Keep Out!

Keep Out! Apparently the wind, rain, blazing sunshine and animals can't read as they have invaded this house in a Texas "ghost" town! I wonder what the owner is protecting by posting this sign. Perhaps they are trying to protect the house from a few more bricks being stolen from it's walls. Tonight, I found myself browsing my pictures looking for something that would "state" my mood today! This picture seemed to do it.

It's been a very busy week at work, with a heavy workload and a lot of other work being pushed aside on my desk. In fact this morning when I walked into my office, I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack just looking at the mess of papers on my desk. Projects and "fires" to put out seemed to pile up all day. One of my staff came into my office and I didn't think that I reacted physically, but she said, "You said, you have an open door policy." Then she grinned as she discussed one more problem (i.e. "fire").

Yes, sometimes I feel like my office is in this type of building, no protection from the elements and everyone can easily see if you're in or out. They can "invade" my dwelling. And yes, sometimes I wish that I also had a "keep out" sign. Even tonight my phone rang and I stood up, as if to go and get it. Then I stopped in my tracks and paused as I thought to myself, "Should I answer it or not?" My sense of commitment to work got the best of me as I surely thought the caller must be one of my co-workers. So, I answered it. It was an old friend from New Mexico and her call was a pleasant surprise.

Yes, some days, it feels like you have no protection, no roof over your head. It feels like the walls are crumbling around you. There are critters crawling on your floors and you wonder if you can take the heat one more day? But if you lean back in your chair and look straight up, you'll feel the warmth of sunshine on your face and you'll see a cloudless day with beautiful blue skies. Awwww! It's not all bad! If you look up, other things in your life will "look up."

Paths

This morning I awoke from a dream.... one of those thought-provoking ones that keep you awake wondering what would have happened next if I had stayed asleep dreaming.

In my dream I was traveling down a narrow, flat road, actually it was more like a gravel path. In the distance I could see a wall that went across the road and extended as far as the eye could see. I knew the wall meant the end of my journey, death. I was not afraid, it was reality. However I realized that I had a choice on what I did in my life between right now and when I got to the wall. I knew that timing was not an issue, I would get to the wall when I got there. I was filled with the sense that I could just slowly cruise down the path, straight and narrow, enjoying the scenery. Enjoying what I've accomplished so far in life. My other choice was to dart here and there on side paths and see what adventures lay under the bushes in the field around the road. One choice left me feeling relaxed and the other choice left me feeling excited.

I awoke with the question, which way am I going to travel to that wall? Both choices were appealing. I lay in bed imagining both choices and I imagined feeling relaxed and bored in re-living accomplishments. I could also imagine feeling excited and exhausted in seeking new adventures. I came up with the "answer" to how I could travel to the wall, the end of my life. I could take short side trips, finding new things to do, see and live. Then I could come back to the road and relax and travel the straight-and-narrow for awhile. Then go back to the new things and back to relaxing. I thought of it as a combination of the tortoise and hare philosophy. I like that journey, I think it may fit me!