As I say to people every birthday ...

• Do not regret the past, you cannot change it.
• Do not worry about the future, you cannot predict it.
• Do not be concerned with the present, I did not buy you one.

"Do not be concerned w the present, I did not buy you one...." that's the sweetest birthday card that has yet to be made. 

I know, right? Compare with Buddha...

So, I was thinking of this as I weeded the garden today. I noted that I enjoyed weeding the garden, not because of the task itself but because it just was. A moment in the day to just be--no deadlines, no worrying, no insanity.  Just looking at green things and greeting the black butterfly that always seems to flit around and say hello. We don't take enough of those moments without feeling like there's a phone beeping, a deadline looming, or for every moment we are just "being" we're getting behind on something. I'm trying to improve. 

Is this why there are so many Zen gardens?

Probably. Though my garden isn't Zen. It's ADHD. In every way. But I feel Zen inside. And there is a 20 foot Buddha at a temple at the base of the street where I moved--a Cambodian monastery. It was a good omen. I love driving home now. 

Dawn, that's cool.

Interesting you say that, I was just reflecting on that today--this past year's journey and the inner voice... 

And what did you learn?

Fear. I learned that most of what inhibits us is fear. That we are self protective. We overplan for the future. We miss opportunities because of fear. This year, I was blessed to have several conversations that were life-changing. One in particular... I told a story about selling my car...how difficult it had been to keep the company alive during the Great Recession. "Oh, I sold my car for my business, too," said Successful Friend. Seemed that it was such a common paradigm in SV, that I laughed for days. Another story was "Yeah, I lost 15M." How can I compete with that? How dare I be afraid? And the third has been a journey, "Leap and the net will appear." And it has. Sometimes, I learned, what we are about to do doesn't make sense. Get rid of the voices, and just be. Do. Jump. I'm grateful for these people, and these lessons. 

Fear exists for a reason. It makes us more thoughtful about the risks we're considering taking.

True. But it can also be paralyzing. That's no good.

Is there a way to keep fear from paralyzing you?