believe you me

Catchy little phrase, isn’t it, believe you me?

The juxtaposition of the words is interesting in itself & the trio tonally pleases the tongue & ear. Along with following the rule of three traditionally employed in oral storytelling, perhaps these points are enough to explain the increasing frequency of use despite it’s archaic ‘feel’ & sound.


omne trium perfectum

everything that comes in threes is perfect, or, every set of three is complete

While the phrase dates back centuries, a compelling read by linguist Arika Okrent on Mental Floss attributes the spark in growth to the 1919 publication of the comic novel, Believe You Me, by Nina Wilcox Putnam.

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=believe+you+me&year_start=1900&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3

And so….

Dear reader, fibromyalgia is the bane of my existence through damp & cooler seasons. While my spirit is itching to finish this post in a timely fashion for the #AtoZchallenge, my body is steering me to my bed, where my muscles can enjoy warmth & rest to be soothed & heal.

Earlier this week, I enjoyed a long & lovely drive into the country with my eldest son, Sam, & gazed upon the beautiful, rolling hills of the Eastern Townships of Quebec & the burbling streams & swollen rivers calmed my spirit. We passed farms, apple orchards & vineyards still at rest from the long winter. Sunroof open to welcome the light & windows cracked to hear the geese flying overhead, it was truly an uplifting & restorative few hours of peace & beauty. For my heart, mind & soul. My body? Unfortunately, not so much.

When my fibromyalgia flares, joints stiffen, muscles ache but most challenging for me is the exhaustion. Typically an early riser, I can sleep from 8pm through to noon the next day & awaken unrefreshed & tired.

And this is where I find myself today, on the letter ‘b’ of the #AtoZchallenge. I want to be timely. I want to be consistent. I want to be accountable, to myself & others. What I will do, is this…

To thine own self be true

Hamlet, Act I, Scene III

Today, I will accept that I have limitations & I won’t belittle myself with nasty, demeaning self-talk. I will be patient, I will celebrate my accomplishments, however minor they may be, & above all, I will…

I wish you, dear reader, a kind & loving day & weekend. I wish you health & happiness, a patient, encouraging & supportive inner voice. More than anything, I wish you peace, with the world, with others & most of all, yourself. Believe you me, it’s the best way to be.

all or nothing

I am all about that ‘all or nothing’ thinking. It has been my cognitive modus operandi for as long as I can remember. Say, almost half a century now.

Half. A. Century.

Clearly, I’ve gone all in.

Accompanying this charming weltanschauung are a few other gems I employ when I want to complicate life even more, just to spice things up. Neat & tidy, if limiting, catchalls such as ‘now or never’ & ‘black or white’ or ‘right or wrong.’

Let’s take the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge as a perfect example. Caught that limiting word there? Perfect! I discovered & joined the challenge in 2020, excitedly writing my first post, about time, on April 1st. Right on schedule. I put my all into overcoming my anxieties about the look of the blog, the appeal of the topic, my free WordPress site & blog theme & then, the next day… nothing. Why? Because I allowed myself to be overcome with fears.

what if I miss a day?

what if I try to make up for missing a day by uploading two posts on one day?

what if I make it to day 17 & can’t think of a catchy ‘Q’ title?

what if no one reads my posts?

omgosh, what if someone reads my posts & likes them?

“We must stand firm between two kinds of madness: the belief that we can do anything; and the belief that we can do nothing.”

Alain

Madness, indeed.

One might think that a life where everything can be categorized, managed & judged as either right or wrong, all or nothing, now or never, is simple, straightforward & comforting. Easy, even. After all, feelings, thoughts & actions will be either This or That. One merely choses one of two polarizing opposites. There is no Monty Hall offering the choice of selecting a third option.

And as Shakespeare’s Hamlet so aptly put it, “ay, there’s the rub,” as a black or white, all or nothing life lived only at extreme polar opposites necessarily excludes an entire spectrum of experiences. From bright & glorious times of joy to dark & soul-crushing moments of despair, there is a whole gamut of thoughts to explore, feelings to know & actions to pursue & test.

So, dear reader, in a manner of therapeutic self-help, the musings in these pages will explore some of the paradigms we comfortably adopt that limit our full experience & enjoyment of life. I don’t know about you, yet, but I want & need to transform my way of being to encompass the full array of possibilities that a life freely & broadly pursued encourages. I’m done with the confining & restrictive safety of ‘easy’ choices. I want to find out what’s behind doors number 3, 4 & more. Don’t you?

well, hello there

Welcome to my little corner on the web, hastily dashed together in preparation for the 2020 April A to Z blog challenge & then casually abandoned after JUST. ONE. DAY. oof.

I’m hoping THIS YEAR, 2021, this blog will become a place where we can share ideas, celebrate growth, turn ourselves around to transform into our best selves & foster friendships & connections that will lift & support us.

Join me.

about time

It’s about time for a Whole 180.

Letter A of the 2020 April A to Z blog challenge

How many times have you resolved to make a change in an important area of your life? My resolutions to lose weight & gain health have been playing on a perpetual loop for decades. That’s right, DECADES.

I remember resolving on new year’s eve, 1979, that the 80’s were going to be my decade. To blossom physically, socially & academically & to resolve long-standing traumas. Having recently turned 55 (whoa! 55?!), those vows to improve my physical health & heal my spirit remain largely unfulfilled.

So how have I sabotaged those goals? Let’s call on that lovely letter ‘A’ to help us out:

  • All or nothing, stinkin’ thinkin’ – you know this clever ruse, don’t you?

if I can’t do it perfectly, why bother?

if I can’t do it all, I’m a failure

if I can’t do it all at once, I’m a loser

  • Accountability – ooh, the very word makes us nervous, doesn’t it?

if I let myself down, that’s okay, I’m trying my best

if I let others down, well, gosh, they’re judging me a little too harshly

I’m only human after all

And so, it’s about time. Time for a Whole 180. Time to show up for myself, turn myself around, hold myself accountable to myself, my family, those who love me and, yes, my Creator.

Join me tomorrow for the next instalment in the 2020 April A to Z blog challenge. Let’s explore the breakdown of how my 41-years-old resolutions will finally be achieved. Because it’s about time.