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Health & Fitness

Rock[ing] Paper And Scissors, Cha-Ching

Cut and Paste. Life is a work in progress.

As 2011 fades into my memory book, I look forward with purpose and hope, to catch a vision of the future.  I imagine myself sitting amidst a pile of colored papers, with my scissors poised to work.  Cutting out what is not useful, or helpful, unhealthy or lacking beauty, balance or perspective, is just one part of the of the exercise.  I am also adding the shapes of people I know and love and those yet to meet.  I add the places and things that are everyday and comforting to those vistas still on the horizon.  Sometimes I cut fast, sure of the lines and other times, I take great care to remove a sliver of life's paper, to reveal just a little detail I need for my picture. 

I get so absorbed in this work of creation that time passes and events unfold surprising me. Thoughts that never completely formed marry with actions I never took, to become energized as I reconsider all that is possible in my space and time.

This year I literally bought myself a new pair of scissors. They are shaped like a woodpecker and they have a little locking tail to keep them secure. I have to think before I open them up and just seeing their bird form upon scissor form helps me to hone in on what I hope to accomplish. The work I perform with them is mostly to cut tags, strings or the annoying thread that hangs from my sleeve.  When I close my eyes, I see them working on my inner workings and making very important decisions for myself, that spill over and affect those around me.

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I refine my ears to listen harder to conversations, cut crinkles at the corners of my eyes to catch life's joy and show it. I cut out words from my mouth that may hurt or otherwise harm a hopeful heart.  I slim my form or remove a habit, piece in a practice that is good and right and sound.  When I set my scissors down it is to take the vision and  the results of my work and to put it on the walls of my interior gallery of art.

Sometimes, the work pleases and delights me and other times I can't quite shake the longing to change it up, or do it differently.  Until I have a firm knowledge of how to do that, I just put the piece safely away, and wait for another time, another day.  It's a vision board from a hopeful heart.

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In the past, I put pen to paper, and made a year end resolution list with great flourishes, and purpose.  I wrote formidable tasks with ease and tucked it in a lidded box on my dresser...to read and reread...reflect on and try for.  At years end that old list joined me in making a new one, and always carried forward with pretty much the same ideas written out again for another years list. 

One year I felt so moved to gain mastery over time at hand I resolved to wear a watch. What I didn't think of was, not only to wear it, but to have it set properly, to follow it's time frame to events, and to take it off when in the shower.

Again in the past, I approached the New year by placing a jar of 365 marbles and removed one every night, to reflect on the day that went over the hill. Still then, I would go on a trip or get busy and forget to remove a few days markers, trying to correct and somehow ending up with too many marbles for the days left in the year.

A friend offered me this little tidbit, and told me to write what I wanted to rid my life of on paper, secure it to a rock and throw it as far away as I could. All throughout the year, I would wonder what anyone happening upon that wrapped rock would think of me attempting this or that thing. Maybe they took it home and put it on the windowsill or mantle to be a reminder of someone hoping to change.

Change is such an interesting word and I can't help but bring a pocket of jingling coins and that little idea to light. I visualized my life changes and put a coin into a velvet pouch for each one, to remind me to keep faithful to my hopes and dreams. One day, I poured them out on the table and tried to remember which one went to which resolution and I came up with too many coins and not enough resolutions for them.

I think that the most important thing to keep in mind when the new year arrives is that change is inevitable and many times necessary. It is as strong as the hands of time upon our lives and shows a wider view of life here and now, as well as  how the hours behind, pile up and get sorted out. Whether you wrap up your troubles and throw them with a rock, put coins in a bag, make a written list, or slip your fingers to a pair of scissors, consciously with purpose, keep working on the masterpiece of a lifetime.

Gratefully,

Mary

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