c’est la vie

ALCHEMY AND SERENDIPITY

Day 8 of Kat McNally’s Reverb.

Today’s prompt and image come from Jennifer Williams-Fields (photo credit: Bing Osterman Photography). Jennifer is a true inspiration as she glides and stumbles through life as a single mum to six kids, yoga teacher, fitness instructor and writer. Her book Creating a Joyful Life: The Lessons I Learnt from Yoga and my Mom was published  this year to great acclaim.

Jennifer writes:

While alchemy is the active process of creating something of value, serendipity is the passive path to finding an unexpected treasure.

Looking back through 2015, what did you diligently try to create? 

What great thing did you just happen to find?

~~~~~~~~

IMG_1625I started this year with great diligence and intention of smoothing out all my rough edges. I was going to cast out all my mean evil spirits, all my faults and become the woman of the year. I had good intentions but it all backfired on me.  I became a MESS.  But I was a very functional one, having past experiences.  Past experience is a great asset in these kinds of situations.  I survived, shivering and quivering inside, hanging on by my fingernails.

I survived by hanging on with experience, knowing that “This, too, shall pass.”  I healed by letting go, giving up.  I threw up my hands. C’est la vie!  I felt every one of those shivers of fright and lived to tell about it.  It’s much like the feeling of falling in your dreams.  You don’t hit bottom.  You float up.

IMG_3755That is the great thing I found when I gave up.  Life is messy and there are things that I cannot control.  Things happen. That is how it is.  Look at what happened to my bread!  Though I am SURE that I did everything right, they came out like this. Where are my usual PERFECT loaves? Wait, all is not lost yet.  I still have the baguettes in the oven.

IMG_3757They are out of the oven now, looking beautiful, brown and crisp.  Will they pass the French taste test?  Does it matter?

What matters is  – I am still here.  Though life is not perfect and there is darkness and meanness, there is also something greater than ourselves.  I have stumbled and fallen. When I was too weary, the Universe took over.  I am healing.  I have to believe in the ultimate goodness.  I have to believe in the Divine.

 

Tête-à-Tête

It’s not quite Friday but it’s close enough for me.  I’ve missed Friday Fictioneers for the last few weeks.  I miss the telling of a story in 100 words.   Once again, let me thank Rochelle Wisoff-Fields of Addicted to Purple for hosting us. I hope I haven’t lost my words somewhere in the vineyards of France.

PHOTO PROMPT-Copyright-Melanie Greenwood
PHOTO PROMPT-Copyright-Melanie Greenwood

How dare you!” Alice huffed. She stood, pushing back her chair. Hands on hips, she glared down at the young woman.

Her eyes were met with cold stony blankness. She knew by the proud tilt of the head that she had gotten nowhere. She accepted the obvious. She was tired of it all.

Alice sighed heavily. She put the chair back neatly under the table. The young woman made no move. The tears were gone. Her face was smooth and calm like marble.

C’est la vie. Alice thought to herself. It was time to stop the words and just live.