#43

The statement from last week's reader, "It's clear sailing now," gave rise to this image: The act of getting born is also the act of leaping into an unfathomable abyss. You are still falling in that abyss, although there are opportunities to create wings as you fall.

You create your wings with every situation you encounter, every choice you make, every thought you think. When you are open and undefended, your wings are marvelous instruments of soaring beauty, and the abyss is a place of wonder. When you are defended (and you know that defendedness can take a myriad of forms) your wings don't support you well, and the abyss seems a foul place.

#42

A Tenacity Notes subscriber reports

"I got your packet of cards. Thanks for sending them. I'd been in the thick of a conflict with my husband. I kept going over and over in my mind my list of grievances against him, and it's a list that goes back decades. Then I drew a card from your pack. It was #20, from December 8, 2009. In it, you suggest that I ask if this thing I'm doing is something that I'd like another to do towards me.

Would I like my husband to keep a list of his grievances against me and go over and over them in his mind? Duh, no! That very same day, (cue the woo-woo music) your next Tenacity Notes came in the mail. In that, you suggest that I ask myself, "What do I want?" [April 27] So now, every time I start replaying that damnable list, I stop and ask myself what kind of relationship I want. Then, instead of trying to get him to be who I think he should be in order for me to get what I want, I try to be who I need to be in order to have the relationship I want (as you also taught me). What a difference! It's clear sailing now!

Thanks for Tenacity Notes. Thanks for making the packet. Thanks for suggesting how I might use them. This is very helpful."

#41

As part of my endeavor to have more fun, I've taken up laughing out loud. It's a goofy thing to do, laughing out loud all by myself, and doing it makes me laugh. And when I think about it during the day, that makes me laugh.

I laugh out loud in the morning, after my breathing. If I do it before I breathe, I find myself snickering through my breathing. lol

P.S. If you're someone who likes to keep track of where I am, I've updated my "Where is Jett?" page on my Web site. Check it out.

#40

Have fun!

Our definition of fun changes over the years. When we're 4, we like to twirl around until we fall down. When we're 64, that's probably not what we do for fun.

But the value of fun does not diminish as we age and change. Fun is rejuvenating. Exhilaration is healing. Do it today; have fun!