Such a simple question: What do you want?

Hmmmm. What do I want? What do I want? What do I want? What do I want? Any way you slice it, this little puzzler looks deceivingly quaint and harmless, as if it may indeed require little pondering… but it’s all a facade. And as the years fly off our mind-logged calendars, the four-word imp creeps its way into our daily lives…keeping us up at night, zoning us out at meetings, tying our tongues… furrowing our brows and ultimately graying our hair.

All that said, I stand side-by-side with you…without an answer for you, let alone myself. I, too, often want someone to tell me what I should want. But more often, I just seem to tune out the prompt for pondering my true intention and careen past the real source of joy.  I let the malevolent minutia of a worldly existence distract me from facing the question straight-on.  From diving into the deep end of my soul, welcoming the light, and waiting for the answers to reach out to me.  Perhaps being driven isn’t such an enviable quality when the drive is into an abyss full of unanswered questions.

Copyright 2000-2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Funny how birthdays devilishly sneak up on us.  For some they are embraced with delightful dreams of frosted sweets, gifts galore and parties, parties, parties.  For others (and I am in that boat for sure), the adding of another digit towards another decade doesn’t make for a happy camper.  This last year seemed to not only careen past me but brought shackles of doubt, fear and despair… like I wanted to negotiate  for a lower bid, after all, I’ve still got so much left to do!!!    Alas, ’tis but a number, our age, right?  So, those of us trying to swap our deli tickets for hope of turning back the clock… stop the madness!  Embrace the potential in each day you’re given.  Work on your faith, your self-confidence, your hope and understanding and the result might be longer days, longer years, and a longer life.  ~KD

Copyright 2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Enough with the cars, computers, collectibles… and crap, folks.  You can’t take any of it with you when you go.  And when you’re grey and gabbing about unforgettable memories… I’ll bet the farm and Buffet’s bank account that the human beings you knew will bring the most awe-inspiring images to your stories, not the stuff.

Get to know a few more human beings… really know them.  Talk like there’s no such things as things more worthy than another breath.  ~KD

Copyright 2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

~  Kimberlie Dykeman, human being

Indeed to have the breeze at our backs we must first understand the quandary.   Then, of course, we must be willing to surrender…

Copyright 2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

“All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without the benefit of experience.”      ~ Henry Miller, writer & painter

Can I get an Amen?! Man, is that good! Amazing how such an uncomplicated, yet purposeful pairing of words can reignite the profound sensation of discovery, fear, and perpetual enlightenment we all experienced as little kids. I call this your curiosity quotient: That indescribable yearning for knowledge, newness, and surprise; that willingness to test drive without experience, to journey forward without direction, to jump into the proverbial spotlight without inhibitions.

As children we eat, sleep, and breathe it, then we mutate into adults! So many of us awaken to find ourselves in situations because of our personal, professional, or familial obligations, where we purposefully and painfully go out of our way to avoid rocking the boat. We work ourselves to death just to keep our sights narrowed on our own backyards, filled with that which we are familiar, can juggle, and, perhaps, can control. God forbid a curve ball gets thrown into the works, let alone, we allow our minds to wander and wonder “what if” or “why not.”

Believe it or not, just peering over the barbed wire comfort zone of your current reality raises your curiosity quotient. In turn, you might then ponder the tethered state of affairs within the mossed-over walls. Do you dare stir up the daily minutia fogging the pillars of your temporal life? The 9-5 grind, beer and golf on Saturdays, scheduled fun with the kids on Sundays, the same treadmill routine, same breakfast, same date night, same family vacation, same circle of friends, same closet of clothes, same goals for the past 20 years. Are you asleep yet?

Maybe it’s time you challenge yourself with all your senses to examine this recycled lifestyle with the same wonderment of what might need a little shaking up. Then take that next step and put thoughts into action. Become a kinetic Being. Turn your curiosity quotient up a notch. And don’t stop to see if there’s an owner’s manual. Don’t ask for directions. Don’t worry about an audience. Savor the sizzle of spontaneity. Bask in the carefree sensation of renewed youth that ensues. And leap!

And so, as we approach le jour de l’amour …I only hope that you look beyond the obvious to see how love cannot be confined, let alone definitively defined.  LOVE exists between you and another when things just ….click.  Period.  Think about this fabulous “weirdness” that is already living in your life… for it goes beyond you and your sweetheart or parent.  It reaches uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, mentors, coworkers… the list goes on.  You know who “clicks” with you… now think of the joy, delight, peace, laughter, perspective and relief which those relationships confetti into each of your passing days. 

