Tag Archives: Elephant Journal

A Book of Days (of sorts)

Diary Pages

Well, hello there!

Life has kept rolling since I last wrote. Sunrises, changing seasons, Crepe Myrtle trees bursting into bloom.

Biggest News Flash: I have one year sober!

Actually today, I have one year, one month, and two days sober. And how has life changed because of that? I have not had to come to, face down on the floor, in 397 days. The cats are happier. Work has been steady.

In fact, since leaving dear Elephant Journal at the beginning of May, I have been thoroughly busy writing and working with friends to strengthen their business.

Other perks of sobriety:

  • Paying off debts and old fees
  • Ability to take care of day-to-day business
  • Daily bathing

Ah, yes. Sobriety is good. Plenty of pros about it.

There are, however, those pesky cons that come calling, as well. Namely, I am now more aware of myself. And wherever I go, there I am, to my surprise.      And while it may, in turn, surprise you to hear this, I am not always the best company. Indeed. wandering_beach

The mind reels.

But while I have accomplished much in the past year, there still are plenty of items left on my “to do” list:

  • Write to my friends in Bristol, England
  • Remove all traces of splattered red nail lacquer from my bathroom walls and floor
  • Revise and polish my current novel manuscript
  • Shop said manuscript around the literary universe
  • Go on tour to support above-mentioned novel (after it has been published)
  • Start belly dancing again
  • Initiate a daily routine of good oral hygiene for the cats

 

birds flying

Ah yes. No rest, it seems, for the wicked. Or the sober. Or the wickedly sober. But one minute at a time, I move forward in this brave new world of sobriety, bounded only by my imagination and willingness to live in the now.

And in this early morning moment, being quiet and richly present seems to be the next right thing to do. And so I am doing it.

Forget regrets. Leave “should” behind. Determine not to try, but either to do or not to do. Stop qualifying life.

Wishing you well, too. Live deliberately.

Until next time, then.

 

Like this?

Then check out more of my writing.

Me and elephant journal

elephant journal logo

The online publication elephant journal has published—and will be publishing—my articles, at least for the next three months.

I’ll update regularly, here at this blog. You also can visit elephant journal online. Browse the site, or search for me by name: Pamela Mooman. You will see a list of articles—those I have written and others I have edited.

Meanwhile, here are links to my elephant journal published pieces. Enjoy!

fountain pen close up

This Morning

Dear Readers,

It is quite early–or late, depending upon how you look at it–and the cats are up. Me, too.

Sunrise_1

Elephant Journal published my piece, “Life–Only Sober” on 18 January, and it has had 8,102 views so far. Thank you. I hope to write more for this interesting, consciousness-raising journal soon. In fact, I hope to become a regular contributor. Meanwhile, if you would like to read my current piece, click here.

But it is time to write new things–fiction to submit for consideration to a friend’s publishing project, revise my novel then shop the result around the publishing world,  and work, work, work.

Work has been steady–and interesting–lately. For this, I am extremely grateful.

Great-ful.

It is lovely to be fully engaged with what one is doing. It is lovely being able to be fully engaged.

It is as if I am seeing everything for the first time, not through rosy glasses, but rather, through clear eyes able to focus on the Now. On The Power of Now. Highly suggested reading, by the way. To explore what Eckhart Tolle’s book, The Power of Now, is about, click here.

“With the past I have nothing to do, nor with the future. I live now.”  –Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every moment of your life.” –Walt Whitman

I am a piece of the puzzle that fits. I am a shard of glass catching the light. I am so much more than I realize. So are you. The point of this post, this time, this morning, is not about sweeping images and symbolism. I have not started running marathons. No one has handed me a major award, or a minor one, for that matter. Rather, I would like simply to point out to you that life — L-I-F-E — is comprised of this minute.

There may not be A-wards for present-minded living, but there are RE-wards. An important one is a new, fresh engagement with your own existence.

Sobriety has not made my world smaller. No, it has expanded me, to the edge of this solar system, and it is pushing me ever outward, toward the boundaries of the galaxy, and then to each new Event Horizon that occurs on the journey through the Universe.

OK. So much for no sweeping images or symbolism. But the point is that through sobriety, I have rediscovered the Present, in all its beauty and pain, and I am learning how to fully experience — and appreciate — both.

For in this moment, there is no chaos. There is only breath, soft cat fur, rain or perhaps merely clouds.

And finally, I can not only see this, but understand that it is enough.