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Welcome back again, my friends! Have you had a good week? Mine has been pretty good, overall. Work has been fine and home life has been smooth. Everyone ate, drank, slept, and did everything they needed to do. And what more is there to life sometimes than making it through? As Autumn shifts to winter, as the weather gets colder and things intensify . . . occasionally, you just have to make it through. So, pat yourself on the back for making it through another week. If you weren't satisfied with how things went over the past seven days, congratulations for holding up high standards. And cheer up. There is another week right around the corner. You'll do better this next time, I am sure.
But now . . . it's time for everyone's favorite weekend digital diversion. It's another entry in WWYG?!'s Football Counter-Programming! Did your team win last weekend? Did your team "cover the spread"? Did your team slowly choke the athletic life out of that mid-major conference cupcake opponent that you had no business playing?
Who cares! No one around here cares. Because that is the point of the FC-P. It's a safe space to admit that football is NOT the most important thing that happens to you all week. Here is the place where we can talk about how we spent two hours enjoying the leaves change color while on a walk with our kids. Here is the place where we can plan that trip to make apple cider with our girlfriend. Here is the place where you can tell me about how much you enjoy candle-making in the cute shop downtown next to the furniture store.
I want to here all about it in the comments. Show your diversity. Admit about what you love. There is no judgment here.
And, now that we've gotten the rules out of the way, let's see what the Log Lady has to tell us. What cryptic advice or strange thoughts could she have to guide me through what I'll type for the subject matter this week?
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It is true that we all have a way about us. That alchemical combination of stances, steps, body movements, and actions that define us--especially to those who know us best. We spend our lifetime learning more about ourselves and defining and refining who we are, as well as how we present ourselves to the world.
And once we have a handle on that version of our self, it is distinctive and unique. Even, in this season of costumes and momentary personality shifts, our true self can shine through for those who are looking beyond the superficial.
And you should not be upset when this happens. I happen to think that discovering who *I* am is one of my great life achievements. (And I'll let you know when I'm finished making that discovery.)
Going through life is such an exercise in self-discovery and changing self-definition. And I hope I can and do change as I age. Because that means that I am being confronted with difference and challenge. And those challenges are opportunities for me to rethink something I thought I knew or to consider what I do believe in a new set of circumstances. I am not suggesting that I easily change what I think at every opportunity. But I hope that I can find ways to embrace the world outside of myself and still remain true to the core norms and expectations that define who I am.
The world is complicated. And it gets more complicated all the time. I do not understand all of it either--because I can't experience all of that complexity in my limited slice of the Earth that I inhabit. I want to be open to the possibility of change. I don't want to be closed off and afraid.
No matter what costume I happen to be wearing, I would like my way of acceptance to "shine through." Allow me to dance through my own song, adjusting to the sharp drumbeats as needed to keep the dance going and keep my own definition intact.
Until next week, remember . . .
. . . no one cares if your team's defensive line hasn't been living up to its potential for the last month.