Live in the Now

Sometimes it's nice to just be still. I don't get to do it very often, but when I do, it's rejuvenating in more ways than one. I'm actually reading a book a friend in NY suggested called The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle. In the book, the author addresses the things that get in the way of our happiness, including too much thinking about the past (the "what ifs, etc.) and the future instead of just fully living in the now and finding happiness in doing so. When there are so many things pulling at you day in and day out, it's difficult to think about and being grateful for what's happening right now. I'm working on that...

It's nice, also, to just stop and read something that just fills your soul and makes you happy. One of our book club selections for last month was by a Mississippi poet named Patricia Neely Dorsey. She wrote a book called Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia. Even those in our group who don't typically care for poetry loved this book. The poems are short, to-the-point and spot-on. We went around the table and everyone read their favorite poem, with titles like "Mississippi Man," "Local Color," "Shelling Peas," and "Little Miss Perfect," it was easy to find one to love. The highlight of our meeting was the call-in by Patricia, who talked about the book and shared her stories of growing up Southern. She truly loves her heritage, her home and her life, and she does a beautiful job of sharing it with others through her poetry. We wanted Patricia to really know who we are, so we took this photo for her:

Our selection this month is Carol Goodman's The Lake of Dead Languages. We got advance copies from the publishing company, Ballantine Books, at our Girlfriend Weekend in Jefferson, Texas in January. I've written about the weekend once, but words still can't fully describe how wonderful that weekend really was! It was a time for us to just relax and let our hair down (or pile it up...)...

There's nothing like a group of women going on a road trip to bring out the wackiness in all of us!

Or maybe it's just reaching back into our childhood...playing dress-up, laughing uninhibitedly, and just having

FUN.

And speaking of reaching back into childhood, everyone needs to get on over to the Mississippi Museum of Art by March 14 to see the Jim Henson exhibit. I've seen it a couple of times and Nicole's been through it at least four times. She's had a deep affection for puppets since she was ten years old and in the cast of the PBS series Funnybones. She worked with some awesome puppeteers, including Emmy award winners Peter Zapletal, Michael Earl and the late Nikki Tilroe.

So imagine how happy she was to meet up with the gang from the PBS show Between the Lions at the Museum.

Nicole actually worked with many of the puppeteers on another show called Lomax: the Hound of Music. Some of them are based in New York, so they came to visit Nicole in the neuro-ICU at New York Presbyterian hospital after her accident. They've been very special friends for us all.

Between the Lions was honored last week by the Mississippi Legislature, and our sweet friend, Emmy-award-winning Keri Grayson Horn, was recognized. She's an amazing talent, and a true case of the fruit don't fall far from the tree (she's Walt Grayson's daughter!).

My advice to you today is to relax, enjoy and be grateful for this moment, and if you get a chance, let the kid in you come out every once in a while!

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan