Passing On Hope : Life's Simple PLEASures

To pause

Drop into life fully

Experiencing PLEASure

Simple but profound

As our senses

Engaged

Are enlivened

Gratitude pouring through us

Mind, body, heart & soul

PLEASing our Self

Through the LIVING of life

Valuing our Happiness

Tending to our needs

Nourishing

Caring

Loving

Instead of dismissing

Silencing the call

To shift gears

Connect

Slow down

Tune in

Knowing what we give

Our Self

We get to share with others

Our Happiness

Our Passion

Our Joy

Our Aliveness

Our relationship with our Self

How we treat our Self

Is essential

To our relationship with others

And the whole of Creation

Our interconnectedness through the Web of Life

What we deny our Self

We deny others

As we can’t give

From an empty well

When we PLEASE our Self

We cannot NOT PLEASE others

Our hearts so full

Effortlessly fill the hearts of others.

Yesterday afternoon, I was lying on my yoga mat with my 2 kitties, Jefferson and Beauty as the sun beamed down on us through the window. The kitties had their motors revved purring as I loved them up, a harmonious exchange as their good vibes washed over me. I closed my eyes to drop fully into the experience of this pleasure breathing in the sunshine and all the beauty of the moment. My heart was so happy and light with gratitude pouring through me: mind, body, heart and soul. And when Jefferson started to bat at my crazy hair with his sharp claws, believing it to be a ball of yarn, I cracked up laughing shifting into another pleasure right there in that moment for the taking. He wouldn’t stop, tangling his paw and pulling my hair so I sat up to escape but Jefferson started squawking at me which I refer to as him bitching at me. He was glaring at me, staring me down, relentlessly bitching, wanting what he wanted, which kept me laughing as I imagined he was saying: You belong to me. You are my maid, my playmate, here to serve my every want…REMEMBER! REMEMBER! REMEMBER!

I love football so I finished my chores – stripping my bedding and doing laundry and turned on the Notre Dame versus Michigan State football game, delighting in the energy of the rivalry as the cameras panned the stadium packed full of die-hard fans. Hearing the ND fight song flooded me with memories: the thrill of going to ND football games as a girl with my godfather, Bennie who was a 1948 graduate; and watching games as a family gathered around our one TV with my dad screaming in disgust at the refs, players and coach and my mom shrieking nervously: Get’em! Stop’em! Hold’em! covering her eyes when she couldn’t bear to watch. I sat there in my condo alone, pleased by the knowing that washed over me: I am still connected to my parents who are long gone and to my siblings who I know are keeping this tradition alive, cheering on the Irish from their homes. I sipped an O’Doul’s and munched pretzels because beer and snacks add to the pleasure of watching football.

There was a birthday celebration for a dear friend at one of my favorite restaurants so I slipped on a party dress and some heels, relishing the joys of being a woman as I put on my make-up, fixed my hair and put on jewelry. Heading out, I expected a night of fun, knowing where I was going and who I was meeting up with yet open to the unfolding adventure of the night. I connected with a friend and his friends joined my friends and the night unfolded, our circle expanding with an easiness, engaged in the joy as we danced and chatted and laughed our asses off about nothing and everything. Our stomachs were actually sore from the explosive bursts of laughter that poured through the night and through us. Being silly and playful pleases me to my core as I delight in clever bantering, rolling one-liners that feed into the next thought, allowing the absurdity, freeing our spirits collectively in this divine comedy that is life. We were in timelessness together energized by our connection. We headed to grab pizza at Two Boots when someone looked at their watch and announced it was 2:15 a.m. As I savored a giant slice of pizza the size of my head, I spontaneously began to make yummm! noises as I chewed; and announced how happy I was. We laughed some more at how some hot dough with sauce and cheese can make us so happy.

I arrived home around 3 a.m. Taking off my high heels, brushing my teeth and washing my face, I was still smiling with all of me, from the depths of me over the pleasure of my day. Climbing into bed, I consciously gave thanks for my life and for my soft clean sheets that still smelled freshly laundered from 12 hours before. 4 hours later, I was up, wide awake and ready to get this party started again, inviting more of life’s simple pleasures to fill me with the joy that enlivens me.

The invitation this day is: