Charmed ... I'm Sure ...

...the rains came ... & the unicorns continued to play ... capriciously ...

as if ... they had all the time in the world ...

That's what I posted as my status ... one day last week ... it sparked a couple of interesting conversations ...

Conversations about unicorns.  And their legends.  About the flood.  The faith of Noah.  About water rising.  And washing away the gritty stuff in our lives. 

Was the rain that fell on those carefree unicorns REALLY
the first rain ... ever?  Sing along with me ...

... Hey, Lord ... I got your green alligators ... and long necked geese ...

Unicorns mean different things to different people.

It is commonly held that unicorns are a symbol for purity, loyalty & devotion ... and some believe that unicorns are healers of the heart.

A healer of the heart.  How cool is that?!?!  That's exactly what my Band of Gypsys are discussing each week ... as we make our way through
WAKING THE DEAD by John Eldredge. 

Yesterday was Easter.  I sent a personal message to a friend ...

"I am come that they (that means YOU) might have life, and that

they (YOU again) might have it more abundantly"

 ~ John 10:10

Not your typical Easter scripture choice, I know.  It had come to me in the night that it was a message that needed to be sent ... the urge was very compelling ... so I did it ... just before I went to church.

Surprise ... surprise ... not.  Del's message was based on John 10 ... he covered thoroughly the verses leading up to John 10:10 ... about the sheep hearing ... and recognizing the shepherd's voice ...

I love it when things like that happen!

So as I wrote this blog, I went to get the link for WAKING THE DEAD.  Check out the very first sentence of the random review I chose as the link:

“Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

Hmmm ... must be a very important message ... too much validation for it to be otherwise.

Now ... back to the unicorn lore ...

In the western world, the unicorn was believed to be wild & untameable .... a risk-taking adventurer, maybe ?

And in some eastern cultures the unicorn was the bearer of good luck.

The unicorn always reaches its destination -- never falling into pits or traps ... honored as a spiritual guide through life for others ...

Another legend highlights the unicorn's drive to bring harmony through insight & understanding ...

... and ... it's believed unicorns only appear when great change is on its way ...

The very same evening ... that I posted the unicorn status ... I went out to play with my friends down in Argenta ... it's always a blast!

And interesting things always seem to happen to me there ... life lesson things ... last time was the Mardi Gras shindig ... when I lost ... and then found my diamond earring ...

... unexpected ... improbable ... impossible ... things.

This time it was the 2nd Annual Celebrate the Grape wine tasting event. 

Doing my normal thing, I was working the door.  Greeting people.  Handing out the special wine glasses ... for the tasting.  Directing them over to the tables where the hand-made charms were waiting to be chosen ... by each guest.

A wine charm is a cool little "bracelet"  ... actually they look more like earrings ...  that fit around the stem of your glass.  Each one is individual & unique.  That way if you set your glass down ... you can recognize it easily as your own ... when you return.

Once the rush of early connoisseurs had arrived I wandered over to the charm table.  I am not sure if the girl sitting there was one of the artists who had created the charms or simply a volunteer like me ... we did not know each other.

As I took in all of the different colors ... and designs ... and variety of charms, I said to her "I want a FUN charm ... that's just right for me!"

... this IS a true story ... I never make these things up ... I promise!

She reached down & selected a charm. And she handed it to me ...

"Here's a UNICORN charm ... it's very special ...

& I think it's exactly right for YOU!"

Made me smile.  Another "earring" story ... on an evening in Argenta ... coincidence ... I think not.
 
I don't believe in coincidences, after all.
 
Standing on the sidewalk at the end of the evening ... I chatted with a man I know only slightly ... but have always liked a lot.  Last time we had visited was last year ... the night of my flat tire ... he had shared with me on that occasion his desire to have his whole heart back ...
 
I told him that I had thought of him often since then.  Wondering how his journey was going.  Then I shared my flat tire story with him ... and we laughed together ... at the absurdity of it ...
 
There we were ... standing on the sidewalk ... while the rain continued ... reconnecting after months & months ... and then ... he told me his story ...
of the healing of his heart ...
 
