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Needless Anxiety (and messages from the universe in my spam folder)
From a German language spammer advertising “female viagra” comes this bit of universal wisdom on a day when I found myself needlessly anxious about a mistake that was fairly easily rectified: “It sounds like you’re creating problems yourself by trying to solve this issue instead of looking at why their [sic] is a problem in the first place”
If I were one who just trusts naturally that many simple things can be fixed easily if I just ask for help, there wouldn’t have been any need to be anxious. It would have been better not to have made the mistake in the first place, but as much as I might dislike it, I will inevitably make mistakes–here, not getting my dates right for asking for sub coverage for a yoga class. With the wonderful community in which I am blessed to be a member, it only took a few phone calls to work things out.
It is one of my biggest challenges to have to ask for help. Having to ask for help because I made a mistake made it even more challenging. A big part of my yoga is learning to soften and trust in such situations. When I did just that, I not only was able to ease away from needless anxiety, I was able to allow in more love and support. Sometimes we need to be put face to face with our toughest stuff to open at another level.
A Correspondence on Charitable Contribution to Aids Walk DC
I print the correspondence below not so much to ask you to give, nor to let you know that I made a donation, but to initiate a discussion on what motivates you to make a donation of money? What about of time? They have different practical calculations, depending on whether time or money is of more relative importance or shortage (real or apparent) at the time of the giving? Does it make you more likely to give if you have a personal connection to the cause? Does getting personal satisfaction from giving make it somehow not a fully spiritual act? [I’ll try and blog on the last in future posts].Dear Friends,On Friday, Sept. 17, 2010 I thought I sent 30 targeted e-mails from my AIDSWALK webpage to former and potential donors to this annual fundraising event. Unfortunately, I did something wrong and the messages were never sent. With time very short, I’m sending this “broadcast” message to the listserve in the hope that some of you who have not already sent a donation from my initial appeal will do so now. For those of you who have already donated now is the time to delete this message.IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A DONATION DIRECTLY TO MY AIDSWALK WEBPAGE, PLEASE OPEN THE ATTACHED APPEAL LETTER AND FIND “FOLLOW THIS LINK” WHICH WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THE SITE SO YOU CAN MAKE A DONATION.This year’s walk is benefiting about 15 different organizations that assist people with HIV/AIDS, in addition to Whitman-Walker Clinic.Thanks for all the support you’ve given in the past,Joe IzzoHelp us fight the epidemic! REGISTER for AIDS Walk TODAY! We look forward to seeing you on October 2nd! www.aidswalkwashington.orgJoseph
In response to this plea, I clicked on the link to make a donation to the AIDs Walk. Joe graciously sent me a thank you note, and I responded as follows:E to JoeThank you Joe. I have been giving to WWC since the late 1980s. When I was in my 20s and 30s I had close friends die of AIDs or go through the tribulations of the early drug trials for HIV. I like that I can now give in a more personal way.
Peace and light,
ElizabethFound Exhortation?
When I was walking past this sign with a regular reader of my blog and stopped to take its picture, I said in response to the raised eyebrows, “found exhortation–triumph New York City.”
“It’s just the local Triumph dealership.”
“If one just read the sign, though,” without knowing of the brand, it surely could be read as an exhortation to New York City.”
What a perfect example of how hard it can be to understand each other through only language. That words can have so many ways of being construed shows how much empathy and compassion for ourselves and those with whom we are in communication we need to foster in order truly to listen and be heard.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.




