Posts by Pat:
Buy the pants that fit!

I’m fairly certain that I’m not alone in experiencing a weight gain or that I’m the only one still stress-eating chocolate and ice cream right now!
Sometimes we pretend that we have to be the same as we were. We create a lot of internal suffering based on the expectations we place on ourselves about who we should be and how we think we ought to show up.

Last week, I pulled out my go-to flannel lined jeans when the temperature dropped. I discovered that I can no longer zip them up. It was a reminder that my body is different right now.
The message I got was not to try to squeeze into my old pants, but that I should just buy new ones that fit where I am right now, today.
So…I ordered my next size up from L.L.Bean.
Why? Because I want to feel good when I get dressed in the morning. I don’t want a constant reminder by my jeans that everything is different than before, or that it is worse.
I want to feel good, however I can, inside of my body and with the conditions that are in this present moment. This is where I am.
And maybe those pants are a good reminder that not only my body, but also my mind and my emotions are changing as well. And that too is okay!
Accepting myself where I am with all my current foibles and flaws (whether body, mind, or spirit) is the first step to feeling peace again. I don’t need to fret about changing or not changing. Everything is just as it is and will be just as it will be. I’m not in charge.
And if there is a cloud, well, we know that there is always a silver lining we can look for, find, and appreciate. After all we do know we are not in control of all that happens, just how we choose to respond to it. (Thank heavens!)

How are YOUR pants fitting?
a fable about peace…
There is a fable about a king who wanted to experience peace. As he wanted to know what peace looked like, he commissioned two artists to create the perfect picture of peace. The first artist created a beautiful mountain landscape in which gorgeous trees towered over a lake. The lake’s waters were so calm, tranquil […]
I’m ready to lighten up! Are you? I’d love to hear any funnies that you’d like to share. Just leave a comment below the post! I’m at that age where my mind still thinks I’m 29, my humor suggests that I’m 12, while my body mostly keeps asking if I’m sure I’m not dead yet. […]
Monkeys and golf balls…
Do you know this modern day parable? Author Gregory Knox Jones tells the story of a golf course built by the British in India. There was a unique obstacle, though, that caused some problems. For as golfers began to play, the monkeys in the surrounding jungles joined in the fun. They would pick up the […]
Being like water isn’t easy
“Nothing is weaker than water. But when it attacks something hard or resistant, then nothing withstands it, and nothing will alter its way.” from the Tao Te Ching Water is so fine that it’s impossible to grasp a handful of it. We can strike it, yet it doesn’t suffer hurt; stab it, and it is […]
Playing with words…
There’s too much going on! Too much stress! It’s time to play! And since I was an English teacher in a previous lifetime, I choose to play with WORDS. And today I choose “anagrams”. What’s an anagram? It’s a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters in another word or phrase. It’s important to […]
Average or Awesome?
“Average” wasn’t pitched to us in our high school guidance counselor’s office. Do you remember feeling and believing that you could do absolutely anything you set your mind to do? Oh, the places we’d go! We know that “average” in our culture often has a negative connotation. Do we perhaps keep striving to do more […]
What’s life to you?
If you were given a chance to choose your favorite life metaphor, what would it be? Do you agree with Forrest Gump’s mother that life is “a box of chocolates” because “you never know what you’re going to get”? Or do you prefer the phrase from the 1930’s tune that “life is just a bowl […]
Feeling limited?
Blind Paralympian Verity Smith is amazing! She was told at the age of eight that due to a rare genetic disorder, she would soon lose her sight. Having competed on horseback since she was five, her response was unexpected. “It’s okay, my horse can see for me.” In the years since losing her sight, Verity […]
If you were the fifth monk?
One of my favorite zen stories is ‘The Four Monks”… Four monks decided to meditate silently for two weeks. They lit a candle and began. By nightfall on the first day, the candle went out. The first monk said: “Oh, no! The candle is out.” The second monk said: “We’re not supposed to talk!” The […]