Get Up, Never Give Up

This feels like a statement I should be writing about on a Monday ~~ because Mondays are simply 'those' kind of days. Instead, I'm posting this on a Tuesday.

Sometimes I wake up feeling grumpy or tired or sad. I have to tell myself everything will get better. Ha! On some of those days, it's easy to say, "The only way for things to go is UP!

What I like best about this statement is the very last three words: "never give up." It's not about life being perfect or so screwy that everyone should feel sorry for me. It's not as though things will always be rosy. It's about not giving up on life. And not just any life. Your own.

I remember days when getting out of bed is really tough because I feel sad or sick or sometimes both. I drag myself out of bed... or I bound out of bed. Either way, I get up. It's not so much about how I perform the act ~ it's about doing it. Because, I've discovered this through my own trials, action really is more than moving the body. As I move my body, my energy increases and I begin to feel better, then moving and the motivation for it becomes easier. The spiral goes up instead of down.

Getting dressed helps too. At first, changing into anything helps. Gradually, I find that I want to look good ~ or dress a certain way. I begin to care about my appearance. Then I begin to care about who I see and what I say and, well, everything.

What do you do for yourself on days when you feel down? How do you stay focused? How do you "show up"? What have your experiences taught you about 'never giving up'?

Who Am I Today?

Wisdom of Avalon cards ~ Colette Baron-Reid

From the guidebook:

When the Water Faery swims up to you with her liquid magic, she...asks you to consider how you really feel about things, and why. She also reminds you that you are not your feelings; you are the one experiencing them.
Remember, feelings are the fuel for manifesting. Be certain that you want to create what you're feeling. Allow your feelings to pass through and focus on the positive.

When I decided to draw from the Wisdom of Avalon deck, the query that popped into my head was a surprise even to me: Who am I today?

I stopped shuffling the deck. Really? WHO am I? My brain almost reworded the question. Instead, my hands began shuffling again and I focused on the question: Who am I today?

The Water Faery showed up. Of course, She was perfect. Occasionally, I need to be reminded that I am not my feelings, but the one experiencing them. Because of that, I have the power to change how I react to them, how I allow them to express through me.

That expression piece can get to me. The one written about the most is anger ~ don't react in anger; don't allow anger to express in mean or nasty ways. There are other feelings that capture me too: sadness, self-pity, fear, playfulness, exuberance, humor, to name a few. Even feelings that are labeled good can reach beyond the gentle flow of the water and into flood stage.

It's about choice. Who do I want to be? Today, it's the Water Faery.

What feelings are strongest for you right now? What feeling can capture you the easiest? Does it take you in a positive flow? Who do you want to be? How will you choose?

More on Cohen's Anthem

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonard_Cohen_2107.jpg

"That is the background of the whole record, ... if you have to come up with a philosophical ground, that is "Ring the bells that still can ring."  It's no excuse... for an abdication of your own personal responsibilities towards yourself.... "Ring the bells that still can ring.": they're few and far between but you can find them. "Forget your perfect offering", that is the hang-up, that you're gonna work this thing out. Because we confuse this idea and we've forgotten the central myth of our culture which is the expulsion from the garden of Eden. This situation does not admit of solution or perfection. This is not the place where you make things perfect.... The thing is imperfect. And worse, there is a crack in everything that you can put together, physical objects, mental objects, constructions of any kind. But that's where the light gets in, and that's where the resurrection is ..., that's where the repentance is. It is with the confrontation, with the brokenness of things."

~~ Leonard Cohen from Diamonds in the Line

I seem to be in a Cohen-state-of-mind lately. He is one amazing musical talent. His songs are poetry, philosophy and calls to action. The above quote is his explanation for the song Anthem, which I quoted in the past two entries.

There is no perfection in the world ~ we need to work with what we have, keep moving forward and find our deepest, truest selves in it all. Part of his explanation refers to the "central myth of our culture which is the expulsion from the garden of Eden" ~ which is true in terms of Western Abrahamic-based culture. Is it true in other cultures? Maybe. Maybe not. But I come from that particular culture and I understand his reference.

Do you agree with Cohen's philosophy? Do you believe that there is no perfection? that we are responsible for our lives in spite of that fact? For what do we need to repent? How does that repentance affect our lives?