The day before Tuesday

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. ~ Alan Cohen

Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death. ~ Anais Nin

The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change. Communication does not depend on syntax, or eloquence, or rhetoric, or articulation but on the emotional context in which the message is being heard. People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. Even the choices words lose their power when they are used to overpower. Attitudes are the real figures of speech. ~Edwin H. Friedman

~*~*~*~*~*~
I've come to discover with more certainty than I normally understand, that I hate my job. I hate it so much that on Sunday nights, around 8pm I begin to get sick. I've watched this trend with a growing concern hoping that I was wrong. But without fail, every Sunday night around 8pm or so my stomach begins to hurt. I have no clue what to do about this, as I have BEEN trying to remedy this to no avail.

Part of this could be that Mrs. NotThoughtful has been on vacation for almost two weeks , but part of it too could be the stress over not having insurance, not getting paid what I think I should (don't even ASK how I got my raise... ok ok well I'll tell you, CRONY decided how much I should get), etc.

Who likes to work? not me. At least not in telecommunications, not anymore. I used to like it. The fast pace, the environment. Now it's nothing but a game of how much crap one can take. Trust me you dont want me to rant on this...

So I've been investigating school again. I've always wanted to do counseling, and was even a psychology major in College before I stupidly dropped out to get married to someone who never intended to hold his end of the promise that I go back and finish.

I'm faced with money issues (majorly) so I'm considering an alternative bachelors. Meaning, not a traditional go to college, sit in classes type of degree but a bachelors nontheless.

1. I've been considering Holistic Theology which blends spirituality with cunseling. My only concern is that I do not want to do something that is focused on one religion. I would hope to counsel people of all religions, therefore my focus would need to be spirituality (which I'm ok with, but I dont know if the degree focuses on one thing).

2. The second degree I'm considering is Philosophy or Naturopathy with a twist of metaphysics. This is probably my most selfish choice in that the philosphy piece focuses on some psychology models I'm used to, naturopathy works with herbs and natural remedies for things (but would require enormous amounts of math and such I would think) and metaphysics covers all the things I'm interested in now.

3. The third that I'm considering is a traditional MSW (masters in social work). I would have to go to a traditional school and take classes which may prove difficult for me.

The bottom line is in order that they're listed, is how much they would cost. In other words #1 would be the cheapest for a bachelors at $3100 for the program. Number 2 $8600 (give or take some electives) and number 3 well, more than I can think of. Also the first two would take two years to complete, 3 years of intern and then if I wanted I could open a private practice (my goal). The third would take 8 years. I'm 34 nearly 35... I would like to be in my own practice long before I'm ready to retire.

So this is my thought process this morning. That and trying to not get sick so I can go to this job that ails me so. But I suppose the idea of school is a pipe dream... I doubt I could even get financing.

Well one can hope right? :)

Here's to hope today folks, may it grace your dreams and make the impossible quite real for you.

Have a wonderful day!
xo

~*~*~*~*~*~
DAILY INSPIRATION

A Life Of Learning
Earth School

Life is the province of learning, and the wisdom we acquire throughout our lives is the reward of existence. As we traverse the winding roads that lead from birth to death, experience is our patient teacher. We exist, bound to human bodies as we are, to evolve, enrolled by the universe in earth school, an informal and individualized academy of living, being, and changing. Life's lessons can take many forms and present us with many challenges. There are scores of mundane lessons that help us learn to navigate with grace, poise, and tolerance in this world. And there are those once-in-a-lifetime lessons that touch us so deeply that they change the course of our lives. The latter can be heartrending, and we may wander through life as unwilling students for a time. But the quality of our lives is based almost entirely on what we derive from our experiences.

Earth school provides us with an education of the heart and the soul, as well as the intellect. The scope of our instruction is dependent on our ability and readiness to accept the lesson laid out before us in the circumstances we face. When we find ourselves blindsided by life, we are free to choose to close our minds or to view the inbuilt lesson in a narrow-minded way. The notion that existence is a never-ending lesson can be dismaying at times. The courses we undertake in earth school can be painful as well as pleasurable, and as taxing as they are eventually rewarding. However, in every situation, relationship, or encounter, a range of lessons can be unearthed. When we choose to consciously take advantage of each of the lessons we are confronted with, we gradually discover that our previous ideas about love, compassion, resilience, grief, fear, trust, and generosity could have been half-formed.

Ultimately, when we acknowledge that growth is an integral part of life and that attending earth school is the responsibility of every individual, the concept of "life as lesson" no longer chafes. We can openly and joyfully look for the blessing buried in the difficulties we face without feeling that we are trapped in a roller-coaster ride of forced learning. Though we cannot always know when we are experiencing a life lesson, the wisdom we accrue will bless us with the keenest hindsight.

~*~*~*~*~*~
AND REMEMBER

“When Aesop’s jumpy hare was bested by the plodding tortoise, the great master of fable wrote “Slow and steady wins the race.” Yet, with our culture’s insatiable hunger for the faster, flashier, and more glamorous, we tend to forget that success is most often built brick by brick, in a slow and consistent fashion. This truth may not be as sexy, but it works every time!” ~Greg Barrette