidental or something that happens to oneself can be powerful to hold.

My theme is balance, which if you were my personal trainer, you would have a fit of laughter right now. Perhaps I should tell him but then it wouldn't be so entertaining when I try to tell my head to tell my body to balance. It is like a message comes up that says "does not compute." Now, balance isn't all physical. It is emotional, energetic, spiritual, work to play and a whole host of other things that crop up quite often. The benefit of knowing this is when I feel out of balance or frustration I can be nice to me and acknowledge that this is a balance thing and to be patient (which is probably another theme for me to learn).

You don't need to have someone read for you to find your theme. Look around and see how you bump into things. What are your challenges? What takes you many times over to learn or perhaps you are still learning? (Hint: a life theme is a life long adventure. Get good with the repeating message at deeper levels.) It takes a certain level of honesty to be able to do this. You would have to observe yourself and how you interact with others and be able to see where you could have done things differently. It takes being able to look at it without judgment and then to create a form around it.

For instance, I have a client who is relationship challenged. Not just in intimate relationships but in all, with her siblings, co-workers, friends, neighbors and the list goes on. She is aware of this and is actually a very nice person. She came to me because she couldn't figure out what she was doing that was creating conflict wherever she goes. Without knowing this ahead of time, I pointed out that her soul path was to learn how to accept self and be willing to not know everything. I remember her heaving this big sigh and saying how hard that would be. This is where I point out, you don't have to do it by next week but you do have to get started if you want to enjoy this process we call being physical.

We started with a simple exercise of letting go of having to know everything. We can't. It's not possible. We, as souls, are here to learn and learn and learn so if you know everything, I promise you are not in a physical life. It wasn't simple of course, but she knew what I meant when I suggested it. Start there. Start by saying to someone, you know, I really don't know but I will find out for you. It is so stinking freeing to not know everything and it is exciting to get to learn something because you didn't know it in the first place.

There isn't anything wrong with her, she is in process and she will do the best she can with what she has. I truly believe we are all doing this and if we come from a place of understanding that we aren't paying back something karmically (don't EVEN get me started there!), or you don't have a curse or life just sucks, you can be empowered to do great things in your own life and then impact others.

So, how does it feel to know you were smart enough and brave enough to take on this human life experience and your soul completely knew you would rock it? Rather nice to feel supported by yourself rather than knocked down eh?

What if you took that energy into your life right now? What if you decided to fill the position that is created for you and you alone? What if you DID rock it? Oh man, that would be great!

Knowing the theme and applying it are collaborators in this dance. Once you feel it or know it, what is a step you could take to accomplishing it? For myself, I trusted that I would be supported financially this summer and have taken a scaled back schedule. It was scary at first but I knew that if I wasn't listening to my soul message, I couldn't ask others to do so either. I also believe that in the space I made, I have become more me than I have ever been. That is really cool to feel and I SOOOOOOO want everyone else to feel that too. We could have a "I heard my soul" party!

I wish you all the best in connecting to that help wanted advertisement your soul posted. I know you are the best one for the position of you. I mean, come on, you are perfect for the job!

Off to allow balance in all that I do,
Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

There is a difference between being alone and loneliness although our language teaching does not always convey it well. So often clients will say to me that they don't want to be alone. I feel a natural desire to ask if they know the difference between being alone and loneliness. To be alone is a glorious part of being human. It is where you get to know who you are and you get to assess who it is you would like to be. It is a gift that we get in coming into this world as an individual. No one else like you. Even if you are an identical twin, you have your own likes and dislikes. THAT is amazing! There is not another creature that is you. Something I am sure my mother was very grateful for as two Vicki's may have done the woman in!

Solitude, another great word, is the state of being alone without being lonely. You see, I believe what people are really trying to say to me is they don't want to be lonely. Lonely has a vibration of a deficit to me and since I feel words, the difference in the vibration of lonely and alone is fascinating to me. Lonely almost always has a feeling of missing something, someone, some emotion. The person is most missing themselves in my humble opinion. At some point along the line, they have given their happiness or power over to another completing them or filling a void they feel and this has led to that deficit.

I feel if more people were able to delineate between the feelings of deficit and desire, they would find walking this path a bit easier. When there is a deficit, a hole or something that feels like it's missing, a natural desire is to fill it up. I am sure you know someone, or are that someone perhaps, that moves from one relationship to another without ever really taking a break in between. The loneliness drives the need to fill that perceived hole with either another relationship or with other means.

