Taken in Kyoto last month.

In this weekend’s Wall Street Journal, there was a small article on
some of the best books on succeeding in business.  I found their top
five list very intriguing, most especially because more than half of
the titles have female authors.  These titles managed to burn
themselves on my brain the instant I read them, and ever since I
snipped the article out of the paper and tacked it to the bulletin
board in my studio I have been carrying them around like mantras,
examining how their messages can help me get through the non-stop
freight train of social obligations that has now landed on our front
doorstep.

It is so easy to decide to make changes in our lives once this happens or that happens, once a certain period of time is over or certain obligations have been met, as in, "I’ll start incorporating exercise into my routine after I’ve organized my cotton ball collection,"
or whatever real or imagined Very Important Task has been marked off
our to do list.  I am now knee deep in the time of year when fun &
frolic abounds, and I plan on enjoying it all, but there have also been
certain changes I have wanted to incorporate into my life and I have
decided that now is as good a time as any – perhaps the best time
possible – to begin the process of changing certain habits and even
sending some on their merry way.

None of these changes are terribly taxing or mind-boggling.  They
don’t feel overwhelming or daunting.  But sometimes the smallest of
changes can feel paralyzing and I have found that it is always that
very first step that is the most difficult to take.  I somtimes find
myself standing in front of a new pathway for what feels like eons,
letting myself get distracted by anything and everything, and when I
finally decide to take that first step forward it is always the same
reaction:  "Wow, that was easier than I thought it would be,"
and I just keep walking.  I may slip and stumble along the way, but
once I’ve started I’m committed, and I always discover new delights I
had not anticipated.

The past ten days or so have been surreal, magical, difficult,
emotional and wondrous.  It has been a time of experiences through
which I am shown that no matter how many things I may think aren’t
exactly right or figured out in my life, I must certainly be precisely
where I am supposed to be, because I have been given gifts that most
likely would not have been granted to me had I taken a single step
differently at any given point in my life.  As if a certain confluence
of events was only possible by me doing and being exactly, precisely
who I am throughout every single day I have been on this earth.  Do we
all feel those touchpoints, those instances where we are assured in
every cell of our bodies that we are exactly where we are supposed to
be?

It is in this glimpse of perfection in my life, in the experience of feeling God’s love directly through the eyes of three extraordinary women,
in the gift of glittery bags of tea from India and colorful handmade
textiles from Afghanistan, in the stack of a month’s worth of birthday
cards that are now filling up my mailbox from my best friend, in the stories people have been willing to share with me, in the sound of my husband playing his violin, in my mom’s laughter, in the effort of a profoundly generous woman who helped me raise more than $1700 for the Breast Cancer 3-Day,
which I am participating in in less than two weeks…in all these
moments and more, I am shown something very simple yet sometimes
terribly difficult to believe:  that I am on the right path and I will
always have all the love and support I need.

So I am stepping forward on a few different paths this morning,
filled with the gratitude for all the blessings in my life, filled with
hope that I am capable of creating small but significant changes in my
daily routine, filled with the light that so many incredible souls have
shared with me, filled with the understanding that in messes, mishaps,
crying fits and disappointments, there are little jewels that have been
carved out just for us as long as we’re willing to do one small thing:
accept them.

*************************************************

The list of "Five Best" books on succeeding in business from The
Wall Street Journal.  Even if you aren’t looking to maximize your
profits or take your company public, these sound like fascinating reads.

* Personal Histroy by Katherine Graham
* The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
* Winning by Jack Welch
* Never Check E-mail in the Morning by Julie Morgenstern
* The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey