plans.

we plan day in and day out.
not without reason.
we are surrounded by a million things begging to be fit into our plan.
and at the same time, we ourselves are begging that a million other things be fit into our plan.
as we think towards the future...6 months down the road, 5 years down the road...we drive ourselves into a frustrating wall trying to figure out what it holds for us.
we shape our lives around what might happen next.
we hope for certain people, certain things, certain places.

our need for control.
it's unbelievable.

and until we can loosen the tight grip we have on tomorrow, we will continue to forget the reality of today.
the reality that today is a new day in itself.
that today, we have the chance to love and to be loved.
that today, we can walk in hope.
we can start to figure out who we are.

we can find peace.

mistakes.

you know what they always say...
try and avoid mistakes, but if you can't, at least make sure you learn from them.
i don't know if "they" say that. but i have realized that "they" should.
because as much as we are warned and herded away from certain habits and practices in life, sometimes we just cannot be convinced. 
and i am not sure that is always a bad thing.
yes, sometimes we are way too stubborn and proud.
and i do not doubt that the people who love us the most have some of the best suggestions.
but sometimes, there are things that you simply can't learn until you experience the consequences, good or bad, of your own mistakes.
the good news is most of the time our world doesn't crumble completely when the mistake comes along.
when our most recent way of functioning hits a breaking point.
when 'you know what' hits the fan.
and that is the hope in it all.
wisdom comes in the mistakes.

clothes.

clothes.
take them or leave them.
actually no.  please take them.
but when you take them, please repair them when they get torn.
when you take them, please bring them back when you grow out of them.
when you take them, please treat them like the gift that they are.
or actually treat them like the material things that they are.
all at the same time.
please when faced with the decision of taking or leaving them, realize that most people don't get that decision.
when deciding whether to wear your sequins bedazzled 'fun' top or your pinstripe pants suit, remember it's not that big of a deal anyway.

remember that what really matters is that whoever was sewing those sequins on was well-rested, well-nourished and paid well.

and please know that i spent 3 whole minutes this morning deciding which tights to wear.

a reflection: cough drops.

cough drops.
what a saving grace.
in those moments of panic when your throat won't cooperate with your mind.
or when your throat doesn't seem to note the social ques of a quiet meeting or an important phone call.
and while they aren't normally the tastiest treat you find in a candy dish, they take on a whole new quality when tears are coming to your eyes because of an itch that seems to be dancing around in your upper respiratory system.
funny how a little hard candy full of menthol can bring such immediate relief, yet once dissolved, all hell breaks loose once again.
because while cough drops will save you from the desperate heat of needing to cough in the middle of a dramatic performance of the christmas story, they won't bring any long-term solution.
that seems to be the case for a lot of things in life.

but as we search for the antibiotics and long-term healers of the world, let's not throw the cough drops out the window.