On the other hand, when there is a knowing that no one can fill us up, that it is our job to do that and no one else's, we can get to the place of realizing that alone is amazing and that space is what we are really desiring. Alone is where the messages are heard, the desires can grow and a true sense of self can be developed. Without some alone time the battery does not recharge and alignment with self is really challenging. It is like listening to music with ear buds constantly and never removing the noise. How would you hear anything else? How could you hear that you actually LIKE your own company or that you had an original idea if there isn't some space for that to get in.

From a very young age we are encouraged to pair up, like this is some kind of ark or something. Perhaps in a much earlier time this was necessary for the survival of the species, but I am pretty sure that is not the case any longer, so ease up people. Date yourself. Do the work that helps you to know who you are and be good with that and THEN pair up. For goodness sake, don't do it before you know the difference between alone and lonely for you may be the one looking to fill someone else's deficit and that never works out well.

If you are already in a relationship, that is great, keep it up but do it in a healthy way where each of you have your own interests, there is room for the other to grow and an encouragement to feel fulfilled in every aspect of life. It has been my experience that the greatest sense of loneliness is being with those that you do not want to be with or who don't want to be with you and while the later part of that statement may be hard to hear, if you take the time to be good with alone, you will recognize that as a gift too. When you have taken the time to cultivate self, someone saying they no longer wish to be with you may initially sting, but you will eventually see the beauty in it because someone believed that you could be alone and be ok....now can you?

Do yourself a favor and get so good at being alone that loneliness is no longer a word in your dictionary. Contrary to what it sounds like, when one is good at being alone, they are a lot of fun to be with. The energy is clean and the relationship is authentic. Don't you want to be the example of that? I know I do.

What will you do today that encourages your strength of alone and your willingness to see to all the places that may require filling? For instance my favorite thing at the moment is bike riding. I have had offers from awesome people to take rides and I am sure one day I will, but for now, I ride solo loving the alone time and affirming that yup, I've got this ride of life. Bring it on!

Quite comfy being alone with my thoughts,
Vicki

Dr Seuss had it right when he grabbed us with rhyming words. They flow off the tongue and they help us to remember phrases and songs. The cadence helps I am sure, but the appeal to our desire for order is probably at the root of the attraction. Keeping things balanced and equal.

One of the phrases that I have kept in mind over the last few years is; explaining is draining. When we feel the need to explain, it takes away energy from what you know and gives it to doubt in self or in what you are explaining. I used to fall into this hoping to convince both others and myself that it was ok to do whatever I was doing. One day I realized just how much effort that took and decided my time was better spent elsewhere.

I believe we fall into this behavior because of a need to have others approve of us. Of course we want to be part of a community and inclusive of others lives but their approval is not necessary in order to enjoy our lives. Just look at social media and the incredible energy spent there where for some who you can feel are posting so someone will say, oh you poor thing, or whoa, that is impressive or anywhere in between. Very rarely do people participate just because it is fun. I love social media and probably share way too many pictures of the dog but I do it because it lights me up or made me laugh at the time. If no one commented or liked a post, I really would be ok, I was before facebook. It's my form of artistic expression, such that it is. :)

Do you ever find yourself explaining why you do something or why you like something? Does it border on justification? There is a difference in demonstrating why you like something and defending it. Demonstrating will have excitement to it. An, I can't wait to share this, feeling. Explaining will sound like you are making sure I know every detail to be sure it is ok for you like whatever it is. Just like it. It really is ok.

One of the examples of this I see a lot is a person feeling the need to explain why they are dating the person they are dating. Really? That is none of my business. There should only be two people in a relationship with others butting the heck out. It may not be someone we want to date, but we don't get a say, we really don't, so explaining why is either because you are asking me to approve, something that is not within my power, or you are hoping I will talk you out of dating the person. Unless there is a real safety issue, I am not going to do that. Often this frustrates people but the explaining can be just as draining on the person listening!

It takes courage to know yourself well enough to not have to explain why you do or don't do something, but the trust is worth it. There is a weight lifted off the shoulders when we can depend on ourselves and appreciate others input, but not rely on it to make any kind of decision.

Observe yourself over the next few weeks and see if you find yourself explaining and if you find it draining. If you do, don't judge just say perhaps, heck no, I won't go. Get your rhyming groove in the right direction. Channel your inner Dr. Seuss:

I deserve the very best, it is my souls wish. 

When I start to explain I will use the energy

of Red fish, blue fish. 

Have fun with this exercise, what is the point otherwise?

