Five Little Words & Me

Oh, that Joanna Jenkins! She's always getting me into some mischief or trouble. As a fellow word-smith, she and I have discovered the fun of spurring each other on and I have to say, I love it. So thanks girl for sending me five words that I'm to use to weave as part of the telling of myself to you.

As part of this exercise, I'm to offer to send five words to five readers who might like to play along. So, if you want me to do that, just let me know. And, now to the words:

Gracious: As in "Gracious, me!" which I actually say quite a bit when I'm surprised or don't know quite what to say. I suppose it's as close to the Southern, "Well, bless your heart!" Which can be used when you're being sincere or you're being snotty. I love things that work like that.

Okay, Gracious...when I think of the word, three women come to mind immediately. My friend Jackie Cavanaugh; my sister-in-law Linda; and my friend Eileen Mross. I'm lucky to have met lots of gracious women and men. But, the word reflects how I see these women most particularly.

I attempt to be gracious. Admittedly, I'm often more like a bull in a china shop, but I'm working continually on the gracious part.

Fascinate: I try to do that with every story I tell, everything I write. I try to look at the world that way...as the most fascinating thing ever. I definitely look at people that way. I still maintain that there's not a spirit among us who doesn't have a story that would fascinate any of us. However, most of them, unfortunately, are not asked to tell their story. Want to be fascinated? Go ask someone to tell you a story from their life.

Husband: Why do we have so many sit-coms and commercials that bash husbands and make them look stupid and trivial? Why is that humorous? Don't answer; it's another, "Why is the sky blue," question. Open-ended with no good answer.

I often wonder why so many women marry a man and begin working immediately to turn him into a science project. If you need a hobby, get one; don't marry one! But, if you really feel that disdain for your spouse, it says way more about you and your poor choices than it ever could about the science proj, er, husband!

I have had two excellent husbands. Both have brought a depth and richness to my life that I would not have had otherwise. To both of them I am grateful. I think most of us have the husband we grow up with and then the husband we grow old with...a very rare few of us have one mate who fills both roles.

To my Beloved Michael, my husband- I love you and you've given me the life I dreamed. To my former husband, Doog, you are loved for all you brought to my life and our continued friendship.

Inspiration: This is a word we over use and never really consider its true meaning, so I'm going to give you the definition here: A divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him to receive and communicate sacred revelation. Or: The act of drawing in...to breathe in.

We all must have a situation or an individual who truly does this for us. Each of us needs to find that spark of divine awareness. For me, it was my father, Jimmy.

And, on many levels and many occasions, it's all of you that I've encountered in the blogging community. Go breathe in something or someone who amazes you; try to get a deep breath of it every day!

Perhaps all of us would be agents of inspiration if we remembered that we are the face, voice, hands, and touch of Spirit to any situation, creature, and each person we encounter. Yeah...that would be a really good thing to remember and react accordingly. What do you draw into your life, your world, you awareness? How are you inspired? Do you act to inspire others?

Confidence: I wish I had more of it. What things could I accomplish if I had a deeper well of this virtue? Would I talk myself out of less? Would I try a bit harder and work a bit longer at getting what I know should be mine?

Would I hold my head higher? Be kinder to myself and my short comings? More at ease in my own skin?

Certainly.

As I've grown older, I've learned that often confidence see-saws with caring...but not in the way you might think. I think your confidence goes up when how much you care what others think of you goes down. Coupled with how much you begin caring more about what you think of yourself.

So, I'm going to continue working on that balancing act. Care to join me on the Teeter Tooter?

Those are my five and of them I think, inspiration is my favorite word. What say you?

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka She Who Adores Words