another 2am wake up, with my mind rolling along like a fallen leaf caught in a strong current. all good things...all invigorating ideas. i spoke with a friend last night who i mentally file in my "Incredibles" section. we talked about business stuff and ideas and referrals and all manner of wonderment. her information quickly quashed one of the paths i was moving towards, and i cannot be thankful enough for her advice & information. imagine spending precious time & money working toward a goal that turned into the biggest nightmare of life! and truthfully, whenever i had done work toward that path, a very teeny whisper would tell my Inkling Bone to walk away. but being the fast mover that i am, it takes more than a whisper to get my attention, at times. i think my lesson for this year is Listen. My years are marked by a different calendar than the january-December one, apparently, with fall/August being my season of beginnings and endings. I've been feeling a subtle shift in what now feels like Last Year's Bones, and even yesterday at my annual woman's exam, the doc came back in the room after she'd left for the next patient, and said something along the lines of Listen Carefully, Respond From A Place Of Love. she is a wise woman, with whom I've shared insights and mysticisms and nettles tea. she is as inclined to "prescribe" a tea or yoga, as she is a pill or ointment. so the new year will bring me plenty of opportunity to enhance my Listening skills, i suspect. last night's dream included a "chapter" where i was back at my old job at 911. that signifies the ultimate listening job - reading between the lines could save someone's life. so i am Listening, and i am Hearing the message. I am a total and complete geek when it comes to being appreciative - i'm all in with my heart, and sometimes feel like someone's Golden Retriever puppy dancing circles and wagging it's tail in pure joy of your existence. i may have learned to be a bit cooler about saying "thank you," but it's bound to leak out somehow. so here in print, where i can backspace & delete at will, i will say that i am so slobbery grateful for all of the women in my life...those who have offered a hand, those who have allowed me to give them a hand, those who have mightily torqued me out, and those who have just been themselves - which is plenty. my life could not be richer. i know - geek. but there's no doubt that i love you, right?