Off to connect with Horton and the he heard, 

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

This winter I had made the commitment to getting my feet in the ocean more than a few times this year. The ocean is always a recharging space for me. Yes, I am a Cancer sun sign but I think it is has more to do with my soul line up then when I chose to join this Earth space. I am familiar with the ionic action that happens in and above the ocean water and am impressed with the healing powers that is has but man, oh man, do I love the feeling of looking out into that vastness and feeling a part of it.

I took the time this summer on our vacation to feel what that was about. I sat in my chair with my feet buried in the sand, my version of a pedicure, and just felt what could be the connection. I realized after a while of being that it was that something bigger lets us be small and that's a relief to our systems.

For some it may be the idea of a deity or a God that does that for them. For others it may be a belief system in science, energy or whatever floats their boat. For myself, the idea of such a large body of water working so diligently to bring us balance through its salt formation and wonderful life forms that thrive in aquatic situations is just fascinating. I do subscribe to the belief of a higher power and that helps me maintain balance as well, but when you can see it, feel it and put your piggies in it, well, that surely must be heaven on Earth.

While we each strive to be more, more, more in our lives it gets exhausting to always be bigger than we were. We want the simplicity of life, but we listen to messages to have and be more. Quite the tug of war. Having a connection to something that is so much bigger but doesn't seem to question itself, to me, is very influential. I can take on the characteristic of that ocean and go with the flow (literally and figuratively) while trusting that all is well. I love that. I can feel my shoulders relaxing and an acceptance seep in. ahhhhhhhhh

What is your ocean? What brings you the peace of being small and allowing the grandness of something else to hold the larger space for just a bit? What shows you that while you can be that large and influential, right now your only job is to be? Do you have that? If not, what could you do today to seek that out and create a feeling of comfort. This is not about limitations at all. This is about allowing gratitude and grace, as well as, inspired energy to be present.

It doesn't take much to be in that space. First there must be knowledge, then acceptance, then perhaps a visual reminder so you can go there often when you forget that the keeper of the Universe's job has already been filled and you can relax for a bit.

I know you can do it and I also know that when we fill ourselves up, we have more to give. Much like the tides going in and out. They don't question, they follow a natural course for themselves and the impact on others is wonderful. So, fill er up and find that inspiration.

Still smelling the salt of the ocean in my own mind,
Vicki

 

One of the things I appreciate most about myself is my perception on things. It may not always line up with how others see things but I've gotten used to that and have learned that it is really great to have different views of the same scene. Yesterday morning as I took Tank, the resident canine, for our Sunday hike, it was really cloudy out and a bit breezy. As we headed out to drive to the park I thought, well at least it will be cooler and better for him and myself as the heat has been impressive lately. 

When we got to the entrance to the trail another hiker commented on what a dismal day it was. I responded with really? I think it's fantastic that we have a variety of weather patterns. She wasn't impressed with my answer and took herself on to the car and off on her day. I remember thinking wow, at the end of the walk she is cranky, glad I wasn't here for the beginning. 

I went a bit further and we met up with a man and his dog who were quite happy and calm looking. He wanted to talk about all the bugs out and how some people don't pick up the bags of deposits dogs leave. I have to agree with him on this one, why bag it if you aren't going to dispose of it, but I digress. I decided after that interaction I had better shift my energy or it wasn't going to be a very pleasant walk. I decided to look around and take in the scenery. One of the reasons we hike there is the beautiful surroundings. 

I looked up into the canopy of the trees and started to see the trail as Tank does, exciting and full of great things to see and smell and I remember thinking, wow, you can't tell it's over cast out there. The trees would block the sun but they also blocked what was a cloudy sky. I found neutral land! I found a place in the world where regardless of the exterior, the interior had it's own view. 

If you've read my blogs before you know this is where my a-ha came in. I thought to myself that this is how you could see life too. Some will see the cloudy and dismal and complain even after a great walk in nature. Some would want to talk about all the annoying aspects of a walk and then there are the Vicki's of the world that will see an opportunity to be in an enchanted forest where I have a chance to appreciate an internal process in an external world. Amazing. 

I wonder if others are aware of the blessing of perception and are willing to see the gift that is available to all of us. The ability to see a place or situation we have seen before in a new way. The ability to see the new in any experience. This would work with people too. What if under the cover of the canopy of life, we could see the beauty that is visible if we shift our view? 

It is not only possible, it gets to be addicting. You start to look for the higher vibration and expect that things are going to go well. Sure it takes practice but doesn't everything? That is the fun part, being able to see results and feel free of the crankies. 

Try it today. See a surrounding, another person, or how about yourself, in a new, more accepting light. You can see the canopy of life as blocking sunshine or as offering a hug that encourages you to adjust your viewfinder. I love hugs. 

One thing I know is when you adjust the exterior view, the interior view follows along. It works the other way too but that's a blog for another day. For today choose a good lens and enjoy the view. 

Using my perception for more than depth, 

Vicki 

Years ago when I first started realizing I might be wired a bit differently, I found myself searching for a support network. I didn't necessarily need a group to meet with or a guru (careful of anyone touting themselves as such), what I felt I needed was understanding of what the heck was going on and why, all of a sudden it seemed, was I picking up on everything going on around me.

I have often joked that when our mother passed that she smacked me on the back of the head and said go ahead and do that thing you do, and so it began. It wasn't easy, as a matter of fact it was freaking hard to balance raising kids, a marriage that wasn't on it's strongest ground, two or three jobs and volunteer work. Never mind the element of over sensitivity and no where to go to understand it never mind work with it. But, as is evident all around me, the universe had my back. It started putting in place things that would help me learn. Thank goodness for Hay House radio and their products. I probably would have lost my mind if I didn't have what would become the community that supported my growth.

I was blessed at the time to be forming friendships, some that are better today than ever, with like minded people and those open to hearing my theories about life and what we are meant to do while here. They still humor me sometimes. :)

Eventually, I met up with my spirit guides. We all have spirit guides. They are souls who have walked the Earth before and have completed their need to incarnate so they become helpers. It is my belief that we are all striving for this place of eternal helper (with no ego. If you just groaned when you read that, say hello to your ego.) We are in touch with our guides at every moment, it is whether you are willing to participate in the conversation that determines the relationship.

At a particularly tough period in my life when I thought I had no support, I met my greatest guide, and thankfully he is patient because I didn't exactly do it with open arms. It took a bit for me to be comfortable with the idea that there was a being that knew my every thought and action. YIKES! Then I realized they don't align with our physical self, they will help that, but they are more connected to that which is not physical. Our emotional, mental, spiritual selves. PHEW!

We have a guide for every area of our life and when this was presented to me, I was a little slow on the uptake. I kept seeing in my minds eye a baseball team. I ignored it because I wasn't going to play baseball, our son had and my husband watched it a lot on tv so I just thought it was a memory of some sort. Then it was a bit too much to ignore and I got the reference, OH! I had a team. My very own team? Those that only have my highest interest at heart? Whoa! Sweet! Did I deserve that I thought. Turns out it doesn't matter. We all have them and they are here to help. So just accept it.

This is just one element of the team we travel with. We all have angels, we all have a solar, or guardian angel and we all have those who have crossed who, without their ego, are able to help without judgment and in joy and love. Do you call on your team? Did you know you had a team?

So often we get stubborn and become that three year old that says "I do it myself!" In that we don't realize that others really do want to help. That includes the people here in your life. They truly do want to help. Do you allow them to?

Life may still be challenging but it is a whole lot less so when you realize that you don't have to go it alone. Even those who are born and croak, (read: all of us) don't do it alone. We have help. Ask for it. They can't interfere so you must ask and don't think anything is too small. It's not. Ask. Try it today. The messages aren't always like billboard signs and obvious. Sometimes it takes a bit to get through to us but luckily they are so patient and hey, have no time constrictions, so will wait until we are able to ask.

Try this for this week at least. Ask for the help from the divine and from your support staff. You don't have to do it out loud. You can ask from your mind and your heart. Be willing to see that you matter and there are those that are truly wanting to help. It's kind of their job. A very satisfying job, so they'd like more to do please. :)

I am really not sure who needed to hear that they have a team available to them, but my team told me to write about this. One thing I have learned after all these years is to listen when they come right out and tell me to do something as it is very rare they are that bossy. I guess I didn't hear the first ten thousand suggestions. ha!

I hope you find comfort in this and begin to develop a dialogue with your team members. One thing I should mention is they will never say anything mean or derogatory . If you hear, feel or interpret that, you have just met the part of you that is afraid to grow. Give it a hug and ask for help from your compassion guide.

I wish you well in your communication and remember to have fun with it!

