the waver

Last night I read this article in the Reno Gazette Journal, and it hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks.

Ed Carlson, better known simply as "The Waver" is one of the greatest inspirations in my life.

I remember as a kid driving into Reno, and before we ever got in the car I'd giddily ask my mom, "Do you think we'll see The Waver today?" Virtually every trip we took, either on our way to or from town, we did see him, walking the long walk down old US 395 between Reno and Carson City. No matter how wet or wicked the weather, The Waver was there, smiling, walking and waving.

It was a serious mission for me as a child to locate him along the road. Not a competition -- not a "who would find him first" -- a mission. And whoever spotted him would exclaim, "There he is! It's The Waver!" and then all the passengers would echo "The Waver!" and we'd all wave frantically back at him through the windows. The energy and joy that radiated through the car for those brief seconds as we passed by, arms and hands flailing, smiles on every face, had incredible power. That moment of waving had us all suddenly bursting with energy, buzzing with conversation, thrilled to go on to the next destination in our day.

In those days, I didn't know anything about The Waver at all. I didn't know why he walked so far every day, and I didn't know why he waved. I was curious, sure. Sometimes I would ask my mom, and turned out, she didn't have a clue either. And really, it didn't matter much why. I was simply delighted every time I saw The Waver.

And that never changed. For over 30 years, The Waver walked and waved in my hometown. Every time I came back from a school holiday, I would look for him. As the years moved on, he had changed his route, had some tough times health-wise, and it was harder to find him. But every time I saw him, I exclaimed the familiar words, "There he is! It's The Waver!" and waved frantically at him through the windows, and that same rush of delight came over me.

My mom bought me The Waver's book a few years back and I got to read a little about this man and his mission. The Waver writes, "Thirty-two years ago, I had an awakening. It came to me that I should start walking and be love. I should express love by waving.”

The Waver chose his own path in this life. There are folks who disparage him, question his motives and attack his life choices, both the ones he made before he began to walk and after. I do not know The Waver personally. I do know that every life has its share of shadows and light. And I know that for me, his walking and waving, touched my life profoundly and made my days better. He touched hundreds of thousands of people with that simple, pure mission. His is a ministry of joy. If anyone today stops for just one moment and thinks, "How can I be love? How can I express love to the world?" I think that is a decided victory.

food for thought

"What is it about the American obsession with productivity and responsibility that makes it so difficult for us to allow ourselves a little time to solve the puzzle of our own lives, before it’s too late? "
-- Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

Quote for today

"To be afraid is to behave as if the truth were not true."
-- Bayard Rustin, American Civil Rights Activist

In honor of the anniversay of his birthday last week, I wanted to share this little bit of wisdom and a few words about the compassionate leader who said it.

Bayard Rustin was one of the most influential, behind-the-scenes figures in the American civil rights movement in the 1960s. With his deep and lifelong commitment to non-violent resistance and human rights in all forms, Rustin was a model of compassion in action and true courage. An openly gay black man and conscientious objector, Rustin lived and worked for the freedom of future generations in an America where just to be one of those things was enough to assure him some prison time.

I encourage you to read and learn more about his contributions and to take a deep attitude of gratitude as you do so. To my mind, Rustin is the voice of all who must to this day remain silent about who they are, or what they believe, for fear of being ostracized or even criminalized. Let us not forget.

off the shelf: living, loving & laughing

Here are just a couple fun recommendations... let me know if you've read, watched or indulged, and if so, what you thought!

Read: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

Watch: Michael, starring John Travolta, Andie MacDowell, William Hurt, and Bob Hoskins

Indulge: Two scoops of chocolate chip ice cream from Baskin & Robbins (or, your equivalent thereof!!!)

1x24: what i'm doing on 12.07.07

Today was awesome... I accomplished a million things... but I didn't accomplish the one thing I committed to doing: opening my new savings account. That's two days in a row, darn it. Monday. That's the day. In the meantime, I am practicing the art of holding everyone in the green and remembering how it felt to be totally supported. And, I'm finding ways to spread that kind of joy and love that comes from being supported that way.

sharing the love

4x7: four things that matter most this week

1. With the holidays coming up, tradition feels like something that matters most to me this week... I love the lights in my neighborhood, the trees, the foods appearing on the shelves at the grocery store, and the signs of luncheons, holiday parties and gatherings all around me
2. In that same spirit, learning about what's important to others and taking time to be grateful for those learnings as they come.
3. Weather. While some parts of the country and the world are once again overwhelmed with crazy weather events, others experience an unseasonable lack of weather. It makes you realize how small we are on this beautiful blue planet.
4. Taking time for myself. It is a busy time of year, in a busy life... and it's nice to just take a little time now and then, to give yourself a little space, and just breathe.

catching up in january: empowering life's energies

I'm heading to ELE in January and I'm ridiculously excited to see from the polls that at least a couple other folks are too!!!

Do you have any ideas for fun ways to continue the MLE magic when we get together in January? (No, I have no idea what it might include... but would it be worth taking a look at it?)

If you're either considering attending or already enrolled in the course, please take a moment to add a comment to this post. (Think of it like a virtual game of telephone!)

unexpected delight

I always felt that one of my life's intentions was "to be a creator of community". But, honestly, it flummoxed me. It felt like a HUGE dream. It was kind of cheesy sounding. Sometimes I wasn't even sure I knew what it meant. And if you look up "loner" in the dictionary... well, you actually won't even see my picture, because I was too busy doing my own thing to even show up for photo day!

Over the last few months, I've been working with my coach to take a look at this life intention, and at what gets in my way. One thing that process helped me to articulate was that I really wanted to start by offering an open space, a place where people could show up and just BE.

This is my first attempt at such a place. Last night, I shared it with an amazing group of people, and I cannot even begin to tell you the delight I felt at receiving email support, and seeing that folks had come by and even contributed to the polls.

Thank you, my wonderful team. You make it fun to try stuff. For me, embracing that playfulness, that feeling that it's worth it to take a risk, to try and just see what happens because it might be cool... that is some serious "sand the deck... paint the fence".

4x7: what matters most to you?

It's a grey day. I am far from home. I seem to be unable to locate any chocolate.

I know, it has all the makings of a catastrophe. But never fear: I'm not in any way sad. I'm just thinking.

What am I thinking about? Here's my sharesies:

1. Danny Wallace and the year of Yes. Have you heard about what he got up to? I'd sure like to do something like that. But, you know, personalized like.
2. I'm putting some meat on the bones of this refined dream of mine called, "being a coach". It's awesome. And kind of weird at the same time. Kind of like elk salami. (Yes, I do mean salami made of elk. I think it's awesome and kind of weird. Can't help it.)
3. Does everyone always look for signs when they really want to get up to something big? I do. I wonder what would happen if I just stopped looking for a minute and secretly slid, stealthily sluiced, or even slapdashedly splashed into the big stuff.
4. Who else is out there doing stuff, and what is the stuff that matters most to them? I bet I could learn from them. Heck, we probably all could.

That's some of the stuff that's on my mind today. It's stuff that matters most to me right now. It doesn't always have to be big. Since right now is pretty darn critical, it seems to me it'd be an interesting experiment to see what all everyone has going on in this moment. So, what's your stuff that matters most?