Agreements

otto's

Well, it's a blizzard.  Might as well blog it out.  So far I'm the only one still scheduled to leave the house tomorrow.  Madison schools and unbelievably the University are already closed.

different agreements are brokered at otto's...usually involving cosmos

So I've been doing a little emotional growth lately, what the hell, it's winter.  A group of roughly ten of us have met weekly for a month working together through the principles outlined in an almost too obvious self-help book called The Four Agreements.  I was dubious at first.  Really, I paid ten bucks and ventured out into the frigid night to discuss "doing my best"?  But the book has taken on a load of meaning for me both personally and professionally under the unassuming guidance of a man who felt the the four agreements held so many answers for him he wanted to share it and learn from others.  At first glance it seems simple enough to follow the four agreements: be impeccable with your word, don't take things personally, don't make assumptions and do your best.   The concepts are simple, but after a lot of thought and discussion in our group it feels to me that putting them into consistent practice takes time and thoughtful endeavor.

night falls on our neighborhood as the wind picks up tonight

I've been working on not taking things personally for a few years now.  My failing estrogen has made it a pretty dangerous slide into a carefree attitude about what others think of me, so I would say middle age has nudged this agreement into practice pretty seamlessly.  Being impeccable with my word, however, that's going to take some work.  I still do a lot of talking before thinking and as Sipowicz would reflect, I still get myself jammed up on occasion.  This agreement unfortunately bears monitoring along with that of not making assumptions...I do so enjoy judging others borne out of assumptions about motives and general characters flaws.  It will take real spiritual digging on my part to put this agreement into action.

my locust tree stands firmly at the ready

Finally, to do my best but not more than my best.  That means not feeling guilty for pushing back my chair for a long chin-wag with my office mate, reading People instead of my book before bed and swinging through McDonalds drive-thru to pick up dinner for the fam every once in awhile.  That's my best and it's better than good.