And he smiled ... the most radiant smile ... full of hope & promise & love ... and rather sheepishly he admitted that he hadn't shared his story
with anyone ... else.
 
... not yet ...
 
Just me ... standing on the sidewalk ...
clutching my little unicorn charm in my pocket ...
 
Unexpected ... improbable .. impossible ...
 
For a few minutes ... we simply stood together ... soaking up the good feelings ... & the rain ... knowing that we were sharing something special ...
 
It was an amazing encounter.  A gift of great magnitude. 

"...Well, now that we have seen each other," said the Unicorn,

"If you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you."

~ THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS by Lewis Carroll

http://www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com/

(c) April 2011

Sunshine ... & Taxes ...

Tax time.  It comes every year ... without fail.  It's that time when you tally up the success markers in your life ... to see who's winning ... you ... or Uncle Sam ...

It's always been my strategy to try to get as close to "breaking even" as possible ... you know, having access to my money all through the year.

2010 was an interesting year ... I had started Synchronicity the year before ... then got sidetracked for months & months making the movie,
STEP AWAY FROM THE STONE ... so not a lot of REAL income for a good part of the year ....

The second half of the year, though, came back with some positive cash flow from consulting clients ... so I was feeling pretty good about things ...

Still .. in typical MJ style ... I put off the actual preparation of my return until the last minute ... one nite last week, I sat down with my box of receipts & income statements.  I do a pretty good job of keeping stuff together so it really didn't take too long ...

First I did a little P & L calculation for Synchronicity.  Second year on the tax return and the "loss" for the year was less than $1000 ... that made me smile!

I've been doing my own tax return for years and years.  I have had returns that involved living in multiple states ... owner financing ... self-employment ... unemployment .. pretty much you name it ... I've done it.  This year's was a piece of cake in comparison.

As I entered the data ... the little box up in the right corner of the screen was supposed to adjust my tax obligation up or down based on the things I did last year.  So first I put in some interest income and immediately I "owed" some taxes.  Then I moved on to my Synchronicity stuff and it went to $0  ... and there it stayed ... on $0 ... all the way to the end.

Yep.  $0 taxes owed ... and ... $0 refund due.  $0 on Federal .... $0 on State.

Imagine that! 

Of course, I didn't believe that was possible.  To have lived my life so well that I was perfectly balanced ... at ZERO ... for the year... so I took everything over to my CPA friend and had her take a look at my work.  She came up with the same results.

Cool.  So very cool.

After I got past the incredibleness of the outcome ... I had to smile.  Actually, I laughed outloud ... because it was just too funny ... somehow ... ZERO has become my "lucky" number ...

Remember my eharmony.com story ... with ZERO matches in the entire world of 10 million subscribers in 2006 ... and again, in 2009 ... ZERO matches found amongst the 10 million subscribers to eharmony.com ...

... only to find ... after a double-dog dare ... that in 2011 there is now a match for me on eharmony.com ... yeah ... one-in-ten-million finally located ...

... just in time for tax season!  Gotta love the humor in that!

Anyway,  tax day was a good day for me.  Good days have been the norm lately.  Recently I explained my good day theory to a friend .... any day the sun shines I can put my top down ...
and any day I can put my top down is a good day ...

Lots and lots of good days ... here lately ....
even on days when the top stays up ...

The sun was supposed to shine all weekend  ... thought my MJ-good day theory was in full force.  Then Friday afternoon it clouded up ... cold air met the hot air ... the storm blew through ... so much for the sunshine.  

A friend of mine responded to my bemoaning of the lack of anticipated sunshine by saying ..." Hang on it will change for sure" ...

...and guess what ?!?!  He was right.  Today has been an absolutely glorious day full of sunshine ... the top's down .... even though duty has kept me inside ...

Guess that old adage about death & taxes ... simply doesn't ring true to me ... not any more ...

The way I see it ... the only thing that is inevitable is ....

SUNSHINE!

http://www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com/
(c) April 2011

Blowing bubbles ...

Sun's been shining.  Top's been down.  Since Friday.  Refreshing ... relaxing ... lots of head-clearing going on ... in between the here-there-and-yonder that has been my work filled weekend.

