Running around in circles

A fortune cookie left for me on the counter during the summer must have been written just for me.

"If you chase two rabbits, both will escape."

Its been barely one month since school started. . . without me. I have been running around in circles, just as Murray does when he chases a squirrel, a bird, or a rabbit around a tree. Silly boy does not realize that the squirrel climbed up the tree, the bird flew away, or the rabbit hopped to safety under a bush. My dog will continue to race around the tree, making a ruckus out of the fallen leaves and chasing away all the critters, even those he did not see. He thinks that if he is clever or patient enough, he will catch his new friend.

I have a dream of catching myself a job as an artist and I continue to think that if I am clever or patient enough, I will catch my dream. I enjoy the act of creating things and the teacher in me loves to share what I create with others. I even went ahead and printed out two separate business cards to tell this to the world. If I chase two rabbits, will they both escape?

My friend Ave once taught me something important. A person can have many cute fluffy rabbits in their life. Ave has a practice of working on many paintings in her studio, something I could not fathom at the time. That seemed to me as crazy as reading many books at the same time. How do you keep the characters straight? But to live a full and vibrant life, as my friend Ave does, my week should hop along with many opportunities.

For me, that would include doing something creative every day and that does not have to be a framed canvas. It could be dreaming up dinner in the kitchen. I would do at least one satisfying, Instagram worthy, excited to start again the next day, creative project that makes my week memorable. And I would continue to write each day, as that has become a very therapeutic and creative exercise. Exercising my body would also help and I need to find a new social circle. My teaching friends are busy teaching.

Helping someone else should be on everyone's checklist. That's a big goal. I felt helpful to others at school with no expectations for payback. I like helping others, it fills me with happiness. How do I do that at home? Volunteer somewhere? And, inspiration is the key to everything. What will I write about tomorrow? What will I paint or draw? Going to a museum helps. Books and movies get me thinking. Just living life inspires me.

As it happens in the circle of life, we celebrated three births this year, an engagement of two young people in love, and today we lay a friend to rest. Funerals along with the joyous times are bound to happen. Life happens. What you do each day should give you the energy to celebrate the good times and support the ones you love during the rest. So what's on your list?