A Bright Spot Amongst the Gloom – Photo: L. Weikel
Listening (Retreat) Reminder
Sometimes being a one-woman-band has its downsides, and one of those is paving the road to hell on a regular basis with all my good intentions (and even better ideas).
I know I need to send out a Hoot Alert announcing my upcoming Listening Retreat at Amadell the weekend of August 9-11. I’ve become so used to ‘talking out loud’ to you, my faithful followers of my 1111 Devotion posts (have I mentioned lately how much I love and appreciate you guys?), that I tend to forget I have an entire other mailing list of people who’ve asked to be kept in the loop on my retreats and other offerings.
Need For Silence
The thing is, like pretty much everything else I do that involves writing, my Hoot Alerts require silence for me to create them. And sometimes silence is in short supply.
But lately, even if and when silence arrives on my doorstep, the hour may be so long in the tooth that I fall asleep within its embrace as soon as we connect.
I’ll blame the heat.
Lots of Heat This Coming Weekend
Speaking of the heat, it looks like we’re going to really need to take care not only of ourselves but each other over the next few days. Good grief! The heat index may potentially reach 100 to 105 tomorrow (Friday), 105 to 110 on Saturday, and 100 to 105 on Sunday.
That’s nuts. But it’s also a call to pay attention. If you know you have an elderly neighbor, especially one who lives alone, and they pop into your mind over the weekend – listen to your intuition. Check on them, even if you aren’t one to usually pay a visit.
Listen to the Call to Care
Even if they’re perfectly fine and have hunkered down in their living room with a bowl of popcorn and their tv’s remote in hand to ride out the heat wave, imagine what a ‘cool’ thought it would be to realize somebody cares enough to just check in.
I have a feeling that even the most reclusive among us yearn to know, deep down, that somebody else gives a hoot that we’re ok. That other people think about us occasionally. That people, even if they keep to themselves and don’t intrude on our daily lives beyond the occasional wave or neighborly nod, care that we’re alive and will help if we’re in need.
So yeah. I started this post out with the intention of reminding everyone of the upcoming Listening Retreat. I guess it only makes sense that I end it by suggesting that, if someone pops into your mind this weekend and you wonder if they’re doing ok or might need something, listen to yourself and your intuition. Honor it; and most importantly, act upon it.
You just might make someone’s day.
(T-862)