“Stand still. The trees ahead and the bush beside you are not lost.” ~ Albert Einstein
Welcome Readers:
There are times when I feel scattered or overwhelmed, not able to meet the goals I’ve set for myself. Such times can be frustrating, but they give me the incentive to move forward and improve my abilities. There are other times when I feel I am in the right place at the right time. I know what is expected and how to accomplish it. I can sometimes predict what is required of me. After times of struggle, such moments can be very gratifying. I sense that I’m in a zone of synchronicity when everything happens as it should. I am the master of my own life.
When we are good at what we do, we gain a sense of satisfaction that flows easily from us. We are able to accomplish more with less stress. We continue to challenge ourselves, which allows us to grow. Staying in the same situation for too long can make us feel stagnant. By expanding our skills and seeking new goals to achieve, we keep our journey moving forward.
Trees grow up through their branches and down through their roots into the earth and grow wider with each passing year. As they do, they shed the bark that served to protect them, but is no longer big enough to contain them. In the same way, we create boundaries and develop defenses to protect ourselves and then at a certain point, we outgrow them. If we don’t allow ourselves to shed our protective layer, we can’t expand to our full potential.
We need our boundaries and defenses so that the more vulnerable parts of ourselves can safely heal and unfold. But our growth also depends upon our ability to soften, loosen, and shed boundaries and defenses we no longer need.
It is often the case in life that structures we put in place to help us grow eventually become constricting. Unlike a tree, we must consciously decide when it’s time to shed our bark and expand our boundaries, so we can move smoothly into our next ring of growth.
“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” ~ Greek proverb
The summer of 2013 has quickly sped by. The time I spent alone driving to the Pacific Northwest and returning to Las Vegas provided plenty of time for reflection. I thought about my life goals and desires. Sometimes I questioned why I’ve always been so driven to succeed. I thought about “success” and what the word truly means to me.
The word success means to me where you are at a place where you feel you have completed or accomplished all you set out to achieve. I’m not there yet. I haven’t begun to accomplish all that I seek to achieve.
"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young." ~ Henry Ford
The long drive home gave me a chance to reflect on titles or themes for more books and short stories. One title came to mind: Rockstars/Car Salesmen/and Cowboys…
I’ve loved them all. I’ll let you know when the story is finished…I’m still working on it.
My life here in LV goes on. I came home with a new attitude. I’m going to explore every corner of this fascinating sin city and I will learn to love it. The gaming venture is moving forward and I’m very optimistic about my future. Every day brings new and interesting opportunities. I haven’t given up on Hollywood. They will love me once they discover who I am and what my story is. Things are in the works, as usual.
I’m ready to get back to what I do best: market, market, market. My stories are good and well received by all who read them. One day I hope to hire a publicist to help me climb to the top of every best seller list in the country. Ahhhh optimism. I’ve got plenty of it!
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” ~ Oscar Wilde
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Stay positive and well until next time. I wish you all good health, wealth and happiness!
I hope you've found this Newsletter to be somewhat informative, but most of all enjoyable! Goodbye until next month. Remember – “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” ~ Winston Churchill
Anita Waggoner
Writer/Screenplays and Novels
