DROPS OF WISDOM: Unexpected News
Warm greetings from ToDo.
Apologies for being out of touch. Gregg and I just returned on Tuesday from a?week in Virginia. We went for a change of scenery and a?chance to relax and renew. Unfortunately and unexpectedly our precious grandpuppy, Ella, became very ill right after we left.
Since our return,?our home has become a round-the-clock care center for Ella. Love, worry, sadness and hope are traveling with us today as we find our rhythm and?our balance within this new reality.
Sending heartful appreciation for your companionship.
Linda
Unexpected News
by Linda Anderson Krech
EllaMaezing Ellamae is?our precious grandpuppy, a rescue from South Carolina who has graced our life for the past 4 years.
But Ella has become very ill very suddenly, with?kidney failure from lyme nephritis, and is not responding to treatment. As we explore alternative treatments, we also recognize that?her condition is very serious. We are savoring every day with our sweet and gentle lovepuppy.
When Ella was two, Chani and I did an all-day spring hike with her, which was an?extraordinary,?exhilarating, and exhausting?experience for me. It was one of the highlights of that year and we planned to make it an annual event. But last spring?I was not mobile enough to hike, and?this year Ella is not strong enough. I am so glad we seized the opportunity when we did. Her vitality and joy on that hike will stay with?me forever. And there's still the chance, even if it's slim, that I'll write about next year's hike with Ella.
When spring starts to nudge its way into?Vermont?one of these days or weeks?(the temperature this morning was 13 degrees F and we're expecting a foot of snow this weekend), I hope to?sit with her on the deck all day, working while also listening, looking, and breathing in the mysteries of the world, as she continually reminds me to do.
We are all familiar with that bewildering state of mind that can result from unexpected news.?Life feels inside out right now. You may also be in such a?state of mind from unexpected news of your own, or that of a loved one. Times of crisis?remind us of the fleeting nature of our lives, cutting?through an everyday complacency that we weren't even aware of. When our heart is breaking, we feel the pulse of life more clearly.
Please keep our sweet sweet honeybun love girl, Ella Fitzpuppy, in your thoughts and prayers.
PRACTICE OF THE WEEK
Calculate Your Days Left
Figure out how many days you have left to live if you should live for 30,000 days.?Of course, you may get more days or fewer days, but since you don't know, this will at?least give you a number to consider.
April 19 - May 19, 2024
with Gregg Krech
All of us are in the same boat. We could call it the “can’t control the weather?boat", but that’s just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. The boat we all share is more like the “can’t control much of anything except what I’m doing right now (and even that’s hard to control) boat”.
The Natural Approach to Mental Wellness program gets to the heart of our human predicament, providing resources and guidance for navigating as skillfully and beautifully as possible, while cultivating personal qualities in the process.
This is our most comprehensive online program, following the skill-based approach that is presented in Gregg's book, A Natural Approach to Mental Wellness: Lessons from Japanese Psychology.
You will receive a daily practice exercise to strengthen skills related to attention, acceptance, coexisting with feelings, and self-reflection; access to online resources through the course website; and access to the discussion forum with Gregg and other participants from around the world.
(Mental Wellness alumni receive a 50% discount!)
Hope you can join us!
MOMENT OF ZEN
In order to truly laugh you need to be able to take your pain and play with it.
-- Charlie Chaplin