April Dare Count

Seriously, where did April go?!

Dares received: 30 

Dares completed: 21

1. Create a blog
2. Wake up everyday and smile and stretch
3. Get highlights
4. Relax and sample new adventures (on the cheap)
5. Go to a drag show
6. Complete this puzzle
7. Fund-raiser walk
8. Paint a portrait of someone I love(d)
9. Read a fiction classic of at least 300 pages
10. Become a raw food believer for one week
11. Visit my parents in Bellingham
12. Join Match.com for one month 
13. Volunteer with a cause you believe in but gets you out of your comfort zone
14. Say hello to strangers
15.  Run a 10K
16.  Visit the geographic center of the US
17. Take a mud bath trip with my sister
18. Streak nude (you'll see)
19. Read two books by Truman Capote - ok, so I only read one
20. Take a belly dancing class
21. Begin a spiritual journey

Dares busted: 3

1. Visit Wenmiao/The Ghost Market in Shanghai 
2. Dance on the Bund with a local Shanghainese
3. Engage Lola in a dog sport or train her to be a therapy dog

Dare on Deck:

1. Get 100 people to say thank you
2. Ride to the last station on every line on the T

Begin a spritual journey (Julie Ellis)

I'm on it, Jules. Thank you for opening the space for me to reflect and giving the permission that I sometimes need to focus on matters not tangible. I'm not finished with this and don't intend to be, but as one of the dearest people to me, I will keep you posted along the way, and I look forward to hearing about your journey too.

Reflection: Are you a human being or a human doing? 

These words have haunted me for 13 years. I returned home from my first year at college and met with a woman I considered to be mentor and unconditional supporter. We sipped coffee and caught up about the events of the preceding 9 months. Topics included: starting college, surviving the freshman dormitory, losing my driver’s license for too many speeding tickets, starting a job as a chemical dependency counselor, making dozens of new friends, and volunteering in my new found community. I found myself busier and more active than ever. It was good time in my life. Then, she posed the question – are you a human BE-ing, or a human DO-ing? I froze. I had never considered that there is a distinction. My eyes teared up, and she probed deeper, questioning what in my life was solely for me and allowed me space for reflection and appreciation. Our conversation continued, but the question was never fully resolved for me. At 31, after 13 full years of living since then, my mind often wanders back to this question. Am I human being or a human doing?

More often, I silently, shamefully answer – DO-ing.  There is guilt that I keep busy and do not leave much open space. Although I would consider most of my tasks worthy activities. There is personal judgment that Be-ing would be the preferred way to live. Wouldn’t everyone want to be in the BE-ing category? So, I kept the question and my DO-ing to myself. Although as I age, I see my true nature more and although I cannot fully understand it, I can accept it for what it is. Without shame, I am a human being that is doing. In my doing, I express my being. In action, I confirm and shape my inner being.

I am not through wrestling with this question, but I can say today I am no longer haunted by it.

March Dare Count

March is a crap shoot - will it be the end of winter, beginning of spring or somewhere in between with damp rain? March 2011 did not disappoint; it was a little bit of all of the above. However, longer, brighter days with the promise warmth motivates me to look back at my dare list and push on. The countdown is still on!

Dares received: 29 

Dares completed: 20

1. Create a blog
2. Wake up everyday and smile and stretch
3. Get highlights
4. Relax and sample new adventures (on the cheap)
5. Go to a drag show
6. Complete this puzzle
7. Fund-raiser walk
8. Paint a portrait of someone I love(d)
9. Read a fiction classic of at least 300 pages
10. Become a raw food believer for one week
11. Visit my parents in Bellingham
12. Join Match.com for one month 
13. Volunteer with a cause you believe in but gets you out of your comfort zone
14. Say hello to strangers
15.  Run a 10K
16.  Visit the geographic center of the US
17. Take a mud bath trip with my sister
18. Streak nude (you'll see)
19. Read two books by Truman Capote - ok, so I only read one
20. Take a belly dancing class

Dares busted: 3

1. Visit Wenmiao/The Ghost Market in Shanghai 
2. Dance on the Bund with a local Shanghainese
3. Engage Lola in a dog sport or train her to be a therapy dog

Dare on Deck:

1. Get 100 people to say thank you
2. Ride to the last station on every line on the T
   

Some of the remaining dares need to wait until it is a little warmer before I can just knock'em out... but I'm feeling inspired to make some goals I can work on now that will pay off by the end of the summer. If you are curious, have tips or want to want to help make it happen, here are my spring/summer goals:

1) Finish the backyard landscaping - that's right the trash pit in the back yard will finally be leaving! Imagine raised beds with homegrown veggies, a dining area, bird feeders and relaxing place to end a summer day.

2) Run a 10 consistent minute mile - I'm still running and have a few 5Ks and 5milers scheduled for this summer, but I want to get to the finish line faster. For everyone who was with me after the Southie St Pat's 5K, let's hope this doesn't encourage more sneezing. 

3) Climb the rock wall at the gym - I am thrilled with the new community center across the street and the fitness center inside.  I could sing all its praises, but one thing that I am looking forward to trying is the rock wall. I've never done any climbing and I just want to try. However, I need to bulk up my arm strength before I can go there. I'm working on it!