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Out
on a Limb |
A
Monthly Newsletter from Martha Clark Scala |
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Invest
in bringing joy back to your life. |
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February
2010 |
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Welcome
to Out on a Limb,
a monthly newsletter from Martha Clark Scala. This free e-zine
is meant to invite and inspire you to maximize the joy in
your life.
Out-of-Sync
In February,
as if rain and snow aren’t enough precipitation,
you will be showered by reds and pinks as you stroll through
just about any shopping venue. Those colors, hearts, and big
boxes of chocolate remind you, just in case you’ve forgotten,
that Valentine’s Day is approaching fast. Do you know
how many single, unattached people DREAD February 14th? It’s
the one day of the year when not having a sweetheart can be
downright painful. It is not really just one day; look at
all of the buildup! The decorations were in most stores by
January 15th.
Any time
we are out-of-sync with what’s happening in
our outer world, joy may seem quite elusive. Perhaps an act
of defiance restores the joy. For example, a grieving person
refuses to pretend Christmas or New Year’s Eve is a
happy time and foregoes many of the usual holiday parties.
Instead, s/he stays home and enjoys a movie marathon, or books
a getaway to the sea or snow. Going against the grain can
bring energy, satisfaction, empowerment.
Perhaps
what will summon joy is to be congruent, which would probably
entail feeling the lousy emotions of sadness or loneliness.
This may seem counter-intuitive but sometimes just being
where you are, whether it’s geographically or emotionally,
is a good strategy for ultimately accessing joy. |
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What
Embraces You?
In the Prologue to his memoir, The Tender Bar, J.R.
Moehringer writes:
"While
I fear that we're drawn to what abandons us, and to
what seems most likely to abandon us, in the end I
believe we're defined by what embraces us."
Did
you notice that Moehringer used the word “what” rather
than who? What embraces you? It could be your sweetheart
or other people in your life, but it also might be places,
animals, things, situations. What might happen if we
were only drawn to what embraces us?
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Embraceable You
The
lyrics to the Gershwin brothers’ song, Embraceable
You, are suitable for Valentine’s Day.
Embrace me
My sweet embraceable you
Embrace me
My irreplaceable you
But
what if you tweak the lyrics a bit? Heck, Frank Sinatra
did! What if you embrace you? Make a daily practice
of this and it won’t matter if you’re single,
allergic to red and pink, or out-of-sync in any other
way: you can always be your own Valentine on February
14th or any other day.
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Your
February 2010 Prompts for Joy
Click
here for Susan Boyle’s first appearance on Britain’s
Got Talent. Here is someone who embraces herself!
(Thank you, Michael Sally).
Click
here for Sarah Vaughn’s version of “Embraceable
You.”
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| Pictured Above
Bandit
was a beloved pet who embraced me 24/7.
Joy-Gram
for February 2010
It’s
time to spread some joy around. How about if we expand the
definition of sweetheart? How about if we ask ALL of the
sweet hearts in our life to be our Valentine?
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Archives
Now Available
To
re-read or share past Out On A Limb newsletters, click
here, or type the following url into your browser: http://www.mcscala.com/html/EZineArchives.html.
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Disclaimer
By no means
do I have joy “figured out.” Please do not assume
that I do! I write Out On a Limb as much as a meditation for
myself in the ongoing pursuit of joy, as for you. I think this
pursuit is a lifelong journey and that the full experience
of joy is, at best, episodic. May we all have more episodes! |
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Martha Clark Scala, MFT • 721 Colorado Ave., Suite 201, Palo Alto, CA 94303 •
info@MCScala.com
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