... it's been much needed after the week just past.  So full of drama.  And blindsides.  And some plain 'n simple mistakes.  In my life.  In the lives of my friends.

Waiting for me when I arrived at the Post ... way too early on a beautiful day like today .... was a regular-who-is-becoming-a-friend-of-sorts.  He stays confused.  He thought today was the day the dancing started at 3 o'clock.  But it's not.  That's next week.

He followed me in with an arm-full of bags. It's always interesting to me how different people ... with different circumstances ... manage their lives.  He'd been shopping.  Then hopped a cab here ... because it was better than simply heading home ... alone.

After some friendly conversation, he decided to take a walk down to the River Market until things livened up here.  Before he left though, he reached into one of the bags and said, "I know it's a little early ... but I have something for you ... "

And he handed me a bottle of bubbles shaped like a bunny ... it's pink.  It made me smile.

There's no way he could know that bubbles are ... way cool ... to me!

Bubbles are amazing!  It's hard NOT to smile when you are blowing bubbles. They are like tiny little bitty rainbow-ish orbs ... shimmering ... floating ... before disappearing ... into thin air.

 I love 'em so much that it's not uncommon for my friends of all ages to receive bubbles & sprinkles on their birthdays ... cuz anytime you have bubbles and sprinkles ... it's a celebration!

Sitting in the window sill in the bathroom is one of my favorite messages -- a plaque on an easel:

The more you celebrate life ...

The more life you have to celebrate!

I smiled this morning after my shower at the thought of that.  Celebrating life.  It reminds me of choosing happy.  And since a smile came my way yesterday that had been in hiding ... for weeks ...

I fell asleep ... smiling ... woke up ... smiling ...

It occurred to me that it was somewhat ironic to find something to smile about ... to embrace ... to celebrate ... as the ripples of the catastrophes of the week just keep ... rippling ....

That's pretty much what Del talked about this morning, too.   His message was titled, "Finding An Open, Awesome Life". 

He started with a discussion about super heroes & masks.  Of course, everyone got to wondering how ole Superman is surviving these days ... since there are no telephone booths around for him to change in ... any more ... who knows?!? ... maybe he's retired ...

Masks.  Something to hide behind.  So that no one gets to see the REAL you. 

And then he moved onto what it meant to be "without clothing" --- NAKED --- totally open ...

Clothing, he said, is a picture of covering ourselves ... hiding our true selves from others ... and God.  Naked, on the other hand, is being totally open .. without shame.

It resonated with me deeply. 

 ... and it crossed my mind that there a lots of people who are hiding in their "nakedness" as if it was a mask ... thinking if they go straight to the "unclothed" union that somehow that will result in true intimacy ... and then wonder why the emptiness is even more profound then before ...

Have a lot more pondering to do on all of that ...

Del said there were some things we all want in our lives ... to be seen ... to be known ... to be named ... to be loved.

I'm thinkin' he's right about those things.  Except that at times it feels more like the ole be careful what you wish for story ... you know .. I WANT to be seen ... but wait ... that means I will have to let someone peek behind my walls ... and I WANT to be known ... so hmmm ... guess that means I will have to open the door & invite them inside my life .... and I WANT to be loved ... holy cow ... after someone SEES me ... and KNOWS me ... is it even possible that they will LOVE me?!?!

... to have those things in your life ... you have to be willing to live openly ... genuinely ... honestly ... without a mask ... without pretense ... to believe in yourself .. to take a chance ... believing in someone else ...

Pretty scary stuff. 

To have an open, awesome life ...

... you need a faith that refreshes ... not a life that locks you in ...

... you need a faith that touches ... not a life spent trying to control things ...

...you need a faith that brings celebration ... not a life that is empty  

The spirit of God is like the wind ... it blows where it will ... it refreshes .. it touches ... it's a natural celebration of life!

So I am going to continue taking down walls ... throwing open doors & windows ... blowing bubbles ... shouting into the wind as I ride with the top down ...

HERE I AM!  I hope it's enough ... cuz all I have to offer is ... ME!!!

http://www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com/

(c) April 2011