Bloomin'

Bloom where you are planted.


I found the above quote on the inside of a cap from a bottle of iced tea I had a couple weeks ago. I threw the cap away without first writing down who said it and when I looked it up, I'm told it's a proverb. Regardless of whose it is, I recognize myself and the next 16 days in it...

...I need to do the best with what I've got.

That sounds a little pessimistic. On the contrary, I feel it's a way of looking on the bright side. It's a way of witnessing what is about to happen with the greatest amount of clarity one can muster. It's a way of fully embodying the phrase that came to me on my birthday...

...let go and ride the wave!

Business is great at the bakery and while it's a blessing, it's not without its challenges. And yet it's the challenges that gear me up, once again, to pull off the impossible. We all know how I love to pull off the impossible.

Bring it on!

But I wonder...perhaps what is coming these next two-plus-weeks can really be done and done from a place of thriving rather than from a place of expecting to have to buckle down and pull myself up by my bootstraps. Instead of having to grin and bear it, maybe I can grin and enjoy it.

Perhaps I say the shipment of 200 gift boxes in one day is impossible not because it is, but because it feeds something in me (not necessarily an altogether positive thing) and is simply my way of sticking to my story. Is anything really impossible if it always gets done?

The story is our go-to place, our drama. The yarn we love to spin in our own heads about the odds we overcome and how amazing it all is. How hard it will be and how important we are for succeeding at such a task. The story is the ego's tale it tells to keep itself feeling special and relevant.

But aren't we already exhausted and spent by living it and replaying it in our heads countless times before the moment even arrives?

There's certainly room for pride in a job well done but why preempt ourselves? Worrying about the future, about what we think will be -- or playing it up -- is only chaos we create in our minds. Why not live in the moment rather than anticipate how difficult, or impossible, we expect something to be? Why not let it be what it is without tallying ahead of time how much effort and cost will be expended in the process?

I've recognized lately that I've grown comfortable in this story and because of it, perhaps I make things even more challenging than they need to be. What if I can set that story aside and do my part -- show up with the intention of being present to the moment and responding to the best of my ability no matter what arrives. Thrive under any circumstances.

Bloom.

200 gift boxes? What 200 gift boxes?

I don't know what you're talking about...it's not next Tuesday yet.//

Until then,

The 12 Brews of Christmas!

Well, we might end up with 13 Brews of Christmas because we went out for dinner and there was one on tap that I don't have in the bottle...

...Sam Adams Winter Lager!

This is a lighter one -- hence the name lager -- compared to what I've been drinking. A little hint of orange, a little hint of spice, beautifully balanced malts. Really nice. I haven't had a Sam's in any shape or form in a long while...perhaps since our trip to Boston this past summer. I've always liked most of Sam's brews and this one is no different. Great stand by.

We brace for our coldest night of the season tonight...single digits are knocking at the door. Hopefully Trooper won't have to go out now until morning.

Nighty night to one and all!