I found this quote by author and speaker Debbie Ford and it sparked a conversation in my head, into which I would like to invite you: “Look to the outer tasks that you want to accomplish this year and ask yourself, “What kind of person could easily accomplish this? What qualities would they possess?”

My response to Debbie’s query: “One with imagination, creativity, stick-to-it-ive-ness, courage to take leaps of faith each day, a certainty that she is on the right path, a willingness to ask for, receive and offer mutual support and encouragement and gratitude for her life.”

I am a cosummate list maker…gotta be, since there are so many tasks to accomplish in my busy-buzzy day with the various hats I wear.  In any given 24 hour period, I serve in a psychiatric hospital as a social worker; I am a journalist with deadlines to meet, a motivational speaker with gigs to schedule and promote, an author, with a book to support, a minister with weddings to write and officiate, a mother with an adult son  who still needs ‘momming’ at times, a health conscious 53 year old who makes getting to the gym for my regular playouts a priority,  a sister and aunt  who is now the ‘family matriarch’ since my mom passed in 2010,  a householder with rooms to clean, laundry and dishes to wash, grocery shopping to do, bills to pay, a friend with kindred spirits with whom I connect….a lover of life in all fullness. I have many irons in the fire, cakes in the oven, books in my mind, creative projects blooming that I sometimes wonder how I keep my head attached to my shoulders and remember my own name and address and where I parked the Jeep(:  Although I prefer to refrain from programming the effects of aging, in the past few years, words have escaped my grasp from time to time and things I would have instantly recalled, such as names, song lyrics and where I met someone, have dwindled into the recesses of my full to overflowing mental hard drive.

Having these priorities keeps me on track and yes, there are times when things slip through the cracks. As I look at Debbie’s quote again…the word ‘easily’ leaps out at me. For so long, I had the erroneous belief that things had to be challenging and so I unconsciouly set them up that way. As a Type A, co-dependent, over-achiever, I had thought that putting ‘effort’ into activities somehow made them more fulfilling once accomplished. These days, I go into most endeavors with a get it done mentality, tinged with magic and sparkled with faerie dust so as to make them funner and flowing with grace. I love checking off items from my ever growing list of wonders. When I approach anything with a joyful heart, all manner of serendipity shows up to respond to my invitation to the Universe.

Take a good look at the man or woman in the mirror and smile at the miracle you are.

http://youtu.be/-A9j48ZPKMA Man in The Mirror written and sung by Siedah Garrett and the Agape Choir