Going to have a chat with my team now,
Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

One of the intentions I set for this year was to play more. Kids have fun, dogs have fun, any being that is capable of being in the moment, has fun. I want to be that being. At first this statement came out as a whine but luckily it has become a statement with an excited inflection, with practice and application. I realized I had arrived at that place when a client said to me "Vicki, I think you have fun no matter what you are doing." I stopped to think about it and said, yes, yes I do. Why? Because even though I know we are eternal and that life really isn't short, each incarnation is and I want to squeeze every bit of joy out of the experience I am in. That doesn't mean I am high energy all the time. Happiness can happen while being quiet and enjoying the rays of sun or the silly chipmunk that messes with the dog’s head because it knows he can't leave the fenced in area. Cracks me up every time. That joy is what I want to see when I do my life review on the other side. I want to know that I got what we are here to do, play, laugh, love, learn to move through sadness and experience all that is, without lamenting and getting stuck in our stuff.

Since this is my birthday month, I've decided to extend it beyond a simple day, I am using an acronym for play that works for me; Perfectly Loving Another Year! What would be your acronym? How could you support yourself by creating your own mantra to remind you to lighten up and be playful or full of play in this year? It doesn't have to be a big leap, you can start with Presently Liking A Yawn. Keep it simple but apply it to your life with a bit of movement to a higher vibrational frequency. (Neutral is higher than anger, frustration higher than that, joy higher than that, etc)

Look at the boys in the picture up top. Life is like that, up and down, hopefully with a bounce but there is no doubt there is gravity in our existence. How you address it determines how quickly you will move to a new emotion. Life isn't stagnant, don't you be.

I don't believe this is just a summer thing either. This is something we need to apply year round for our mental, physical and spiritual health. Laughter is such a great healer but you have to be willing to go there. Be childlike, love the life you have and then use your adult self to make it better and better and better. It can be if you want it to and if you apply a little action.

Now, I am off to picnic and whatever else I can get myself into on this gorgeous day. I hope you play a bit every day and connect to the REAL fountain of youth.

Bouncing off to higher frequencies,

Vicki

p.s. Play with those kids and teach them that adults don't have to be so serious and stuffy. Please!

While this week Howard and I escaped to the Cape for some sun, thank you Mother Nature, and much desired downtime, I made a commitment to myself that this summer would be enjoyed. I would remember it. I would get some color and I would put my feet, and hopefully the rest of me, in the ocean more than once this year.  The last twenty or so have been a bit busy! This year is too but that isn't an excuse for not living life anymore. After seeing all the people croak this last year, I am not willing to sit around and have work, as much as I love it, be my memory.

So we came to the Cape with no plan. No agenda, no schedule, no have to be somewhere. This is a new thing for me, so I am taking it moment by moment. One thing I did plan ahead of time, because I can't go cold turkey, is to bring my bike.  Full confession here, I LOVED riding as a kid, wasn't impressed as an adult when I tried it the last two years. This year, I decided to give it another go. I LOVE it again! Try, try again seems to really work. So I decided I was going to do the rail trail here on Cape Cod.  I head out like I normally do with the ear bud in one ear (please people who run, bike, walk, drive, roller blade, bunny hop, etc. please keep one ear unplugged for safety and the occasional communication!) and get excited about what I am going to see on a coastal rail trail. Hint....not too much of the coast it turns out.  

I was seven miles into it before I realized I never turned my music on. So then I wondered why I was blocking the music of nature with the one ear bud. Budectomy complete, I motored a bit more.  I found this spot on the way back. Pure joy for my Cancarian zodiac self. While I was sitting I realized the universe was conspiring to get me to really unplug. Our gorgeous hotel room has the worst cell service, none at all at the beach. Their wifi is not working and they declined my offer to troubleshoot. :)  On top of that, I forgot my laptop charger as I was going to get some writing done in this beautiful environment.

Eventually, I heard the message to really unhook and be without technology for a few hours, even a whole day. I've done it before, why not in this gorgeous environment?  It's amazing how much brighter everything is.  How much louder my thoughts are, sure, but they are good thoughts so why not hear them. I wonder when the last time you unplugged was? When did you become so present you could hear your own thoughts? When did you do a workout, a stroll, or a ride without music accompaniment? When have you taken a ride with your kids and the tv wasn't going or a tablet wasn't in their hands?

I am going to ask you to do this for as long as you can in the next few days.  See if it can become a habit. A night with no gadgets maybe. A meal with no distractions but conversation.  Find out what really matters to you by unplugging the sensory overloading technology (after you finish reading this on your device. Oh heck, don't wait. Go now. You can come back, or not, sometime in the future.) and plugging into self. 

This is me being an example. I'm out of here blogger world! There are beaches to explore and the other half of the trail to ride tomorrow, so I must rest my thumbs (writing a blog on your phone is nuts!) and brain for surely I will have some amazing revolutions as I ride in nature with no distractions.

Being present is the only plugging in I want to do, so off I go!

Vicki