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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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January
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.
Summoning
Light, Praising Darkness
I’ve never been one who could rattle off lines from a poem, or lyrics from a song but there is one proverb that never strays far from my memory bank:
It is always darkest before dawn.
I’ll leave it to the scientist-types to let me know if this is actually true. Is it really darker at 5:00 in the morning than at midnight? I haven’t a clue, but I can attest to the metaphoric wisdom of these six words. Just yesterday, the morning was gloomy here in Northern California. Soon, the fog lifted and the sun gave us some wintery light. The world outside started to look different, better, and even a bit more optimistic. No wonder light therapy lamps are a treatment of choice for those who suffer with Seasonal Affective Disorder! Yes, we need food and shelter to survive but for quality of life, light is essential. We might wish for bright light in every day but it isn’t going to happen! Imagine how screwed-up the world would be if we didn’t have the darkness of night, to promote rest and rejuvenation, or the darkness of a rain or winter storm, to bring water to crops and critters. And isn’t bright sunlight shining on wet vegetation a precious sight to behold after torrential rain? So rather than curse the darkness, be it in the weather or within, perhaps we are meant to be present for it so that the light of dawn shines that much brighter afterward.
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The
Light Within
If
the absence of light deeply affects you, it may be hard to
tap into other sources of light, including the unique gifts
that you bring to the world, but does that mean your light
is extinguished? Heck no. It’s more like you’ve walked into
a dark room and you’ve forgotten where to go to turn on the
lamps or overhead lights. |
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Finding
the Switch
Sometimes
you have to stumble around a bit. Sometimes you have to sit
in the dark space until you find a way to the light switch.
Music is the beacon for some, poetry, dance or silence for
others. Being outside, even if it’s stormy or bleak, often
works, too. Good luck identifying your switch, and once you
find it, remember where to find it in the future! |
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Your January 2010 Prompts for Joy
Perhaps
21 seconds of laughter is light: click
here for a short
giggle.
Or perhaps
witnessing others’ creative expression
is light: click
here for a unique rendition of “You’re
Gonna Miss Me” by Lulu and the Lampshades.
Thanks to Bill Faure and Bill Scala for bringing these lights
to my attention
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| Pictured Above
This photograph was taken by Bill Scala, on a very rainy
weekend in December, just as the light started to peek through
the clouds, in Lucia, California.
Joy-Gram for January 2010
Is
there a proverb, phrase or slogan that you could adopt as
your mantra for those days and times of your life when you
need to summon more light? The hunt is on!
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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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