Tuesday, August 3, 2010

My Strategy: Make Love, Not War



It's a great week to bump heads - well, if you feel like it - because the planets are squaring off against each other, i.e. metaphorically bumping heads, so you can blame the sky should anyone become offended. Or perhaps you would like to row against the current, and radiate peace, harmony and tranquility. I'm actually considering the latter rather than the former, which is so unlike me. I'm a mixer by nature and tradition. We Jews learn through disagreement. We argue at the drop of a hat, but we can come out of those interactions so much wiser, if we're able to listen, that is.

I am feeling rather contrarian, I mean moreso than usual. My intention is to keep that tendency in check as I move through this week, if possible. I'm going to get on the table of the Bulgarian swimmer massage therapist today; that should help soften me up. Also perhaps I can blow off some steam at lunch today with the woman who brought me "into the blood of Mongolian shamanism," as she describes it. She loves a good head bump and is never offended by a challenge. Later on a friend and I will meet for martinis. The two of us love to laugh hard, a very good way to dissipate excess energy.

Once upon a time I loved seeing sparks fly, but as I get older, the allure of of mixing it up has waned. Especially recently, I'm feeling the urge to cultivate grace more than ever in my life. I'll be OHmmming a lot this week. Also ShalOHmming. And Salaaaaamming.

We'll see how it goes. Peace.


17 comments:

jeanette from everton terrace said...

I love the idea of "cultivating grace" - that should be on a tshirt. I'm going to work on that one today. The massage and laughing with a friend sounds like a perfect day to me. Wishing you grace today Reya.

ellen abbott said...

So many years of my life were so full of strife that I had enough for a lifetime. I think I'll keep my head down and stay focused on my work this week.

Reya Mellicker said...

Thanks, Everton.

Ellen, I, too, still have lots to do to get the chateau together, so maybe I'll bear down hard on that. Great idea.

NanU said...

oh, for a massage! I want one!
Bumping heads is good too. Exercise that brain.

X said...

Are the planets Venus and Mars fighting or fighting their attraction to each other?

Merle Sneed said...

I sending wishes for peace to you.

Try as I might, I still have outbursts of rage. I hate that.

Lisa Ursu said...

Your day sounds quite nice, especially the laughing part.
I love seeing sparks still, but the problem is, I usually get burned.
Your urge to "cultivate grace" may just be contagious.
Thanks for this Reya.

Reya Mellicker said...

Merle, every now and then it's OK to blow off steam. I believe in it, I do!

Venus is not part of the program today, Elizabeth. Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto. We're talkin' big ole hulkin dudes squaring off. Yikes!

steven said...

reya - sometime back you posted something about anger and i mentioned that i had been at many protests in the day. i also mentioned that i see now that really nothing worthwhile was achieved or seems to be achieved through those actions.
that really, working from the inside is a more satisfying, real, caring, genuine, and even truthful way of effecting change. same for arguments or taking positions and defending them. i don't argue. i like to be fluid in my thinking. there are times when other people do have better ideas, way better! so cultivate listening and availability. there are times when understanding appears out of nowhere and i've just gotta get myself out of the way and welcome it aboard.
there should be no winner, no loser. just a shared state of grace. have a peaceful, laughing, martini-filled day!!! steven

Susan Carpenter Sims said...

I'm getting a Tarot reading myself today.

Elizabeth said...

I'm a peace at any price type except when I'm really angry.
You have bags of energy so I can see your need to seek peaceful things....
yes, cultivating grace sounds super -- a bit like gardening

can we grow grace and crop it?

your new puppy will arrive soon ( I predict)
think of all that bubbling energy just heading your way


I am burbling as full of energy today too

much love

Dan Gurney said...

Cultivate grace. Yes. I like that. It's an idea worthy of sharing widely. So what's that bottom photo? It looks to me like a paint brush flung across a pond by a frustrated watercolorist, but I doubt that's what it is. Pray tell.

Linda Sue said...

Thanks for the heads up- like Ellen I will be keeping my head down--just been irritated by so much goings on lately...must duck and cover.

Unknown said...

Love how your day sounds. As I get older I too find that I am trying to be at peace more often. It seems as though I do not have the energy I used to have to keep the constant friction between myself and others going. I now try to mind my own business more.

Reya Mellicker said...

Dan, the pic is of a reflection on the hood of a car. But I love what you saw when you looked at it. Wow.

Amanda Summer said...

massage and martinis......two of my favorite things.

enjoy♡

Steve Reed said...

I have never enjoyed sparks. I may have benefited from them occasionally, but usually I avoid confrontation at all costs. I'm not sure it's healthy, but there it is.