December 13, 2010 – Shelley Shockley's Views from Collinwood

#reverb10 – Action

Action. When it comes to aspirations, its not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step?

I would say that my current aspiration have to do with exercising my creative juices and if the cards align themselves to support myself, or supplement my income through these endeavors.

I strongly agree that these ideas and aspirations must be placed into action in order to achieve the goal or make the aspiration a reality. To that end these daily prompts have helped me move from talking about writing and placed me in front of the computer typing. While these prompts have nothing to do with current projects, they do get the juices flowing and have helped the mind to expand and open up with reference to works in progress.

Another aspiration is to advance my photographic skills which have languished for a number of years. While working on these prompts I am also working on daily photography prompts to exercise that skill.

So while I am moving in the right direction, the final piece of this puzzle is to develop a flow and a way in which to complete these tasks along with the day-to-day life tasks.

Organization is the key to that problem, and I am currently trying to purge my home of extraneous items that are no longer of use so as to create a better work environment at home.

#reverb10 – Body Integration

Body integration. This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

I think I had two instances of being cohesively me and the interesting thing about each of these days is that I also felt very in touch with nature.

This spring on one of the first warm days of the year I felt overcome by what I called “spring fever”. I just couldn’t concentrate any longer and decided to check out of work a little early and go to the lake. It had only been a few weeks since my Mom passed and I was missing her desperately and felt I could be closer to her at the lake.

Well I got to the lake and remembered that the temperature is much colder by the water than inland, but I was comfortable and spent a couple of hours just gazing out into the lake, taking photos and being with me! It was great!

The second time was last Wednesday as I danced in the snow during Cleveland’s first snow storm! I was outside without a hat on and just taking in the beauty of the falling snow. I had images of my childhood when we used to rush out the back door to make snow angels in the perfect white flakes! All the worries and cares were wiped away and I felt alive and ready to tackle any and all challenges!

#reverb10 – Wisdom

What a weekend! I’m late in posting my reverb10 reflections so today I’m posting two. Maybe three because it is my plan to do all 31 even if I didn’t start on time!

First let’s look at the December 10th prompt – Wisdom, “What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?” When I first read this prompt I thought it would be difficult to write or to determine, because let’s face it – most people don’t think they are very wise especially in a day-to-day way. Or at least that’s how I am. However after thinking back on the past year I was able to come up with a response fairly quickly.

Throughout the years I have been very good at advising others that you can ‘only do what you can do’ and that you are not in control of the emotions and actions of others. I thought that I did a pretty good job of this myself – that is not harping on the reactions and attitudes of others. My philosophy has always been “if you know in your heart that you have done the best that you can” in any situation then let it go.

This year has presented a number of situations when I have been engaged in heated exchanges with others because of their perception of an event, action or something similar. It was becoming a serious problem, one that left me angry, aggravated and just not in a good state. That is until I took my own advice and realized that there problems were not mine.

So, how has this worked? It has limited my level of anxiety and frustration, but it has resulted in strained relationships. I am not happy that some of my relationships with people that are very important to me are in dire straits, but at the same time I am not constantly stressing either. I can’t always put others before me and my mental and physical health. Phew I said it, and I really mean it. Hoping for a stress free ’11!