“Few people know so clearly what they want.   Most people can’t even think what to hope for when they throw a penny in a fountain.”    ~ Barbara Kingsolver, novelist and poet

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.

“The most interesting thing in the world is another human being-  who wonders, suffers and raises the questions that have bothered him to the last day of his life, knowing he will never get the answers.”     ~ Will Durant, writer, historian and philosopher

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.

May this coming Leap Day prompt you to jump ship of your old ideas and habits… and land in the arms of a welcoming new world filled with so very much more glory, greatness and gratification! And who better that Mr. Miller to plant the seed!    ~KD

“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!

 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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