Thanks for sharing your experiences with the butterflies. It must have been so magnificent to see so many of them at once . I remember seeing a whole bunch of Monarch butterflies near Santa Cruz (CA),a few years ago in February and it was incredible to think that these tiny, fragile looking creatures migrate such huge distances every year. It’s great you were aware of when you were not in the present moment over the last week. I’m also glad to hear that Havi’s posts are helpful in learning to be compassionate and patient with yourself when having a human moment. Just the other day I was reading about how the real value in learning mindfulness practices is not so much about actually getting the mind to stay focused on the present moment but (1) gradually becoming more adept at recognizing when the mind chases after the next butterfly thought instead of just letting it flutter by, and (2) developing patience, compassion and kindness for one’s self as one learns to just accept the nature of the mind as it is. It sounds like you are having fun getting out there and making new contacts and pushing past the difficulties you may feel about cold calling. My feet start feeling frost-bitten at the mere thought of having to do cold calls.

Here’s my hard, fun, and beautiful overview for the week.

Hard: Sitting with a fair amount of uncertainty in my life at the moment and just allowing it to be as I am well aware that trying to prematurely force a conclusion or direction will likely result in a bigger mess and no butterfly at the end of the transformation process. Part of this whole process involves doing some downsizing, so I’m also getting some interesting lessons in detaching from some of my material stuff so I can let it go. The biggest challenge has been sorting through my books.

Fun: My “What’s Your Tree” Circle had our celebration circle on Thursday evening, so we had a fabulous vegetarian potluck feast and had a great time expressing appreciations and acknowledging accomplishments. While it also felt a bit sad because it marked the official “end” of our circle time, I think it’s also exciting because there will be some new beginnings and collaborations and ongoing support between people in the group. That is the beauty of a circle–no end and no beginning.

Beautiful: It actually stopped raining for a couple of days and just seeing the sun in a blue sky and a dusting of snow on some of the local mountains was beautiful to me on those days.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend and experiences a happy, peaceful week.

That would be REALLY hard.

I think most Zen masters must have been non drivers.

I bet the Buddha himself walked to work…

I love the idea of the cold calling. It may not be easy, but I bet it opens up a lot of new doors, and it is always an excellent experience and opportunity to talk to new people and see what their needs are in general.

My hard was probably not getting as much done this week as I would have liked. In fact, where did the week go?

Fun = I went back to my old workplace to do my first presentation there for a classroom and it was so awesome! It reminded me how much I love talking to groups/people/kids and teaching….Made me get more motivated to get myself in gear and get out there to talk to people!

Beautiful = Brainstorming for a new home location, in a more natural setting with my husband.

Have a great new week!!!!

Hard – Focus. Life is full of distractions and getting locked on a goal can be very challenging.

Fun – Play. This is the best activity to unclogged the mind.

Beautiful – Rainbow. I saw one a while ago and it’s mystifying and beautiful.

I used to try to shape events, but eventually I realized it’s more about learning how to respond. When you know you can handle any curve ball that life throws your way, that’s the ultimate mindset.

I love butterflys and have always wanted to go to Mexico to see where they all live for the winter. I can’t even imagine there being so many they get hit by cars.

The hard: I haven’t ran for three weeks so a simple 3 mile run was sooooooo difficult. Augghhh!

The fun: Laughing.

The beautiful: Being grateful, family and helping others.

Yeah for you on calling organizations for speaking positions. It means you’re serious;)

Hard – Dancing gracefully with Traditionalists… honoring their enthusiasm for customs that tend to stress me out.

Fun & Beautiful (combo) – Celebrating the 1-year anniversary of my online baby with this post:

http://lifeblazing.com/2009/11/26/happy-1-year-birthday-joyful-work-for-sensitive-people/

I love your idea of God hugging butterflies. Interestingly, I see them as greatly evolved already… when you consider what they started life as. LOL. Oh, here’s a relevant quote/proverb you may already know: “Just when the caterpillar thought its life was over, it changed into a butterfly.” Maybe transformation is the ultimate hug?