Flashbacks of Good

I was enjoying this horse drawn carriage ride in the New Orleans, Louisiana French Quarters.  Around 1718, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville and his compatriots had the idea to build up high and avoid flooding.  The early settlers built intelligently and continued to make improvements such as more fire resistant dwellings.

Daily life seems to come with its own mental storms and “fires” to put out.  See what age-old principles you can adopt to keep safe.  Begin with a high sense of your ability to do and be good.  This is my flashback of good for today.  Suzy Shepard

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A conference speaker asked attendants to quickly cut paper and depict a personal role.  I “origamied” an ark full of connected figures (representing my role providing places for people helping each other alleviate the impact of traumatic stress).  For the rest of the weekend, people teased me about “outdoing” them on the project.  Mine was the only 3D representation.

There will be times when people tease you.  Keep your sense of humor and secretly cherish your own peculiar uniqueness.  This is my flashback of good for today.  Suzy Shepard

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A young woman spied this parrot and coaxed it onto her shoulder.  Not so unusual, except the parrot was hopelessly lost outside in the cold mountains.  This alert, sweet stranger saved the little Sun Conure’s life.

Would you be the perilous bird or the thoughtful saviour?  Seize the opportunity to be rescued or rescuer. In either case, the end is the same — the opportunity to flourish.  This is my flashback of good for today.  Suzy Shepard

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This plant flowers once a year.  I provide the proper sunlight, temperature, and water.  A pencil thin stem shoots up out of the green leaves and produces twelve magnificent orchid blooms.  Nothing for a year, and then suddenly something extraordinary for several months.

The most exquisite creations may come from your tending and not inventing.  Value your part in the whole of the creative process — no matter how mundane your contribution.  This is my flashback of good for today.  Suzy Shepard

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Resilient residents canoed over to this pool totally surrounded by the flooded, muddy, brown Mississippi River.

When your life is inundated by catastrophe, find an oasis where you can calmly plan your next best step.  Then take that step forward.  Remember, no matter what the depth, the flood waters will subside.  This is my flashback of good for today.  Suzy Shepard

Bobbie comforts my granddaughter during naps, bouts of sickness, car rides, and rallies with other toys.  Bobbie, the worn out stuffed bear, seems to have remarkable comforting powers. 

When you need to be comforted, who or what is there for you?  What place, friend, family member, or meditation eases stress, grief, or pain?  Embrace this mitigating, salutary entity, and never outgrow the capacity to be consoled.  This is my flashback of good for today.  Suzy Shepard

I walked out after a big storm.  The blown tree leaves looked like they were trying to reattach to their previous host reflected in the car window.  The leaves were about to have a wonderful new purpose:  fall, replenish the earth, and grow anew.  

You might be holding on to an old job, relationship, or home — even when the loss is final.  Let go and you will not drop into oblivion, but find a distinct, vital, and marvelous future.  This is my flashback of good for today.  Suzy Shepard