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Eyes Half Mast, Mug Half Full – I am There

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Image by Mark Prince, CoffeeGeek.com, 2006, ri...
Image via Wikipedia

Written by Karen D. Swim

Late night, not enough coffee, hanging tightly to the threads of creativity needed to power through the day. Lingering in that state of adrenalin fueled rush that gets you down the road and then throws you to the pavement like road kill. I am there.

Longing to tell you things and fearing incoherence so leaving you with the wisdom of others instead.

Is it really Thursday? Oh yea, I am there. Big red dot marking the spot, three days now history, standing in the present wondering how I got here. Yes I am there.

Eyelids drooping, fingers heavy with fatigue, moving on to a thought for the day.

“The hero slays the dragon.”

(From “The Hero Within: Six Archetypes We Live By“
Carol S. Pearson, Ph.D.)

Finding the fire, unsheathing the sword, bring it on Thursday, I’m ready!

Are you?

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Magic in the Mundane

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Written by Karen D. Swim

My 4 year old cousin pulled at my pant leg, commanding my attention. I turned toward him to tune in to the conversation that he had apparently been having with me.  He then pointed to a big Tonka truck and told me to say “Hi” to Tom. I saw a truck, rather large but otherwise nondescript. But Ryan saw a magical world where two toy trucks became Tom and Jerry (his favorite cartoon characters).  Ryan is still young enough to allow his imagination to create magic from the ordinary.

Today, many of us can use a little magic. It is, after all,  Tax Day in the U.S.  We can look at the forms and numbers and simply see the amount of zeroes needed on the check or we can see goals accomplished, clients serviced, tasks completed and milestones reached. The numbers can make us scowl or provide a goal for the year ahead.

The magic is ours to create, so what will you see? Bottom line numbers or a big awesome vision that sparkles with possibility?

How do you keep the magic in your own life?

Hop, Skip, Double and a Dip

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Written by Karen D.  Swim

I watched the little girls draw the crooked squares in colored chalk on the sidewalk. I smiled remembering my own childhood games of hopscotch. Hop, hop, hop. The first round was always easy because you knew what to expect. Hop, hop, hop, land, hop, land hop. You knew just how long you needed to balance on one leg before landing on two feet again.

Life sometimes feels like a game of hopscotch. Sometimes you maneuver a tiny square on one leg and in other places both feet are firmly planted on the ground. Along the way you pick up your marker as you progress from square to square. Unlike hopscotch, the squares are not neatly drawn in brightly colored chalk. You may find yourself balancing longer than is reasonably comfortable on one leg praying to reach the spot when you can put down both feet and steady yourself. Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop, land, hop.

In hopscotch and life  the game grows in complexity as you add more people. No longer jumping from square to square, you also have to jump over the obstacles that others have placed in your path. Hop, jump, jump, hop, hop, land, jump, hop.

As I sat musing, the little girls giggled, ponytails bobbing up and down as they each took turns, hopping, landing, and picking up their marker. Hop, land, hop, bend,  jump, turn to do it again. I watched as the smaller little girl took her turn, eyes on the pattern, with determination in her eyes – hop, hop, hop, jump, hop, bend, stumble. Rather than become discouraged they collapsed into giggles, declared a winner and started a new game, hop, hop, hop, land, hop, land, hop.

I rose from the chair with a smile determined to go and start my own new game, no colored chalk required.

How’s your game these days? Are you jumping on one foot or two? Do you start a new game when you stumble or just go to the end of the line?

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It’s April and I am the Fool

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Harry Jumps Again
Image by ian boyd via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

Today is April 1st and I am a fool! I am not the victim of an elaborate prank. I have not lost my ability to be prudent but I am proudly a fool. I have fallen victim to the folly known as absolute belief in what seems foolish to others. But, I am in great company.

Had it not been for great fools of the past, we would still believe the earth was flat, we never would have dared to create flying machines and this message would be in Morse code. Long live the fool who risked it all when no one else believed. Kudos to the dreamer who passionately pursued uncharted territory even after failing over and over again.

Today is the perfect day to join the ranks of fools, to heroically follow your own internal compass and believe in what seems impossible. As others laugh at foolish pranks, let us join the dance and celebrate our fooolish dreams.

Have you ever been afraid to take a risk for fear of appearing foolish? How did you overcome it?

For an extra shot of motivation:


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The Lens of Possibility

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Photograph of a Hispanic woman with heterochro...
Image via Wikipedia

Written by Karen D. Swim

I have one green eye and one brown eye. The green eye sees truth, but the brown eye sees much, much more. The green eye sees only what is there but the brown eye casts a wider lens to what is possible. The green eye reflects the images of my world as they appear but the brown sees the intricate and sometimes magical detail that comprises the whole.

The first two sentences of the above paragraph were from a writing exercise in the book, Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly by Gail Carson Levine. From the list of writing prompts, this one caught my attention as it reveals the dichotomy of our lives. We have the power to imagine while remaining grounded in reality. We see what is there but believe in what seems impossible.

Our eyes may be the same color but our minds allow our vision to shift. Our lens can open wide and broaden our perspective. Just as easily, we can narrow our field of vision and focus on a single infinitesimal detail.

What do your eyes see today – what is there or what is possible?

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Close Encounters with the Dark and Scary

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Divide : Scared To Death
Image by monsieurlam via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

For the past week I have been working on a low cost information product for job seekers. I have ghostwritten two books and a manual on career marketing and management for clients, in addition to my own work in the field.  I have spent four years successfuly helping job seekers search for and obtain new positions. I have coached clients on interviewing and salary negotiation and have written hundreds of high impact resumes and bios.  Yet, with 65% of my product complete, I was gripped with doubt.

I was sitting at my desk working away. It was Saturday and I had chosen to work because I was excited about the product. I had it on my 2008 list and kept pushing it aside but here I was finally doing it.  It was snowing outside and the perfect day to write.  The peaceful silence was interrupted by an old familiar voice, “What if this is a big flop?” My stomach quivered as I considered the question. “Oh god, what if it is a flop, I’ll be a total failure and everyone will know, what am I thinking, I’m not as smart as…”My thoughts raced ahead to me being the  BIG FAT LAUGHING STOCK of the internet.  People would tweet about my failure and the virtual tomatoes would fly in my direction.

The voice taunted me, telling me I wasn’t smart enough, good enough or ready enough to complete this project. My shoulders began to sag as the joy dissipated from my heart. It was then another voice, softer but bolder declared, “And?’ One word but the meaning was crystal clear, “and so what?” I straightened my shoulders and listened to that voice.

I could try and possibly fail or never try and fail for sure.

We are all vulnerable to moments of self doubt.  In less than 10 minutes I had gone from a happy, reasonably confident woman to a quivering mass of insecurity.  This time I had stared fear in the face but I am ashamed to admit that at other times fear has been the victor.

If you are 100% comfortable and confident you are probably not taking a risk. Taking on new challenges, stepping outside of our “tried and true” is scary. Too often we allow fear to direct our footsteps. Yes, there are times that danger is ahead, but that voice is a confident voice of warning not a voice of self-doubt and negative self talk.

Instead of waiting for fear to leave, invite it on the journey.  Let faith drive the car and shove fear in the back seat, or better yet, leave it by the side of the road.

As for me, I am scared but I am also excited. I might blow it big time but there’s also the chance that I might get it right. Of course there are people who know more than me, but if I wait to be the smartest, fastest, or best I’ll die never having tried, and I have decided that would be a far greater tragedy than failing.

How do you overcome fear? Have you ever allowed fear to prevent you from doing something you really wanted?

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