Sure, Valentine’s Day may be just for lovers, but maybe this year you should break prescribed customs and Hallmark card categories and act a little WEIRD!  Choose to tell all of those other folks who complete you on this journey called life… that you love them too!     ~KD

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 Well, friends, it’s been a whole month since 2012 rang her bell with a promise to bring “change” into your lives.  And so I ask, candidly…is anything different?  If the answer is YES, and it’s deeper than simply a new brand of toothpaste, then I congratulate you!  Keep it up!  Now, if you answer NO, or have found yourself brewing in a mindbog of uncertainty, apathy, frustration or desperation, perhaps you take some time to assess your terrain to see the real culprit weeds that are tangling you up… and then reread my ditty on January 9th.  Just a suggestion.    ~KD

 http://youtu.be/rgjU-QMlcyU

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It’s that time of year.  Don’t deny it, folks.  Every single one of you could attest to finding yourself wondering, albeit for a minute or a whole CSI Miami marathon, how this year will be …DIFFERENT.  How you will be different.  How your situation will be different.  How your goals will be different.  How your priorities will be different.  How “things” will be just be DIFFERENT.  Well, you will not find the answer inside your tightly wound, analytical little noggin, I theorize.  Nope.  For answers and meanings and fixes and fresh ideas and new perspectives can only take their quintessentially divine shapes if shared with another person… or, heck, a hundred others.  Think about.  Now …DO something about it.  Life ticks by with or without the ball dropping in NYC.  Find your meaning… your purpose, your peace and joy… by simply opening up and sharing. 

Between you and me: this is something I realized a looooong time ago.  It may still be a work in progress… but the progress is incredible!  So, the quicker you “get it”, the quicker you can bring more meaning into your life!  Amen.      ~KD

http://youtu.be/vzxma5CD5bU 

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Cheers to 2012 for all who fall upon this little ditty and drink it in with celebration!  Tis just one day past yesterday, which is no different from the day before.   And if it weren’t for calendars, Hallmark, and Dick Clark,  January 1st would feel just the same, year after year.  That is, unless you take on the aerobic challenge of changing one thing.  No, not your toothpaste, nor your weight, job, bad habits, zip code, or last name.  Nope.  That omnipotent, omnipresent, blessed thing called your  perspective. 

I beckon you to sweat it out until you shift your outlook to see that YOU indeed are the light in your own life.  YOU have the real answers to your questions, the solutions to your problems, and the intrinsic brilliance to your extinguish your darkness.  Quick fixes, shiny new toys and winning lottery tickets are meaningless if you still think you’re your own dilemma.

So, this is my wish and prayer for you, folks.  That you remove the bushel to reveal your golden glow for your own optimism and opportunity… day after week after year.  Just imagine if we all took to beaming our gifts to create peace and joy with domino effect. What a world this would be.  Isn’t that right, John?        ~KD

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      I don’t know about you, but if this premise rings true, then many of you can identify this past year (let alone the past five!), as a time  in which you have truly lived. It seems that as we careen forward into our collective 21^st century future, our boundaries of ease, familiarity and honest-to-goodness comfort are severely truncated, causing us to freak out, freeze up, fumble, fail and fight back tears. 

 Proudly acknowledge though that you have also strived and survived the confounded labyrinth of potholes and prop doors. And with mosaic-ed prayer and possibility in hand, you have deciphered the message to unfold an irrefutably timeless and timely fact: Training wheels are meant to be taken off.

 So, as I take my place at the helm of this little ditty, I say, “Comfort, shmomfort.” Roll up your sleeves, toss on a helmet, kick up the stand, and pop a wheelie down the open road of adventure. Start the coming blessed year with the wind in your face and your hair on fire and see where the journey takes you!                        ~ KD

Copyright 2011 by Kimberlie Dykeman.  An edited excerpt from “Pure Soapbox …a cleansing jolt  of perspective, motivation, and humor”

Shop SOAPBOX® products & SUBSCRIBE to FREE ! “Pure Soapbox” book, KINDLE and audiobook are available nationwide . A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

Book KIMBERLIE to confetti your company with OPTIMISM! info@puresoapbox.com