Gardening is all about optimism.

RESPONSIBILITY: Fulfill the obligations that the past posts to me. Embrace the opportunity for service based in love.

Sometimes the things you really want sneak in the back door. Notice.

What power there is in our service when our actions line up with our mission, skills and joy.

Making promises to myself, in my personal writing practice, has been important to me all my life. In practical application it is so much easier for me to make promises to others, and keep them, than it is to make promises to myself. "Why is that?" and the answer I gave myself is that in making promises to others I create a model of accountability and reinforcement. I duplicate that in my writing and have grown increasingly better at making and keeping promises to myself.

Speak quietly to yourself and promise there will be better days. Whisper gently to yourself and provide assurance that you really are extending your best effort. Console your bruised and tender spirit with reminders of many other successes. Offer comfort in practical and tangible ways - as if you were encouraging your dearest friend. Recognize that on certain days the greatest grace is that the day is over and you get to close your eyes. Tomorrow comes more brightly.

We tell the real truth of our life by the stories we repeatedly tell.